#i hope this is the last toothy thing we need to do before the next Normal Teeth Checkup in October

[gailynovelry]

Tomorrow, we'll be getting a crown on one of our teeth. Crossing our fingers that it will be fine and easy and we will be chill about it.

[izurou]

every morning, and often throughout the night, you’ll stretch a foot over to satoru’s side of the bed and make contact with him.

what comes across as a simple desire for physical touch, is actually a habit of yours—one born from both fear and experience. it’d be far from the first time you woke up and he wasn’t there, but things are different now, and you need him to be there.

but this morning, all you feel is cold sheets.

you sit up and rub at your eyes before looking out the window—finding your usual view blurred with rain. you shiver a little at the sight, or maybe—at the foreign emptiness of the room.

and that’s when you realize that, not only is satoru missing from your bed—the small white crib off to your right is also missing your daughter.

you think the worst on instinct. irrational, you’re well aware—there’s no reason for such thoughts anymore, but they still manage to penetrate your freshly conscious mind nonetheless.

that is, until a pair of giggles sneak past the little crack in your bedroom door, acting as the perfect antidote to your conclusion jumping.

now, you find yourself getting out of bed just a bit too eagerly for a gloomy sunday morning—sliding into your slippers before shuffling towards the door and down the hallway. you wrap your arms around yourself as you walk, both hoping for and needing a little extra love from at least one, but preferably both of your babies.

satoru’s voice becomes clearer as you near, and you’re just around the corner when you hear him ask your daughter, who can’t talk yet, a question.

“yeah? you like the rain?”

an odd thing to ask a seven month old, though it makes a little more sense when you actually see them.

the two are in the kitchen, and your daughter—strapped into her high chair, is staring out the large window with her big blue eyes, completely mesmerized. satoru sits hunched over in a dining room chair, watching her with the exact same expression while he holds a plastic green spoon up to her mouth, like he’s interviewing her.

“satoru?” in unison, the duo turn their heads at the sound of your voice. “what are you doing?”

“killing time,” he smiles at you before turning to your baby, who now has her chubby little hands wrapped around a couple of his fingers. “we were starting to think you’d never come to. isn’t that right sweetheart?”

she babbles excitedly in response, seemingly agreeing.

the transition from bassinet to crib hasn’t been an easy one, and last night was probably one of her worst so far. you’ll always rock her, and while she falls asleep easy enough—the second she’s put down, she’ll wake up and cry.

“sorry,” you sigh, padding over to the two. “she was up most of the night, i—”

“needed the rest,” he finishes for you—wiggling his fingers around and earning himself a few more precious baby giggles. “we know.”

you give him a smile, and he returns it in a much more devious fashion—as if he’s saying you owe me for this. on any other day, you’d roll your eyes at something like that, but it’s almost nine am, and you crawled out of bed just moments ago—there isn’t much you wouldn’t do for him at this point.

satoru wraps an arm around one of your thighs as you stand next to him, and he pockets your grin—knowing it holds all the gratitude in the world, and a little something more.

though, you just end up batting him away when you notice the empty bowl sitting on the tray of your daughter’s high chair.

“she ate all her breakfast?” you ask, peering over to see if he hid any of her yogurt in the pouch of her silicone bib. “why don’t you ever do that for me?”

you lean down to boop a finger on her nose, and she kicks her feet in excitement—letting out something between a squeal and a laugh.

“‘cause you like me better, right?” satoru chimes in, holding his makeshift microphone in front of her with a toothy grin—which gets her to babble, for some reason. “oh? what’s that? i’m the best? your favourite?”

you bring a hand up to flick the back of his head—even though sometimes you think he’s right with the way she’s always smiling at him, but you just chalk it up to his high contrast, baby friendly look instead.

“think you misheard,” you point out, “sounded like ew dad, you stink to me.”

your husband—dramatic, and a sucker for your baby girl, flops down onto her little plastic tray in defeat.

“say it’s not true,” he whines, sneakily tickling one of her feet to get her to laugh but, consequently causing her to smack her hands on his head. “hey, hey!”

“that’s my girl,” you snort, and she babbles some more—loving the attention she’s getting from the two of you.

“hmm?” satoru leans in closer to her, as if she’s about to tell him a secret, and then he shields his mouth with his hand to respond. “yeah i know, i think that smell’s coming from over there too.”

the two smile at each other, and while it might be at your expense, you find yourself smiling too.

because you can see it now—satoru picking your daughter up from her first day of kindergarten, begging for the scoop on all her new classmates. he’d listen attentively, and pry just a little further every time she mentions a more masculine name—selfishly wanting to ensure that he’s still her favourite boy.

it’s just a thought of course, but you’ll definitely be holding him a little closer tonight.

“look, she’s doing it!” satoru pulls you back to the present moment, nudging your leg with his elbow. he’s given your baby her little silicone cup—the one she’s learning to drink from. she has it tilted back, spilling milk half into her mouth, and half into her bib. “kind of.”

once she’s quenched her thirst, she haphazardly tosses the cup onto her tray, and you note the white residue that sits on her top lip.

“well, satoru?” you grin at him, grabbing the long forgotten plastic green spoon—microphone, and holding it up to your husband’s mouth.

he furrows his brows and opens his mouth to speak, but you cut him off.

“how does it feel knowing your daughter has more of a stache right now than you ever will?”

he grins, at you and then her. “that’s my girl.”

[vampiric-hunger]

⊱─ 𝕤𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕦𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕦𝕣𝕖 ─⊰

➺ 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘: Ascended Astarion/f!reader

➺ 𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕤: no y/n is used, rating - E, smut, improper use of charm spell (sorta), vampiric charming, dub-con I guess?, PiV, fingering, blood drinking, creampie, breeding kink, waiter there's a tiny bit of plot in my porn

➺ 𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪: only a stupid rogue would try to rob a suspected Vampire Lord but here you are, doing exactly that. well, right until you get caught with your greedy fingers picking a lock. surprisingly enough, Lord Astarion is not mad when he finds a thief in his chambers. how (un)fortunate you are that he thinks you're beautiful. and his punishment might yet become a reward instead.

➺ 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 4,257

𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕖: Astarion breeding kink this, breeding kink that, well, here i am trying my own hand at it for the very first time ever. i don't know how good it is but i had fun writing it! this one shot started as something else, but well, here we are, being horny. enjoy! <3

p.s. in regards of "improper use of charm spell" tag - Astarion is using his vampiric charm on reader, she is completely under his control for most of the fic and thus i marked this as dubcon but she only truly consents towards the end of it. so if you're not into this type of thing click out.

You’re stupid, oh yes you are.

You suspected so even before you broke into the palace.

Like last night, when at the Blushing Mermaid your thieving buddies dared you to break into this grand home and steal an item two of them have been hired to steal. By whom? That never matters in your line of work. But you were drunk and too proud of your own skill in thievery. You boasted that you could do it the next night and so they dared you. You took their dare but when you woke up this morning you realized how badly this could end.

Breaking into the palace of a suspected Vampire Lord is something you never attempted nor have many others. But here you are now, attempting the stupidest heist of your life and only now you’re realizing just how stupid indeed you have been the night before and even more so tonight, for coming here, for breaking in and making it this far. Shit, you don’t even remember what consequences of failing this dare are anymore, you were too arrogant in your drunken haze and you might actually get killed.

So now you’re here, in a small, windowless, positively secret room, adjacent to Lord’s bedroom, your focus on the pedestal in front of you.

“A pretty little thing, aren’t you?” a smooth, almost silky voice comes from behind you and yet it feels like an assault.

You freeze, your fingers extended over a small metal chest that you were picking a lock of just a moment ago. You knew the risks coming here, or at least you hoped you did. And now it looks like you got caught in the act.

As you straighten your back and turn around you are met with crimson eyes, a toothy smirk and relaxed body language of a man who you came here to steal from. Astarion, the newest Lord of Baldur’s Gate, latest patriarch of Szarr palace, a charming man that you heard rumors about of being an actual vampire. Undesirable creatures tend to know of one another’s existence. Him – possibly a dangerous monster and you – a thief and a dagger for hire. For a moment you wonder what will happen if this confrontation comes to fighting. You doubt you could win. Even without confirmation of his possible immortality Lord Astarion has a certain aura about him that you can’t quite put your finger on.

You eye him slowly, carefully, examining smallest details. His demeanor doesn’t seem threatening but you see those fangs in his mouth and you know what they can do, you know the power he must possess. Yes, it’s no rumor after all, he is a vampire. And if the same rumors are correct – a very powerful one. He doesn’t need a dagger in his hand to be extremely dangerous and you’re not enough of a fool to pick a fight with a Vampire Lord unless you have to.

“Can I assume you’re not here to give me a key?” you raise an eyebrow at him. You’re not going to be intimidated by him.

You have one more trick up your sleeve if things go murderously bad, a ring of teleportation that you rarely use because it tends to trigger magical defenses but since Astarion already caught you there’s no reason to avoid using it if you can’t talk your way out of the situation. And you will try to talk your way out of it because you have too much pride to scuttle away like a spooked rat.

Vampire’s eyes slide down your body smoothly like a viper, then back up again. Another glance to the metal box behind you and then back to your eyes. He tilts his face to an angle, giving you a curious look.

“I could. But I do wonder what are you doing here. And more so, I am dying to hear how you got inside without being noticed, how have you made it this far as to end up in my personal chambers.” his tone is still smooth like velvet and it gives you chills.

“Let’s say I’m good at what I do.” you smirk at him, despite your unease and tension in your body you are not going to show even a sliver of it to him.

“Indeed you are.” Astarion now steps closer and you move to the side when he approaches the box, placing his long, nimble fingers on it. You recognize a hand of a man who has picked many such locks himself in the past and you wonder about his history for a moment before he looks at you again, his eyes always on yours, almost never leaving.

“Do you know what’s in there, darling?” vampire asks and you cross your arms on your chest, shifting your weight on the other foot. Your goal is also to appear non-threatening but your muscles are tight as a spring.

“I was hoping it’s the Amulet of Weeping.” you say straightforwardly. You see no reason to lie because unless Astarion keeps something more in the box he knows perfectly well what you were trying to get.

Vampire chuckles lightly and taps his fingertips on the lid of the box.

“Indeed. Do you know what it does, you precious little thief?” the smirk on his lips and his eyes, forever locked on yours, it’s almost all you can see.

Yet his question makes you lose your cool. You look at the metal box and clear your throat, stalling for time but then look back at him.

“Well, actually I don’t. You see-“ a sudden finger on your lips, silencing you. If he’s a vampire, why his touch is so warm? And how in the Nine Hells he’s so fast? You didn’t even see him move, it was like a flash, it happened in a blink of an eye.

Oh yes, he’s even more dangerous than the tales you’ve heard.

“Shh. Don’t speak.” Astarion’s voice is soothing, alluring.

What is this… Why you feel so relaxed, so… warm? Your alertness starts to blunt, your caution begins to turn into curiosity and are you flushing? Your face feels hot and this change you feel somehow does not feel strange or unwelcome. It’s like being embraced, it’s like being caressed, you belong.

And all you can see is the crimson of his eyes.

“There we go. I’m sure you’re feeling better. Don’t resist, my dear, just relax, I’m not going to harm you. Maybe I will even reward you for being so brave.” Astarion croons with a voice like silk.

“Reward?” you ask, feeling like you’re in a dream. A voice in the back of your head tells you you’re being charmed but that voice is quickly snuffed out. It’s gone like a whisp of smoke from a candle that just got blown out. One moment it’s there and then not even a memory of it lingers.

“Yes, a reward, darling. Wouldn’t you like to be rewarded?” vampire’s fingers now grip your chin softly, lifting your face to his, his thumb traces your bottom lip.

“What… kind of reward?” even your own voice sounds distant now but you couldn’t care less. Those eyes… Those red eyes that bore into yours… They are everything.

“Ah, now what kind of reward we will have to see for ourselves.” Astarion smirks but his fangs don’t bother you anymore, if anything they look attractive, lighting a fire in your belly. “Let’s go, I’ll let you pick your reward, you little thief.”

With that he moves his fingers from your chin and wraps his arm around your shoulders, now leading you out of this small room. You follow without question or hesitation, but glance back at the box just once, trying to remember what was so special about it and why did you even come here. No, you don’t remember. And it doesn’t matter, not anymore.

When you look in front of you the door opens and a view of a lavish bedroom greets you. A big, luxurious bed with bedposts and parted drapes, all in black or red or gold. Simple glance around the room reveals several paintings, some bookshelves and cabinets, closets and a table, some comfortable looking armchairs. The carpet even under your boots feels soft, you almost want to lay down on it. But Astarion’s arm around your shoulders makes you walk further, towards the bed, and you barely register the door behind you closing.

Why are you here? Oh yes, the reward. When Astarion stops you just in front of the bed, his arm leaves you and he turns you to him by your shoulders. When your eyes land on his you smile. He’s so beautiful, so handsome, he’s the prettiest being you have ever seen. He sees your smile, your glazed over eyes and smiles in return.

“Not afraid of me, are you?” he asks and you slowly shake your head. “Very good. I must say, you are very very pretty, darling. What’s your name?”

Your name… Your name? What’s your name?

Your face scrunches in confusion, your eyes scan his chest and noses of your boots as if the answer is written somewhere in his noble’s attire or in the leather of your shoes. You look up at him again and Vampire Lord chuckles.

“Well, that matters not. You will remember soon enough.” Astarion uses both hands to tuck strands of your hair behind your ears and you smile at him again. His touch is soft, warm and wanted. “But, to get back to my point, you are beautiful.” he leans closer to your face, his smile and his eyes become your whole world. “And I like to collect beautiful things.”

“Things?” you echo and something once more tugs at your mind but then disappears again. You’re perfectly in his control. Under his gaze you can’t resist him.

Astarion does not bother to reply, his gaze sweeps down your body, analyzing every piece of clothing you’re wearing, then his nimble fingers begin unclasping your leather armor, taking it off piece by piece, dropping one item after another to the side of his feet. At first you don’t realize what’s going on, you just watch his face but when vampire slips the straps of your bra off your shoulders you finally blink in confusion.

When you look down at yourself you see yourself half naked, your nipples perk up at the contrast between the air of the room and the warmth of your clothing that just got removed. You rise your eyes to Astarion and see his smile once more. You don’t recognize the gentle malice in his expression but even if you did you wouldn’t care, not until the fog is lifted from your mind.

“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you.” Vampire Lord whispers and his face is so close you can smell wine on his breath and… something else. Something metallic, coppery, you can’t put your finger on it.

Your face scrunches at the thought, your eyes move to his lips and his smile, you see the fangs.

Ah yes, that’s right, he’s a vampire.

Wait, what are you doing here?

You gasp, your thoughts get interrupted by Astarion pinching both your nipples at the same time. Again you feel the fire in your abdomen, you recognize it as desire and you look into his eyes, the crimson of them drowning you like a lake of blood. And you give in.

“I want something from you.” Vampire Lord’s whisper replaces your thoughts and you just stand there with your face flushed and your body reacting with a shiver because he’s still teasing your nipples. “Something you can give me with ease.” a pause, a moment passes, then you feel his palm press against the small of your back and push you towards him, against his chest. Your hands grasp his waist and your lips part. “Just give in, darling. And I promise you a night you’ll never forget.”

You see his grin and it would look dangerous to you if you weren’t completely in his control. Instead of fear you feel overwhelming lust and you close your eyes, turning your face up and inviting him for a kiss.

And Astarion does kiss you. His lips clash against yours in a hurry and passion. His tongue pushes past your lips, past your teeth, it tastes you and you taste him back. Yes, you recognize what it was that you smelled before – blood. You taste it on his lips, you taste it on his tongue and you don’t care. Your heart beats fast in your chest, your fingers now move to his clothing, trying to find clasps, buttons and laces. You manage to open his doublet, slip it off his shoulders. You don’t hear it falling to the floor, because only thing you’re hearing is your own heartbeat beating fast in your ears.

But then the kiss stops. You don’t know how long it lasted, a minute, an hour, a year? Still, you feel like it wasn’t enough, you don’t want it to stop and you barely open your eyes before you immediately try to kiss him again, eliciting a chuckle out of the Vampire Lord.

“How eager.” he comments but you don’t care. Your arms find his neck and you try to pull his head lower, to your level, your lips seek his with urgency, but with ease Astarion pushes you away. “Patience, my pet. I’ll reward you soon enough.”

You exhale in dizzy frustration but lower your hands, obeying. It’s easy to listen to him, you realize. What a pleasant feeling, you could do this forever.

“Stand still, darling.” Astarion’s voice reaches your ears and you return to the present.

You now watch him undo laces of your pants and slide them down your hips and thighs, together with your underwear, exposing you fully. You don’t know what shame is and you don’t remember how embarrassment feels like. You only know one thing – you want this man, you want him to take you and it’s hard not to start begging.

Astarion guides you while he takes off your pants and shoes, helping you step out of last bits of your clothing and when he raises again he puts one arm around your hips, leading you to the bed. It looks so soft, inviting. You want to spend forever in it with him. So when you feel vampire pat you on the ass, urging you to climb in, you do so without hesitation.

When you turn around and lay on your back, you have a moment to watch Astarion shed his own clothing in full. He takes his time, his eyes roaming up and down your nude body, his eyes would tell you of possessiveness and even a hint of cruelness if you could think straight, but right now you only see that he wants you. After he pulls his pants down and his eager erection is revealed, you swallow hardly. You want it in you, you want to taste it, you want to please him. You want to serve.

“Do you like what you see?” Astarion taunts and you nod without any shame, your lips part and you lick them, your gaze focused on his cock, so ready to make you his, maybe forever.

Vampire Lord kicks off his shoes at last, then removes his pants completely and after he straightens his back, you watch his hand grasp his shaft and give it a few slow strokes. After the third or fourth you notice precum glistening at the top of his cock.

“Ah…” is only thing you manage to say, your desire coiling and moving in you like a hungry snake. Your reaction makes Astarion chuckle and the sound of it forces yours eyes back on his once more.

He gets closer and climbs into bed slowly with a grace of a predator, his body moves on top of yours and you part your legs widely for him, welcoming him. You lean your head back, relaxing in the bed and Astarion once more sweeps your body with his gaze, stopping at your breasts.

“Touch yourself.” he commands and you immediately do so. Your hands raise, cup your breasts, your fingertips graze your nipples and then pinch them, roll them, tug at them gently while you do as instructed. You see how intensively Astarion is watching you, his smirk widens when you let out a soft moan, then another. You were ready for him already, this is just making it worse.

Finally he looks down, between your legs, and with one hand pressed against the bed for support with other he traces the inner side of your thigh up and then higher. When he touches your entrance, feels how wet you are for him, he exhales slowly. His fingers explore every inch of your sex, making you gasp and moan louder, then his thumb brushes against your clit, sending a shiver through your body.

“You’re so ready for me, pet.” Astarion’s voice is husky, it’s obvious he’s getting worked up too as his eyes dart between his own fingers exploring you and you playing with your nipples.

That dreamy feeling you’ve been feeling up until now lessens, maybe it’s because Astarion is less concentrated, maybe your own desire is making your mind begin to break free but you now realize that you’ve got seduced into this man’s bed. Yet you’re too aroused, too impassioned to stop here. And your body still screams to be taken, to be conquered and to be claimed.

And he’s just so beautiful. No, you’re not free from his charm and allure, not even close, and your mind focuses on his silver locks falling gracefully around his face, you see his eyes, now filled with lust and desire, examining every inch of your body. You feel his fingers making you moan with a practiced touch and you want more. So much more.

“Take me.” you hear yourself say with a gasp and your hips buck against his fingers as if your own body is out of your control, not only your thoughts.

Astarion now looks into your eyes and smiles.

“I’m going to do so much more, my dearest pet. I’m going to claim you, I’m going to fill your tight holes and then I’ll have you beg for more.” his words send a shiver down your body that pools between your thighs, his fingers tease your cunt and he immediately notices that you got even wetter, it makes him smirk. “I’ll make you mine, I’ll claim you, and I will keep filling you with my seed every night. And who knows, maybe you’ll give me an heir eventually.”

Silence falls while your face gets redder with his every word.

An heir? He wants you to do what? Yet his eyes are still your entire world and your body moves, your hips moving again, your cunt pressing against his fingers in need.

Yes, you will give him an heir. As long as you can be his.

Your hands leave your breasts and you put your palms on the back of his head, your fingers threading in his hair.

“Yes, I will.” you whisper and that reply rewards you with a passionate kiss.

Astarion’s fingers now leave your drenched seam and roughly pull your knee up, making you hook your leg around his waist. His chest presses against yours and you sigh against his lips.

And then he enters you. One swift thrust and he’s fully inside, stretching you almost to a point of uncomfortable fullness and you moan at that, your mouth remains open with the gasp but his lips are also parted, he’s enjoying the feeling of you around his cock. Your heavy-lidded eyes meet his and your fingers clench in his hair.

“Take me. Make me yours.” you whisper and a guttural growl escapes Astarion’s throat at your words. He doesn’t wait, he begins thrusting.

You close your eyes and moan, feeling his cock pierce you again and again. You’re so aroused his shaft is moving with satisfying ease, his hips snapping against you with increasing pace.

“Fuck, you’re going to look so beautiful with my cum dripping out of you.” Astarion grunts and lowers his head to your neck, kissing it first, then nibbling the skin with his teeth. His hand grips your thigh strongly, keeping it up.

Only response you can give him is your moans, loud and unashamed. You hold onto his neck and hair while he rocks himself against you, filling you deeply with his cock, his thrusts unrelenting. It feels like he’s been going at it for hours and every second is better than the last.

Your mind swims from sensations. His sweaty skin against yours, his shaft buried deep inside your cunt, his teeth on your neck, his fangs-

“Ouch!” you exclaim when he bites down, sinking his canines into your flesh, but when you react you hear a rumble of a laugh coming from him. Astarion lifts his head at you, his lips are painted in redness of your blood.

“Get used to it, my pet. You’re mine now.”

Vampire Lord bites you again and this time you just sigh. Somehow his first bite was painful, second one sends a shiver down your spine. Your fingers leave his hair, you place your palms on his back, feeling something there like scars, but you don’t know, you’re far away, consumed by your passion. It’s just his lithe body claiming yours, making you writhe and arch your back, making you moan.

Then Astarion slows, he moves his hips now lower, his pelvis brushes against yours, then an angle changes and he begins rubbing himself against your swollen clit, sending jolts down your spine. You open your eyes, more in surprise than anything and see Astarion’s smug smile.

“Enjoying yourself, darling?” he lifts his head with a smug smile, confident because he knows he’s good at this and he’s correct. You whimper and nod eagerly, your face still flushed. “Good.”

Astarion’s thrusts ease into a steady pace. How his skin is rubbing against you is beginning to drive you crazy. You look at him, not able to control your moans that are growing louder by the second. What is he doing to you? You never felt pleasure like this before. You can’t stop, you don’t want to stop.

“Come for me.” you hear a whisper in your ear and then he looks at your face again, enjoying the view.

Everything up until this point felt like a dream, but not this.

You feel your orgasm with every inch of your body. You cry out and dig your nails into Astarion’s back, your body tenses and your cunt clenches around him, your sweaty form spasms and you feel yourself clinging to him.

“Good girl, very good girl.”

You are barely able to comprehend Astarion’s words, because the world melts around you, this moment is intense, most intense thing you experienced in your life. But Vampire Lord doesn’t stop thrusting. When your bliss begins to fade, when you come down from your high, you look at him again and Astarion leans away from you. He straightens his back as much as he can, his palms pressed on the bed by your sides and his now messy hair drapes over his eyes but you see him watching his cock plunge into you with increasing fervor.

“Watch me fill you, my pet.” vampire’s grunt is laced with strain as he keeps fucking you while you’re trying to recover from your orgasm. You’re out of breath but this is not over, not until he says it is.

And you listen, you look down, seeing your bodies connect with every pump of his hips and you grasp at the sheets. Something about this, the anticipation, the knowledge of what he’s about to do and the desire to be used by him, it’s making the edges of your world blurry.

Astarion is grunting now, his lips parted and he’s breathing heavily. Even his face is flushed, but then he moans loudly just before he clenches his teeth. His thrusts become erratic, his eyes locked on the motion of him thrusting into you, his groans are barely passing his teeth. You know he’s spending himself entirely inside of you and it’s a delicious thought. And then after few more pumps he stops, panting when his face relaxes. You keep your eyes where your bodies are still connected, your thighs are quivering, and Astarion glances up at you with a smirk.

He says nothing as he moves one hand and grips the base of his cock, slowly pulling out of you now. You mewl gently at that, the feeling of him leaving your body is an unwelcome one. But Astarion is not done yet. He kneels between your thighs and pats your inner thigh with his cock that is now losing its hardness. With a satisfied grin he lets go of it and presses a thumb to your fold, teasing it, watching his cum seep out of you. You blush heavily at that even though you can’t see what he’s seeing.

“Beautiful.” Vampire Lord comments more to himself than to you and remains still for a long moment, just appreciating the view. Then his eyes raise to your face. “Rest for a bit. When I said I’m going to fill your holes, I meant all of them.”

You nod eagerly despite your face burning.

You cannot wait.

[meet-you-at-the-north-star]

Save the Last Dance For Me

Summary: you and Dick have been dating in secret, until at a party he’s forced by circumstances (coff George Luz coff) to set things straight

Notes: fluff, jealousy

Word count: 1068

“I don't believe you actually have a boyfriend. You were saying that just to throw me off” The brown-eyed soldier insisted in a mocking way.

I smiled to myself and glanced furtively behind me, more or less where I knew the man I was secretely dating must have been.

“Oh you better believe it, George” I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, looking at him quite amused.

“Then who is it? Why is it such a secret?” He asked rolling his eyes.

“I'm really not sure you want to know” I smirked, and that was certainly no lie.

“Alright, alright” he raised his arms in surrender. “Tell you what, let's make a deal: I stop asking about this mysterious guy if you agree to dance with me.” The tone was hopeful: “Just one song” He specified, noticing my raised eyebrow.

I didn't see anything wrong with giving him one dance, so I agreed: “Okay, but I don't want to hear another word about it.” I warned him.

He flashed a toothy smile and offered me his hand, in such a funny and theatrical way that it made me burst out laughing. "You're an idiot"

“I know” He winked.

We began to move to the center of the wide room, where other couples were already dancing. He wasn't exactly a talented dancer and kept tripping over my feet, making us both laugh.

About a minute and a half into the song, we managed to find a slightly more synchronized rhythm. I looked up at his face and little by little his usual playful smile had disappeared, his eyes instead fixed on me with an unusually serious and intense look that left little room for misunderstandings.

Uh oh, I thought. This wasn’t good news. I had been too naive to think that accepting to dance with him wouldn’t send involuntary mixed signals.

“George…” I said, instinctively moving away to leave more space between our bodies.

The song we were dancing to came to an end just then. “One more song?” He half pleaded, his expression so hopeful that it broke my heart a little. I didn’t want to be the one to do this to him.

I looked at him gently. “I'm sorry, I can't” I started to take a step back, but he didn't let go of my left hand, still intertwined with his, almost as if he was struggling and fighting the urge to draw me back to him.

“George” I repeated, voice calm but with a hint of warning.

Before I could do or say anything else, I felt a slight shift of air and then a hand coming to rest lightly on my side. I didn't need to look to know who it belonged to.

George’s eyes widened and he immediately let go of my hand. “Major Winters!” He almost stood at attention. “I-I didn't see you there”

I finally allowed myself to shift my attention to Dick. His gaze was firmly fixated on George and he was barely blinking. I saw no trace of anger or irritation in it (though I knew he was quite good at disguising those), but a clear determination that spoke much louder than words.

“No need for formalities, private, this is a party. I trust that you're having fun?” His tone was calm and polite as usual, but for once almost unnaturally so. As a consequence, it came across as slightly menacing.

George must have sensed the trap, because he soon started babbling: “Yes, sir! I mean…a normal, regular amount of fun. Nothing special going on here. Just one dance” He really stressed the word one.

“I'm glad to hear that” Dick smiled, at last turning his attention towards me. “Because I was really looking forward to this next one. Can I have the honor, miss?”

My heart skipped a beat at that. Jealousy was a new but certainly rather good look on him.

“Of course you can, major” I decided to play along even though it was pretty clear, what he was doing.

When I looked to the side, George had already vanished into thin air. I gave a small chuckle. “You didn't need to terrorize him like that”

“I did no such thing” he said with a smirk, quickly intertwining our fingers, while his other hand was still firmly resting on my right side. The band began playing a slower tempo, romantic song and I gladly let him lead me into the music. He was a pretty good dancer. Then again, I was yet to find anything he couldn’t do well.

Both of my eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure? What happened to keeping secrecy above all?” I teased him.

“Well, it felt like the situation required that I come clean.” He whispered very close to my ear. “Besides, you didn't seem to mind all that much”

I felt a warm rush of adrenaline going through my body, and hoped I wasn't blushing outwardly as I was on the inside.

I recognized it as the effect only he had on me. Being in his arms felt so natural and right, it left no space for doubt in regards to my feelings for this man, and his for me. And I really didn't mind one bit.

“Who are you and what have you done to Dick Winters” I shook my head in disbelief, laughing.

“Does that mean that I should stop?” He inquired.

Without interrupting our slow swaying back and forth to the rhytmn, I placed both of my hands around his neck, bringing him closer, allowing myself to stare straight into his eyes. “Don't you dare”

I saw a brief flash of hesitation passing through those blue eyes, like an implicit request for permission, and I nodded, smiling.

“I've been waiting to do this all night” He gently cupped my face in his hands and kissed me, slowly but ardently, in front of everyone.

I could hear a few gasps and cheers in the background over the sound of the music playing, but when we turned around everybody had gone back to the party acting as if nothing happened.

“You know, major, your men will definitely talk after this” I jokingly protested.

I could feel his smile on my lips as he kissed me again: “Let them”

[saintslewis]

❝ 𝐂𝐎𝐙𝐘 ❞

𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 — 𝐋𝐇𝟒𝟒

˖ ࣪⭑ - pairing: lewis hamilton x fem!oc

˖ ࣪⭑ - summary: imagine you go for dinner at your neighbours house and you’re told you’re getting married? you better get cozy for this one!

˖ ࣪⭑ - warnings for this chapter: none

˖ ࣪⭑ - saint’s team radio: hey y’all…. i told you guys i don’t have a planned schedule for this series and i’m really starting to think i should 😭. i hope you guys enjoy this and lemme know if you wanna be tagged 🤭

masterlist

previous chapter • next chapter

"Renaissance yachtin' in capri!" Nadia sang as she entered the driveway of the Hamiltons only a week after the first dinner. Knowing her mother's dramatics, Thembi had once again requested her presence at the home except she had to drive straight to the Hamiltons house. Finding the situation weird but not giving it a second thought, she parked next to the all black G63, one of her many dream cars and one she hadn't seen the last time she was here. Thinking it was just a simple visit (and Thembi hadn't given her a chance to dress up after the phone call), Nadia fixed the Nike tee and adjusted the biker shorts she had worn throughout her chill Saturday morning.

Knocking on the wooden door felt weird, given that she was welcomed into the house before but she felt like something quite suspicious was going on but she couldn't even figure it out. Rubbing her eye whilst waiting for someone to answer the door, she wrote a few reminders on her phone to not forget to complete the work she had to take home from the previous day.

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?" Nadia had recognised the voice to be Nicola, adding a little laugh after her sentence. "I woke up late so this is valid." Nadia replied, giving a smile as she entered the house with Nicola making room for her to walk in. After the first dinner, the two women had kept in touch because of the growing friendship and Willow, who would send a voice message every day to say hi. But this time, Nadia couldn't hear the kids laughing or playing around the house.

Oh, this was serious.

"Is that Nadia, darling?" Linda's voice chimed through the entrance hallway leading to the living room. "Hello Mrs Hamilton." The young woman greeted, giving Linda a side eye as she held a glass of water in her hand. "Please Nadia, rather call me Linda. Do come through, my dear!"

"We're out by the patio, need the bathroom before we start?" Nicola asked, making Nadia way more confused the more footsteps she took. "Start with what?" She trailed off, seeing Nicola just smile and head into the direction of the patio with her following. This was officially starting to get weird but Nadia chose to push her thoughts aside for this lunch.

"Oh she's here! How was the drive, Nads?" Her mom spoke up as soon as Nadia's foot hit the wooden floor of the large patio. Different types of charcuterie boards were placed with juices and waters to accommodate everyone but the atmosphere seemed so different from the dinner last week, it rather felt like a meeting.

"Helloooo." Nadia dragged out the greeting as she eventually found an empty seat, once again, next to Lewis. The man was genuinely a sight to see as the sun shined on him as he sat comfortably on the patio bench chair. Wearing a black NY cap, a graphic tee once again with a pair of jeans this time and his jewellery on display, Lewis smiled up at her with a toothy grin.

After personally greeting everyone around the table and answering their fast questions, she plopped down onto the chair with a few of her bracelets clanging together. The familiar scents of each other from the last time they met fused together as they both studied each other once again.

Nadia's tattoos were finally on display, each dainty artwork fluttered around her skin with a few being inked in red. The most noticeable thing being her hair as she changed the colour to black and it reached past her back. The makeup was very simple and she only carried her phone and lipgloss in her hand as she placed the overly cracked device onto the table right next to Lewis'. When she smiled, he noticed a small gem on one of her front teeth and he definitely admired her style, not one he would regularly picture on a high school teacher.

"You know Nadia, we were just talking about how odd it would be to suddenly become famous within a matter of hours." Linda started, grabbing the large jug of grape juice to give the girl a glass. Helping the older woman, Nadia lifted herself off the chair and gave Lewis a look, non verbally asking if it was true and his eyebrows furrowed whilst pursing his lip upwards, making Nadia smile a little.

"Really? In what aspects?" She sat back down, lifting the glass to her gloss covered lips and only taking little sips. "Oh just how you'd maybe have to close off social media for a while and suddenly having people around you to help with everything." Linda said, taking her glass of water and eyeing Nadia's mom after her sentence. Tilting her head in confusion, she made sure to sit comfortably as this was definitely an interesting conversation.

"I never really thought about it like that actually. The way teams assemble within a matter of hours is something else but I always hear my students say that they're one hundred percent ready for fame." Nadia watched the two older women constantly look at each other with the older men being suspiciously quiet. "Oh and don't even get me started on the scandals you're put through." Nicola submerged from the house, holding a fresh pizza on a wooden board with an extra plate.

"Lewis, you'd know a thing or two about these things right?" Nicola smirked as she placed the plate on the opposite side of the table. Snapping her head towards Lewis, he sighed then nodded before straightening up his posture as it was before. Now Nadia was incredibly confused. Although she spent at least two hours in conversation with Lewis, she never really found out what exactly he does for a living even though he knew what she did as she went on a whole rant about her day with the teenagers. The way he had carried himself whilst speaking with everyone and just how he listened made it seem like he could be a businessman of some sort that clearly made his money and he made it well as he wore jewellery pieces that she could only dream of seeing.

A beat of silence passed and a knock on the door was heard. "Oh, that must be Gerald." Anthony got up in quite a hurry, with the table falling into conversation to detour the previous topic. After the man was welcomed onto the patio, he placed his small briefcase next to him on the chair with Nadia's suspicions growing more and more.

But what if he was really just there for lunch?

The word 'deactivate' kept being thrown around between Nicola, Thembi and Linda for several minutes, snapping Nadia and Lewis out of their conversation on her tattoos. "Nads, come here really quickly and bring your phone." Her mom ordered as the young girl walked to their side of the table. Standing over all three women, she held her phone in front of her mom's face. "How do you deactivate your Instagram? Nicola here made one for me but i don't want it anymore." Thembi asked, once again eyeing Linda.

Showing the directions on her own phone, Nadia then became distracted by her stepdad's question. "Nads, do you know when Rea's flight lands? Will you be okay to go?" He asked, slightly jumping at something. "Yes, I'll be fine. Her flight lands at like two in the morning so after here I'll just finish up some work then go to the airport early." Nadia responded, feeling her hand move a little as she spoke to James.

Thembi tapped her daughter's hand as Nadia focused back on her phone. Seeing her instagram page now logged out, she groaned at the thought of her completely forgetting her password to it. Plopping back into her seat defeated, Lewis eyed her then her phone that she placed on the table. "You good?" He asked, turning his body to look at her. "I think I  accidentally logged myself out of insta and i forgot where i wrote down the password." Nadia frowned a little as she clasped her hands together. Even though he didn't want to seem like he was smiling at her misery but the little pout she had on her face was adorable and obviously he wasn't going to admit that anytime soon.

"Okay, I cannot do this anymore." Anthony announced out as he sighed which caught everyone's attention. "Dad, what's going on?" Lewis asked worried, he had noticed his father was quiet most of the time but he brushed it off knowing that his father was usually like this.

"Son, listen. I know what I'm about to say will sound insane but I need you to listen very carefully. Along with you too, Nadia." Anthony stated. Linda then stood next to her husband in terror. "Wait, Anthony. Are you sure you want to do this right now?" She muttered.

And now the uneasy feeling came right back.

"Lewis, you know I care for you deeply however these past few weeks have been tough for you... and pr." His dad started off, earning a sigh from Lewis and a pinch on the bridge of his nose. Seeing Lewis stress like this was weird for Nadia and what exactly did his father mean by PR? Anyone could tell that he wanted to say something but chose to keep quiet.

Now sitting up properly, Nadia was intrigued with the entire situation and wondered how famous Lewis actually was.

"Linda and I, along with Nadia's parents and Nicola have decided that we wanted to help you to clean up your image a little more even though you are a private person. And for that, we've come up with the concept of a fake marriage between you and Nadia." Anthony concluded and took his seat.

It was as if the blood from Nadia completely left her face after that very last sentence however her face stayed extremely neutral. Her face rather snapped towards her parents who were avoiding eye contact with her.

The silence was so loud, the birds chirping ever so slightly as if they were part of the plan as well. Looking at everyone's face, anyone could tell that this had probably been discussed many times before. "What?" Nadia being the first one to say something, spoke in a monotone voice.

"Look we wanted to see how you two would get along when you first met and it had seemed to work very well. We're only really looking out for you, Lewis. These rumours have kinda taken a toll on you." Nicola voiced, seeing that their faces were stoic yet burning daggers into everyone's skulls.

Finally looking at each other, Lewis and Nadia's eyes met with no source of attraction to each other in that present moment. "This is crazy." Lewis muttered to himself as he shook his head whilst looking down at his shoes.

"Okay." Nadia said, crossing her arms and looked at her mom directly. "Okay?" Lewis grumbled with slightly narrowed eyes to the girl. "Yeah. Clearly this is important and stuff so I'll do it." Nadia responded with a calm facade but she was truly screaming on the inside, her leg shaking underneath the table. Shocked as he was at her nonchalant response to the situation, he slumped back and chose to not speak up in front of guests. Lewis wasn't frustrated in the slightest but he was just extremely confused.

"What about the details?" Lewis sighed, feeling through his beard and accepting his fate.

"Wait, you're actually doing this?" Thembi expressed. If anything, Thembi felt embarrassed to even coming up with this suggestion thinking that it was going to help the driver and his many social problems. "Ma, please tell us the details before we rethink doing this for you guys." Nadia deadpanned, grabbing a grape from one of the charcuterie boards displayed.

"Well. You would have to tell the world that you've been married for at least a year or two and I've already told your PR team, Lewis, to get everything ready before you announce. For now, you're only allowed to tell your closest friends and coworkers about this so that it doesn't seem suspicious that your friends didn't know of your marriage." Nicola started.

"Nadia, because you're now affiliated with Lewis, security and a team will have to assembled to be at your beck and call. Marie from Lewis' team will come over to help you choose potential candidates for your everyday team. Now the difficult part. You two have to be married legally because you know how people get, Lewis. They'll want evidence. And that's Gerald is here for." She concluded, gesturing to the guest to open his briefcase but god, did he feel awkward.

"Uh, hello. Here's the marriage certificate you two are meant to sign for the court to recognise it as an actual marriage." The poor man was red in the face as he shakily placed the certificate between Nadia and Lewis with a pen. With her freshly manicured hand, the girl picked the pen and signed underneath her name officially as a Mrs. She took a quick glance at Lewis' name and it seemed so familiar but the thing that intrigued her the most was the 'Sir' before anything.

Lewis had a good look at Nadia's side profile as he watched her sign the official papers. She didn't seem bothered with anything that was said, it was as if everything just defeated her and she just accepted it. If there's one thing he noticed was that it looked like she didn't have a clue about who he was at all and that was so fascinating to him.

She handed the pen to him, their hands touching a little with the warmest touch as they made eye contact. They both couldn't read each other's eyes, only dark brown pupils staring into each other's souls. Lewis then also signed with a bit of hesitation, the reality falling on him as he dragged the pen to the very last of his signature.

"Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Hamilton." Gerald broke the silence as he uttered his words. He quickly packed his briefcase and walked away from the table with a small wave to everyone to escape from the awkwardness of the lunch table.

"You only have to do this for a year or so then you can either divorce publicly or privately. And the living situation has to be changed. Nadia, you will have to be almost everywhere with Lewis now that you've signed that certificate so I am not sure how you will handle this at your workplace. Do you have an active passport?" Anthony ended with his question to which the quiet girl just nodded.

"Wait, where am I going to live?" Nadia asked, eventually snapping out of the quiet demeanour she had. "Well you'll have to speak to your husband about that." Linda smiled at the two, the smile slowly falling when seeing their deadpanned faces.

Sighing out for the final time, Lewis sighed and lightly tapped Nadia on the arm signaling for her attention. He held his car keys in his hand and she knew that she had to go because being there any longer would've suffocated her. The newly married couple simultaneously stood up and gathered their belongings, making everyone's faces grow into confusion.

"Where are you guys going?" Thembi asked, standing up as well with a worried expression. All Lewis did was shrug as he fixed his shirt and move out of the way so that Nadia could walk before him. "Bye everyone! Your charcuterie boards looked amazing by the way, Linda." It was as if someone completely different had greeted the group goodbye because her mood changed in a matter of seconds as if nothing happened.

"What the hell did we just do?" Nicola asked, rubbing her forehead as she watched the two walk away and out of the house.

-

"You've arrived at your destination." The automated voice rang through the large car as it approached a large black gate behind an elegant building.

The drive to the unknown destination was not as quiet as they thought it would be. When entering the car, all Nadia could do was to laugh as soon as Lewis entered the car so much so that a few tears of laughter came out. It was a sound that he appreciated to hear and he joined her in her laughter. They couldn't believe that they even went through that, mainly laughing at the fact they went into the house for lunch and left as a married couple.

It was quite the lengthy drive but it seemed much quicker as they spent the time speaking about what happened at lunch yet they never got to the topic of his job and also because they decided to play music to get rid of the negative mood they both had.

“I thought you were going to kidnap for a second. I still do.” Nadia joked as he playfully rolled his eyes at her. “Where are we even?” She looked out of the window to see the back of the large building, eventually spotting a small yet visible sign on the wall reading ‘Harrods VIP parking’.

Letting the smallest gasp escape her mouth, she gazed at Lewis once again who was typing on his phone and wondered what he did for a living for him to be able to decide to park his car here. The rumours from this department store were unbelievable so to see them bloom in real life felt surreal to Nadia.

Lewis definitely saw Nadia to be a good friend to him and could keep her around his circle and vice versa. It was a sign that a friendship was brewing between each other and they’re somewhat grateful for that although it happened so quickly.

“Seriously bruv, where are you taking me? I have to get home to watch catfish.” She asked, flicking her hair back and he laughed once more. “Bruv?” He said in between his giggles. “Okay my pookie wookie buddy bear, where are you taking me?” She said, fluttering her eyelashes at him which made him burst into so much more laughter.

“Since you want to know so badly, we’re going to Cartier to get our wedding rings.” He smiled a toothy grin, turning off the ignition of the car while looking at her stunned expression.

“…what?”

taglist: @non-stop-imagines @folkloresthings @tispys-blog @userlando @lorarri @thisismeracing @thatsdemko @myescapefromthislife @slytherinjimin3nthusiast @jamie2305 @like-fire-love-blog @sugardontbesweet @simpfortoomanymen @mauvecherie-writes @queenshikongo3 @eugene-emt-roe @deepgothfiremuffin @18754389 @cherry2stems @anubisnoir @goldsainz

dividers by: @cafekitsune

faceclaim for nadia: @/unclewaffles_ on ig!

all pictures from pinterest and ig!

[a-boca-do-inferno]

sex etiquette, free therapy & sincericide (david 8 x reader)

summary: David has many skills built into his design. Luckily for (y/n), trying is one of them.

warnings: swearing, nakedness, mentions of smut, slight angst, fluff

words: 1.0k

notes: hiii. i missed writing for him. could be read as a continuation to love or trust, or a standalone. either way i hope you enjoy x

David is oddly amusing after sex. He will awkwardly, although conceptually contradictory to his unhuman nature, walk to the bathroom and just stay there for a whole minute. Then he will come back — still without a word —, with his perfect naked body only illuminated by the low blue light in (y/n)’s quarters and frozen blue eyes that advert from hers at any cost. And it’s in that moment her gaze meets his, briefly, that sometimes she wonders if he ever regrets paying her those visits at night. 

Ever since the crew awakened, (y/n) couldn’t help but notice the difference of treatment David displayed between her and their colleagues. It was as subtle as a lingering touch whenever he brought her tea, or as blatant as his toothy smile directed at her whilst she studied some coordinates for the next expedition. Either way, it simply seemed impossible to escape the android’s overwhelming attention over herself. He hovered like a heavy cloud, but caused its opposite effect on the girl with his somewhat disconcerting warm presence. So, it was only natural their acquaintance would grow to be more intimate as time went on, resulting on that strange, casual relationship of theirs. 

It didn’t have a name or a clear goal. For now, (y/n) enjoyed his company — and his bedside manners, of course — very much and enough to want him around even after having sex. And that’s why his alien demeanour bothered her so much. Granted, this time she just had to speak up.  

“You always do that”, she muses. 

Sitting right next to her on the bed, mimicking the way her body is inclined on the headboard, David looks up at last. He has a neutral expression that turns into light confusion, flexing his eyebrows. “Always do what?” 

“You stand there, quiet, distant, as if you weren’t almost fucking me through a wall just now”, her tone is obviously comic, but it doesn’t seem to affect David that much. “I’m just kidding, by the way.” 

“I know”, he says, not really showing any sign of contempt. But then again, he never really did. His blonde hair is dishevelled and (y/n) puts it on place, causing him to flash her a smile before continuing, “and I am aware I have quite a lot to learn about sex etiquette.” 

“It’s more than that and you know it, David.” 

He frowns. “I don’t follow.” 

“Are you afraid?”, she then asks, taking a deep breath when the crease on his forehead only thickens. “Of us? Of me? Does this thing we have... I don’t know, frighten you?” 

His faint smile flutters a bit as his eyes travel the room. “I wouldn’t say fright. I believe I am incapable of experiencing such thing, as it is not in my design”, as low as his voice is, she can hear him clearly, yet his tone gives her nothing to consider. David is just plain about things, and although (y/n) appreciated his honesty, in that moment she only felt annoyed by it. Noticing her sour face, David inquires, “have I upset you with my words?” 

“Not really”, she shrugs, but fails to convince him of her lie. The girl sighs in defeat, closing her eyes for a second. “I just... I can’t understand how you can do what you do with me, hold me close, kiss me so passionate, and tell me that this is all just part of your design. It is not. I can’t... I can’t accept that.” 

“That is not what I meant, and you didn’t let me finish my sentence.” 

“So finish it.” 

 “You don’t frighten me, but I must admit I am uncertain of this relationship”, David explains, gazing intently at her. “You are aware of my limitations. I am not human, and I can’t provide you with the fulfilment a male of your species would and that which you probably will need, eventually. Emotional and physical wise.” 

(y/n) only hums in thought, nodding once. She then opens up her bathrobe, revealing her naked body to his eyes one more time. “What do you think when you look at me?”, she offers him a small grin, caressing her own curves as she waits for his answer. Some of his liquid remains still ran down her inner thighs and it almost aroused her again, but she contained herself. That question was important. 

David’s eyes scan her up and down as he states with a gravelly voice, “I think about having you for myself forever.” 

There is pause, and her insides burn with his words. (y/n) then scoffs, shaking her head as she covers herself again. “David, you can’t say things like that.” 

With genuinely curious eyes, he retorts, “why?” 

“Because I am alone in this giant piece of metal floating in middle of space for two years. And then you tell me this. How am I supposed to react?”  

“I simply responded your inquiry, (y/n)”, he mumbles, and there is no indignation to his voice. It is collected as ever, although his confused expression just gave way to a slightly more concerned one. “I don’t see how I could help your feelings, and I am truly sorry for that. However, perhaps... I could try.”  

“You can’t, David”, (y/n) sighs, taking his hand into her own. His pale fingers instantly curl against hers and she can’t hide a sad smile looking at them. “Nobody can, I guess. I’m just using you as my free therapist at this point, that’s all.”  

David stares at her for a moment and simply nods. “Do continue, then.”  

She shakes her head, another bitter smile painting her lips as she does so. “You know what? Forget I ever said anything, you’re right. You can’t and shouldn’t have to help me. Let’s just fuck again and call it a night.”  

David stops (y/n) halfway when she tries to straddle his body, raising his brows in a quick realization. “But I want to”, he whispers, squeezing her arms as he holds her in place. He then lets her continue to move onto his hips, pulling her close enough to feel her hot breath against his mouth. David grins at the surprise spread on her features, brushing their lips together, “do you?” 

They kiss, eventually, and his tongue takes her places (y/n) didn’t think were possible in the middle of nowhere. His embrace around her waist gives only enough room for her to catch her breath, before she rests her forehead over his. 

“Try me.” 

[elenadvrx]

Requesting reader and nanami handing out candy to trick or treaters 🤓

heya! thanks for the request!

just a little note: i don't celebrate halloween so i've never done trick or treating, but i hope this turns out well and you enjoy it!

(apologies for the delay asdfdfien was caught up with real life matters boohoo)

enjoy! ◡̈

------------------------------------------------------------

you're nervous.

biting your nails, you pace back and forth in the living room while the hustle and bustle of kids going door to door, excitedly asking for candies is ongoing in your neighbourhood.

it's your first time doing trick or treating and you're nervous you'll mess it up somehow — stuttering your words, dropping the candies as you're handing them over or even running out of them! oh no, what if you run out of candies?

"sweetheart, it'll be fine. we just need to hand out candies if anyone rings the bell. sit down and relax with me, yeah?"

you look over at your husband, nanami, sprawled out on the sofa with an amused smile. he has been observing you for the past five minutes, worrying over nothing. how cute.

"but what if we ran out of candies? the kids will be disappointed a-and i'd feel bad, kento" you've gone back to pacing before–

ding! "trick or treats!"

oh no, no you're not ready yet, the–

"sweetheart?" nanami cupped your face in his hands, directing you to look at him. "breathe. you'll be fine. we'll be fine. just smile and give them the treats, and they'll be on their merry way."

kissing your forehead, he direct you to your front door with a hand placed on the small of your back.

yeah, okay. smile and give out treats. smile and give out treats. easy enough.

nanami swings open the door to reveal a group of kids with an age range from four to six years old, each of them wearing an outfit of different disney princesses. so cute!

"hello! who do we have here? we have princesses gracing us with their presence! would you like some candies and chocolates?" you crouched down to get closer to their height and interacted with them. seeing their toothy grins and energetic selves, you felt at ease.

giving each of them a handful of treats, you waved them goodbye as they run happily towards their parents to head to the next house.

"that turned out great." hands on your hips, you look towards nanami with a satisfied hum. he was already looking at you affectionately, a soft smile on his face.

"see, you have nothing to worry about. you're a natural. we just need to do this till our treats runs out." he tugs you into your home, a hand soothing and caressing your back before heading to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water for you.

sipping the water, you sit down on the sofa to finally relax from your prior nerves. as nanami sits down next to you, you rest your head on his shoulder, feeling content that you're able to do these things with your beloved.

the rest of the night goes smoothly where the both of you would coo over the small kids in their outfits. teenagers and adults would also come asking for treats, laughing as you see how some of them would dress in a funny manner.

then, after all your treats run out, the both of you cuddled together on your bed. laying on top of your husband, you let out a satisfied sigh as you let yourself think about tonight.

"i'm so lucky to have you with me, kento. i love you." you finish your sentence with a sweet peck on his cheek.

"i love you, sweetheart. i love doing things with you. and uh-" he cleared his throat, seemingly hesitant to say his next words. at that, you peeped up at him to observe his expressions. your narrow your eyes at him — is it just you or does his cheeks seem to look a little darker in the moonlight?

"you uh– you looked good when you were interacting with the kids. radiant even, when you smile and and when you laugh. i can't help but think of you doing the same when we have our own children. do you… i'm ready, if you're ready." he whispered the last part, afraid of what your answer might be.

"kento, darling, yes!" flustered, but happy nonetheless, you peppered kisses all over his face which gradually becomes warmer, feeling bashful from your affections.

"i'm ready to build a family with you." you hug him tightly, burrowing your face on his chest.

chuckling, nanami drops a kiss to the top of your head. "i'm ready to build a future with you, sweetheart."

[askspookyfox]

Wow, my artist, my guy, thanks for a whole lotta nothing for 3 years. It's a'ight. It's fine. Cool cool cool cool. Don't worry my sinners, I do still exist! Imma try to make plans to make a dramatic return and have an explaination for everything, but the timing just isn't quite right. Those of you who still watch this blog, I 'presh you. ✌️ Until then, I hope y'all been taking good care of October in my absence (and by 'good care', I mean annoy the heck outta her, heh).

Mod Mutt: Heeeeeyyy.... So... 'Bout droppin that ball that I mentioned in my last post... Three years, huh? My bad, y'all. 😅

As it was stated in that post, I had some serious financial priorities that I needed a second job that demanded a lot of my free time (thanks student loans, always a blast whenever you sap up a third of my paycheck every month 👍👍👍). As of 2023, even though some things are new in my life, I’m still technically in the same situation as I was back in 2020. It’s really hard to have the energy and motivation to do art in general and when I do, I usually couldn’t do more than a sketch before I tuck it away and don’t finish. I’m knee deep in a burn-out, stuck in a cycle of working two jobs and taking care of adulting shit on my weekends. 

Honestly, I’m tired of living this way. 

I feel like a shell of who I used to be, giving my life to work. I miss the creativity that comes with art and telling stories. I adore watching my best friend do their October’s blog, year after year, and every year, I get the inspiration from them but lack the time to jump back into it. Such as this year, it’s just too late as we only have a week left in the month. 

However, if you’ll have me, as a New Year’s resolution for next year, I want to refocus back to art and sharing Spook’s stories and help Night push October’s storyline along with Spook’s help. If this means having to work on Spook posts once a week every week leading up to October 2024, then so be it! I can’t guarantee anything, I can’t make promises as life do still take priority, but I do have a lot of sketches and answers to your questions sitting in my computer, waiting to be completed, so who knows what you’ll see! For right now, please accept my apologies for literally disappearing on everyone in 2020. I want to do better and I want to bring Spook and all of his scary toothy sassiness back to you. Thank you to those who’s still around, I hope that you’ll come back in 2024.

Until then, stay spooky!

[verfound]

WIP Wednesday: 04.24.2024

So. So. About that Six Sentence Sunday...

Before you click the cut, I need y'all to remember two things: 1) I've already shared the first scene of Ch1. Y'all know who the real soulmates are. 2) It is always Lukanette Endgame 'round these parts. You guys trust me, right? Even when my Irish flares up? 😇 (...er. My Joss flares up?)

That being said...

“Excuse…oh my gosh, Luka???”

He looked up at the voice, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to place the voice. There was something familiar about it he couldn’t quite grasp, and when he partially closed his locker door to get a better look at the girl who had spoken seeing her didn’t help. She was pretty, sure, if you liked the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, preppy look. She also had a familiar face, but again that last degree of connection escaped him. Her eyes were wide and sparkling as she stared at him, though, and her hands were clasped over her chest. Her mouth had also dropped open.

“Oh my gosh, it is you!” she gasped, her mouth curling into a pearly-toothed smile. It was a celebrity smile, one he recognized all too well. One he was seeing more and more of his classmates settle into the longer they studied at the prestigious Saint-Saëns. “I didn’t realize you applied here!”

“Do…I know you?” he asked, his brow furrowing as he searched for a connection — any connection — to the girl in the blue dress beside him. Her smile slipped a…lot, actually. Her entire presence seemed to deflate with his question.

“…no, I suppose you wouldn’t,” she said, her voice soft and sad. “We went to Dupont together. Different homerooms, but we had some classes together. I…kind of had a huge crush on you. Actually…”

She looked around the locker room nervously before leaning in. She glanced up at him with hopeful eyes that had him instinctively leaning back.

“Can we talk? Alone?” she whispered.

“Uh…” he started, but then her smile was back and she was grabbing his arm.

“Great!” she said, and the next thing he knew she had hauled him out of the locker room, down the hall, and into one of the empty practice rooms. She turned back to him with another wide, toothy smile, and the next thing he knew she was sticking her arm out at him. “I’ve been dying to show you this for ages.”

Dark blue words — a dark blue word, one single, solitary word — was stamped across her otherwise bare forearm.

Here.

And he’d thought his words were nondescript…

The longer he stood there, staring at her arm, the more her smile fell.

“You…don’t remember, do you?” she asked.  He looked up in shock, his eyebrows lifting, and she sighed as she brought her arm back to herself.  “It was…it was your first day at school.  Mlle. Mendeleieev handed out those worksheets, and you turned to pass the stack to me, and you said…”

“…here,” he whispered, and her eyes closed as a shiver raced through her.  She nodded, a warm smile on her face.

“And I said thank you,” she said, and he wasn’t sure if that same blissful euphoria — the acknowledgment of it’s you, finally — also washed through him or if that chill was just shock.  “I didn’t notice it at first.  I was auditioning for the weather girl competition back then, so I was in costume all the time.  I wore my raincoat everywhere, since not all of our teachers let me carry the umbrella indoors.  So I didn’t notice it at first, and then I wasn’t sure, but…I know it’s you, Luka.”

“…h-how?” he asked, like an idiot, but really.  How had she known for so long and said…nothing?  How could she be so sure?

“I just…I felt so drawn to you, and that moment is so clear in my memory,” she sighed.

It wasn’t in his.

He barely remembered the girl who had been sitting behind him, or the words muttered to each other.  Not like he had always so clearly remembered other aspects of that day, like libraries and books and a deeper set of blue eyes and…

…but she knew his words.

Nobody knew his words.

Well…nobody except his sister.  And Rose.  And his parents.  And Marinette.

He didn’t make a habit of advertising them.

“So…you’re saying we’re…” he started, his mouth suddenly dry.  She took his hand, but there were no sparks racing up his arm.  No calm reassurance that yes, it’s you, I’ve found you, finally.  Shouldn’t he be feeling…something?

He just felt numb.

“Soulmates,” she sighed dreamily.  He felt himself nod.

“Ok.  Cool.  You’re my soulmate, er…” he looked up, frowning, and she giggled as she flashed another one of those screen-ready smiles at him.

“Aurore,” she said, holding her hand out by his face, like she expected him to kiss it or something.  He took her fingers in his hand and brought it down to shake, nodding.  Her smile slipped at that.

“Right,” he said.  “Aurore.”

[this-do-be-therapeutic]

Like Me Again

Eddie Munson x FReader

Summary: Everything is going swimmingly with Eddie. I could not be happier. But one day, everything just takes a turn for the worse. Angst, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 3,883

A/N: Heyyyyyy. I'm going through some good ol' life shit, abandonment issues for the win, am I right? So I'm sorry if this is a mess and not well done, I was literally sobbing while writing this. Also, the reader has a good relationship with her father, I'm sorry if that seems unrealistic. I just like my dad and refuse to write anything about a bad dad.

This is the longest thing I've ever written. I'm not very proud of it, but I hope you enjoy. <3

Eddie and I have been dating for just a little over 3 months now and everything is going great. We have movie nights every single week on Friday at his house. We have a going out date every other week on Wednesday. We even have some spontaneous dates every now and then. I stay out of his Hellfire stuff because I simply don’t understand D&D. And we’re obviously together every day during lunch. Which is where we’re at now, lunch on Friday. 

I land in the seat next to him with a bit of a huff, exhausted from my last period. I place my chin on his shoulder, excited to see him. “Hi Eddie Bear.”  

He gives me a small smile and pats my head before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “Hey sweetheart. Boring class?” 

“Ugh, yes. We were working on rhetorical analysis. I don’t understand it at all.” He chuckles a little and gives me a little kiss on the lips. He then feeds me the food that I brought with me, understanding that I simply could not be bothered.  

“Are you excited for movie night tonight?” He asks me. 

“You know I am. What are we watching tonight?” 

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.” 

“Noooooo, you know how I am with horror movies!” 

Eddie gives me a big toothy grin. “That’s exactly why we watch them. It’s fun when you have to hide in me. And then you have to stay the night because you’re too scared to go home.” 

I give him the biggest pout I could muster. “You just like it when I suffer.” 

He laughs out loud, “You know I do!” 

That night I head over to his house already wearing my comfy pajamas and my fluffiest blanket- it’s Eddie’s favorite to cuddle under. Before I can even knock on the door, Eddie is opening it, having heard my car. 

I just have to stare at his glorious countenance, thinking about how lucky I got to be with such a handsome and cute man, his big brown eyes always carrying such love and kindness for me. His smiles that never seem to not light up a room. And it’s all mine. 

After staring at him for just a little longer, I realize he’s trying to get my attention and give him a smile. “Are you okay? You’ve been staring at me in silence for 30 seconds.” 

“Yeah. I’m wonderful. Just thinking about how much I love you and ow lucky I am.” 

Eddie practically melts at that, looking down with a huge smile trying to hide his blush. “You’re just trying to butter me up so we don’t have to watch the scary movie, aren’t you Princess?” 

I bite my lip with a little shake of my head. “Maybe.” 

He grabs my arm and pulls me close, holding me against his body. “It’s not going to work. I’ve learned of your temptress ways.” We both laugh a little as he wraps his arm around me, shutting the door at the same time. Eddie places a quick kiss on the top of my head before muttering, “I love you, too.” That’s always been my favorite thing to hear from him. 

We head over to the couch and set up everything we’ll need for our movie session, popcorn, skittles, m&ms, all the good stuff.  

After the movie is over, I’m clinging to Eddie with my entire being, my arms wrapped around one of his and my legs wrapped tight around his hips. He plays with the ends of my hair as he laughs at me. “Come on baby girl, it wasn’t that bad.” 

I turn my head to look at him with a small glare and pout, which just makes him laugh harder at my predicament. “Yes it was. It was awful. I can’t believe you made me watch that. 

Eddie simply shakes his head and picks me up- I refuse to place my feet on the floor when I’m scared. The monsters might be under ALL of the furniture- and takes me to his bed to sleep. He wraps his arms around me just as tight as my legs are around him, kissing the top of my head before whispering a sweet and gentle goodnight.  

In the morning, he sends me off with a full belly of eggs, toast, and apple juice, along with a kiss and a request that I call him when I get home so he knows I’m safe. Which I do, of course. It ends up being a 3 hour phone call before my mom gets mad and makes me get off so she can talk to one of her friends about a lunch they’re having. 

Monday morning, Eddie comes to pick me up for school. He comes and knocks on my door, doesn’t give me a kiss on the head for some reason, opens the van door for me and drives us to school. 

“Hey Eddie Bear. How’d you sleep?” 

“Good.” He lets out a sigh having to answer that simple question. He would usually tell me about how he would have slept much better if I were with him, or tell me about a crazy dream that he had. But he probably just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, we all have those days. 

“Did you have any fun dreams?” 

“No.”  

The rest of the car ride is spent in an uncomfortable silence. 

When we get to school, he comes and opens my door for me and offers his hand to help me out. I take it and go to hold it after I’m down, but he just pulls his hand away from me. He doesn’t talk to me for the rest of the morning, just brushing off every comment I make in attempt for conversation. 

When lunch comes around, I come and sit in my chair, trying to be more cheerful than usual for his sake, and rest my head on his shoulder, but he moves to get me off. “Hey Eddie Bear.” 

“Hey.” 

“How was class?” 

“Same as usual.”  

I nod and look at him. “Can you look at me for a second?” He does. His lips are set in a stiff line and his eyes still hold the same loving look in them, but with a feeling that I don’t quite understand. “Are you okay?” 

He nods and goes back to staring at the table, not even touching his lunch. I can tell something’s wrong, but I trust he’ll tell me when he’s ready. We agreed to never hide something that is bugging us from the other, deciding that communication is one of the biggest and most important parts of our relationship. 

After school, I get the same treatment as I did this morning. He walks me to my door and is about to walk away when I grab his hand. “Eddie, do you want to come in? Talk?” He shakes his head and continues to stare at the ground. “Okay, I love you. I hope tomorrow is better.” He simply nods before leaving me. I watch him get in his van and drive away before I head inside.  

When I get to my bed is when my brain starts working in overdrive, thinking about every piece of our interaction today and on Friday. Everything seemed normal and perfect on Friday. What did I do wrong? 

Am I too annoying? 

Am I too clingy? 

Is he tired of me?  

Is he cheating on me and that’s why he looked so off and maybe guilty during lunch? 

I can feel the tears want to start running, but I hold them back. No, I know he loves me. He would never do anything to hurt me. He tells me all the time that I am the light of his life. But what the hell is going on? 

This continues on Tuesday. But when I come to lunch today, Eddie’s interacting happily with the boys and I feel the pain in my chest lighten slightly. He’s finally in a better mood. It was just a fluke. 

However, when I sit down and try to hold his hand, he goes quiet and quickly moves his hand out of the way. I close my fist and shake it a little before pulling it back into my own lap. 

“Hey guys, hey Eddie Bear. What were you talking about?” I look to Eddie to answer my question, but it’s Gareth who speaks up. 

“We were just talking about how epic the last campaign was and how excited we are for the one tonight,” He speaks animatedly, something that Eddie does, did, a lot, too. 

That makes me smile, happy that Eddie is still doing something he’s passionate about while he’s going through such a hard time. “That’s awesome! Do you think I could maybe come and watch tonight? I’ve been kind of curious how your campaigns go.” 

Eddie is quickly shaking his head. “No, you wouldn’t understand anything that’s going on.” 

“Oh, um, okay. Sorry.” Did he just call me dumb? I mean, I might not understand what’s going on, but there’s always the possibility that I might. My heart sinks a little. Eddie has never said anything to me that could be rude. Ever. 

I space out for the rest of the lunch period, thinking about what Eddie just said, and how he’s been acting. Maybe he thinks I’m just too dumb to be his girlfriend. I have pretty average grades, but I don’t have much street smarts, I guess.  

Maybe I just need to learn about it on my own, then I can impress him and maybe try to either make my own character or even my own campaign! I can even ask my dad- who started playing a couple years ago with a few of his buddies- for help!  

I smile a little before the bell rings, blow Eddie a quick kiss and head off to my next period with a pep in my step. 

When Eddie drives me home, I go in and raid my dad’s stack of D&D books in the corner of our dining room, reading through everything and taking notes.  

The next day when Eddie cancels our Wednesday date to do who knows what, I’m not as disappointed as I imagined I would be, just excited to get back to learning about the things that my boyfriend is passionate about.  

The treatment continues all through to Friday. When I sit down for lunch, I turn my entire body to face Eddie. 

“Hey Eddie Bear, so I’ve been thinking about our movie date tonight. I kind of want to just talk to you instead of watch the movie. I’ve been working on something I think you’ll absolutely love.” 

He won’t even make eye contact with me as he says, “Um, sure. I guess we can do that.” As the days have been going on, Eddie has been looking less and less frustrated. At least with everyone else. It hurts, but I’m going to make everything better tonight, I just know it. 

So when I show up that night with my pajamas- and both a character sheet and a fun campaign that my dad helped with- in my backpack instead of wearing them, I’m literally dancing around as I wait for Eddie to open the door after I knock.  

When he does, I launch myself into his arms, hugging him as tight as I can, and he just holds his arms up in the air, as if hugging me back might hurt him. So I let him go and go sit on his couch. “Hey Eddie Bear! Are you ready to have your socks absolutely blown off?” 

He scratches at the back of his head and looks down at his feet, mumbling a little, “I’m not wearing socks,” which is the closest to a real conversation I’ve had with all week, so I giggle for a good five seconds before I get a hold of myself. 

“Okay, well I’m about to blow your mind. At least I hope so.” I pull out all the papers that I had carefully placed in a little folder to present them to him. 

“What is this?” He takes it and flips through the first few pages not really looking at them.  

“Well,” I start, drawing out the l, “I know I haven’t exactly been the best girlfriend and haven’t been showing an interest in your favorite game, so I did a bunch of research and made my own character! I even had my dad help me write a campaign!” He plops down on the recliner next to the couch as he starts actually reading through it.  

When he finishes, he clears his throat and says, “This is sweet and I appreciate the thought, but I still don’t think you would understand anything that happens in the game.”  

I deflate only a little. “But that’s the great part, my dad agreed to help me learn everything about it! He and his friends are starting a new campaign soon and they’re going to make it a little easier for me to learn, so I can finally come play with you!” 

He runs his hand over his face in exasperation with a small groan. “But I don’t want you to come play with us, alright? You happy? Is that what you wanted to hear?” 

Now that’s what deflates me completely. My face falls and I feel my tears threatening to come back, but I refuse to cry over something like this. OF course, he wouldn’t want me to come play with them. This is something he does with his friends, we spend enough time together. “Oh, um, I’m sorry for overstepping. I understand why you wouldn’t want me to play with you guys.” Eddie just looks at me in silence, not giving away anything he’s thinking about through his expression. 

“Do you,” I start, my voice cracking so I clear my throat, “do you think we could maybe watch a movie now?” 

“You said you didn’t want to watch one, so I didn’t rent one.” He is continuing to be very short with me. 

“Oh, can I still spend the night though?” 

“I think it would be best if you left, honestly.” 

I officially feel a tear slide down my cheek as I nod and stand up. “Okay, I love you. I’m sorry I upset you.” I pick up my stupid papers and shove them in my backpack before leaving. I take a glance back at him before I leave. He’s sitting with a hand over his mouth, his leg bouncing as he stares at the wall away from me.  

When I get home, I immediately run to my room, sobbing silently into my pillow, hoping nobody else in the house can hear me.  

As I lie there, I think about other ways that I could try to be a better girlfriend, what else I can do to make him like me again.  

I spend the rest of the weekend trying to hide my hurt feelings from my family and not looking forward to Monday.  

On Sunday night, Eddie calls. He tells me he can’t give me a ride to school tomorrow. Which is fine, I can’t bear to continue to be a disappointment to him. 

I don’t sit with the group during lunch. I go to the library, still trying to figure out what I can do to appeal to my boyfriend once more.  

When I first walk in, I take a look at the bulletin board, and suddenly a lightbulb goes off. Sitting in the middle of the board is a flyer to Corroded Coffin’s performance at the Hideout every Saturday night. Of course! Eddie and I don’t share much of an interest in music, but I can learn to love it! I can feel my spirit start to return. 

As soon as school lets out, I run to the music store. I go through the cassettes and do my best to remember the bands that Eddie loves, and buy every one that I can find.  

I continue to not sit with the boys at lunch, instead I sit in the library listening to as much metal music as I can. I do the same when I’m at home and even in my car. And on Friday, after Eddie finds me to tell me that he can’t watch a movie with me tonight, I go shopping for a more metal outfit that I can wear to his show tomorrow. I end up with a black tank and a black ripped skinny jeans, finding some chains that match Eddie’s, loving the fact that I’ll get to match my sexy boyfriend. 

When I show up to the Hideout, Corroded Coffin is already set up and on stage, about ready to start their performance. I look around and find some other metalheads, a few of them girls, and a few drunk dudes strewn about the joint.  

Eddie starts playing a song I don’t recognize, and he looks completely in his element. I imagine it’s similar to how he looks when he is playing D&D, and it just makes me fall deeper in love with him.  

When he starts singing, I can’t help but cheer along with all the other metals, remembering all those nights that Eddie would sing my favorite songs to me after we would watch a horror movie to help calm me down.  

When the song ends he takes a hold of the microphone to speak, “This next one goes out to my favorite fan,” he must have seen me! I’m so glad I put in the extra effort to be here. “Bethany.” Then a slower song starts, and I immediately recognize it as a song that he always sang to me.  

I look at the other girls and can tell which one is Bethany. All the other ones are looking at her and giving her knowing looks.  

When I look up, I see Eddie looking right at her, playing and singing for her. So I leave.  

When I make it to my car, I slam my forehead into the steering wheel with a scream before I start sobbing into the silence. I rip off the ugly chain that was supposed to match him, not caring that it ripped the belt loops on my pants. Rub at the makeup I put on to match the other girls and come to a decision. 

I have to end things with Edie. 

He made it pretty obvious that things were over between us, he just didn’t have the balls to do the messy breakup thing. So I’ll do it for him. On Monday. 

On Monday, I get to school before Eddie does, and I leave a note in his locker asking to meet up at the spot in the woods after school. If he thinks it’s for a drug deal, he won’t back out. He needs all the money he can get to take Bethany out on nice dates like he did me. 

After school, I let him get to the spot first, that way he won’t have a chance to see me and run.  

When I get there, I call out to him. He turns and his eyes widen as he stiffens. My heart tightens as I look at him, still absolutely in love with him. 

“Edward.” He winces. I never use his legal name. 

“Y/N. What’s going on?” 

“Nothing. Just decided I could show some mercy on you and do this for you. We’re over. I can’t do this anymore.” 

His brows furrow. “Do this for me? Sweetheart, do you think I want to break up with you?” 

“You’ve made it pretty damn obvious. Especially on Saturday night when you dedicated a song to another girl.”  

“You came to my show?” 

“Yes, Eddie! I came to your show! Like I should have the whole time, because that’s what a good girlfriend would do! I’m sorry I’m such a shitty girlfriend and I didn’t support you as much as I should have.” My emotions are starting to pour over once again as I feel my throat tighten and hear my voice break. “I’m so sorry I drove you away. I didn’t mean to. I just wish you could have told me before you decided I wasn’t worth it anymore. I would do anything to make you happy.” At this point the tears flowing hot and free. I can’t even see Eddie from how my eyes are watering. 

I’m shocked when he pulls me into him, burying his face in my hair. “Baby girl, you are not a bad girlfriend. Shit,” I hear his voice break now too. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like that, I’m so sorry. I don’t want to break up. I just got so scared.” 

“W-Why would you get scared?” 

“After you told me that you were thinking about how lucky you are, it got me thinking. About how you could do so much better. And I thought that if you looked at me long enough you’d realize that and just leave me. So I shut down and shut you out. I’m so sorry.” He starts rocking us back and forth. 

“B-But I love you so much,” a whole new wave of tears starts pouring down my face as I think about how much I really do. “You’re the best boyfriend I could ever have. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I thought you were getting tired of me because I wasn’t interested in all the stuff you are.” 

“Is that why you learned about D&D? Because you wanted me to like you?” I nod. “And why you came to my show on Saturday?” 

“Mhm. Even bought a whole new outfit to match you and everything.” 

“Oh baby girl, I’m so sorry you felt like that.” He kisses the top of my head again. “I promise I love you. I could never get tired of you.” 

“So,” I sniffle, “who’s Bethany and why did you sing that song to her? I thought that was only for me.” 

“Bethany is our biggest supporter. She gave us large donations after our first performance so we could get new instruments. And she specifically requested that song. Some of our audience likes more boring music like you.” 

“Hey!” I pull out of his embrace to smack his arm. “Not cool man.” He laughs and cups both my cheeks to give me a gentle kiss, the first one in so long.  

When we pull away, we both have huge smiles, and when I look in his eyes, I can see the love he has for me back in his eyes. “So is she still your favorite fan?” 

“Not if you’re a fan, Princess.” He messes up my hair but I don’t care. 

“Of course I’m a fan. My boyfriend is rocking on a super cool guitar and singing sexy metal music. Which I listened a bunch to and actually really enjoyed. 

He lights up even more at that. “Really?” I nod. “That’s awesome! But now I kind of want to see the outfit you bought just for me.”  

I grab his hand and drag him back to our cars, “Right this way, Eddie Bear.” 

[askthechronoverse]

Last Chapter •||• Next Chapter

It felt like the day was going by at the perfect pace for the child who just wanted to spend time out of the classroom. It didn't seem to take too long before Kit was sitting in a stuffy room with a humanoid sheepdog sitting at a large desk, waiting for the students to settle down. With a clearing of her throat, the students were silenced. The dog headed woman stood and grabbed some chalk.

"Alright, class. Now that you have settled, we'll get to the most important lesson of the year: Queen Wa'nabi's original wedding and the Battle for Syspocalypstar. We have a special guest to talk about that today." She slammed a paw on an old looking monitor on wheels with a brand new webcam mounted on top. Glowing crystals could be seen poking out of the back. With the rough push of a button, static slowly revealed a man with neat and tidy mousy brown hair and a toothy grin that could disarm anyone. 

"Hello, everyone! Sorry I can't be there in person, but I made time to talk to you all about how weeeee…." His eyes fell on a point that only Kit really knew was her. His pupils shrank and he grabbed at his collar. "Sorry. It's really stuffy here. Uh, can I-" With a glance out to something off screen, his demeanor changed to one of uneasy confidence. "Looks like the air conditioner finally kicked in! Alrighty! So, I'll give a rundown of what happened." He took a breath and began to describe the events of that evening. There were parts of it he barely could tell, voice shaking and words unsure. He painted a picture of tragedy and a journey to overcome what was thought to be a great threat. It was something that even the students who were slacking off on their phones could feel. It was towards the end that he took a breath and uttered the words he hoped never to have to say in front of Kit.

"The man who ran the whole show, who led me to do what I did, he called himself Rex Dangervest. He doesn't call himself that anymore and doesn't like talking about what he did when he was called that." He took another breath and fell silent for a moment. "He later became something awesome and saved the Unikingdom from some bad people. But that isn't -" A soft chime rang out throughout the room. 

"Looks like class is dismissed.” The teacher said unenergetically as she gathered her things in preparation for the flood of children leaving the room.

“Hey, Kit, can you stay behind for a sec? I need to ask you something." Emmet shouted this over the sound of stampeding children heading to the next learning opportunity. 

"Sure, Uncle Emmet." The class quickly emptied, save for the man on the monitor and the girl with the unicorn headband. Emmet spoke after a long pause.

"How much of that did you know?" The man sounded exhausted and hesitant. “I'm sorry if this is the first time you've heard this side of the story.”

"It isn't." The girl admitted. "I overheard you and Aunt Lucy talk about something my dad did and when I asked Papa, he said that he did something he regretted, that he never wanted to talk about." She kicked the well cared for hardwood floor. "Dad really caused Armommageddeon?"

"Yeah… Your dad was in a lot of pain back then. He was angry. He let his emotions cloud his mind to the point where he couldn't see any other solution. None of us wanted to tell you about this, though I guess it was only going to be a matter of time. He just… he doesn't want you to think that you or your other dad are in any danger around him. He loves you so much. That's just not how he is right now." Emmet's voice started shaking again.

"That's why all of this is confusing me. That's not what my daddy is like. I'm honestly starting to wonder how much… how much more they're keeping from me." Kit sat on the nearest desk, head in her hands.

"Whatever your parents haven't told you, I'm sure they have a good reason… Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to order you anything?" Emmet looked down, worry clouding his face.

"I'm… I may just go home. Or I guess to my daddy's office." Kit’s face was pale.

"Whatever you need, Kit. I'll send a text to your dad to let him know that you're coming." Kit just shrugged and went to grab her things. She looked down, not noticing that Bellamy was leaning against the wall by the door, waiting for her.

"Did I hear ya right? Ya aren't feeling well?" Bellamy held out a canvas first aid kit for Kit to take. "Here. I'm sure I have something in this."

"You don't have answers in that bag. Only my dad has those." She grabbed her backpack and headed for the door. Bellamy rushed after her, wings a blur behind her. 

"Then I gotta come with." They were by her side in the blink of an eye, backpack on their back from out of nowhere. "Remember: where you go, I should go. Besides, all I have is free research period. And so do you. We aren't missing anything."

"As long as you won't get in trouble with your parents, let's go. I think the next shuttle should be on its way soon anyway." As predicted, a shuttle bus that looked like the monarch who ruled the kingdom stopped at the school. Both Kit and Bellamy flashed colorful bus passes when they passed the driver and the two sat close to the middle. 

It didn't take long before Royal Purple Road and the headquarters of the Royal Chrononauts was in sight. Kit marched through the door, ignoring everything to head for a door marked 'Commander's office' on a brass plaque above the doorframe. Bellamy was like a shadow behind her.

"Daddy? We need to talk about something." She didn't seem to notice that her father's office was a complete mess or that her father was under the desk attempting to grab paperwork and the broken remnants of a picture frame.

"Kitten? What are you doing here so early? Be careful! There's broken glass everywhere." He got up from his position under the desk and was by her side in an instant, checking her over for any broken glass or signs of illness. "Are you feeling okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm doing fine, Daddy, but I want to talk to you about your past." Something about the way Kit spoke and the way she held herself made RJ back off. "I just found out in school. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Kit…" RJ sat on a comfortable chair that was set off to the side so he could clean better. Before he did this, he shut the office door in Bellamy's face. "I guess it was only a matter of time before you found out. I would have thought Emmet would have let something slip, but learning about it in a history class would be the second most likely thing." He shifted in the chair. "I was trying to protect you… or maybe I was trying to forget it all myself. That's far in my past and… I hate myself for doing it."

“You're not making a lot of sense.” He shrugged as he sank further in the chair. "That's still a really big thing to not tell me."

"I know. I know. I didn't keep this from you because I didn't trust you, never think that. I can try to be more open now." RJ brushed some papers off his large office chair, which was placed next to him and patted the seat. Kit cautiously sat down.

"I'm… I don't understand why you would do something like that. What about Papa? Didn't you think about Papa at all?"

"Your father and I didn't meet until after that ordeal. If it wasn't for your father, I don't know what I'd be doing right now. Certainly not this, that's for sure. I'll put it this way: anger is like walking around with thick poisonous fog all around you. You can't see what you're doing, but you're hurting everyone and everything around you. Including yourself. Especially yourself. I needed everyone I know here to bring me back to where I am today. I needed your Uncle Emmet and Aunt Lucy to show me that what my anger was making me think was wrong." RJ's voice was soft and almost mournful.

"You're talking like you were all alone." Kit adjusted her headband.

"I was. Or at least I thought I was. Kit, what you probably aren't going to hear from a history lesson is that I spent years being told I wasn't special, that I wasn't strong or brave enough to do anything heroic. I spent years in isolation with only those thoughts in my head. By the time I decided to do what I did, I thought I had nothing left to lose. I just needed to have my problems just go away." 

"Should I be sorry I asked?" Kit continued to fidget with her headband.

"No. I'm glad the truth came out and you aren't mad at me. You can be mad at me, by the way. Both your Papa and I taught you that you shouldn't lie." 

"Well… I'm not happy with you. I do feel like you and Papa lied to me."

"And that's okay. That's perfectly healthy and I'm not going to tell you you're wrong to feel that way." RJ got to his feet. "I'm sure you see me differently now. That's also okay."

"I know you're telling the truth now. I can tell from how nervous you got." Kit picked up the paperwork around her and handed it to her dad. "What happened in here? Did you get angry?"

"Since we're being honest today, I don't know what happened. Doc and PC walked into the office this morning and the whole place was torn apart. Nothing came up on the security cameras as far as we know. We just know that it looks like someone was looking for something." RJ took the paperwork, thanked her, then threw it all on his desk. "Have you talked to your uncle recently?" Kit lifted an eyebrow. That question came out of the blue. "Is that who told you about my past?" The teenager nodded. "I need to talk to your uncle. I would rather you wait outside in the lobby, but we won't be talking about you. You're not in any trouble." 

"Okay. I'll wait outside." She left the room and closed the door, but quickly grabbed a cup from the water cooler. She leaned against the door, the cup between the door and her ears. Bellamy opened their beak to comment, but Kit put a finger to her mouth.

"Ems, I'm not calling about that. She was going to find out about my Dangervest persona anyway. I wish it was from me, but whatever. At least it wasn't from one of those teachers in New Bricksburg. No, someone broke into my office last night. We really didn't catch much of anything on camera, but something awoke a distant memory in the footage. Something vague that I just can't tell you where I saw it. A dark shadow came through a portal. It looked almost like a-"

"Didn't expect to see you here so soon, little sis!" The sound of Puppycorn's deep and almost regal voice cut through Kit's concentration. Kit quickly hid the cup and flashed a sheepish grin.

"I was let out early," Was all the girl uttered. The big dog grinned, his curly tail moving at blinding speeds. 

"Awesome! It's always good to see ya!" He bounded around Kit, his excitement fueling his energy. "Do you wanna help me clean up the lab? Dr. Fox needs a lot of help there.”

“Hang on, I gotta-” Before Kit could listen in any further, RJ opened the front door.

“Kitten, I still have work to do around here. This place is a mess. Do me a favor an’ go to the marketplace to hang out or somethin’?” The glare Kit shot at him gave him pause. “I’m not hiding anything from you. I don’t even know what’s happening right now.”

“What did you ask my uncle?” Kit asked incredulously.

“I asked him if he remembered something that could help me figure things out. He couldn’t. I don’t know why I can. I’ll tell you everything once I know. Please. Be patient.” Like her uncle, RJ’s voice was shaking. Something was bothering him. She reached out to hold her dad’s hand and he took it. “I know you’re still mad at me. But please. Go with Bellamy to the castle or something. I’ll take you out for pizza later.” Bellamy grabbed Kit, threw her over their shoulder, and gave a quick bow, rushing out the door. They didn’t stop until the Unikingdom castle was in sight.

“Bellamy! We need to go back.” Kit was set down unceremoniously, but floated just a few inches off the ground before she touched the grass. “Dad is either lying again or scared of something. I can’t tell.” She remained afloat and started to head back to the road. Bellamy grabbed her by the hood of her hoodie. “Let me go!”

“Sorry, Kay. I got to go by your dad's orders." Bellamy pulled Kit towards her. "Let's get some tea with the Queen and my dad and let your dad clean up the office. He can clean this mess up later." Kit reluctantly went with Bellamy towards the castle.

RJ leaned against the broom he held and shook his head. Why did Kit have to find out about his past today?  He put his broom away, turning to Doctor Fox and Puppycorn. "Did they take anything?"

"They destroyed our puddlehopper, RJ." Doctor Fox shook her head in utter disbelief. "The flux capacitor that was in the time drive is irreparable. It's going to take us months to get back into optimal working conditions." She handed him the shattered remnants of the flux capacitor. He played with the pieces in his hand.

"The flux capacitor? Could that uptight doctor or his assistant be the ones responsible?" RJ muttered to himself. "Nah. Doubtful. They seemed too straight edge to me." He turned to the others. "Let's check the complaints box tomorrow for potential vandals. I can't rule out that someone hated our services… or me… that they wanted to destroy our work." He patted Puppycorn on the head. "I need to make sure I didn't just lose my baby girl because…"

"You have an acute aversion to conversing with others about your past mistakes and how they affect you in the present?" Doctor Fox finished the sentence. RJ nodded. "Go to her. I know how much she means to you." The man shoved his hands in his pockets and moved slowly towards his truck. 

By the time RJ got to the castle, Bellamy and Kit were playing tag with Hawkodile under a large and unknowingly old cherry tree. The adult chimera stopped and headed for his student. He towered over him, waiting for a respectful bow. The bow was reciprocated with a stern look.

"RJ. Kit told me about what happened this afternoon." RJ looked down to the grass at those words. "I don't like that reaction. Did you ransack your own office?"

"Oh. I thoughtcha were givin' me that look because I kept my past from her." He rubbed his neck. "Nah. I still can't figure out what happened there. I have never seen a portal that looked like the one I saw in the security footage."

"You saw a portal?" Hawkodile scratched under his beak. "Did it look like any of the portals you and Scarlett make? Maybe your future self turns rogue or something."

"No. I've never seen a portal like this before. Or at least, I don't think I have. It's strange, but I feel like that portal is unlocking a memory I pushed deep within my mind. Something that happened when I was younger, when I was still Emmet." RJ looked over to where his daughter was playing. "Whatever that memory is, it scares me to my core. Grab Kit and R and hide in the distant past scared." He kept looking over to Kit, who eventually made eye contact and started heading over.

"She is still upset about being in the dark about your past. Show her that you have nothing left to hide now." Hawkodile moved over to his child, holding her close.

Kit soon stood in front of her dad, looking up with her arms folded. Her eyes held an expectation, pressing and almost judgmental.

"Kit, I'm sorry. I should have been more upfront with you when you got older. You were going to learn eventually, but you should have learned that from me. Don't be too mad with your old man." His apology was answered with a hug and a less stern look from his daughter. "I'm glad you're not too mad with me. Let's go get something to eat."

"Did you find out what happened in your office?" The question felt like a test to RJ. Was a child even allowed to test their parent like this? 

"No. We need to figure out who could have trashed the place." He paused as he opened the passenger side truck door for Kit. "I'll keep ya up to date. Promise. No more secrets." This seemed to please Kit, as there was a spring in her float as she jumped into the truck.

[narrans]

56). "If you ever compare them to vermin again, I'll beat the shit outta you!"

PROMPT

56). "If you ever compare them to vermin again, I'll beat the shit outta you!"

Humans can be wonderful, giving, accepting creatures. They can shine a light in the darkest of times, providing aid and stability to those who need it. They provide hope to the hopeless, meals to the hungry, and endure the most wicked and unfortunate of circumstances if it is for someone they love.

Perhaps that’s why they could justify treating us so poorly…

Their kindness simply ran out.

Their tolerance could only go so far.

The cruelty built up and needed a place to vent like steam from a compression chamber.

We - that is… us pets - are not human, even though the only thing that makes us different is our size. Pets are, in essence, much smaller humans, the tallest of us reaching only six-and-a-half or so inches tall - and that was saying something. I, myself, am a solid five and a fifth inches tall, but who is counting?

Certainly not my so-called owners.

They could care less about me with the way they treated me before discarding me – literally. Up until that point, I had never known that humans could be decent creatures.

I remember like it was yesterday when everything really began. After being trained and “properly conditioned,” I was sold to one family as a birthday present for a little girl as her first pet. It was terrifying. Instead of a gerbil or fish, they picked me.

Little did I know it was going to only get worse there for several years.

The girl who “owned” me was a brat through and through. Her screams were ear shattering, but her tendency to hit whatever wasn’t cooperating was far worse. The bruises on my body left me a purple-yellow lump most days. I lost count of how long I was with them honestly.

It wasn’t until she broke my arm, however, that she decided to show me the only mercy I had ever received from her, but it was far from that at the time.

She threw me away.

She tossed me into that odorous hot pink tin can lined in thick black bags.

“Audrey! Please! Don’t do this. I-I-I-I’ll get better. Just…”

“Broken toys go in the trash. You are broken. So, you go in the trash. Good-bye.”

The lid snapped shut and, in a moment, I was plunged into darkness which lasted for hours. The last thing I saw were here dark eyes and wide toothy grin.

Haunting.

She was ten. She should’ve known better. No. She did know better and chose to do the wrong thing.

I slipped into unconsciousness from pain after trying several times to climb and claw my way out of the bag among the various snack bags that were half eaten. It was a miracle I didn’t slip into shock, because the next thing I knew was that I was being jostled around, taken out with the rest of the trash.

I tried shouting, but nothing happened; at least, nothing happened until the bag was still for a few more hours. While in the dark expanse of the bag, I felt another massive jostle again before the inside was flooded with light.

I remember my eyes adjusting just in time to see two pale green eyes widen before the impending digits of doom reached in after me. Trapped at the bottom of the bag and trying to protect my injured arm, I snapped out of my trance. I tried getting away and managed to land a solid punch on his finger, which, to my surprise, made his fingers retract.

“Woah, you’re alive?” he said in awe. My stomach churned as it sank into my hard plastic shoes. I remember kicking myself, thinking if only I had played dead in that moment, then I would be safe.

I’m glad I didn’t do that now.

Slowly, he tilted the bag and kept it propped open, speaking softly to me.

“Hey, sorry. Didn’t mean to make a grab for you. I just didn’t want to leave you in there like that. It’s not the decent thing to do,” he said. “You wanna come out of there? Or not ready to leave yet?” I wanted to sprint to safety, be left alone, and not have a broken arm to tend to, but I knew we pets never really got what we wanted.

Reluctantly, I stood and inched toward the entrance of the bag o he could just barely see me. My insides churned uneasily. I knew what was coming. I was going to be grabbed, bruises pinched between his fingers. There would be a breathless jolt that would whiplash my neck as I lifted up to his face so I could stare into eyes that were the size of my head. Only the most horrible fates danced before my eyes, but as I began the countdown to my demise, none came.

I kept counting just to pass the time as I continued to pinch my eyes shut.

Three… Two… One… Now.

No?

Three… Two… One… Now.

I breathed deeply and summoned what courage I could and squinted one eye open. Sadly, I didn’t manage a glance up and could only stare at his pants leg, which was horrendously dirty and looked like it was one of many layers he wore; and it was no wonder – it was freezing. His one hand hadn’t moved from the top of the bag, but that was all I could see at the time.

Heart racing out of my chest, I felt absolutely sick. Bile rose up in the back of my throat. I suppressed a cough and choked back the feeling that was compressing my chest.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed something – anything – to relieve the tension.

I dared to look up, and immediately I met his two massive pale green eyes and a face that undoubtedly once was full of freckles.

One look and I knew he was examining me, eyes latching onto my injured arm that practically hung limply by my side in two places as well as the aged bruises mingled with the fresh.

I didn’t know what it was, but I knew the look in his eye immediately.

Disgust.

However, it wasn’t disgust at me. It was disgust for me.

I watched a protective presence radiate from him like waves of heat. In his eyes raged a distain and loathing for the one who hurt me. A lump the size of his fist formed in my throat.

Was it possible he felt pity? Sympathy?

No… it was empathy.

His other hand, which hadn’t made a grab for me, was in a brace of its own, and I saw a healing bruise on his cheek that was now a pale yellow. Somehow, he saw and understood everything I had gone through. It was a thought I had a few times before that people could be unkind toward one another, but I had never actually witnessed it happening.

I watched a coaxing smile curve his lips as he snapped himself out of whatever evaluation he just performed.

“Hey there,” he said softly. “Bit banged up, are we? Let’s see what we can do about that.” He laid his hand on the ground for me to step onto, which was a new phenomenon for me since most humans would simply pinch my torso or wrap their sweaty fingers around my body. Thinking of no other option or alternative at the moment but to cling onto the thoughtful look in his pale green eyes, I stepped onto his fingers and sat down cross-legged in the center of his palm.

“It’s a tad cold out and I’ve got a little way to walk. Do you care for a pocket or shoulder in my hoodie?” he asked.

Wait…

He asked?

A choice?

“Um…” I fumbled, bracing my arm tighter against my body. A bitterly cold gust of wind whipped by. I didn’t want to be confined, but the pocket sounded warmer. Then again, I was already warming just by being near his hand. I did want to see where we were going.

As if he could read my mind, he asked, “Not used to choices?”

I shook my head.

“Figures,” he muttered, a hint of anger in his voice. “How about shoulder? I’ve got a scarf in my bag here. You can use it like a blanket.”

What kind of human was this?

I couldn’t help myself and nodded eagerly and, within no more than thirty seconds, he had wrapped his scarf around his neck and had nestled me safely in the folds of the fabric, pulling up his hood to protect the both of us from the wind.

Without another word, he stood and began walking down the street, tugging a backpack onto his back and walking briskly. I didn’t ask any questions, mind reeling from what was already happening.

I wanted to ask him questions. Where were we going? What was he going to do to me? Was he taking me to someone who would be my new “owner”? Or was he going to assume that role? Why was he hurt? How was he going to fix my arm? Was he going to fix it?

I decided against asking any of them though. I didn’t want to say something that might make him change his mind in helping me. He could easily chuck me into any of the trashcans that we passed by, landing me right where I started the day.

It was about an hour later when he seemed to spot what he was looking for and changed direction, now walking toward a part of a bridge guarded by a partially torn down metal fence. He slipped under with cat-like dexterity and climbed up the steep concrete pad until he was directly under the overpass.

He reached up and gestured for me to slip onto his hand.

“I need to get my area set up, and then we’ll take a look at that arm. Sound fair?” he asked. I decided to be compliant, though I wasn’t sure what this whole “area” was supposed to look like. He unraveled the scarf and set it off to the side, keeping me snuggly wrapped in it to keep me from being subjected to the wicked wind.

I could’ve run for it. I could’ve slipped away and slid down the concrete pad to freedom, but I didn’t move. It was already getting dark and there was no chance of me surviving the night with a broken arm and no supplies. Even with this stranger, I was still safer than I would be alone.

I watched curiously as he pulled his backpack off of his back and began assembling a one-person tent, a compact set of blankets, and a few lamps which he hung inside of his pale tan tent. He shoved his bag into the opening before poking his head out and looking back at me. I had to admit that I was a bit nervous, watching him make this tent and then move inside wordlessly without bringing me with him.

“Ready?” he asked. I wasn’t sure. Was I ready? Still numb from the pain of my arm, I thought only for a minute before nodding and letting his hands cup either side of the scarf that surrounded me. He moved slowly and brought me into the tent where he set me on top of his backpack, a scuffed medical kit resting in his lap.

I didn’t get a good look, but I saw there were dozens of tools on one side of his kit, and they were all tools I had seen in my life. They were small tools – perfect for pets like me. Unease crept into my chest. Why did he have these tools? They looked professional, as if they came from a veterinarian’s office.

I shuddered as I watched his fingers reach inside and pull out some odd-looking tweezers.

“Now, let’s see about that arm,” he said. I recoiled immediately and shoved myself deeper into the fabric around me.

“No! You find someone else to play doctor on. I won’t have you practicing on me!” I shouted.

He sighed slowly and nodded a few times but didn’t try again. Was he frustrated with me? Or was he thinking of something to say. I got my answer when he spoke directly to me.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Look, I’m not here to play doctor and know a thing or two about setting small bones. Believe me. Fingers make good practice,” he said. “We’ve only just met, but I need you to trust me. You don’t want that arm just hanging there like that, unless you like having a nice jolt of pain every time something taps it the wrong way.”

I bit the inside of my cheek and curled in on myself, accidentally bumping my arm against my knee in the process. Would he work on my arm without my permission anyway? Was it better to give him permission or resist, demonstrating my free will?

Either way, my arm needed help and I was in no position to make it better.

“Fine,” I muttered. He moved his fingers closer and slipped his finger under my injured arm. His keen, pale-green eyes absorbed every detail of my arm, flicking every so often to the other scars on my body.

He lifted his hand again and I slid onto the columns of flesh clumsily, abandoning my warm spot by his neck and jostling my arm in the process. He set me down on the table which had several long-dried coffee stains and spilled sugar crystals. I sat there on the desk while he washed his hand and came back.

“Feel like telling me how this happened?” he asked as he began opening up the material he’d need to brace my arm.

“Tell me about yours first,” I snapped, regretting my tone immediately for fear of punishment. His pale green eyes flicked up to my own, and my heartrate spiked just for a moment before he sighed.

“My dad. Finally decided to defend myself and got hurt in the process. Now, your turn,” said Bruce. Defend himself? Against his father? There was definitely more than met the eye with this guy, but I could see he was waiting for my response, and I guess I owed him that much.

“Kid,” I spat. “She wanted my arm to bend the other way like all of her other dolls.”

“Yikes, I’m sorry,” he said softly. “Humans are terrible, but bratty kids are some of the worst. May I?” His fingers approached, gesturing for me to place my broken arm onto the pads of his fingers. My heart was pounding out of my chest. Every part of me was shaking, but I had calmed down from my outburst a few minutes ago just enough to lift my arm and lay it against the tips of his fingers. He kept his pale green eyes on me and better examined my injury.

“I’m Bruce by the way. I assume that kid gave you some ridiculous name? Or do you have a name that you’d like me to use instead?” he asked.

“You don’t want to claim your right to that?” I asked bitterly. Bruce scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Naw, I’m good. I’d rather hear what your parents named you,” said Bruce. I looked up at him, sensing he was being genuine. At least he had the decency of asking what my parents named me instead of what the training facility decided to call me. Did he know we actually had parents and weren’t just grown in a lab?

Fine. It was the least I could do since he did save my life.

“Pip. Just Pip,” I said.

“Like Pippy Longstocking? Or Pip like Pippen from Lord of the Rings?” asked Bruce.

“I don’t know,” I said, taken aback by his question. Was there a difference? Did my parents know the difference? “I like the sound of the Lord of the Rings one better though.”

“Me too,” said Bruce. His nimble fingers worked swiftly and, before I knew it, my arm was braced between fragments of popsicle sticks, string, and pieces of a cut shirt. Despite the size of his fingers, he was tender and careful. After I was bandaged up, arm in a sling, I stared at him as he carefully broke apart a pill meant for killing the pain and handed it to me. He also gave me some water to take with it as he began making some kind of dinner for himself, which came in those odd-packaged noodles.

We ended up eating in silence after I took the medicine before I summoned the courage to ask him about why he was out here on his own in a tent instead of a home. I had an idea of what happened when he mentioned his arm, but I wanted to hear it from him directly.

Turned out that he knew a little something about the viciousness of humans and empathized with the abuse pets suffered daily. His father was a cruel man, especially after his wife left him, leaving Bruce behind to endure alone. We compared scars and injuries, though I had to admit that Bruce’s injuries surpassed my own, which was surprising.

It was only because of the kindness of one other, a veterinarian who helped him through the darkest times in his life, that he was where he was in life. It was this veterinarian who he was going to go live with once he made it to his final destination. Bruce explained that his father made him move out of state “for a change of scenery” after his mother left, and Bruce finally had enough and was going back to live with the veterinarian.

I found myself endeared to him after hearing this story. Not only had this veterinarian helped Bruce, but he also helped him learn the skills necessary to help pets like me. He helped him see that there was no difference between us, and for this I would be forever grateful.

After talking well into the night, Bruce offered to take me wherever I wanted to go. Sadly, I had nowhere else to go. Bruce then offered me to stay with him, traveling as companions and not as pet and human. Whole-heartedly, I accepted and drifted off to sleep just under his chin when it was time for bed.

This was the start to something wonderful.

For the next four months, we traveled together in the most peculiar circumstances. We slept in odd places like under bridges and in parks in the evenings, and we used public electricity to charge his batteries. Sometimes, he collected cans or other odd ends for cash if he didn’t work the odd job. Never did he beg along the side of the road like the other nomads we came across while traveling.

While on the road, we came across more than just other people like Bruce. We came across others like me who were down and out, rejected, thrown away, or simple runaways. We soon found ourselves moving in an entire group of five, bringing three other pets along for the ride – Volley, Lowe, and Flick.

We made up the “Fantastic Five,” collecting spare change and living life on the road as we made our way across the country from one coast to the next. It was a good time for all of us. Late night talks and dream – real dreams – about the future. It was something none of us were really used to when given the chance.

For the first time, I let myself dream. I dreamt about walking on the beach and seeing an ocean sunset. The others had dreams of going to school, becoming an inventor, and even becoming a chef. Some of these dreams felt farfetched, but it was the fact that we could let ourselves dream that made the time worthwhile.

Of course, dreams were not the only things that made up our world. On our travels through the human world, there were still dangers and cruel humans. More often than not, Bruce had to fight away different humans so they would stay away from his things and, more importantly, away from us.

One particular individual, David, became a particular nuisance when we had to stay in the same campsite for a few weeks while Bruce gathered up enough money to stock up a decent supply of dried goods before making one of the longest treks of our journey yet. David would often sneak into or around the camp, pinching things from others’ campsites and claiming he didn’t steal anything when confronted.

Bruce, along with myself and the other three, were onto him from the moment Bruce set up his tent, and we were very careful to make sure to keep an eye out for David. From the moment that slimy git greeted us with a hello, I knew he was going to be trouble.

It wasn’t until one particularly warm morning, however, that everything happened.

I woke up, stretching into the warm spot by Bruce’s neck that I had grown accustomed to, and saw a shadow lurking nearby. I shoved the others awake and tugged on Bruce’s earlobe until he woke up.

“Hm? What’s going on?” he murmured sleepily, rolling over onto his back. The moment Bruce spoke, the shadow quickly vanished away from the side of the tent, and we were left alone once again.

“Pip? You see that?” asked Flick, rubbing his curly brown hair out of his eyes as he looked up toward the top beams of the tent.

“Yeah. Why’d you think I woke you up? I think it’s David again,” I said quickly, making sure Bruce could hear. In a moment, Bruce was sitting upright and was crouched by the edge of his tent, listening intently.

“You sure it was him? It might’ve been someone passing by,” suggested Bruce.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t know if it would be anyone else other than him,” I replied hastily, hoping I hadn’t raised the alarm for no particular reason.

“Well, did you see where he went?” asked Bruce. His hand lowered and, without hesitation, I stepped on and sat up on top of his shoulder so we could speak quickly and quietly without others hearing.

“No, but hopefully he’ll go bother someone else,” I said as softly as I could into Bruce’s ear.

“All the same, I think we should get out of here. Maybe it was him and maybe not. Regardless, we should get moving anyway. Besides, unless he really wants something of mine, David won’t follow,” said Bruce. I nodded in agreement, even though he couldn’t see me directly. “I’m going to fill up my water container and then we’ll be off.”

Without another word, Bruce quickly packed up his things and dismantled the tent, setting everything into his pack. The water spicket was only sixty or so feet away, which was quite a fair distance for a pet like me and my fellow companions, but it was, as Bruce would say, a “stone’s throw,” away from us. He would be gone from us for maybe thirty seconds and David was nowhere in sight, which was a relief.

“I’ll be right back,” he reassured as he moved quickly to the water spicket with his collection of empty containers.

The others and myself assumed our positions along his bag, slipping into pockets and securing our lines onto the edges of his bag, all while keeping an eye out for anyone approaching. My eyes were pealed sharp. I was keeping a close eye out – or so I thought.

One moment, my eyes were fixed on the nomadic campsite and Bruce mere steps away. In the next moment, the bag we were all on was being hoisted up into the air, jostling with the force of someone running away quickly. My head whipped around and felt my insides drop as I recognized the dark, matted hair on David’s head. I heard the others cry out indistinctly, and I knew in an instant we were in trouble.

Doing the only thing I could think of, I called out as loud as I could for the one person who I knew would be able to help.

“Bruce!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “Bruce!”

Did he hear me? Did he even notice? All I knew was that I had to hang on within an inch of my life as my friends and I were jostled, thrown and bounced within an inch of our lives. My once broken arm ached with the force with which I tried clinging to the bag.

The nomadic campsite vanished from view as the thief darted from street to street with us in tow. A sick, churning feeling seized my insides. What was going to happen to us if Bruce didn’t follow or find us in time? More importantly, how were we going to help Bruce find his things and find us?

I didn’t have to worry or think for very long. Once we were a few streets over, David stopped running and threw the bag carelessly on the ground. We landed hard against the pavement, making my bones ache. The others cried out too, but I couldn’t see them from where I was on the top of the bag. Something else seized my attention – literally.

I was pinched harshly between the grubby fingers of the thieving human and was hoisted up into the air. I could smell the decay off of David’s breath as he squinted at me.

“Ah, I forgot about you little twerps,” he muttered. I glared up at him and squirmed in his grip, trying to get free.

“Get off of me and leave Bruce’s things alone!” I demanded. My insides were suddenly squeezed within an inch of my life. I gasped for air, trying to remember how to bring air back into my lungs.

“You making demands of me, pet?” he scoffed. “Squeaking and mewling all of your complaints. It’s a wonder why he keeps vermin like you around. I think I’ll do him a favor and exterminate the lot of you. One less mouth to feed.”

I felt his fingers start to tense around me again. My vision started to blacken. Every part of me screamed, and a shout of pain escaped my own body. The others were shouting, demanding for me to be released, but it did nothing for me. My vision darkened and I could see nothing.

Suddenly, I was completely weightless. What was going on? Was this dying? A jostled landing and a sudden relief let me bring air into my lungs again. I felt hands my size tapping my face and grasping onto my shoulders once feeling returned to my body.

I also heard a roaring shout from a voice I recognized all too well.

“Let go of her! And leave us alone!” shouted Bruce. There were sounds of dull thudding as David tried to fight back.

“Ow! Stop it! I was just looking after your stuff. I was afraid someone would st-”

“I’m not stupid! You picked the wrong guy to mess with! Don’t you ever come near my friends again, you hear me?” Bruce roared as his blurry form pounded David with his fists. David began to stumble away and retreat, wiping the blood away from his lips.

“Geez! They’re just vermin. They don’t feel…” Bruce grabbed the nearest rock and hucked it at David’s head as the other human ran away.

“If you ever compare them to vermin again, I'll beat the s*** outta you!” yelled Bruce. Thankfully, my vision returned in time to see the faces of the other three and Bruce hovering above me.

“Are you alright?” asked Flick as he began checking out my once injured arm. Volley lifted me up just enough for Bruce to lift me up into his palm. I sank into the warmth of his fingers.

“I’ll be fine,” I moaned, clutching my sides that I knew would have finger shaped bruises on them.

“Not until we’re far away from here,” Bruce muttered. “Come on. We need to get going before David decides to come back.”

We loaded up once again on the bag while Bruce carried me in his hand until I was well enough to sit up on my own on his shoulder. It wasn’t until we were several hours into our walk that I realized that I hadn’t thanked Bruce. I looked up and over at him, leaning into the crook of his neck and tugged on his earlobe to get his attention.

“Hey, Bruce. I meant to say it earlier, but thank you,” I said.

“It’s nothing,” said Bruce. “It’s the least I could do for a friend.”

I smiled to myself and curled in tighter. Bruce reached up and gently brushed his fingers against my side.

Friend.

What a human term, but what could be more fitting for us and our merry band.

The days were long, but we soon found ourselves on the doorstep of Bruce’s mentor and friend. The vet was an interesting man, but we – the other pets – took a liking to him almost instantly. We also took a liking to, as he called them, “house guests,” which were other pets like the three of us. Settling in took no time but, at the end of the day, there was no place I would rather be than by Bruce’s side, nestled into his neck as I had done for so long.

Humans are such interesting beings, capable of great evil and kindness. I was blessed enough to find one who knew cruelty and chose kindness instead.

We all have a choice, and now I choose to be happy.

[crazycatgirl420]

Out Of Options, Threads of Hope

DpxDC fic crossover. Vlad is an (implied) Creep. Teenage Dad Danny. Toddler Clone Child Danielle. Bad Parents Maddie and Jack(?) Adopted Fenton Danny. Biological Son of Bruce Wayne Danny. Paulina/Danny Ship. Good but Stuggling Batfam.

Part 1 | Part 2 [N/A]

When Paulina imagined her Graduation from High School, she never would've pictured this for herself. She was Eighteen, turning Nineteen this summer. She thought she'd be dating Dash or Star, that she'd be taking photos and going out to dinner with either of them or maybe the cheer team would meet up.

Of course she never would've predicted Phantom. Couldn't have imagined Fenton. And you can't predict an unexpected baby. That's what makes them unexpected.

But here she was. Kneeling on the grass of the football field, blue Graduation gown the only thing protecting her JJ House designer dress from stains, and her heels starting to sink into the dirt.

"Grad-u-lates Pauli," Ellie said, carefully, with a toothy smile and her happy bright blue eyes. Her little arms went up, hands grabbing at the air. "Uppies?"

Paulina picked Ellie up, meeting Jazz's eyes, before glancing around. Danny was making his way from the seats, his own gown hanging awkwardly on him.

It had been Jazz's gown. No wonder it didn't fit Danny properly. Jazz was tall and thin, like a runway model. Danny meanwhile, had developed all sorts of fun muscles these past few years.

"Daddy!" Ellie cheered, wiggling in Paulina's arms.

"Hello Princess," Danny said. It was habit by now, passing the little girl to Danny who held her on one hip, then being pulled into a hug on the other side. "And you too Pauli,"

She rested her head, carefully because she had it pinned up to curl and hold just so, on his shoulder. His arm around her waist. Her hand on his chest. Ellie patting a slimy hand over Paulina's as she too cuddled Danny.

"I wish I could let you give onlookers cavities," Jazz said. " but this sweet cuddle fest needs to get a move on."

Paulina sighed. Where you can find one reason the Fentons were awful people there were a dozen hidden nearby. Danny having to wear Jazz's old Graduation gown? Jazz being the only one here to support him at the ceremony? Oh, and then there was the whole...ghost hunter thing. It was racist...speciest? Speciesist? Xenophobia? was a phobia or an ism or an ist, no matter what it was it was horrible.

Paulina's parents had been here. Her own Dad had left the keys to her new apartment in her car, before he left for a meeting he bailed on to watch her walk the stage. Ma had been here too, and had left a care package in the trunk. They were busy with their careers, but they always made time to support her.

She didn't realize how lucky she was for that basic care until she started dating Danny. The contrast was stark and had clawed guilt into her throat until she broke down crying - last year was a mess okay?

Now she and Danny would be leaving Amity Park. Jazz was going to collage in Metropolis, just a short drive away from Gotham, where they were moving. Paulina would open her own shop, they'd live in the apartment above the shop, and Danny would be the stay at home father and full time Defender of the Realms, and Danielle would get attending a decent early child care and education center.

It is not the life she foresaw for herself specifically. She thought she'd go to art or design school, or get on Project Runway or Next Top Model. Instead she's jumping into a career and following her boyfriend and his daughter halfway across the country.

"Pauli, want yum yums," Ellie said around the thumb in her mouth.

Danny gave her a smile, his eyes hopeful too.

"Alright fine," Paulina sighed playfully. "I'll make some enchiladas before we leave. Do you want to join us Jazz?"

"I'd love to,"

Sam and Tucker already had plans with their families for after the ceremony, so Paulina didn't bother looking for them.

It was weird being sort of friends with Sam again. When Samantha became Sam became wannabe activist Paulina had lost touch. Then it was middle school, and Paulina's parents divorced so she went to public school. Then high school and suddenly Paulina was dating her ex-best friend's ex-boyfriend.

Tucker was...tolerable. She was sure after a few more years she might even consider him her friend. Until then though he was Danny's friend. Honestly she was just happy they took her seriously now. Being treated like a brainless buffoon just because she was on the cheer team or liked fashion was so patronizing.

Danny placed a kiss on her forehead, and Paulina absently wiped the powered foundation off his chin.

"Thank you," Danny said.

"I'm not cooking in my dress, you will wait for me to change,"

"I know."

Paulina sighed, again, a smile twisting her lipstick frozen lips.

It might not have been what she expected, but she wouldn't change it for the world.

[siriannatan]

Possibly the weirdest mash-up AU ever. Or not? - ScWhip

I have no explanation for where this came to my brain from. It just appeared and now it's here :}

Hope you like it

AO3

Finding the Supreme Witch, just passed out in the middle of the woods was not on fWhip's list of things to do tonight. To be honest his only plan was to go to a nearby village and have a meal so he could spend the next month without leaving his manor. "What am I to do with you?" he spun his umbrella as he wondered. Little Mister Supreme was not breathing and his heart wasn't beating but fWhip was a vampire long enough to recognise fellow undead with ease. But even if the scrawny witch-boy was not capable of dying he was not about to just leave him passed out in the middle of a monster-infested forest.

So with some trouble due to his umbrella being still needed, he picked up the Supreme and turned back to his mansion. The villagers were paranoid enough with just a vampire around. Luckily he still had a few days to get his blood supply up before there would be any trouble. The village being so far that he needed to leave before sunset was the bigger problem than feeding itself. Or even the most powerful currently existing witch. 

No. Scrawny little witch man was more of an opportunity. Having someone with this much power and influence could be great for fWhip if he ever got in trouble with witches. Or if he ever needed something from a witch. Or the Supreme himself even. All good things for fWhip but he still could not help himself but wonder - what was the Supreme doing so far from the Witch Lands? fWhip heard of no issues anywhere near him but it wasn't like he paid it all that much attention. Maybe he could get it out the supreme over some tea.

fWhip was glad he had his tea garden, especially in situations like this. The howling half-fish man from the lake was possibly the most frequent visitor he got. But he was noisy and came over during the day. fWhip would rather spend that time napping or reading. And he wasn't even half as cute as the Supreme With turned out to be when relieved of his muddy cloak and put on a free bed in fWhip's manor. He had spare bedrooms only. Guest bedrooms invited annoyances like a certain wither to try and stay with him. fWhip liked his peace and quiet disturbed only by his own explosions. 

But back to the cute little witch he found. None of the stories he's heard about him mentioned he was a boney, pale little thing with fluffy dark hair. All the stories said was that he was a powerful necromancer and a monster. Not that monsters had to be ugly. fWhip has been called a monster on multiple occasions and would not call himself ugly. Quite contrary actually. But no amount of pretty could help him get the witch awake. fWhip knew precious little about medicine. Mostly just enough to take care of anyone he fed on and did not want to kill. 

All he could do was get the kettle going and wait. At least he did not have to wait for all that long. The sun has just about almost set when the Supreme showed the first signs of waking up. fWhip calmly took one last sip of his blood-rose tea - he could drink it well enough but it did not satiate his hunger well enough - and gave his guest a chance to gather himself. He set it with maybe a bit more noise than necessary to announce his presence.

"Who are you? Where am I?" the Supreme asked while pulling out staff from nowhere.

"I'm count fWhip," fWhip introduced himself with as much of a bow as he could muster without getting up. "We're in my mansion," he added with a toothy grin. The best way to announce one is a vampire in his experience. Saved him the disbelief and doubt that led to his fangs being flashed anyway. "I found you passed out in the woods. Not the safest place," he added before it was asked. "I have more tea if you're interested.

Scott had no idea if he was actually awake. Since when could vampires have tea without spitting it out? Just who or what was this count fWhip? Or what weird herb was he using in his teas. "Only if you first tell me exactly what goes into this mysterious tea. As far as I know, all vampires can eat or drink is blood," if the competition for the Supreme title taught him anything it was that there was no such thing as being too careful.  No matter how handsome someone was. And fWhip was unfairly handsome... Scott was a busy witch even if his original goal failed miserably. There were things he had to do that didn't have to do with handsome vampires and their weird tea.

"Of course. I grow all my tea myself and the one I'm drinking is a special Blood Rose blend..."

He barely paid any attention to what fWhip was saying. The flashing fangs were more than slightly distracting. And the unfortunately still present there even if Scott was a lich hunger started to make itself known. Wasn't the point of being dead that annoying things like that would be gone? It wasn't. And fWhip was asking something and Scott just said 'yes' because why would he say not to an attractive man. And now he was getting up and Scott was lost and confused and could only say 'heh?' when fWhip extended a hand to him.

"You said it's okay if I show you my tea garden," fWhip chuckled and it took a lot of Scott's willpower to not giggle like he was never in love before.

"I was just wondering where my coat went..." he tried to defend himself as fWhip helped him off the bed. It was a good thing he had no blood and could not blush.

"Oh, it was all muddy and wet so I set it aside to clean later if... if you'd stay long enough for that," fWhip explained as Scott fixed his robes. He was the Supreme Witch and so far did not act like it. "The name's Scott, I'm the new Supreme witch, umm. Thank you for not just leaving me..."

"It'd be a bad look on the area if I just let the local monsters rip our cute Supreme Witch to pieces," fWhip chuckled and offered Scott an arm.

Scott was fully aware vampires tended to be charismatic and smooth bastards. If one lived long enough one could master anything. What he forgot they could also do with that time was collect things. And in fWhip's case that resulted in a library that rivalled Scott's newly acquired along his tile library. It took one whole floor of his manor that was by no means small. And yes it was mostly alchemy and tinkering and not much on magic, especially necromancy but Scott could appreciate a good collection.

And fWhip's 'garden' was no less impressive. Scott was pretty sure he spotted a few herbs witches called extinct as he was given a tour of different flowers fWhip made into teas to not die of boredom and not be a bad host. He was an actual count and had the up bring to go with the title. What made Scott feel rather self-conscious when he was served dinner - he didn't really think who made it - the title of the Supreme Witch did not come with a lesson on table manners.

"If I might ask, what is the Supreme Witch doing this far from the Witch Lands?" fWhip asked while swirling what had to be blood - Scott dealt with it enough to recognise it - inside a decorative crystal goblet.

Scott had no idea how to say he had no idea what to do with himself. The title of the Supreme basically meant he was the most powerful witch currently ali... existing and that he inherited all the possessions of the previous Supreme Witches. Most notably the key to the giant library between dimensions. All that library allowed him to do was summon Milo's spirit and be told to move on and not bring him back. So now Scott was a lich with nothing to do, told by his dead lover to move on and be happy. He couldn't tell fWhip that.

"Well, I..." Scott was about to say something cool but... He could not bring himself to lie. fWhip was nice to him and even fed him a good meal and... Scott could swear that for just a second he could see a spirit of Milo shaking his head. But he was probably just seeing things. "Well, it's a long story."

"I believe we have a lot of time ahead of us. I certainly do not mind sacrificing some of it to a story," fWhip offered along another grin that almost had Scott's heart beating. 

Almost. "You'll be the death of me with these," Scott chuckled. Maybe he could try and listen to Milo and move on. Or at least try to.

"I'm pretty sure we've both already done that," fWhip chuckled and Scott groaned. What did he get himself involved with?

[golden-kingdom]

And the Season Feels New to Me Because You're Here - Part 6

Written for the 12 Days of Rowaelin: First Holiday Season Together (@rowaelinscourt)

Summary: A month before Christmas, rich hotel heiress Aelin Ashryver Galathynius is running away from her future after a fight with her father and hides at a resort in the Staghorn Mountains. When she has a ski accident and hits her head, she loses her memory and nobody knows who she is. Rowan Whitethorn is a widower who owns a small inn in town and father to 6-year-old Thalia. When, after much insistence from his daughter, Rowan offers Aelin a place to stay, the two have to spend time together against their will. Rowan cannot stand spoiled and self-centered Aelin, and Aelin hates how cold and guarded Rowan is. Thalia thinks it would take a Christmas miracle for them to finally get along.

Inspired by Falling for Christmas (2022)

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: None

Author's note: This is the last part! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy it.

Masterlist

Read it on AO3

Aelin woke up to the feeling of Rowan’s breath on her face and the weight of his body against hers. She sighed in content and buried her head closer in his shoulder. She felt the rumble of his laugh.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," whispered Rowan in her ear.

She felt the press of his lips on her forehead. She hid her face from the light coming from the window. They had forgotten to close the curtains last night.

"Can we stay like this just for a little while longer?" she mumbled.

"I’m afraid not. Thalia is gonna wake up in any minute," he replied.

"You were much nicer in my dreams," she groaned.

He chuckled and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissing it.

"You better tell me all about this dream later," he said in a low voice. She felt warmth pool in her lower body. "But now we need to get out of bed," he added.

Aelin whined loudly and Rowan laughed again.

"You know, you’re unbelievable cute when you’re tired," he said. Aelin snorted at that.

She finally gave up and sat up, stretching out her limbs. She caught Rowan looking at her with a look that told her she wasn’t the only one who’d rather be doing other things right now.

"Enjoying the view?" she asked with a smirk.

"I love how you look in my shirt," he replied, smiling at her.

The door of the bedroom opened and a small body with brown hair jumped into the bed.

"DADDY IT’S CHRISTMAS WAKE UP!" Thalia yelled.

She noticed Aelin next to her father in bed but didn’t seem to care at the moment. She had a more pressing issue.

"Merry Christmas!" she exclaimed with a wide toothy smile.

They both laughed and got out of bed, following the young girl downstairs.

"Can I open my presents, daddy? Please!" she pleaded.

He nodded and she ran to the Christmas tree. Aelin and Rowan sat down on the couch, looking at her with fondness as the girl opened her gifts, screaming each time in glee. When she was done, Rowan got up from the sofa.

"Wait here. Santa left another present," said Rowan in a mysterious voice.

Aelin gave him a puzzled look, but he just smiled innocently and went in the dining room. He came back with a big red box in his hands. Thalia looked at it in awe. He set it in the middle of the lounge.

"Be careful. This is fragile," he warned her.

Thalia approached the present with curiosity in her eyes. She startled when the box moved and a small sound came out of it. She looked at her father, unsure, but he nodded. She opened the lid slowly and screamed when she saw what was inside.

"A PUPPY!" she cried out.

Rowan came next to her and grabbed the small dog from the box, holding it in his hands.

"Here, you can hold her, but you need to be gentle. You don’t want to hurt her," he explained calmly.

Thalia opened her arms and Rowan placed the puppy in her lap. She touched it delicately, marvelling at his soft golden fur. The puppy climbed on the young girl and licked her face. She laughed.

"This is the best Christmas gift ever!" she said.

Aelin came closer and sat down with them to see the dog. The puppy was tiny and full of energy, her small tail wagging in the air.

"You need to give her a name," said Rowan.

Thalia looked at the dog and thought, her small forehead creasing.

"Celaena, can you help me find a name?" she asked Aelin.

"Yes, of course," Aelin replied, considering the puppy before her. "What about Cookie?"

"No, it isn’t right," the girl said.

"How about Star?" Aelin tried again.

"I’m not sure," Thalia replied.

"Wait, I’ve got it! What do you think of Fleetfoot? Because she’s fast and she’s got big paws."

"I love it!" the child exclaimed. The dog seemed to agree, wagging her tail even faster.

While Thalia was petting and playing with Fleetfoot, Rowan picked up a present from under the tree. He turned towards Aelin.

"This is for you," he explained.

Her eyes got wide with surprise and she took the box in her hands. It was quite heavy. She unwrapped it and opened the box.

"You remembered?" she gasped. She looked at the big snow globe in wonder, her eyes filling with happy tears.

"I saw you looking at it when we went to the Christmas market, so I got it for you," Rowan said shyly.

"Thank you," she said in a small voice. She wiped her tears from her eyes and hugged him tightly.

Then she grabbed a small box and handed it to Rowan.

"This isn’t much, but I hope you like it."

Rowan opened the gift, taking out the watch from the box and admiring it. He gave her a soft smile.

"This is perfect," he said as he put it on his wrist.

The morning sun lit up his face and she thought maybe she was a little bit in love with him. She was about to tell him when there was a knock at the door of the lodge. They weren’t expecting new guests this morning, but sometimes people showed up without calling.

Rowan got up from the floor and walked over to the lobby, opening the door. There were two men standing on the front porch. One was in his fifties, with grey hair. He had a serious look on his face. The other one was a spitting image of Aelin, from the blonde hair to the turquoise eyes. He smiled at Rowan.

"Are we at the North Star lodge?" he asked in a nervous voice.

Rowan nodded.

"We’re looking for my cousin, Aelin Ashryver-Galathynius. We were told she was staying here," he explained quickly.

Rowan looked at Aelin sitting with Thalia in the lounge. They were playing with Fleetfoot and laughing. The young man followed his gaze and gasped.

"Aelin!" he exclaimed in a relieved voice.

Aelin looked up and gave a confused look to the man.

"I’m sorry. She hit her head while skiing and doesn’t remember anything from before the accident," Rowan explained to the men. He let them inside.

The older man approached Aelin, and when she looked in his eyes, she had a flash. She remembered him.

"Dad?" she asked him.

Her father stood in front of her, looking at her with a warm smile.

"Yes. We’ve been looking for you for weeks. We were so worried. But here you are," he said, hugging her.

She hugged him back, taking in what just happened. When he let her go, she noticed tears in his eyes.

"It’s okay, you’ve found me. I’m alright, I promise," she said, trying to comfort him.

The other man joined them. Aelin couldn’t remember who he was but felt like she should.

"Hey cousin," he said giving her a tentative smile.

"Hi," she replied, uncertain.

"You scared us, you know?" the blonde man said with a small laugh.

The sound triggered something in her brain and suddenly memories flooded her mind. She knew who she was. She was Aelin Ashryver-Galathynius.

"Aedion!" she exclaimed, jumping in his arms.

Aedion caught her and held her close, rubbing her back.

"We’re so happy we found you. How are you?" he asked her.

"I’m good, except for the small bit where I forgot everything," she joked.

"Have you been here all this time?" Aedion replied, letting her go.

That’s when Aelin noticed Rowan, standing awkwardly to the side with Thalia. The girl was holding Fleetfoot in her arms.

"Dad, Aedion, I’d like to introduce you to Rowan Whitethorn. He’s the owner of this place and he took me in when I had no one."

Rhoe approached Rowan with an extended hand.

"Pleased to meet, Mr. Whitethorn. Thank you so much for taking care of my daughter. We were so concerned for her, but it looks like she’s doing well thanks to you."

Rowan shook his hand firmly and smiled.

"And this is Thalia, his daughter," Aelin said, gesturing to the young girl.

Aedion kneeled down in front of the child.

"That’s an adorable puppy you’ve got there. What’s his name?" he asked with a big smile.

"Fleetfoot. Celaena found her name," Thalia replied warily.

"Her real name is Aelin, sunshine," said Rowan, but the girl didn’t seem to be happy with the change of name. Or the people coming in and ruining her Christmas morning.

"So, this is it, I guess?" said Rowan, looking at Aelin with a resigned smile.

"I guess," replied Aelin in a sad voice.

She went upstairs to her room to pick up her things. She didn’t have much so it wasn’t long before she came back down in the lobby where her father and Aedion were waiting for her. She turned toward Rowan.

"Thank you, for everything," she said in a small voice. She wanted to say more but she was struggling to find the words.

"Of course," he replied trying to sound detached.

Aelin looked at Thalia, who was holding Fleetfoot close to her heart. She had tears in her eyes.

"Will you forget us?" she said to Aelin.

"I could never forget you," replied Aelin. She kissed the top of her small head and petted the dog.

After one last goodbye, Aelin followed Rhoe and Aedion to the door.

"Don’t leave, Celaena! Please," cried Thalia.

Aelin stopped in her tracks and felt her heart break.

"She has to go, Thalia. She’s going home with her dad and her cousin," said Rowan, hugging his daughter.

Aelin couldn’t take it anymore. She walked outside and got into the big black car waiting for her. Her father and her cousin got in the front seats. Aedion started the car and Aelin looked at the North Star through the window, holding back her tears. She looked at it until it disappeared in the distance.

…

After stopping at the resort to grab Aelin’s luggage, they flew back to Orynth. Her father and Aedion refused to leave her alone in her big apartment, so she went to stay with her cousin. He had a huge loft downtown.

When she was settled in his guest room, she looked at the snow globe Rowan had given her just a few hours ago. She remembered now why it was so familiar. Her mother had one like this before she passed away when Aelin was ten.

She shook it and looked at the fake snowflakes falling on the small city and covering it in white. It reminded her of Summit Springs. She was happy to have her memories back, she truly was, but she couldn’t help but miss the small town in the mountains. Orynth was so different; it was huge and impersonal. She remembered she used to like it and enjoyed the luxury it offered, but it wasn’t the same anymore. It felt lonely.

She tried to go back to her regular life, but everything seemed so superficial compared to the genuine laughs she had shared with Rowan and Thalia. Everyone was expecting her to bounce right back, so she tried her best. But even seeing her best friend, Lysandra, and going shopping didn’t help improve her mood.

A few days passed in a haze. Everyone wanted to see her and hear about what happened to her. But she didn’t feel like talking about it. It was too personal to share, so she kept it minimal. People quickly got bored and moved on to another topic she didn’t care about.

She had her phone back and had wanted to text Rowan, but she realized she didn’t have his number. She wanted to know if Thalia was okay, if the lodge was doing well, if Fleetfoot was behaving in his new home… But mostly she wanted to tell him she missed him.

On the 31st, her father came over. She hadn’t really had much time to talk to him since they were reunited. He had a lot going on with the hotel business. She knew because Aedion kept talking on the phone about things she didn’t really understand like profits and shares.

"How are you doing, Fireheart?" he asked her. He hadn’t called her by this name since her mother had died.

"I’m alright. I think I remember almost everything now," she replied.

"I didn’t mean your amnesia, though it’s good to hear that. I meant, how are you really doing?"

"I don’t know…" she said honestly.

"You know, we never finished our discussion before you left for the mountains."

"Dad…" she started.

"Aelin, I just want you to be happy," he said.

"I don’t wanna work for the company, dad. I know you hoped I would take over when you retire, but it’s not what I want to do with my life. I want to find my own path. I’m sorry."

She looked at him, nervous about his reaction. She couldn’t read his face.

"Are you disappointed?" she asked in a small voice.

"No, you could never disappoint me, Fireheart. I’m so proud of you. You’ve really grown, I see it now. Your mother would be proud of you too," he said with a smile.

She smiled back, her body relaxing.

"Anyway, I have Aedion to take over the business someday," he added.

She looked outside by the large window. Snow was falling on Orynth and people were rushing home in the streets. She sighed.

"I miss Rowan and Thalia," she whispered.

"You should do what makes you happy and follow you heart," her father told her.

She thought about what she truly wanted. There was only place she could think of.

"I need to go back to work, but you know you can call me anytime, right?" he said.

"Yes. Thank you, dad," she said as she got up.

After he left, Aelin headed to her room and packed her bags. She smiled to herself; she was going back home.

…

It was snowing when Aelin arrived at the North Star. She thanked the taxi driver and headed down the pathway to the lodge. It was already late. Everyone would be inside partying.

As she walked, struggling with her luggage, she noticed someone sitting outside alone. The person got up and she caught a glimpse of Rowan’s face in the moonlight.

"Aelin?" he asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I forgot something," she replied.

She stopped in front of him, putting her luggage down. She took a deep breath and looked in his deep green eyes.

"All I’ve ever wanted those past weeks was a place to belong," she said. "Somewhere I could call home. And I didn’t even notice that I already found that. You are my home."

His eyes didn’t leave hers and she saw a flicker of hope in them.

"Leaving you and Thalia was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I’m here now," she added.

He broke the eye contact and looked at the snow on the ground.

"Shouldn’t you be at some fancy hotel party right now?" he asked her half-jokingly.

"There is nowhere else I’d rather be," she replied assuredly.

She took his hand, her thumb brushing lightly against his skin.

"I know I left, I’m sorry. But if you want me back, I’d like to stay… Because I love you," she said.

Rowan looked up, studying her face. He only found sincerity and love. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her mouth.

"I can’t imagine my life without you, Aelin. I love you," he replied.

He grabbed her waist with his hands, pulling her closer and kissed her again. 

"I’m glad you’re here," he whispered when he finally pulled away.

She looked at him hesitantly before she said: "I talked with my dad. We would like to invest in the North Star."

"No. No way," he replied quickly and adamantly.

"You deserve it. And it’s my money. I want to spend it on something I care about. You don’t have to do this alone. I’m here now and I want to help. Please let me," she pleaded.

"Alright," he sighed. "We’ll talk about it later."

They heard people shouting inside.

"You should probably go back. I can hear the countdown. I wouldn’t want to ruin your party," she said.

"You could never ruin anything," he replied, grabbing her hands.

They heard people cheer loudly inside the lodge as the clock turned to midnight. Rowan smiled at her tenderly and kissed her.

"Happy New Year," he whispered in her ear.

"Happy New Year," she replied.

The front door opened abruptly and Thalia came out. She looked with wide eyes at Aelin.

"You came back! I knew you would!" she exclaimed, running to her and hugging her with a big smile. Aelin hugged her back tightly.

A small ball of golden fur followed the young girl outside. Fleetfoot barked and jumped on Aelin’s legs excitedly. She kneeled down and petted her head. The dog ran in the snow happily, bouncing around. She was smaller than the mound of snow, so they could only see her popping in and out. They all laughed.

Thalia decided to join the dog and jumped into the snow with her. Aelin smiled brightly at the sight, feeling happy and content. She looked at Rowan who was watching his daughter with affection. The young girl grabbed some snow and threw a snowball their way, laughing loudly. This, right here, is where she belonged Aelin thought. She was finally home.

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[i-dream-of-twilight-sparkle]

After things ended well in the last session, Starlight felt emboldened enough to plan the next session sooner. It's only been three days since the Generosity lesson. Like she mentioned to Chrysalis already, the egos of this lesson's guests this time do somewhat worry her for this lesson. But not in a way that means she has no faith in her friends, just a bit curious how Chrysalis is going to behave with guests who have egos closer to the Queen's own. 

At the same time this lesson should be something of a breather compared to the last one since it won't require any emotional talks with Ocellus and/or Thorax. Perhaps arguably there was a lot more at stake, and things that could have easily gone terribly wrong in the previous lesson and in fact almost did when Chrysalis tried to escape, but Starlight also doesn't want this session to end in a standstill with every one in the room just saying what they're the best at while doing nothing but irritating Chrysalis. Some of the guests are those she's known for more than a decade now, but there's certainly going to be some chemistry with this group. Starlight just doesn't know if it will all mix together, or just blow up in her face.

She approaches the now much more enlarged cell behind the barrier and calls out for Chrysalis

Starlight: I'm back, Chrysalis! Hope the extra space has felt much better these past few days.

Unlike so many of the previous sessions, Chrysalis actually seems a bit pleased to see Starlight. The additional cell space has really allowed her to be more cheery.

Chrysalis: Ah is it that time already? You'd given me such a break before our last lesson, I didn't think you'd be having this one so soon. I'm well aware who's coming… at least one of the ponies who's coming. You'll be happy to know I have been practicing my flight thanks to this bigger space! I know a certain competitive blue pony will try to assert her dominance over me, but that's not going to happen now!

She cackled.

Starlight: I figured since things ended relatively well last time, it would be best to strike while the iron is hot you could say. You obviously needed time after not just the overfill of Pinkie and Cheese's love, but the emotions you had after seeing Discord again. It could have been very easy to just leave you after you had finished talking with Thorax and I'd have had to wait much longer, possibly even the longest wait out of any session yet. But... instead I gave you a chance to explore the hive, and I expanded the size of your cell as a gift... even if that included an escape attempt mixed in the middle of all that.

It helps that today's guests I can gather on a near moment's notice. Where either they already currently work at the friendship school, or they have the speed to arrive anytime I need them.

Chrysalis smirked

Chrysalis: Old habits die hard, what can I say? I chose not to leave though. Or put the blame on you for escaping either, never forget that.

She huffs, speaking as if Starlight owed her for what she did, or rather didn't do. She was aware that Rainbow Dash would be one of the guests, but she was still in the dark on the others.

Chrysalis: It's safe to assume today's lesson is about loyalty… though it's not about pledging loyalty to me is it~?

She gives a toothy grin, while Starlight just lifts an eyebrow with a snarky chuckle

Starlight: Ha, sorry 'Your highness' but we're far from doing that. However, before we bring in our guests... I figure I should ask... is there a moment of your life you held great loyalty for someone that you can share with me. At any point of your life.

Chrysalis thinks about it for a moment before she nods.

Chrysalis: My… my parents. I was quite loyal to them… when they were alive, anyway. And… then I was loyal to the next leader of the hive… or at least the leader who decided to take charge. He taught me everything on how to be the Queen I was!

She noticeably didn't give a name. 

Chrysalis: So I do understand the importance of loyalty towards one's leaders. The undying loyalty that would make you put your life on the line for them! That is what I tried to instill in my changelings before I was betrayed.

Starlight writes down on her journal, though in respect to Chrysalis decides not to push for more information. There will be a time and place for that she feels like, and it would feel like pushing her luck if she digs any deeper. She nods and thanks Chrysalis for giving a straightforward answer as she can at this time

Starlight: Thank you Chrysalis, you don't need to go any further than that for now. Let's bring in our guests then, shall we?

Chrysalis sighs.

Chrysalis: Fine, bring them in. I can only imagine the headaches I'll be having tonight. But fine, portal them in... I'm at least ready for the element of loyalty... honestly, she can't be worse than some of the other guests that were… uninvited.

Chrysalis watched as Starlight opened the portal for not only Rainbow Dash, but all of the others that were joining them for this lesson, Chrysalis did directly recognize another pony in this group as well, Trixie.

Chrysalis: (Oh goody… TWO blue annoyances… and both of them have taken part in stopping my plans before…)

Though just as Trixie steps in, a rainbow trail ZOOMS into the chamber, almost blowing Trixie's hat clear off her head and flies all around Starlight's half of the chamber. The Captain of the Wonderbolts enters in style. As she makes a dramatic landing, she poses near Starlight. Her mane style was more like Spitfire's now, and she even had a captain's jacket and sunglasses. As she beams a smug smirk.

Rainbow: Wasssssuuuuuuuuup?! Captain Rainbow Dash of the Wonderbolts is here to provide a bit more color to this dreary room!

A snarky voice is heard from behind a portal in which an orange and purple dragon walks on in. This was Smoulder, she was about Dragon Lord  Ember's height from 10 years ago by now.

Smolder: I didn't know you were a painter... Professor Dash.

Trixie was also in some slightly different attire, she was wearing a suit of the same color as her magician hat. It looked more professional than her cape though it was still in a similar style.

Trixie: Hmph! You nearly made Trixie lose her hat! How can the Great and Powerful Counselor Trixie make a grand entrance without it!? Trixie must look presentable at all times! Chrysalis has not seen the new, and improved, Trrrrrrixie!

The other pony that came in was pretty speedy as well, carrying a backpack on her that was large enough to cover her tiny wings.

Scootaloo: Let's not forget Equestria's Mermaid, me, Scootaloo! One of the fastest members, if not the fastest member of the Waterbolts!

Chrysalis looked at them all and deadpanned.

Chrysalis: Ah… egotistical self love, well at least I know what kind of flavor I'll be getting to taste plenty of today...

Starlight about sighed, this was certainly going to be one hard room to handle she felt.

Starlight: Uh yeah... even if most of them have introduced themselves plenty… I’ll still give something of an overview of them all. 

Rainbow Dash since you last saw her has become the new Captain as soon as Spitfire retired. Rainbow now leads the Wonderbolts along with her squad of Thunderlane, Vapor Trail, and Sky Stinger.

Trixie meanwhile, was my first ever friend made after meeting Twilight and the others. She took over as Counselor when I was promoted to Headmare of the School of Friendship. She may sound conceited… but she's a stage magician true-and-true that is just really good at keeping up her act. Once you really get to know her, Trixie's one of the funnest friends to be around. We've had our fair share of friendship field trips both in and outside of Equestria, heh heh.

The tall orange dragon you see before you is Smolder, she was another of our first non-pony students a decade ago. And she took over as Professor of Loyalty once Rainbow committed full time to the Wonderbolts from then onward.

And last but not least, is Scootaloo. The 2nd of 3 Cutie Mark Crusaders who thanks to a wish made from Twilight long ago gained the ability to transform into a seapony at any moment sort of like the Hippogriffs do with their necklaces. She's been practicing her swimming ability ever since, and as she stated. She has a reputation as Equestria's Mermaid. Known worldwide as the fastest pony ever... in the sea that is

Chrysalis: Hmmmph… All your titles are certainly achievements, but they pale in comparison to the true Queen of the Changelings~!

Chrysalis looks at the entire group, as if she's measuring them up. It's nice to be able to have more room in this area now, she doesn't feel as confined to a corner like before. She feels as if she can have a bit more leverage.

Chrysalis: Smolder… with that position, you must be friends with Ocellus then. Interesting… I certainly hope you're as loyal as Glimmer says.

Smolder: You kidding? Ocellus is almost like a little sister to me! I'd never leave her hanging!

Rainbow: Same thing for me and Scoots! Isn't that right, squirt?!

Scootaloo nods enthusiastically

Chrysalis: I can certainly already taste your love for yourself… young Scootaloo, and your idolism for her. 

She smirks, looking over to Rainbow Dash. Chrysalis then looks at Trixie.

Chrysalis: You… yes, I remember you well. You snuck into my hive with Glimmer over there when I was… removed from my throne. There's a lot of love coming off of you for yourself… and something else about you… I cannot place my hoof on i,t but there's something about you that I like.

Trixie: Aha! Trixie can see she's already made a good impression as well! Hmph, was there ever any doubt though?

Chrysalis: And you, Rainbow Dash… it's been a while hasn't it? The windswept look makes you look more… mature. But are you still really the fastest at your age? Hmm?~

It sounded like she was trying to get under their skin just a bit.

Rainbow: Ha, I haven't slowed down a bit Chrysalis! And now that I have experience to add to that, I could probably outspeed anyone even when I turn 50!

Scootaloo nods at Rainbow with a grin.

Scootaloo: That's right! Rainbow's still the fastest flier in all Equestria! Age can't slow her down!

Chrysalis smirks at them, pacing back and forth, her focus on Rainbow Dash. Something about this… was familiar to Chrysalis. Like there was a bit of a competitive flame burning within her.

Chrysalis: Really? You want to put your money where your mouth is Rainbow Dash? You claim to still be the fastest… but can you really beat...

She takes one step as green flames envelop her, transforming Chrysalis into Rainbow Dash at her prime.

Chrysalis: Can you really beat yourself?~

Starlight: Hold on now, it's not time for a race... or at least... not yet. We're only going to be talking first, but I promise that we will see a great race between Rainbow Dash and Chrysalis soon. Assuming Chrysalis consents to that idea that is.

Rainbow: Ha, I won't be surprised if she declines. There's no way she can beat me!

Chrysalis grins widely at them, still speaking in Rainbow Dash's voice

Chrysalis: Ah, a chance to show who the fastest flier really is? I can handle that!

Scootaloo rolls her eyes

Scootaloo: Oh please, you can look like her all you want, but you can't match Rainbow's speed! She's been training all her life and you've been in stone for the last few years!

Trixie: Better a race than trying to challenge Trixie to a magic off, not like Chrysalis would win that either!

The air of competition was heavy among all of them, wanting to prove how superior they were. Chrysalis shifts back to her normal form.

Chrysalis: Ha! I will accept all challenges! I will show you my greatness! But fine, Glimmer… let us have our preliminary chat. Then I can show the power of a Queen!

Smoulder just rolls her eyes

Smolder: You ponies and your competitions... granted, I know I can be a bit competitive when it comes to lava surfing but I know neither ponies nor any changeling wants to get near lava. 

The mere thought of lava sends a chill down Chrysalis' spine. 

Chrysalis' expression drops immediately at the thought. Something all of them can see clear as day on her face.

Chrysalis: No… no, we do not. Not again, not ever...

She walks back, the competitive fire having died down for now.

Chrysalis: So Glimmer, how did you actually want to start this lesson?"

Trixie and Scootaloo looked surprised by the sudden change in tone from Chrysalis, and the fact that she wanted to really go through with the lesson proper rather than just bluster at each other.

Starlight: Well, I suppose we can start with Scootaloo showing her seapony form. I'm sorry we don't exactly have a pool for you to show off your swimming skills. Though say, I see you've brought a backpack. Did you bring something here?

Scootaloo nods and pulls out a projector. The walls around there are flat enough that it would make for a pretty good screen. 

Scootaloo: It's too bad I can't show off my swimming skill directly. Buuuuut at least with this you can actually see it, instead of just seeing an orange and purple blur, heh. Watch and be amazed at the fastest swimmer in all of Equestria!

Chrysalis rolls her eyes as Scootaloo sets up the projector. The sound of the film running echoing through the prison. Onscreen she can see a waterbolts show. She recognized Silverstream there. And she even saw a few changelings in the group too. Inside it made her happy, but she was not about to show it, especially not to this group. She could also taste the prideful love coming off of Scootaloo… and also from Rainbow Dash, who looked quite proud of her number 1 fan's accomplishments.

Rainbow: Hey Squirt! Rewind to get some slow-motion views of your underwater stunts! Show how amazing you are even on a frame-by-frame basis!

Scootaloo: Heh, for once I'm ahead of you on something! I made sure to get a whole supercut made of my best stunts, check it out, it's coming up now!

They can all see on the projector, zoomed in shots of Scootaloo darting through the water, her breaching the surface and flipping around, even creating a whirlpool on her own too! It was admittedly impressive, even Chrysalis couldn't deny that. Though she did notice something that hadn't crossed her mind when Scootaloo walked in. Her wings. She saw them in the Waterbolt film and only then she realized how small they were. Like a foal's wings. But Scootaloo was clearly much older than a foal. 

Chrysalis: (Odd… this mare isn't a child anymore, yet she has the wings of one… that's probably why she's not a wonderbolt… but why not just ask Twilight Sparkle to give her normal wings? Even Cadence and Shining’s little brat had wings that were adult sized, and she was still a child! I don't understand… they have a genie as an ally, why not harness her power?)

Starlight claps for the clip show from the projector and smiles toward the talented swimmer

Starlight: Now Scootaloo, although there is no water down here. How about you briefly sit down on the floor and show Chrysalis your seapony form right here

Scootaloo nods happily, getting herself into position. Chrysalis also gets a better view of her and her wings.

Scootaloo: Sure thing! Now you better watch closely, and be careful, cause my awesomeness might just blow you away!

Chrysalis watches as the back half of Scootaloo begins to glow. Her legs seemingly merged into one and elongated into a fin. Scootaloo looks quite proud of herself, as she poses as best she can in her transformed state.

Scootaloo: Ta-da~! So, what do you think? Not like your flames of green when you transform, but still pretty flashy in its own right! Don't be too stunned by Equestria's Mermaid!

Chrysalis: Again with you ponies trying to measure up to Changelings by transforming yourselves. I'll give you credit, your speed in the water is something to behold. But I do have a question regarding… those, your wings... I hadn't noticed it when you had your bag on, but now that I see them up close… is that some result of you trying to transform?

Starlight: Ah! I nearly forgot you haven't seen Scootaloo for long enough to notice, or well... back when you did last see her she was a filly. So the small wings looked relatively normal. You see Chrysalis... Scootaloo was born with a disability. She's a pegasus who under normal circumstances could never fly like any normal Pegasus. She could buzz a little bit above the air, but otherwise was incapable of taking to the skies herself.

However, the small size of her wings in the case of her swimming talent actually is a boon. The hippogriffs were bird-esque equines with a large set of wings, they can still swim quite fast with practice but those wings even when turned into more translucent water wings do slightly drag whereas for Scootaloo she's basically like a torpedo with her small sized wings. It's not the sole reason she is the fastest Waterbolt, but it's certainly turned what was a disability into an extra edge in any underwater performance. Scootaloo's speed in the water could match Rainbow's fastest speeds in the air.

Rainbow nods

Rainbow: Scootaloo may never be able to fly like me, but who cares about that when she can wow crowds in the water! And she worked hard to achieve this.

Sometimes a disability is simply a dead end that makes you find another path around to achieve your dreams, even when that path's a bit unexpected. Cause I know how much you used to hate baths! 

Rainbow chuckles and winks

Scootaloo chuckles herself awkwardly and rolls her eyes a bit as Rainbow mentions her initial dislike of baths but quickly turns around to look proud, unlike when she was young where she would be ashamed of her inability, she was happy that her wings can actually be used to her advantage now. She transforms back to her normal pony self and stands up before responding.

Scootaloo: Hehe yeah! I can draw in crowds on my own and I have so many adoring fans who are going through the same kinds of issues I went through! And if I can show them what somepony with a disability can do, then they in turn will believe in themselves! I can make them realize that life isn't as cruel as it might seem!

Chrysalis tilts her head.

Chrysalis: Very inspirational yes… but I'm still confused. You say you've had this disability since you were a filly… so why not just wish from Twilight Sparkle to make your wings grow properly? That seemed like it would well be within her power, even then...

Scootaloo went quiet for a moment.

Scootaloo: I won’t lie that a part of me thought about it early on, but… I dunno, at this point it'd feel like more of a disadvantage. In fact, that would feel more like a disability to me. I'd also be letting my fans down if I just showed up with full size wings out of nowhere! And even back then, I wanted to do it on my own! No shortcuts! Twilight had way more important things to be worried about! 

Rainbow: That's right, I could have wished to be a Wonderbolt straight up if I had wanted to. As back when Twilight became a genie, I hadn't even been invited to the reserves yet. But I held myself still, because I thought of the implications. Twilight wishes up some sort of official contract that certifies me as a Wonderbolt. 

Do Spitfire and the others just accept that? Are their minds instantly made to be ok with my sudden addition to the Wonderbolts without even having been to the academy? Or think if I'd even feel I've truly earned it. All those years dreaming to get into the bolts, and it's done with simply saying a single sentence to a friend that just so happened to gain this cosmic power out of nowhere? It... just didn't sit right with me

Some ponies say I don't think things through enough ... and to be fair they were sometimes right... but when it came to achieving my dream. Just as Scootaloo said, I wanted no shortcuts. Earn what you can achieve by your own willpower.

Starlight: And even if Scootaloo had wished for wings and tried to earn her way to the Wonderbolts through normal means. Most Wonderbolts had been training their entire lives while Scootaloo would be quite behind. 

Maybe Scootaloo could add onto the wish to be as skillful as a Wonderbolt, but that gets back to how she wouldn't feel like she'd had earned her skill. Whereas wishing to be able to turn into a seapony at will started off as realizing that she loves to swim and didn't mind briefly sacrificing her hindlegs to trade for a feeling similar to flying when she visited Seaquestria for the first time with Sweetie, Apple Bloom, and Twilight. 

Plus it helped make Scootaloo feel more unique that she was the first pony in the Waterbolts.

Rainbow: Spitfire had been looking for ways to expand the Wonderbolts. We initially were only going to expand to non-pony fliers as Equestria continued to be inspired by the diversity of the School of Friendship. But then Scootaloo suggested the possibility of a naval branch to her. Spitfire told Scootaloo that if she could find enough talented swimmers in Seaquestria, she'd consider giving it a shot. 

Though it would turn out that the best swimmers were already trying out for the Wonderbolts. Because we saw some AWFUL flying performances... but once we realized Queen Novo didn't send only the fastest fliers. We switched the training course to go underwater and suddenly the worst fliers were the best swimmers, and vice versa. Thus, the Waterbolts had its foundation!

Scootaloo nods.

Scootaloo: Just because we could ask Twilight for the things we want, honestly getting it that way would cause more problems than it's worth. And then the whole implications of messing with ponies' heads, I can't get behind that! Sure, I would've loved to have my wings be normal. But they don't define me, I do! The waterbolts are where I belong! I can live out my dreams and inspire others like me! I think that's better than some quick fix.

This made Chrysalis go silent for a moment. The prospect of hard work isn't lost on her either… and the idea of just a quick fix being dull or unearned made her think about her villainous days.

Chrysalis: I suppose you may have a point there… as much as I had wanted to conquer Equestria, I would rather have done it by my own hooves… Even when I had captured Twilight before in the past I didn't try to force a wish out of her… hm...

It was a dark comparison but Chrysalis was at least understanding somewhat.

Chrysalis: So none of you would rather wish to have a better situation in life?

Smolder: I don't know about everyone here, but I'm pretty ok with where I'm at. Sure, I could think of ways my life could be selfishly better, like if Dragon Lord Ember were to suddenly resign and I get a chance to become the new Dragon Lord. But then I think about if I would really want to be a leader. All that power is nice, but then comes all the responsibility. I mean... I'm still responsible for my students as the Teacher of Loyalty. But a classroom is on a whole different scale from an entire nation. 

It's more fun just to make my students play Dodge Ball every Friday. Couldn't make all of the Dragon Lands do that as Dragon Lord... 

Or COULD I...?

Smoulder paused, before chuckling to herself

Starlight: There was certainly a time of my life where I definitely would have wanted to wish for a better situation... but well... Twilight basically has already done that for me without having to wish for anything. I didn't just wish Twilight would become my teacher, she offered that all on her own. No genie magic required. You'd think that Twilight would use wishes to solve every problem that comes in her or her friend's way, but what makes Twilight such a great genie. Is she knows when something doesn't necessarily require her powers to do. She'll still use them to help on occasion, but she usually thinks things through.

Really, the only thing I can think of that I'd desire more than anything else would be to have my mother be alive again and in her own body. But that's something that's beyond even Twilight's wishing power. 

Trixie: Wellll, Trixie did have the idea for some more personal items, but Starlight convinced her otherwise. Besides, Trixie could easily wish to be the world's greatest stage magician… even though Trixie absolutely already fits that description. But Trixie would much rather show the world what she is capable of! The world will marvel at the great and powerful Trrrrrrixie! Not because of some wish, but because she worked for it!

Chrysalis was stunned. They were so confident in their own abilities to get what they wanted and they had so much respect and… loyalty to Twilight that they didn't want to abuse her power. So what did that say about Chrysalis then? She already admitted that she would rather have worked to take over Equestria too… at least she would have in the past.

Chrysalis: You all believe in Twilight Sparkle that much....? And in yourselves… hm… here I thought you were all talk… just bluster...

Rainbow: I suppose another part of it is how Twilight has the full ability to say no to wishes. She isn't like one of those storybook genies! Otherwise Spike could have wished for Rarity's love... although I suppose the Aladdin sort of genie had a rule against wishes for love. From what I know Twilight COULD hypothetically do that, but she has the moral fiber to turn that down immediately. 

As Rainbow mentions Spike most of the room just nods along although Chrysalis can see a hint of nervousness from Smoulder as the subject changed to not just love but mentioning Spike in there too.

Chrysalis snickered initially

Chrysalis: Oh come now, it's not so bad to force others to love you. so the other person gets a little… empty headed when you force them to love you. It's fine! But I guess that's not what any of you are looking for in a relationship, be it a pony or… dragon...

She could taste something in the air, her attention turned to Smoulder. It seemed the mention of Spike had made her blush.

Chrysalis: What's the matter? Getting a bit warm in here? Don't tell me, you have feelings for the little purple dragon? I can taste it on you… so no point in lying~

Smolder frowns and her blush goes brighter

Smolder: W-w-w-what?! H-hey! I-i-i don't have a c-crush on s-s-Spike!

Starlight shakes her head

Starlight: Sorry Smolder, you're not exactly going to be able to hide it that easily from the Queen of the Changelings here. Honestly, it's not even that hard to guess for most of us. And we're not even the ones who can taste love

Smoulder, incapable of hiding it, just turns her back to hide her blushing face from everyone in the chamber.

Smolder: I-i-i-i-idiots!

The others in the room just roll their eyes and chuckle.

Rainbow: I should at least correct Chrysalis by saying I wouldn't call Spike a LITTLE dragon any more. He's about a head taller than most ponies now! A bit on the lean side at the moment still, but he's been working on bulking up. He's even shown up at Wonderbolt HQ to use our top-of-the-line Exercise equipment!

Starlight: And it's ok Smoulder, remember that you have quite a long time to decide if you want to follow-up on your feelings for Spike. You know Dragons don't have marriages, right? You can ask Spike out whenever you feel like it, even if he already has a partner!

Smolder: ...Yeah, b-but... it's just... still... sooooo... e-e-embarrasing... 

Chrysalis couldn't help but laugh at this. As Smoulder got more embarrassed, the more the love she felt for Spike increased. Chrysalis could taste it all in the air, a better 'breakfast' than the egotistical love that she tasted when they came in.

Chrysalis: Mmm yes, keep thinking about him! Your flavor is so spicy! Fitting for dragons I suppose! Come now, embrace your feelings! It makes me happy to get a good meal~!

She did look a bit confused to hear that Spike had grown so much. She couldn't see him being the working out type.

Chrysalis: Seriously? He's that big? I just assumed he would stay short and stubby forever… you know...

She transforms into the Spike she remembers, just to taunt Smoulder

Chrysalis: More like this~

Smolder: h-h-Hey! I didn't have feelings for him back then! He was still only a little kid in dragon years! B-b-but... I-i... suppose now that we're both relatively young teens in dragon years... I have come to see him as more than just that nice little kid I knew...

T-t-though I don't even know Spike's current thoughts on romance. All I know is he used to have a crush on Rarity which I think he's gotten over by now. Maybe he's even taking a cue from his genie mom, and not taking interest in romance altogether currently.

Rainbow: Sometimes I feel like the moment Spike's ready for romance it could certainly solve some things. Maybe Rarity would go for Spike as he is now or sometime in the future, Smoulder could be there too, and honestly Spike and Gabby seem like they'd hit things off well enough too. Without marriages, dragons like Spike have ALL the options in the world!

I'd almost be jealous if I had any of these mushy feelings for anypony else. It'll take somepony that's faster than me before I settle down! And according to my calculations... that's an exact number of... ZERO ponies, heh! 

Chrysalis turns back to normal and laughs.

Chrysalis: I don't see the problem then. Have multiple partners. Problem solved. You dragons have a long enough life span, what's a few years to wait? And full freedom to spread their love far and wide? Seems like dragons and changelings have more in common than I once thought.

And as for you, Rainbow. So… that means you're perfectly fine with being alone? Interesting, you're quite different from Rarity that's for sure.

She snickered, thinking back to how she and Rarity had a similar conversation during her last lesson. 

Trixie: Sometimes it may just be better to be alone, this way nopony can hurt you! Besides, who can provide more love than oneself?

Starlight: Oh yeah... that's right, you're referring to your parents relationship... 

You're going to have to excuse us Chrysalis, we have a bit of another... tearjerking story to tell you so that you're all caught up with us. Trixie, do you want to tell Chrysalis the story about your parents, or shall I tell it?

Chrysalis sighed and sat down. 

Chrysalis: Fine fine, at this point I'm used to hearing your guests' stories... and you, Trixie right? I can only taste the love for yourself on you. So go ahead, what happened to you?

(Ponies and their melodramas I swear.. Not like I'm one to talk… but ugh… more family talk... I suppose I can relate)

Trixie looks at Starlight and nods.

Trixie: Trixie... may need some assistance… Starlight. Only if Trixie cannot handle it herself. You see, Trixie has always aimed to be the greatest magician in all of Equestria.

Chrysalis: And I'm guessing like the others here, you achieved your goals through hard work and determination? You talk so highly of yourself so I can only assume this is the case.

Trixie: ...No... Trixie has struggled much of her life to attain that goal. Trixie boasts and brags because it allows her to lie to herself enough until she believes her own lie. But you see, Trixie wanted to be somewhat like her father… well in a sense… Trixie doesn't want his personality...

Starlight: I'll start off with who Trixie's mother is, she's a unicorn pony living in Canterlot named Dandy Lion. Trixie is quite close to her mother, if there's one pony Trixie loves more then herself it's probably her. Her father, Jack Pot on the other hoof... Trixie didn't even get to know him. He abandoned them when Dandy became pregnant, breaking her heart in the process. Dandy was left to take care of Trixie all on her own in Canterlot. While Jack Pot was living it up in Las Pegasus.

Sometime in her early childhood, Trixie picked up remnants of what was left in her home from her father and became interested in becoming a magician. Dandy Lion supported Trixie on her desired career, even if it was the very profession of her former husband that broke her heart. Trixie would eventually find out her father herself is a magician, though instead of using that as a reason to stop pursuing that career. She used it as motivation, to one day have magic shows so popular that Las Pegasus would be begging to invite her, and she could then outright challenge her father and confront him. Show him that she's become a better magician then he could ever hope to be, and scold him for not showing his face to either her or her mother again for so many years, without a clear explanation.

The only problem of course is that Las Pegasus is the most prestigious attraction around. Some shows that are popular in Manehattan don't even make it to Las Pegasus. Trixie would have to work her way from the ground up, and when she failed to captivate what she saw as a simple village like Ponyville... Trixie began to realize how much of a mountain she had to climb to get anywhere close to matching up with her father. Luckily, she had Twilight first before she met me for magic lessons. The both of us helped improve Trixie's shows to some of the most dazzling displays of stage magic anypony has ever seen. And eventually, Trixie finally got that long desired call from Las Pegasus.

Trixie: Trixie's mother… I... She tried her hardest to raise me. Supporting me even on my lowest moments… but what Starlight said is correct. In a world of magic, having a successful stage show enough to catch Las Pegasus’ attention is quite the feat...

She stands tall, trying to boost her ego

Trixie: B-but the great and powerful Trixie was not going to let a simple challenge be her downfall. With the assistance of her friends… I finally got my chance… to humiliate my deadbeat of a father.

Chrysalis had gotten used to listening to these stories… she even got better with empathizing. Familial drama seems to be a big constant. The thought of abandoning a child… it does make her think about what she did to 'protect' Ocellus and even Pharynx or Thorax. But she did it for their sake and the hive...

Chrysalis: So you humiliated your father in front of everyone and got your revenge and thus you moved on?

Trixie: Not… exactly… things were… more complicated.

Starlight: After years of trial and error, and her friendships with me and Twilight to further her skill. Trixie may not have been born with me or Twilight's raw power, but part of the idea of stage magic is how seamless you can make your tricks look to the eyes of audiences. Even an average unicorn can effectively learn to wow audiences with enough practice and guidance.

On the stage set Trixie's show was set to go directly after her fathers. But in a sudden move, Trixie instead interrupted her father's show and challenged him to a magician's duel. At first the CEOs of the theater were a bit livid that Trixie started performing ahead of schedule. But then they realized the idea that a sudden magician duel would draw the attention of the crowd more than anything else. So they quickly re-arranged things to make it look like this was the plan the entire time.

And thus, a duel between a father and his daughter began in earnest.

Chrysalis got a bit more interested now. Leaning in closer.

Chrysalis: Oh? A true competition to show who is the best? Or to use your own phrase, great and powerful?

It was strange, when Chrysalis said it, she sounded nearly identical to Trixie.

Trixie: Yes well… Trixie's father was no slouch. But it was not the duel that was the true challenge... Trixie's emotions had gotten the better of her during the fight… he didn't recognize who Trixie was until… my mother's name was dropped by me. Everything changed. The crowd at the time knew it too, they thought it was some scripted challenge, a way to spice things up, which… now that Trixie thinks of it out of that context… that would make for an interesting show...

She shakes her head, trying to stay focused

Trixie: But Trixie would come to realize, Jack Pot wasn't the villain Trixie thought him to be...he broke my mother's heart and I will never forgive that but… the situation wasn't so one sided...

Starlight: It was a hard fought duel where neither had the edge for the majority of the contest. While Jack Pot had heard of Trixie and even noticed a suspiciously similar color scheme to him. He did not think Trixie was the daughter he abandoned, he dismissed her as simply an obsessed fangirl that went out of her way to look just like him, and was just an upstart copycat that could never beat the original.

As the duel progressed though, her father realized Trixie was no mere copycat. He got more curious about who exactly Trixie was as she matched him trick-for-trick. The duel went on for a dazzling spectacle of magic for an entire half hour that mesmerized the crowd. The crowd themselves got in on the contest as some cheered for Jack as longtime fans, while some cheered for Trixie as they saw her as the brave underdog. This would go on, up until… as Trixie said… she name dropped her mother's name. 

As soon as Jack Pot heard that name, the duel went to a standstill. And Trixie and her father simply just started talking. And it wouldn't be long, before Jack Pot finally realized it: Trixie was his daughter. The one Dandy was pregnant with at the time. 

Chrysalis: ...and I imagine you worked things out, sang a song about it and put on a show together?

Trixie couldn't help but chuckle at this even if this was a more serious matter for her.

Trixie: Must you make a snarky comment after everything? Heh… to be fair, that does sound like something that would happen. No, once the truth… and the tears came out. Trixie would soon learn of her father's past, why he left… and… Trixie… Trixie actually understands his reasoning… in a way, he was still loyal to us… so we wouldn't get hurt in the long run…

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. Feeling like there was more to this now

Trixie: Jack Pot was afraid of responsibility and Trixie thought that was the sole reason he ran. But he was being blackmailed by his boss at the time he got my mother pregnant. Had he stayed with us… we would be under constant threat of the ones squeezing him...

Starlight: Jack Pot's one of the best magicians of all-time. His shows were so popular, a rich con pony by the name of Gladmane quickly worked on setting up a generous contract when he was a young celebrity that was just grateful for the support and had been fooled by Gladmane's supposedly "friendly" demeanor. Jack signed the dotted line without even reading all of the terms and conditions. Jack simply saw the money he would get per year and got so excited because he felt like he was going to be set for life. It even said it was a lifetime contract.

He was so excited that when he got back home to Dandy in Canterlot, the two had a party with just the two of them with some of the finest alcohol Jack could bring. And amidst their drunken stupor, they consummated in bed. Jack had not even realized he knocked up Dandy that night, it would take some weeks before he found out Dandy was pregnant. Dandy herself was shocked she got pregnant, but she had actually wanted a child for a while now and took initiative to try to get Jack to bear fatherly responsibilities. But Jack gave her the cold shoulder instead.

At around the same time he got the shocking news that his wife was pregnant. He also started to learn of the parts of the contract that he didn't read. While initially the idea of a lifetime contract sounded like good news to Jack, there was a fair share of catches to this including clauses that said Gladmane had the full option to pull funding and blacklist Jack's shows from nearly all venues if he were to ever fail to perform his magic show. For any reason outside of sickness and/or injury. And even then, the contract only granted him a total of 3 sick days for the entire year. no room for vacations, and an NDA that would also blacklist him if he broke it.

He initially tried to convince Dandy to move to Las Pegasus to negate this issue somewhat, but she refused. And it tore the seams of their relationship apart. Jack was forced to choose between being set for life with his dream job but under constant surveillance under Gladmane, or struggling financially with a damaged relationship with his wife and a child he wasn't ready for... 

Chrysalis went silent, hearing how ponies who seemed so friendly on the outset only to show their true colors later… it confirmed what she'd thought about them. Or at least… most ponies...

Chrysalis: ...so it was, a case of someone more powerful taking advantage of naivety... and fear of commitment from your father… as someone who set up plenty of similar schemes and villainous plots in my time… I can't say I'm not impressed… on a technical level… I'm more surprised that they kept it going for so long. I also fail to see how your father was as loyal as you claimed.

Trixie: Yes well… once the truth came out, Trixie and her father exposed Gladmane as we found that he did this to more ponies under his employment. It seems he'd skirted the line before legally speaking, but contracts like that along with threats… that's the evidence we needed to take him down for good. 

As for Trixie's father he… he actually was sending money anonymously to my mother… he wanted to keep us well afloat. This does not mean that Trixie and her father get along and we are a big happy family now… no… no, he has not earned that. We were still led to believe he abandoned us and in some ways he did. But… we're getting better. Trixie and her father… talk now. He's shown Trixie some spells of his and Trixie has shown off skills he could not do… so it's something.

Trixie smiles and wipes a tear from her eyes. 

Starlight puts an empathetic hoof on Trixie's shoulder. Knowing full well what it's like to have a complicated relationship with a father.

Rainbow: Ugggggh, types like Gladmane make me sick. I had my own pain in the flank when Wind Rider got me framed for a crime I didn't commit. Luckily for me, Rarity was a good detective but still, I can't stand manipulative jerks! Between ponies like him and Lightning Dust, the Wonderbolts have certainly raised the bar on required character to join. They can have all the flight skills in the world, but if there's any hint they aren't a team player and wouldn't look out for their squad mates. Then they are NOT Wonderbolt material! 

Scootaloo: The same rule went for the Waterbolts when they were created. We've got no time for jerks like that!

And Trixie...I get it, having issues with your dad, I mean I never got to see my folks that often. It's like they barely knew me when they did get to see me! I lived with my aunts most of my life...and thankfully I also had Rainbow act like a big sis to me. Sure it's different now, I'm all over the place too but we're at points in our lives that we can just go visit each other. Heck I can even go on adventures with them! Especially when they need to go underwater, as obviously that’s my expertise!

...But as a filly, it was just rough to not have a parent or parents around...

Chrysalis sat with her hooves together in front of her face… thinking.

Chrysalis: Family... it's always going back to family...

She muttered to herself. Her mind thinking back on the relationship she had with her own parents and her siblings...

Smolder: I admit I don't personally have a sad story about my relationship with my family, although my brother Garble might. He missed me so much when I started living in Ponyville to attend the School of Friendship.

Rainbow: Hehe, that was pretty funny to hear from you and Fluttershy. Garble was the head honcho of that group of dragons we saw bullying Spike when me, Twilight, and Rarity followed Spike to the dragon lands waaaaay back. That was even before the Canterlot wedding that Chrysalis crashed! Feels like such a LIFETIME ago, come to think of it! 

Chrysalis felt a bit weird for Rainbow to call her first major attempt at an invasion an old event. But then again all that time in stone may have messed with her concept of time. As she still feels like that was only a few years ago as opposed to the actual time frame.

But to hear that the big bully was just projecting onto Spike as a big softie? It still makes me chuckle to this day, although I will at least say he's a pretty good poet.

Starlight: Not even dragons are immune from the habits of a troubled teenager. Garble took one look at us ponies, and dragons who like ponies and says he's above our "friendship and rainbows", a toxic masculinity where being tough and looking down on the "weak" and "girly"  is all that matters.  When he finally matured a little and looked past his insecurities, he found more peace with sharing who he really was. He's even been known to come by the Friendship School every now and then to write poetry with Maud.

Trixie: Oh yes, Trixie sees Garble and Maud together often. Their poetry may clash in tone but they work well together at it. The poetry club has grown ever larger because of them!

Chrysalis just felt like the odd one out, hearing their conversations. They kept mentioning family… parents, siblings. It just made her internalize, go quiet. On the plus side, all of them showing love towards their families and friends gave her a nice meal. But she was still uncomfortable feeling this… introspection about her family again, she needed something to get her mind off it. That's when she looked to Rainbow Dash.

Chrysalis: So now that I see your loyalty to your friends, f-family and what have you, I need a change from these… ugh… these emotional endeavors! So... I want that race, Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow smirked

Rainbow: You bet! Starlight, can we get the race started soon?

Starlight: Of course, of course. Though I admit, we're going to have to talk about how this race is going to work. If I recall correctly though, this hive does have a large chamber with a flight training course that Chrysalis made for her army. A sort of boot camp before her invasions. This will mean we have to risk taking Chrysalis out of her cell... (Again, at that...)  I'd understand if any of you have reservations on that idea.

Rainbow: Hmmmph, if Chrysalis decides to chicken out of the race by using it as an excuse to escape. That's fine by me, that just means I win by default! AND I can use my superior speed to get her back anyway~

Chrysalis grinned

Chrysalis: Ah yes, the training grounds. A perfect place to show what the queen can do. And don't fret about me trying to escape, I have no intention of running away. Not when I can prove my superiority~. You have my word.

She looked at Starlight directly, smirking a bit. Everypony in the room seemed skeptical of this.

Scootaloo: Your word huh... yeah...

Trixie: How good is your word anyway...?

Chrysalis: Do I detect some hesitance? Aren't you all great in your own skills? Could you not just capture me if I tried to run? Unless you're telling me you're all weak

She was trying to taunt them, get under their skin… and with this kind of group, it could definitely work.

Smolder: I sure hope you know what you're doing, Starlight... perhaps with your magic and Rainbow's speed we can make sure she doesn't run off on us. I could also use my fire breath as a warning shot. But otherwise this IS Chrysalis we're still talking about. Master of deception, manipulation, not to mention... who knows how much power she's gotten from this session alongside the last three sessions.

Starlight: Again, I understand all of your concerns. I may at least have a special guest already at the grounds there that has agreed to be an observer/referee for this race. She may give more of a reason for Chrysalis not to try leaving. But I think we'll be ok, I can see the competitive fire in Chrysalis' eyes. Even if she plans on escaping, she won't do it until she's completed this race at the very least. 

Trixie: The great and powerful Trixie will not let you escape if you try it. She will take you down if necessary!

Chrysalis rolls her eyes

Chrysalis: At least you have the sense to show some.... loyalty, Glimmer.

She chuckles as she transforms into the younger form of Rainbow Dash. Starlight was correct in her assumption though, Chrysalis has already done this before during a previous lesson. There was a spark in her eye, to prove she was better than anyone else. It happened during the evil laugh off too. Chrysalis was not going to lose to another member of the elements of harmony. Chrysalis spoke in Rainbow Dash's voice

Chrysalis: Alright, let me show you how a wonderbolt in her prime handles herself, old lady!

She gives off a smug look, trying to peeve off Rainbow before they even leave.

Rainbow: Oh I KNOW you just didn't call me old when I know you're a great grandmother to many of the baby changelings here! Nice try...

Rainbow sticks her tongue out

Chrysalis: Ah while that may be, notice that I have not aged a day since you last saw me, and even if I did get those years added on, I'd still be in my prime! You however, that's not the case~!

Starlight just rolls her eyes and opens the barrier to allow Chrysalis in the form of a younger Rainbow to step out. She winks at Rainbow Dash, enjoying how easy it is to set her off. She looks so smug, stepping out of the cell. 

Starlight: This form you're in is actually perfect for this race. It'll make sure the race is even from the start. Cause your length in your normal form may be an advantage in a close ending

Which reminds me... Scootaloo, can your projector double as a recording camera? We could get an instant replay if so

Rainbow: Like we'll even need it! It'll be clear as day that I won it with just your two eyes!

Chrysalis: Don't worry, I'll try to play by the rules. You may be surprised by my speed! I certainly hope you can keep up.

While Rainbow and Chrysalis are bantering, Scootaloo nods at Starlight.

Scootaloo: It sure can! This thing can capture every single moment in the finest detail! It'll capture Rainbow Dash's win for sure!

Chrysalis: I wouldn't be too sure, believe me, I've done my fair share of making claims I cannot backup. But this is not the case here! So enough of this! Glimmer, lead the way!

While it looked like Chrysalis was being a blowhard, maybe even regressing a bit, internally she… was getting very excited for a challenge, for a race. 

Starlight leads the group higher up until they reach an expansive chamber with a spiraling running track, as well as sturdy stalagmites and stalactites used as obstacles for the training course. There was also a separate cave in this section that was new to Chrysalis, where it included exercise equipment like weights and treadmills, along with food and drink dispensers. What was once a chamber used for bulking up and preparing her army seems to have become more of a recreation center. With no invasion on the horizon, it was now a place simply for the more athletically-inclined Changelings to keep themselves in shape.

Chrysalis: Hm, seems other things have been added to make this place… more… friendly... At least the course is still up to the standards I set for my changelings...

This did sound a bit funny given that she was using Rainbow's voice. Though Chrysalis lets out a sharp gasp as her keen eyes pick up who their special guest was.

Soon, the mentioned special guest that Starlight mentioned is visible to everybody there. It's none other than Ocellus who waves to the group, while holding up a checkered flag with her magic.

Smolder: OCELLUS!

The orange dragon immediately flies up to one of her best friends.

Smolder: Heh! I should have figured you were who Starlight meant! Give it here!

Smolder raises her hand, and Ocellus happily gives her a hoofbump. Or rather a hoof-to-claw bump

Trixie: Ah, Ocellus! Trixie hopes you're doing well. You know the students always speak highly of you!

Scootaloo: Aw yeah! Good to see ya Ocellus! It's been a while huh?

Ocellus: It’s very nice to see all of you, again!

Chrysalis was stunned. After what happened during the last session, Chrysalis wasn't sure Ocellus wanted to see her again so soon. Even if things were amicable… then again, Ocellus was the real reason why Chrysalis didn't escape fully. So it makes sense she'd be there as insurance. She grumbled as Rainbow saw this as a taunting opportunity. She also didn't want to acknowledge that Starlight was absolutely right with her reasoning.

Rainbow Dash looks toward Chrysalis with a smirk

Rainbow: Oh, I see what Starlight's doing. In the case you attempt to leave, you'll look like a coward right in front of your own precious daughter~

Chrysalis: Oh... so you admit the only way you could win is if I forfeit? Well, I certainly have bad news for you. I will crush you in this competition.

Starlight shakes her head

Starlight: Ehhh...  Rainbow, it’ more so intended to further motivate her. while I'm sure she is already quite motivated for this… The chance to show Ocellus she's still got it must provide more of a reason to try and win this race.

Anyway, Rainbow and Chrysalis. I'll let you two decide how many laps you'll be taking before the winner is decided. Or any other conditions to this race. We've already talked about Chrysalis being the same size as Rainbow for fairness. And in a similar vein, no mid-race transformations either. But if there are other conditions you want to consider, you can talk it out before we start the race. 

Chrysalis: So… the rules then? Since you're the wonderbolt captain, why don't you lay down the conditions then? That way you cannot accuse me of making up something you could justify as  'cheating' 

Rainbow: Hmm... I feel with the speed this race could go in. We would need a significant amount of laps. I might be thinking... at least 50 laps to determine the winner. And oh yeah, I don't think Starlight's mentioned this yet when she was talking to me about the rules of this race before I got here. But no dirty tricks such as kicking dirt off the walls and into my face, or hitting me with a punch or kick. Ocellus will be watching our every move with her excellent sight. If you're caught interfering with me, you can be disqualified. Same goes for me if I try something on you. But I promise I'm all for a fair race

At the very least, just like how you can't transform mid-race. I promise I won't use my Sonic Rainboom. It's probably not safe to use inside the hive anyway. Might scare the changelings up top that an Earthquake was happening. I may have used the Sonic Rainboom to win a fair share of contests early in my life, but in this case I'll count it as an illegal move. But I probably won't need it, anyway~

Chrysalis: Agreed, no physical obstructions, I see you trying to accuse me, but I don't want to see you attempting some sad, desperate display when you find yourself in the dust… but verbal banter will still fly, yes? And the lap count is fine, 50 is more than fair enough. I promise to play fair, as long as you do the same.

She snickers, it still feels like Chrysalis might be one to play dirty but they have to take her on her word. Just as every other previous guest has had to do.

Chrysalis: And you'd better not use that blasted rainboom technique if you know what's good for you... Any damage to the integrity of the hive, and I'll just take you down myself. I don't care if they turn me to stone after. Now will you need a head start? I believe ponies find it kind to be respectful of their elders~

Chrysalis sneers as Rainbow rolls her eyes and crosses her hooves when she taunts her about her age again

Rainbow: Oh come on! I'm not old! mid-30's is still very much part of an active Pony's prime years! Spitfire had some of her best performances when she was the age I am now!

But on a more serious note, you shouldn't even worry about my Rainboom, even if the hive wasn't at risk. Just the sound alone of the boom would reverberate through this chamber and that could seriously hurt everybody's ear sockets, especially yours and Ocellus'. Maybe I've been a bit of a blowhard to you, but I'm not one to risk hurting anyone I didn't intend to.

Chrysalis: Well… I'm glad you realize that...

Rainbow: But regardless... yes! Of course smack talk is allowed during the race. That's the fun part!~

Internally, Chrysalis is far more happy to hear that she's not so foolish as to damage the hive or the other changelings. She did however smirk at Rainbow's other comments. If anything this is the most fired up Chrysalis has been! Not even since she became freed from stone but in general, at least to the others! This was different from the excitement she used to get from her villainous deeds, this felt more… genuine. Like she was really getting into the spirit of competition.

Chrysalis: Glad to know we do agree on something, the back talk is absolutely a fun part to these competitions! At least someone gets it!

And whatever you say Rainbow Dash, let's just get into position!

As soon as everyone else heard that, they all did the same. Scootaloo set up the camera to record, Trixie went to the side to spectate, having brought some popcorn from the snack area. And Chrysalis stood at the starting line, doing some last minute stretches.

Smolder: Counselor Trixie, mind passing some of that Popcorn my way? I'm not missing this for a second!

Meanwhile, Rainbow herself does some stretching as Chrysalis does, she also takes off her captain's jacket. It almost looked like a mirror between the two, even if Chrysalis took the form of Rainbow Dash as she looked 10 years ago. The only way to tell the two apart was the mane style, as Rainbow's still adopting a cut similar to Spitfire.

Starlight steps closer to start the countdown

Starlight: Alright racers! Get set on the starting line and good luck! I will start the race on the count of 10! Are the both of you ready?

Rainbow smirks toward Starlight, before facing forward

Rainbow: I'm ALWAYS ready~

Trixie passes some popcorn over to all spectators, it seems she was prepared ahead of time. They all watch as Chrysalis and Rainbow stretch one last time before getting into position. They can all see the genuine determination on Chrysalis’ face. 

Chrysalis: I will not lose, not in my own domain!

Something about this felt like deja vu, being at the starting line of a race within the hive...but she couldn't focus on it now, her goal was winning this race, proving her superiority! As soon as she heard Starlight yell go, she'd dart off.

Starlight: Ok! Then without further adieu...

10...

9....

8...

7...

6...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1....

...

...

…

GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Chrysalis speeds off in a way that would surprise the others, she was not just hyping herself up, she was actually quite speedy for someone who's been trapped in stone for the last few years. Of course she knows the course like the back of her hooves having made the original herself. The feeling of the wind against her face, this is the most freedom she's had since getting turned back from her stone prison.

Scootaloo: Woah, okay, Chrysalis came to play! I thought she'd be winded after one lap! Guess she does know a thing or two about flying. But Rainbow's totally got this! You can do it, Rainbow Dash! Show her what the 'bolts are made of!!

Trixie: Well now, Trixie had a feeling Chrysalis was more than bluster!

Smolder: Whoooooa! My gosh!  Hey Ocellus, If it weren't for the fact she tried to take over the world like... three times. I'd be comfortable telling you your mom's pretty cool... but I suppose that's weird to say.

Ocellus gives an understanding nod

Ocellus: I get that... but hey, I think these sessions have been legitimately working. You'll be more than free to say she's cool when our family's back together for good!

As the two's speed flurries across the course it's not long before 10 laps have gone by.

Chrysalis: You'd best not disappoint me, Dash! I want to see a real challenge! Don't tell me you're going soft on your training!

Rainbow: Ha! You don't know me if you think I've stopped training now that I'm the captain! The rookies need to look up to the best, you know when Spitfire made her decision to retire some years back? It was after she challenged me to a 1-on-1 race not too different from this, and when I won by a hooftip at the finish line... she put a hoof on my shoulder. And told me, I was the best now. And she pinned her captain's badge on my flight suit, symbolically passing the torch!

The group watched on in shock as Chrysalis was indeed able to keep up at the beginning. Darting around the obstacles and keeping her speed. It really did look like Rainbow was racing her younger self.

Trixie: ...woah ...Trixie was not expecting any of this! How exciting, if only Trixie had placed some bets on who'd win!"

Scootaloo: I guess this is why she could always get away so quickly...Chrysalis has been a speedster and we never knew! Kind of a shame she was going around being evil!

Chrysalis wasn't hearing any of the chat from the group below, she was focused on the race. The feeling of the wind in her face, the banter with Rainbow Dash… it all felt… nostalgic. 

Chrysalis: Hah! So you're saying I'll be the next captain then when I beat you!? The Queen of the Wonderbolts? Heh, I hope you don't mind if I change those gaudy outfits to a more jet black attire!

Back in the stands, Smolder actually likes the idea of a quick bet.

Smolder: It's not too late, Counselor Trixie. Let's make a fun little wager! If you win, I'll do cleaning duty for your office for a month and a supply of peanut butter crackers for that long too. If I win though, you'll be my manicurist and you'll mine some tasty gems for me for that same amount of time.

As for who I pick, my bet's on Professor Dash. Chrysalis' is surprising me with her speed already, but I can't imagine any bug that's been in stone for a decade's going to beat the more active Wonderbolt! I bet she's just toying with Chrysalis right now. If you need help finding those tasty gems, I'm sure Professor Maud will be able to assist you~

As the lap count turns closer to 20, the speed of the two competitors reach ever higher. if a pony blinks the two are almost nearly a half-lap away when they open their eyes. The only one that can keep a good eye on the both of them are Ocellus with her keen eyes.

Trixie: Oh, so it's like that then! Fine, Trixie accepts your wager! You'd better be ready with those crackers especially! Trixie feels that Chrysalis has more to give. Call it a hunch, but she's definitely got more power in her! Chrysalis knows the course, Rainbow Dash doesn't!

Scootaloo rolled her eyes seeing the two bet on this, knowing in her heart that Rainbow had this one… though Chrysalis was pretty impressive at the start here. Chrysalis and Rainbow were too focused on the race to care about some bet.

Rainbow meanwhile smirks toward Chrysalis

Rainbow: Ha, even if you do win. I figure you'd have more important things to do. But I'll admit, you're quite impressive. Though if I know you... you're actually holding back, aren't you? Well, that's ok... because so am I!

Chrysalis: Oh you noticed, I thought I was just being courteous! Isn't that what you ponies want out of me?

She asks in a more sarcastic manner. Rainbow can see the genuine enjoyment Chrysalis seemed to be having with this race.

Chrysalis: But since you don't want me holding back, I'll gladly leave you in my dust!

Both Chrysalis and Rainbow Dash pick up speed, the two of them leaving rainbow trails behind them.

The race soon hit it's halfway point

Starlight: The race is already halfway done! What incredible speed! No matter who wins, both of you should be proud!

Ocellus next to Starlight marvels at the sight of Rainbow and Ocellus' who smiles, giggles, and cheers for both competitors

Ocellus: Go Professor! Go Mom!

Smolder: C'mon, Professor Dash! You can't let that pompous queen beat you!

The cheers for both racers, especially that of her daughter, begins to trigger a feeling of... nostalgia? Which briefly makes her slow down, before shaking her head and quickly catching back up to Rainbow. But this didn't get unnoticed by the experienced Wonderbolt as she smirks.

Rainbow: Oh? Are you running out of gas, Chrysalis? I'd understand... there's still quite a bit of race to go. If you're getting tired, you're more than free to quit now.

Otherwise, it's high time you show me if your exoskeleton is a beetle shell or a tortoise shell!

Rainbow chuckles, mostly referring to her dear pet tortoise Tank back home

The moment Rainbow had said those words though drew Chrysalis even further back. 

Chrysalis: What… what did you say...?!

In her mind, mixed with the cheers of the spectators, she could hear echoes of her past of the cheers from changeling bystanders, her family, particularly her sister's cheers, and the voice of another changeling Chrysalis she once considered to be a friendly rival.

???: Can't spell Mt. Thrace without race, come on! Is that a beetle shell or a tortoise shell on your back?!

Trixie: Don't give her an inch, Chrysalis! Trixie is counting on you to win for her! Delicious snacks are at stake!

Scootaloo: Come on Rainbow, show her a little dash! Show her the full power of the wonderbolts' captain!

The sudden wave of nostalgia… the cheering… it was all coming back to her now. Arista cheered her on as she raced. Chrysalis gasped as Rainbow triggered another memory within her. It was like looking back into the past, the same view of her trailing behind, the same taunt. Her horn flashed as she transformed back into herself.

Chrysalis: I'll show you who's the tortoise around here! You're gonna lose this time, Spur!"

She darts past Rainbow Dash, laughing, but not in a maniacal way. Though this transformation would be considered as Chrysalis breaking the rules. Which of course made Trixie groan.

Trixie: OH COME ON! You had ONE JOB, Chrysalis! Trixie's not going to ever forgive you for this!

Smolder: HA! Alright counselor, you better be ready to trim these claws next week!~

Still a bit in her memories, Chrysalis continues talking

Chrysalis: Come on?! I thought you had more in you than that! So much for being the fastest huh!? Come on, slowpoke! Give me a challenge!

Though her focus is broken soon by the realization that she had transformed in the middle of the race

Starlight gasped as Chrysalis transformed back. Rainbow actually stopped moving for a moment, actually heading back toward where Chrysalis was. She could declare victory right now if she wanted simply by telling Starlight and Ocellus to declare it over, but she decided that she had other plans. She looked Chrysalis in the eye who was no doubt worried that this would be an instant loss for her. She leans over to Chrysalis ears and whispers

Rainbow: I'm not letting some stupid rules end it like this. This is too fun, I don't even care if I lose because of this. This is no way to end a race...

Rainbow physically shoves Chrysalis left and right, and acting a little bit like Rarity as she over-acts and winks when they're out of the view of the spectators

Rainbow: Oh noooooo! I accidentally flew into Chrysalis, shoving her! A blatant violation of the rules! I guess that means we offset, and start this lap all over again!

A certain dragon's mouth drops the lowest it can

Smolder: WHAAAAAT?! NOOOOO!

Chrysalis was getting to see how Rainbow Dash had grown from the mare she brushed off as simply an egotistic show-off that would take their wins no matter how it was done. This was one of the few times Chrysalis actually felt a real connection with one of the Elements of Harmony. She sort of liked the early part of Fluttershy's but the sudden appearance of Discord soured the kindness session for her, and the other sessions to this point either had the humiliating loss to Pinkie or the talk with Thorax and her failed escape. 

She thought she was going to regret seeing Rainbow Dash nearly as much as she did with Pinkie during that first session with guests. But as it turned out, Rainbow's been arguably her favorite thus far. She's smack talked with her prior to and during the race, but for someone like Chrysalis that's just all part of the fun of the competition. And it helped that this very atmosphere felt the most familiar to her then at any point.

And now that Rainbow was giving her another chance, when she could have easily left Chrysalis with yet another loss in a long string of them to Equestria. Chrysalis felt like her ice cold heart was thawing. That said, she does also give Rainbow a smug look as if to tell her that she'll regret giving her this chance. As although she's thankful for the save, it only makes her more determined to win.

Meanwhile, Starlight and Ocellus are stunned at what transpired. They just looked at each other before shrugging.

Starlight: Well... both of you get back to the starting line to start over this lap then...

Smolder: Hang on a moment! Didn't Chrysalis break the rules first?!

Rainbow shoots a glare to Smolder

Rainbow: This isn't about some silly rules nor is it about your dumb bet, she didn't transform in order to cheat! We still have a race to finish, and that's final!

Smolder looked understandably disappointed. But she slumps over and gives up.

Smolder: Ugh, fine....

Scootaloo knows that look in Rainbow's face though, she knows how much fun she's having with this race. Trixie cheers as Rainbow 'cheats' as well. Chrysalis snaps back to reality, realizing what she was just doing and what Rainbow had just done for her. Of all ponies, especially one of the elements to connect to, she never thought it'd be Rainbow Dash. This opportunity was not lost on her. As they set back up for the lap. She smirks to the group

Chrysalis: As much as it may shock you, I agree with Rainbow Dash here. This is a race I intend to win! And finish it, we will! You, orange one...Scootaloo? Make sure that camera of yours is still working, I want you to know when I win!

Chrysalis laughs before looking back to Rainbow Dash as they dart back off.

Chrysalis: I hope you don't mind, but I intend on winning as myself!

Trixie: YES YES YES! THE CRACKERS ARE BACK ON THE TABLE FOR TRIXIE!

It's still neck and neck as they race, reaching up to that final lap. The rules they put in place, right now, it's all just a blur. Their focus was on the enjoyment of the race itself. But Chrysalis still wanted to win, that memory of her, and her siblings....it inspired her in a way she hadn't felt in a long time.

As the final laps come around, Rainbow just has one question for Chrysalis

Rainbow: Say, I overheard you call me... what was it... Spur? Was that some sort of changeling slang for something?

Chrysalis stumbles a bit at the question, but she's still focused on the race.

Chrysalis: It… It was a slip of the tongue! I've… been having a few of those as of late! It's not slang… you just… reminded me of someone! Someone from long ago! My… my brother! You and him… are a lot alike!

Even Chrysalis couldn't believe she'd admitted that. But perhaps being in that mindset of reliving a memory from long ago, a positive memory at that, it made her more willing to talk. The final lap was approaching.

Chrysalis: But I won't let that similarity allow history to repeat itself! I will win this time!!

Everypony watched as the two neared the finish line. Scootaloo had her eyes on her camera, even with her confidence in Rainbow Dash, the fact that it was this close had her sweating.

Rainbow Dash says no more, she doesn't want to win just because she distracted Chrysalis with something clearly dear to her. Now at the final stretch, both of them give it their all and speed up to a max speed. Or at least in Dash's case the fastest she can without risk of making a Sonic Rainboom. Even with the rules mostly tossed aside, she maintains a loyalty and protection of her friends and even her opponent's sensitivities.

It's only a mere seconds later when both have crossed the finish line, they both skid their hooves on the ground as the race finishes. They wait for any confirmation from those watching to give a sign who won. However, it was not clear who won to anyone's naked eye. 

Starlight: ...Ocellus, I don't suppose you caught who won this when I didn;t?

Ocellus just shakes her head

Ocellus: No... they came by way too fast even for me!

Most of the spectators looked around in confusion and wondered if it was actually possible that they had raced to a draw somehow. Starlight turns to Scootaloo.

Starlight: Alright Scootaloo, this is the situation we needed the camera for. If not even Ocellus could see who won then none of us would be able to tell, so we're going to need to project the slow motion view onto the wall.

Everyone in the room waits in anticipation for the footage to roll.

Chrysalis was breathing heavily… and laughing. She didn't even care right now if she won or not. She was still in her memories. Thinking of how it always ended in a draw between her and her brother.

Trixie: Please… please tell Trixie that Chrysalis won! Those peanut butter crackers won't provide themselves! That was too fast even for someone as great and powerful as I!

Scootaloo: H-hang on, hang on, it's coming in now!

Scootaloo was trembling as the camera began to project the last moments of the race in slow motion. Her jaw dropped… as Chrysalis won by a nose...

Scootaloo: No… way...

The footage was plain to see and it was actually clean. No sense that Chrysalis was using her longer length to win. Rainbow's own nose was just a few centimeters behind the end of Chrysalis' own. This was about as fair as it could get despite the length difference.

The whole room gasps as they see the frame that clearly shows that Chrysalis' nose broke through the line first

Rainbow looked disappointed, as she looked downward. But she recovers soon, she used to hate losing more than anything. But in her experience, a loss is only a motivator to improve. She looks Chrysalis in the eyes. and offers a hoof shake after an exhilarating race.

Rainbow: Congratulations, Chrysalis. You beat me fair and square. If you weren't a royal with more important responsibilities once you return to being amongst your subjects  again. I'd seriously offer a spot on the Wonderbolts to you at the very least. But if nothing else, I want to race against you again. It's been a long time since I've had a real challenge like that. I'll win next time~

Meanwhile in the stands...

Smolder: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Ugh, this bites... I'm not upset that Rainbow stuck to her morals as I've always respected it ever since I was her student...  but pardon me if I'm salty over this bet... especially as I'm cleaning your office, Counselor Trixie... 

Trixie was the one dancing around happily as if she was the one racing.

Trixie: YESSSSSS THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE KNOWS HOW TO PICK A TRUE WINNER!! But… tell you what, Smoulder. Trixie is feeling generous. You do not have to clean Trixie's office for a month. Trixie only wants the month's supply of peanut butter crackers.

Smolder: I suppose I can deal with that, Counselor. Thanks for being lenient

They would think that Chrysalis would gloat, parade around at how great she was… but she didn't do that. She was laughing, sure, but it seemed more genuine. She looked like she just had the time of her life, with that smile on her face.

Chrysalis: Ha! Well if I were anything other than what I am, then I might have taken you up on the offer. But with Rarity's sister asking me to join her metal band in my last session and now you, I'd have no time to run the hive.

She snickered.

Scootaloo: Sweetie asked you to WHAT?!

Chrysalis does shake Rainbow's hoof.

Chrysalis: I know I only won because you still needed to hold back though, next time I'll have to show my superiority over that sonic rainboom of yours. Best train up, Dash. I'll be waiting

Rainbow gives a confident smile towards Chrysalis as she puts her captain's jacket and sunglasses back on.

Rainbow: Of course! Next time we race it can be in Cloudsdale, possibly even straight at Wonderbolt HQ. That way I'LL have the homefield advantage. And much more space to fly. For now though, you earned this victory. I know you still have at least two more lessons to go before you're free. But you're much more awesome than I thought. 

I'll admit I once saw you as simply a "Queen of the Spies” that hid behind their massive army and can only be powerful if you feed off love from us. But after today, not to mention getting to know many of your children like Ocellus over the years, I know you're much more than that.

Sure, you've tried to take over Equestria multiple times. But between having other friends that tried to start a reign of eternal night, had a reign of chaos, and began a cutie mark cult along with time traveling...

Rainbow turns to Starlight

Rainbow: ...No offense

Starlight sighs and shrugs

Starlight: None taken

Rainbow: ...I'm sure you'll fit in just fine. 

Chrysalis: Good, so then you won't have any wiggle room to complain when I dominate the skies there too! I'll give you some credit as well, I've been dreading this lesson as I thought you'd all be insufferable… that you'd all be egotistical blowhards… but it seems we've got more in common than I thought. I think you've reawakened a part of me that's been dormant for a good while. But don't think I'll ever go easy on you in the future.

The group laughs as Chrysalis is trying to be nice in her own way. Still trying to be stubborn or be tough… but this group especially knows what she really means. Scootaloo shook her head at Starlight's question.

Rainbow: Oh! And before I forget, you don't have to just race me when you get out of here. If you're any confident in your swimming ability, I'm sure Scootaloo would love a challenge from you. What do you say, Scoots? 

Chrysalis smirks back at Rainbow

Scootaloo: I suppose the Prancific ocean isn’t too far off from here, I’d ask for a race now, but it wouldn't be fair to take her on after such a race. Next time though, we can see who's transformed state is better in a race of our own!

Trixie: And we will need to have a magic duel to see if the great and powerful Trixie can best the queen of the changelings!

Chrysalis: I'll be sure to swim circles around you, and best you in magic! You forget how long I've been in this game! Perhaps I should be the one to call myself great and powerful! I think it has a nice ring to it, the great and powerful Chrysalis~!

Smolder: You know, if not for that echo-y filter Chrysalis has, her voice doesn't sound too off from yours, Counselor. I bet she'd make the perfect body double in a "disappearing" act in your next magic show!

Trixie and Chrysalis look at each other and back at Smolder

Trixie & Chrysalis: She sounds nothing like me! My voice is one of a kind!

They looked back at each other as it just sounded like them speaking in stereo. 

Chrysalis: That is... bizarre...

Trixie: Freaky...

Starlight gasps just remembering something Rainbow said earlier

Starlight: Wait... Rainbow Dash, didn't you say earlier that you'd wait until somepony comes along faster than you before you start thinking about romance... you don't think... you might be falling for Chrysalis... do you?

Rainbow's eyes go wide as Starlight recalls what she said earlier, Starlight almost expects her to blush and deny it. But then Rainbow simply puts a hoof to her mouth, stifling a giggle before she could hardly contain it

Rainbow: BWAH HA HA HA HA HA! Are you serious, Starlight?! I was joking! If all it took for me was one loss in a race  or any other kind of competition to fall for somepony, I'd have already married Applejack by now! It's simple respect between competitive rivals, and hopefully soon... friends. And nothing more.

As they have that moment of realization, Chrysalis' attention is snapped to Starlight and Rainbow Dash. She feigns being hurt by the rejection

Chrysalis: Oh, you wound me! And here I thought our love would blossom and.....pfft, HAHAHA! No, not in your life! While I'll say you've really matured, Rainbow Dash, this is not an avenue I want to go down. Especially with who I compared you to during our race!

Chrysalis laughs, thinking about her brother, Spur once again.

Chrysalis: You've even got that same competitive… yet loyal spirit he once had...

Even Ocellus chimes in a laugh.

Ocellus: Hehehe Starlight, I could have told you myself if they were actually having chemistry of that kind. But nah, this is far away from romantic love. Just the spicy, fiery aroma between two competitors who have mutual respect for each other's abilities and personality

Regardless, congratulations Mom! I could tell you were having fun out there. Don't know if you two heard me, but I cheered both of you on! I could see you two were having fun. And that's more important than getting the win.

As Ocellus smiles in front of Chrysalis, she could feel more flashbacks come to her as she was recalling her memories of Spur. She now also had the closest counterpart to her sister reborn as her daughter. And while there weren't others in the room that were all that similar to her other family. The gabble from multiple conversations going at once she hears from the group could nonetheless remind her of a small crowd of changelings watching her race with her brother too. For a moment the image of Spur and Arista replacing where Rainbow Dash and Ocellus stood in Chrysalis' eyes, she stumbles backward, looking away from the group. Which got a collective gasp from the group as they watched the queen act strangely.

Chrysalis smiled at Ocellus when her daughter did the same… but as her memories kept flashing back into her mind. She just kept seeing her siblings… the ones she genuinely loved within Ocellus and in Rainbow Dash. 

There was a twinge in her heart as she stumbled back. It scared her… she clutched at her chest. Breathing a bit more heavily. Some tears rolled down her cheeks as she fully remembered. These were memories that she'd pushed deep down into the back of her mind, not because she didn't care, but because she didn't want to lose herself in them.

Starlight: Chrysalis?!

Ocellus: MOM?!

Starlight and Ocellus quickly trots on over to Chrysalis side, wondering what's gotten into her all of a sudden. She worries if maybe that race took a lot out of her. It's been years since she had ever needed to go as fast as she did, especially with being in stone for so long, she didn't know if maybe Chrysalis body was not quite conditioned for such an intense race so soon. Starlight's knowledge about changelings have included how best to treat them medically if problems come up, so she's on standby for any potential medical procedures she could need to perform if Chrysalis is having trouble breathing or anything. And Ocellus' is concerned as well at what she may think is a health issue too. 

Chrysalis: Arista… Spur… I...

She rubs her eyes, looking away from the group. The images of her siblings fade back to Rainbow Dash and Ocellus.

Chrysalis: (I… I miss them... Arista… Spur… we never did get to have another race… never did I think these ponies could make me see that… and allow my own daughter… to cheer for me… You two would have thrived during this time period…)

I… I'm fine, just some… some dust in my eyes!

For just a faint moment as she's rubbing her eyes, they can see Chrysalis' wings sparkle a bit, similar to how Thorax's did before he'd fully transformed. Though the sparkle in Chrysalis' wings is much dimmer. But Trixie and Starlight would recognize this. Trixie rushes over to Starlight and whispers.

Trixie: Look, look! Trixie believes this race triggered something in Chrysalis! You thinking what Trixie is thinking?

Chrysalis tries her best to hide her face using her long mane, but it's not long before Starlight spots something dripping from behind Chrysalis head. They had to be tears, it was clear now thankfully that Chrysalis was ok, it seemed she just had a bit of an emotional reaction at the scene before her that struck deep. And as Trixie points out, she does notice something happening with Chrysalis wings.

Starlight: (Her... her wings... it was just for a moment... but... it was like... Thorax's... before... before...)

Starlight knew now that this was a very pivotal moment. She doesn't know if she'll get another chance to continue to strike while the iron is hot like this so soon. Moments like this is what her and Trixie's experience as a counselor was meant for.

Starlight: Chrysalis... take some deep breaths. Take as much time as you need to calm yourself. And... if it would help... I'm willing to listen to everything that's on your mind. This race has clearly cut you deep emotionally. If there's anybody in the room you feel uncomfortable telling why that is. I can tell them to leave before you get into it. 

Only Trixie and Starlight had seen Thorax up close with the more sparkly wings but the others had a feeling something was happening with Chrysalis yet they chose not to bring it up, given how Starlight and Trixie are whispering.

Trixie: Could… could she be on the cusp of changing?

Starlight: I don't want to jinx anything, but it seems that way. I didn't think we'd get to this point quite this soon. But it's very promising. But let's try not to get too cocky, this is a sensitive situation here.

Chrysalis fully wiped her eyes clear of any tears before turning back to face them. The sparkling in her wings fading a bit as she composed herself. She didn't see Spur in Rainbow's place or Arista in Ocellus' place anymore.

Chrysalis: I'm… fine, Glimmer. I just… it's as I said to Rainbow Dash during our race. It's also why I transformed mid lap. She… she said something that made me think of family… of my brother, Spur. He and I… we used to race across Mt. Thrace when we were younger… and he spoke similarly to the way she did when he got competitive… down to the exact taunt honestly… I just needed a moment.

Starlight stays with quiet attention. Though a gasp can be heard from the entire room at the mention of Mt. Thrace

Rainbow: Mt. Thrace?! But that... how is that possible? That volcano along with the island it was on sank DEEP into the Prancific Ocean a long time ago! That is... that is... unless... 

Even in the usually less perceptive pegasus' mind the cogs began turning in her brain, realizing that... Chrysalis must have lost her family in whatever kind of disaster destroyed and sunk the island.

Rainbow: Oh no...

Rainbow takes off her sunglasses, a clearly sympathetic look turns toward Chrysalis.

Rainbow:  I... I am so sorry...

Ocellus herself maintains a concerned look. She had of course heard about this from her private talk with her mother the last time, though the location of where it all took place was certainly new. 

To Equestria's knowledge, the mysterious disappearance of Mt. Thrace and the island it stood on remained largely a mystery. It became a sort of mystical legend, where theories of a sophisticated civilization deep underground there abounded. Some even tried going where it sank, but could only find miles and miles of cooled volcanic rock and what was left of the island's volcano underwater. There were little to no clues as to what happened other than obviously a humongous volcanic eruption. But that’s not how volcanic eruprions usually work, it should have made the island bigger. Not sink into the ocean. So it stunned many Equestrian scientists for years, but it seems it's all connected to Chrysalis' past.

The location of the current hive suddenly made so much sense though. If Chrysalis is one of, or even the sole survivor, the hive is directly to the nearest coast to the right of where Mt. Thrace once stood.

Even dragons like Smolder were surprised to learn of the disappearance of an entire volcano. Being a dragon, that kind of spooked Smolder given volcanoes were very much homes for dragons like her.

Smolder: What... what were you and your family doing near such an active volcano?! A volcano is not a good place for any being that isn’t a dragon!

Chrysalis looked down and snarled a bit. Being one of the only creatures still around that had seen what happened to the mountain and those that lived there, she was still quite bitter. 

Chrysalis: You think I am not aware of that?! That being there was a dangerous endeavor!? But it was not my decision to have us live there!! We would have survived had it not been for...

She slammed her hoof on the ground, her horn crackled. It almost looked like she was about to attack the group… but she shakes her head. Looking away from the group.

Chrysalis: What happened then… it's none of your business. Mt. Thrace was our home… Once… that's all you need to know. You can guess what happened as a result... let's just go back to my cell, I do not wish to discuss this any further....

Trixie frowned at this but it was understandable that such a sensitive topic wouldn't be spoken about so easily, at least not to all of them. Potentially Ocellus and Starlight may have a better chance to get her to talk on her own.

Trixie: Well...there goes that chance...

Smoulder grimaces, she almost feels like she screwed this up.

Smolder: S.... Sorry, Starlight... if I spoke out of line...

Starlight shakes her head as she sighs.

Starlight: No, it's ok Smolder. I might have been a little too overconfident hoping Chrysalis would still be comfortable enough after the race to share more even with a few more friends here to hear it. She didn't tell any of you to leave when I asked about it... so I thought... maybe we'd warmed her heart to that degree.

But yes, let's escort Chrysalis back to her cell. It's almost time that we've finished up here.

Chrysalis sighed

Chrysalis: Do not apologize for something you didn't know, none of you could possibly understand… I… I… ugh...

The queen looked conflicted, like she wanted to say more and yet at the same time, she didn't want to say anything at all. They all went back to her cell in silence. Once inside, Chrysalis didn't struggle, she didn't put up any fight and went back to the cell willingly. Her back was turned to the group. They could still see a faint glimmer of the sparkles in her wings, a sign that she wasn't angry with them specifically, just angry with the memory being brought up. Though her tone did make her sound distant, like her mind was on something else entirely.

Chrysalis: I… I  need time to think on this. Rainbow Dash… I will still have my rematch with you someday… and you, Scootaloo, we too will have our own race… but right now… no… I don't have it in me. And for you, the one who sounds so much like me, we too will have our magic duel… but do not expect a win, any of you.

She tries to smirk, as if to brush off what happened. But it was clear the topic was still on her mind.

Rainbow's less concerned about the rematch as she is about Chrysalis herself. She's excited inside for the idea of a rematch, but knows Chrysalis still has a lot of emotion to get over before it happens.

Rainbow: Understood, Chrysalis. Just know that when you get out of here... I want to see you at your best, and I don't mean just your physical form. But mentally too, I know there's not a lot I can say that will help you instantly. But your mental health is just as important as your physical body, and I can tell you still have plenty of trauma locked up.

The good news is, coming up next you'll get to see one of my best friends who on some level has understood your pain and loss of beloved family. If there's anypony that can help you tackle this issue. It'll be her.

Chrysalis: I figured she'd be next. I've picked up on Glimmer's pattern of her… major guests at least. Of course Applejack is next. Twilight Sparkle is being saved for last. But don't worry about me, I can manage my own emotions… don't go thinking I've gone soft either! But… thank you.

Chrysalis chuckles while Trixie, and Scootaloo are just as concerned as the others.

Trixie: It won't be as fun if you're not fully in on it. As a counselor, Trixie knows you must take your true feelings into consideration, Chrysalis. Don't go hiding it on our behalf.

Scootaloo: Yeah! And Rainbow's right, Applejack can totally help you come to terms with any family stuff. I'm sure if anypony can help you out, it's definitely her!

Chrysalis: We'll just have to wait and see, won't we? Still I didn't think you lot would give me so much to look forward to… yet here we are.

She was still trying to mask her other feelings but this was a genuine statement from her too.

Starlight: (Not to mention that there will be 2 particular guests that will no doubt shock her to her very core... almost makes me want to bring in Spike right away. As I imagine I know what Chrysalis may want to do once she realizes Spirits are a thing.... if we can set up the Magic lesson to be a day after honesty though, all I'd have to do is hope Chrysalis can be patient for one more day)

Starlight writes some final notes in the Loyalty section of the binder, before closing it

Starlight: Alright, thank you Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Smolder, and Trixie for coming along. That ending was rather sudden, but overall… I think today was perhaps our most successful yet.

As the mood shifts to the goodbyes, Rainbow finally manages a smirk.

Rainbow: It was a pleasure, Starlight! Especially that race. Even though I lost, that was one of the best 1-on-1's I've ever had!

Smolder: I feel similarly even if I lost a bet, that was one exciting race.

Rainbow is suddenly struck with an idea, that might also help lighten the mood even if it's a little cheesy.

Rainbow: Everyone! Let's give our winner today some well-deserved cheers! Come on now! Chrys-a-lis! Chrys-a-lis! Chrys-a-lis!

Smolder and Ocellus joins in on Rainbow's pep rally esque call

Smoulder & Ocellus:  Chrys-a-lis! Chrys-a-lis! Chrys-a-lis!

Trixie, Scootaloo, and Starlight get in on it as they continue cheering Chrysalis' name.

Trixie, Scootaloo, and Starlight:  Chrys-a-lis! Chrys-a-lis! Chrys-a-lis!

Chrysalis shakes her head at how cheesy it is but she tastes a very different kind of love that she wasn't expecting from this group. One of camaraderie, it was a sweet tasting love. They saw the sparkles in her wings flicker a bit more from it. It actually made her laugh and smile a bit.

Chrysalis: Okay okay, that's enough! I'm going to lose my royal figure if you feed me too much love right now! Now go home, you've all done enough.

Rainbow and Smolder nod as Starlight hands the wonderbolt captain a portal gum to go back to Ponyville.

Rainbow: Goodbye for now, Chrysalis! I promise we'll meet again, I don't know if our next meeting will be our rematch exactly. But we'll see how things play out from here. I have every confidence in you as well as Starlight to safely bring you on good terms once and for all with us.

Trixie: The great and powerful Trixie will be more than happy to give you the honor of seeing her again in the future! We will have our glorious magic duel and you'd best be ready!

Scootaloo: That goes double for our race too! I know you'll be able to get out and see the world too!

Trixie and Scootaloo would follow Rainbow and Smolder into the portal. Smolder simply waves goodbye though she does turn toward Trixie before she walks out

Smolder: So...is there a particular brand of Peanut Butter crackers you prefer? Or is just any ok?

Trixie: Oh any brand is fine, just be sure to have that full amount ready~!

Before Starlight and Ocellus could leave, Chrysalis spoke up, looking more seriously at them.

Chrysalis: Wait, you two... I feel you have a right to know more... of what happened at Mt. Thrace...

Starlight waved goodbye to the group and started to pack her things to head out as well but her ears perked up as Chrysalis caught her attention. Starlight closes the portal as she imagines if it was only for her and Ocellus' ears. She'd make sure no one could overhear from the other side.

Starlight: Oh... really? Are you sure, because it did seem maybe we were close to pushing a few too many buttons...

Ocellus: Yeah... if you're really not comfortable with saying more about it yet, you don't have to tell us anything more. Though I do feel it'd help to get some things off your chest.

Chrysalis: Perhaps... but the information would get out eventually… and I feel they would have asked too many of the wrong questions. Ocellus, you have the right to know as my heir...and Starlight… well you were most likely going to get the information one way or the other. I'd rather have it be on MY terms. I'd rather speak while I have the desire to.

She took a deep breath

Chrysalis: Ocellus, you may remember this from our last talk… but this should be news to you, Starlight. How the old hive went up in flames...you see we believed that the volcano would have been a deterrent from outside attacks...and for the most part it was. Some of us, like Arista, believed being there was foolish, that the volcano would be used against us… how right she was. 

But I believed in my brother… and I'm not referring to Spur, no. I speak of the one who took charge after the former king and queen were murdered, Tarsus. He made the changelings stronger, he was the only one who wanted to take action to prevent the hive from ever being defiled again! Tarsus made me see the truth! Allowed me to be the Queen I needed to be! Mt. Thrace was to be our fortress, away from the ponies who would attack, away from any other predatory species… and yet… it would be a pony who set everything ablaze… and sank the volcano along with everything else... 

Starlight: (That's not how my mom described Tarsus... that's for sure... this is probably my biggest worry for the remainder of these sessions, Tarsus isn't the great king Chrysalis thinks he is, he's quite the opposite! But any attempts to prove he isn't could make us lose all of our progress. The worst thing you can say to a patient of Chrysalis' type is the words "You're wrong".  She'd need solid proof, and even then she might be skeptical. We'll be in a pickle with this for sure

But... a pony was responsible for what happened to Mt. Thrace? I feel like my mom would have mentioned that... but maybe she didn't see the pony who did it. Though I find it hard to believe one pony did all that, maybe if it was a pony that had Twilight's level of genie magic. But there were no genies then, if Luna had not been on the moon at that time maybe there'd be an argument of it being her doing as maybe Luna has control of the tides... but...

Did perhaps Chrysalis just see a pony escaping the island as a natural disaster occurred, and falsely assumed the pony was responsible for it somehow? Should I dare ask if Chrysalis knows this particular pony's name? ....Nah, I feel that'll be best for the next session. That way she's 'honestly' telling everything she knows, for now I'll just jot down some more notes.)

Starlight takes out her binder and notes up what Chrysalis said 

Starlight: Ok, Chrysalis. I'm afraid I have no idea who this pony could have been, but a pony who could have had both the power to do it and the moral bankruptcy to do such a thing is certainly something that has not happened since. Because leveling entire islands sounds more like Grogar-level destruction. Not any individual pony I've ever heard about.

But I can ask the identity of this pony next time. All I can say is that whatever the case, no pony on that level would be welcomed in Equestria. Ever. They'd meet the same fate as Cozy Glow if we ever found a pony like that. That certainly sounds like an example of a pony that is not who we are. The kind of ponies my mother despised to no end.

Ocellus simply nods with Starlight's statement.

Chrysalis sighed, the memory of her hive's destruction. The screams she heard… and the pony she saw as responsible for all of it. It was still clear as day in her mind.

Chrysalis: Hmph, well at least your mother sounded like someone with honor… this pony… she was more wicked than Cozy Glow... I remember the heat… the screams... I watched as she pushed my brother into that volcano...just before she made it erupt. And I could do nothing… merely watch my hive be destroyed. Tarsus… he told me to stay away… in doing so, he saved my life… some other changelings had been with me at the time as well… but we were all that remained...

She trembled and stomped at the ground.

Chrysalis: It was from then on my enemies, those ponies and specifically her. I vowed from that day on to make them pay...

Starlight: Oh huh, yeah maybe it wasn't because of some sudden super magical perpetrator, rather the volcano was already on the verge of erupting... (And if Tarsus is as evil as my mother described... then it could have been the dark magic that his soul became that sank the island...)

Anyway, hopefully the conversation about your family hasn't soured today's session for you. I didn't expect you to get along with Rainbow Dash and the rest so well. I suppose I underestimated my own friends, and didn't account for the camaraderie that a close competition can create even between opposing athletes and/or teams.

This was an excellent day from that perspective, and I have high hopes for our next one. As Rainbow mentioned, Applejack's no stranger to tragedy within a family. Plus, there are some... major stuff to go over. And I do mean MAJOR... the kind of stuff where we've learned far more about how the world works, and life itself since before your sentence in stone. If it weren't for the fact that this is the Honesty lesson, you'd probably scarcely believe what you'll learn next time. I'd just prepare yourself for your mind to be blown multiple times.

The Apple Family's getting close to the end of harvest season, once that's all done. Everyone I plan to bring along to the next one should be ready. 

Chrysalis: Whatever it was… I will never forget what I saw that day... but to answer your question, no, this didn't sour things. I wanted to speak of it… I felt that you've earned the right to know.

She gave her a small smile.

Chrysalis: And I'm certain if her session is as interesting as this one was. I'll look forward to it. I don't see a reason to dread the lesson with Applejack as I did before meeting with Rainbow Dash. To think she'd remind me so much of my brother… heh. I'm curious to hear what these 'mind blowing' revelations will be, but we can wait until the time comes. I'll be mentally preparing myself.

Chrysalis was clearly warming up more to everything. Things were looking good, if the lessons continued like this. Chrysalis would be reformed in no time.

Starlight turns to Ocellus

Starlight: Before I go, thank you Ocellus for being there to referee the race.

Ocellus: Of course Starlight! It was a great race, and I'm glad Mom enjoyed it. I'm not sure I could ever reach those speeds myself, but when you get out of here, mom. I'd like to be trained by you if I can. I wouldn't mind having some friendly races with Smolder, Silverstream, and/or Gallus in some races of my own eventually. The Loyalty  P..E. classes were the only parts of school I wasn't that great at. But Professor Dash was always nice and encouraged me even when I made mistakes. If there was a team sport that required some strategy, I did much better at that then anything I could do alone.

Chrysalis looks to Ocellus and smiles at her, she was touched that she actually wanted to spend time with her. Be trained by her too. It almost looked like she'd cry, but her pride got in the way.

Chrysalis: Ocellus… you... r-really? I… I'd love that! Yes! You and I will absolutely be as speedy as myself! NO, even faster than myself! I know you have it in you! We… we'd have something to do… together!

Her wings fluttered a bit at the thought.

Starlight simply smiles seeing Chrysalis and Ocellus both excited about the future. There's still work to do, but it looked like Chrysalis' reformation was a foregone conclusion. 4 down, 2 to go. And Starlight couldn't see anything going too wrong when Applejack and the rest come by aside maybe a little tension with Pharynx. She even thinks about how proud Twilight will be when it comes time for Magic.

Starlight: (I think I've made it through many of the toughest parts about this. The only remaining hurdle I see is telling her the truth about Tarsus, but I'm sure when Chrysalis meets my mother AND especially her family from her old hive's spirits. That should allow Chrysalis to face the truth. Though the whole revelation about Spirit Summoning existing is going to take her for a loop in general. This next session might be the most interesting yet.)

Starlight jots down some more notes in her binder, before closing it.

Starlight: Alright, that's all for now Chrysalis. I'll see you again, soon enough. Ocellus, are you coming to Ponyville with me?

Ocellus shakes her head.

Ocellus: I think I'll stay at the hive a little longer. But give me a pack of that portal gum in case I need to go to Ponyville quick enough.

Starlight nods and floats over a pack to Ocellus.

Ocellus: Thanks Starlight!

Starlight: You're welcome! Bye Chrysalis and Ocellus!

Starlight waves off before forming a portal with her piece of gum and leaving off. Leaving only Chrysalis and Ocellus as the only beings in the chamber. A look of hope in both their eyes as they stare from the opposite sides of the barrier.

As they watch Starlight leave, Chrysalis smiles. Not worried about her future for once. As much as she'd still hate to say it out loud, she's really come to trust Starlight more. Ocellus could see it in Chrysalis' face as well.

Chrysalis: While you're still here, daughter... I just wanted to say… thank you for cheering me on earlier… It… it meant a lot to me.

Ocellus: Oh, Mom. That's the least I could have done for you. I just know you're so close to reuniting with us for good. I'd wish you luck in the next session, though I almost feel you won't need luck. As I know Professor Applejack will be very amicable, and then it won't be long before Princess Twilight comes back to see you. Wouldn't be surprised if she's the one that lifts the barrier to declare your freedom has been gained.

...Though uh, Mom you also might want to be wary that Pharynx is likely to show up to the next session. I know that might be a bit awkward, but I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle. 

Chrysalis: Pharynx... Ah that will be… interesting... I do not look down upon him as I do to Thorax… yet I'm certain to hear an earful from him… I was wondering if and when he would be a part of these. I almost assumed he'd have come today given his undying loyalty to the hive...

She sighed, knowing full well that the conversation with him may be the hardest one yet. Pharynx was the son she praised so much when she was in charge. But now things are much different.

Chrysalis: But I will be ready for whatever may come. And as for Twilight's eventual arrival… oh to see the look on her face as I am set free. I hope you will be there, Ocellus, when I truly gain my freedom. 

Ocellus: I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Ocellus tilts her head and smiles towards her mother.

Ocellus: I think I'm going to head on up the hive and get some grub to eat. Would you like me to bring back some to teleport into your cell? Or did you get enough fill from Rainbow and the others? If you are full, then this is likely a goodbye until our next meet-up.

Chrysalis: I'm quite fine actually... these lessons always provide a good amount of love to subsist on. It's funny, I don't feel a loss of it for once either. As if I'm still full. So go get your meal and rest, daughter. Until our next meeting, and hopefully it will be outside of these walls once more.

Ocellus waves off, and leaves the chamber. Chrysalis is now all alone again, presumably until Starlight comes back with Applejack and the rest of the group she intends to bring for the Honesty lessons. Chrysalis has many things going through her mind. The exhilarating race with Rainbow, the similarities that the wonderbolt had with Spur, the emotional breakdown she had not long after the race, and a wonder of how the next session will go. But most of all, she was feeling something that she's never truly felt since the glory days of her old hive.

For the first time in years, she truly felt things were changing for the better. Chrysalis, the Queen of the Changelings... had hope again.