- >Today, you wake up more quickly
- >There's a slight pressure around your chest
- >SO you open your eyes
- >...Well, at least she got it right this time
- >Twilight Sparkle has her hooves wrapped around you in a hug
- >But unlike yesterday morning
- >She's actually hugging your torso
- >Instead of your face
- >...All in all, there are worse ways to wake up
- >She's not trying to rape you, for example
- >Welp, time to get up
- >Because as much as you would looooove to stay in this nice warm bed
- >You need to feed the fire before it goes out
- >You gently pry Twilight's hooves away from your midsection
- >Which wakes her up, of course
- >She looks up at you, blinking owlishly
- Good morning Twilight
- >"Good morning Anonymous"
- >You finish freeing yourself from her grip, and get out from under the covers
- >Just as you'd predicted, it's fairly cold in the tent
- >Leaving Twilight under the blankets, you retrieve some firewood and stoke the fire
- >Much better
- So what do you want for breakfast?
- >You ask Twilight as you pull on your boots
- >"Do you have any Gorilla Munch left?" she asks as she emerges from the blankets
- Plenty
- >You grab your gloves and head out the door
- >You don't need all your stuff for this
- >Ten minutes later, your wastes are disposed of
- >And you're eating on a bowl of Gorilla Munch across the table from Twilight
- >You were out early enough that there were no guardsp0nies in the maze
- >It was snowing steadily outside
- >And now here you are
- >Stuck in a tent with a reluctantly horny mare for the rest of the day
- >Twilight speaks up between spoonfuls of cereal
- >"So... what are we going to do tomorrow?"
- Oh, that's right. Estrus ends tomorrow, doesn't it
- >She nods
- Well Twilight, I figure we'll stomp right into Day Court and let Celestia know we're back
- >"You wouldn't!"
- Do you honestly believe there's a Guard in that castle that would stand in MY way?
- >"When you put it that way, no..."
- There you go then
- >Once breakfast is done and over with, you head over to your cloak and pull out your three boxes of .45 ammo
- >And the respective mag bags
- >You carry the entire lot over to the table and set it down
- >"What are you doing?" Asks Twilight
- I'm going to load these mags
- >"Those are for your pistol?"
- Yeah
- >"Why?"
- >You shrug
- Luck favors the prepared. And it's not like I have anything else to do
- >Twilight's eyes light up
- >"You said before you have other guns, didn't you?"
- I did say that...
- >"And you also promised you would show them to me"
- I didn't promise anything
- >her face falls
- But sure, I'll show you my other guns
- >"Thanks"
- >You go to your cloak once more and retrieve a pair of long, black cases with padlocks attached
- >Along with the box of regular shotgun ammo
- >You bring them back over to Twilight and set them on the ground
- >While you're opening the shotgun ammo box Twilight speaks up
- >"Why do you have so many guns?"
- What?
- >"Those cases are huge!"
- Heh, there's only one gun in each of these cases
- >Shotgun or rifle first?
- >Shotgun
- >You unlock the padlock on the left case with your key
- >Then you pop the latches and open it up
- >Sitting upon the spiked foam is your shotgun in all its glory
- >Underneath the shotgun is the slug barrel
- >And sitting at the left side of the case is your original ammo supply for it
- >you pick it up
- This is my shotgun; my Remington 870
- >You say
- It works a little different than my pistol
- >You reach over and grab a 00 buck shell out of the ammo box
- The shells go in here
- >You say, pushing the metal tongue up with the shell and shoving it into the tube
- And stack up inside the tube. Capacity is five shells. Whenever I want to chamber a shell I open the action
- >You press down on the release yank the slide back, the sudden noise causing Twilight to jump
- Which pulls a shell out of the tube and into the breech
- >You briefly hold the shotgun out at her eye level so she can see
- Then I close the action
- >You yank the slide forward, getting another twitch
- Ejecting is as simple as opening the slide once more
- >She doesn't twitch this time as the shell flies out of the action
- This is called a pump action.
- >You close the action once more, check to make sure the safety is still on and then set the shotgun back in its case
- >You're going to pick up the shell when Twilight speaks up
- >"Why do you have that wooden part hanging off the back?"
- Well, I brace it against my shoulder
- >You grab the shotgun once again and bring to your shoulder
- Like this
- >"Why?"
- >You shrug
- It's easier to aim looking along the top of the barrel and it's the best way to absorb recoil
- >She nods understandingly
- >So you set the shotgun back in its case and pick up the errant shell
- The final difference between the shotgun and my other guns is the projectile, or rather, projectiles
- >You hold up the shell
- Shotguns generally fire a multitude of smaller projectiles instead of a single large one. This shell, for example, has nine spherical pellets sitting in front of a plastic wad instead of one massive slug
- >You reach over and drop the shell back in the ammo can
- They can shoot solid slugs, of course, but you *should* use a rifled barrel to shoot slugs and most shotguns come smooth bore
- >Twilight is goggling at all the new terminology you just spewed at her
- >"What does "rifled" mean? And how is that different from smooth bore? Why would you ne-"
- >You hold your hand up to her
- One question at a time
- >She obligingly stops talking as you reach over and pick up the slug barrel
- >Then you hold it out to her
- Look down the barrel from this end
- >You indicate the non-business end
- Would you?
- >Twilight takes the barrel and holds it up to her eye, peering through it
- Now, what do you see?
- >"There appear to be a series of rotating grooves set inside the 'barrel'..."
- Exactly. That is called the rifling. Almost all guns have rifling in their barrels, except shotguns
- >You hold out your hand and she gives you the barrel back
- Rifling causes the projectile to spin, which makes it more accurate.
- >Then you reach over and set it back in the shotgun case
- Shotguns generally come smooth bore because rifling has no effect on the accuracy of multiple projectiles and it's cheaper to make smooth barrels
- >You close the shotgun case and do up the latches
- In fact, shooting pellets through rifling is a good way to ruin it
- >You snap the padlock on your shotgun case shut
- >Then you reach over and unlock the case on your right
- >You open the case and gaze at the familiar metal and wood body of your m14, nestled among the magazines and cartridges
- >Then you pick it up
- This is my m14; There are many like it, but this one is mine
- >You pull the action open and hold it out for Twilight to see
- It works pretty much the same as my pistol; Firing pin sets off powder, expanding gas propels projectile and cycles action, action ejects empty cartridge and scoops a fresh cartridge out of the magazine. However, there are two major differences
- >You point to a metal switch on the rear of the action
- The first is the Rock 'n Roll switch
- >You reach out to the case and pick up the rifle's knife while you're talking
- Every firearm I've shown you so far fires one round per trigger pull; The m14 has the option of fully automatic fire. When I flip this switch and hold down the trigger, the gun fires continuously as fast as the action will cycle
- >Your explanation finished, you reach up to the bayonet lugs and mount the bayonet
- The other difference is that the m14 can mount a bayonet for ammunition-scarce situations
- >You chuckle a bit
- Not that it doesn't make a damn good club anyway
- And that about covers it. Any questions?
- >You say as you remove the bayonet
- >"Why do you need such... potent tools of killing?"
- >Ah shit
- >You knew this question would come up eventually
- >No point in lying
- >You might as well find out what they think of it anyway
- Well, does the term "omnivore" mean anything to you?
- >You ask as you place your m14 back in the case
- >She snaps out the definition without thinking
- >"A creature capable of consuming both flora and fauna..."
- >"Anonymous... are you omnivorous?"
- Yep. I use those guns to hunt animals for meat with which to supplement my diet, and to defend myself against predators
- What kind of attitude does p0ny society have towards meat eaters, anyway?
- >"You're not going to be lynched for it, if that's your question"
- That's a weight off my shoulders
- >Twilight ponders the question for a bit while you latch the case shut and padlock it
- >"Still, you would do well to keep that particular trait a secret"
- Really?
- >"There are the gryphons... but you're not a gryphon..."
- Wait, gryphons? Like, half lion half eagle gryphons?
- >"Yes, we have a non-consumption treaty with them"
- >And here you thought this place didn't hold any further surprises
- >"Equestria's never seen something quite like you Anonymous. It could go either way"
- I'll keep that in mind then
- What do YOU think of meat eaters Twilight?
- >You ask as you take both guns back over to the cloak
- >Twilight gives the p0ny equivalent of a shrug
- >"I think it's no crime to consume meat if your body cannot physically function without it. In fact, there are a few select p0nies that eat it as a... delicacy. Secretly, of course"
- >Excellent
- >That means if you're nice you should be able to get it in the castle later on
- >Or get permission to hunt your own
- >You open the tent door and return the gun cases to the cloak, along with the box of shotgun ammo
- >Then you close it and go back over to the table
- >which ammo to load first?
- >Regular ammo, you decide
- >You open up the regular .45 ammo box and the bag of standard mags, withdrawing a mag
- >"So... You're just going to load mags now?"
- Yeah
- >"How do they work?"
- >You shrug, and hold up a regular mag
- Underneath this metal plate is a spring that presses up on the cartridges. These lips keep the cartridges from shooting out of the mag, but at the same time allow the pistol to extract fresh rounds
- >"I see"
- >You open up the regular .45 ammo box and grab a round
- >Then you thumb it into the magazine
- >"Hey Anonymous?"
- Hmmmm?
- >"Can I see one of the purple... cartridges?"
- Sure
- >You reach over and open up the purple ammo can, withdrawing a round and holding it out to Twilight
- >She takes it in her magical grasp and retreats to the far end of the tent, examining it
- >You accordingly go back to your mags
- >She's probably glad for a distraction
- >Three rounds later, however, something occurs to you
- Say, what happened to the other round I gave you?
- >Twilight looks back at you distractedly
- >"It's in my bag in the castle"
- Alright. I was just curious
- >You turn back to your ammo can and resume loading the mags
- >The rest of the morning and a pair of sore thumbs later, and you've loaded all the mags
- >Regular rounds in the regular mags
- >Hand loads in the silver mags
- >And fuckin' magic rounds in the fuckin' magic magazines
- >You've still got plenty of ammo in the cans
- >But now you have loaded mags if you ever need them
- >You haven't had much trouble from Twilight
- >Other than her moving gradually closer to you throughout the morning
- >She seems to be content to examine the purple .45 cartridge you gave her
- >Speaking of which...
- >You want to try something
- >You draw your pistol and hit the mag release
- >Carefully setting the mag to the side, you remove the chambered round
- >Then you pick up one of the purple mags and slide it inside
- >Nothing
- >You rack the slide and chamber one of the purple rounds
- >A faint tingle runs through your hands when the slide closes fully
- >Your gasp causes Twilight to look over from her examination of another of the purple rounds
- >You peer more closely at what your pistol has become
- >The entire thing is now mostly purple
- >On each grip is the same motif from the side of the ammo can, the bullet itself and Twilight's flank
- >A dual stripe of darker purple and pink runs down each side of the slide
- >Above it on either side is flowing golden script
- >On the left side of the slide it reads "Friendship is magic"
- >And on the right "Knowledge is power"
- Twilight, Why is my gun purple?
- >"Well, what did you do?"
- I chambered one of those purple cartridges...
- >Twilight's eyes widen
- >"That must be the chromatic magic I detected! Perhaps it was..."
- >While she muses excitedly to herself you drop the mag
- >The gun is still purple
- >Then you pull the slide back, ejecting the purple cartridge
- >You get the same tingling feeling in your hands
- >And the gun turns back to its original color
- >Phew
- >After you finish re-inserting the original round and mag and holster your pistol, you interrupt Twilight's diatribe
- So did you figure anything out about what these cartridges do?
- >"Not much. As you saw earlier, they seem to have a chromatic variation spell worked into them. Past that, there's not much I can determine. The magic is almost... alien"
- >Makes sense
- >From what you know, you played an equal part in the creation of those cartridges
- >And around here, you're about as alien as it gets
- >You put the mags back inside their bags
- >Then pick up the bags and dump them out into the cloak
- I think it's about time for lunch
- >You suggest as you carry the ammo boxes over to the cloak, after retrieving the spare purple round from Twilight
- Is there anything you'd particularly enjoy?
- >"mmmhmmm... oh, yes..."
- >You don't like that tone of voice
- Twilight
- >You warn, turning back to her
- >"I-um-Oh, sorry!"
- >Upon her face you see bedroom eyes rapidly transforming into an apologetic expression
- >"I-I'd like a sandwich, if you don't mind..."
- Sure
- >You turn back to the cloak and extract the supplies for a daisy sandwich, along with some fruits and vegetables
- >You can't eat the stuff, so she might as well have it
- >Then few slices of bread, some peanut butter and a few more fruits and vegetables for yourself
- >You can feel the cloak bowed inward from wind
- >So you briefly pull open a corner and peer outside
- >It's snowing and blowing
- >Lunch passes silently
- >You're both concentrating more on eating than conversation
- >You're friggen hungry
- >After lunch, you put the peanut butter away, then you draw a small bag from the cloak
- >You go back over to the table and sit down
- >Twilight is getting up off the ground
- Come here
- >She reluctantly trots over to you
- >You slam the bag on the table, causing her to jump
- Care for some chess?
- >"I... Yes, that would be a... a welcome distraction"
- Great
- >You open the bag, revealing the shells you substituted for a full chess set the previous night
- Care to put up the board?
- >"O-of course"
- >The same checkered purple board appears above the table
- >You immediately begin setting it with pieces
- >The rest of the day passes in a haze of checks and checkmates as you both devote yourselves to the game
- >Twilight is a good opponent despite spending more time looking at you than at the board
- >But when dinner time rolls around you're about ready to be done
- >You get up part way through the last game and head over to the small pile of food you brought in this morning
- >"What are you doing?"
- Fixing dinner
- >You reply as you retrieve a pan
- It'll need some time to cook, so we'll get to finish the game
- >"Sounds good"
- >For dinner, you will make spaghetti
- >No meatballs
- >Those can come later
- >You fill a pot with snow and set it on the stove to melt and boil
- >Then you whip up the sauce with a can of tomato sauce, a select few herbs and spices, and half a diced onion
- >Once the sauce is done you set it near the stove to keep it warm and go back to the chess game while the water heats up
- >You break once more from the chess game to add the spaghetti to the boiling water
- >The game is nearly over
- >You manage to eke out a final win in the time it takes for the spaghetti to soften up
- Good game, good game. Can you put the pieces away?
- >"Yes"
- Great
- >You turn around and go over to the stove
- >Then you strain out the spaghetti and portion it onto two plates, carrying them both over to the table
- >You make a second trip, picking up beverages and silverware for the both of you, and the sauce
- >Finally you find yourself sitting across the table from Twilight, fork in hand
- Dig in
- >You both reach for the sauce at the same time
- >Then you both back your respective limbs off at the same time
- You go ahead
- >You motion to her
- >She picks up the bowl and pours some sauce on top of her spaghetti
- >When she's done you get some yourself
- So, do you like spaghetti?
- >"mmmhmmmm..."
- >And that's all you get from Twilight
- >The rest of dinner passes with almost disturbing silence
- >Jesus Fuck
- >With the look you're getting there may as well be candles and a bottle of France's finest between you
- >You stand up and go scrape your plate in the garbage bag
- >Then you head back over to the table
- >...
- >There's a pressure on your thigh
- >You slowly look down
- >It's Twilight
- >She's rubbing her flank on your leg
- >Her face is occupied by a look of release
- >Blissful, even
- TWILIGHT
- >She distractedly looks back up at you
- >Then her eyes refocus
- >And she realizes what she's doing
- >Twilight practically leaps forward
- >"OhmygoshI'msosorryAnonymousIdidn'tknowI'msorryIdidn'tmeant-"
- SSSSHHHH
- >You say
- >She quietens down
- >You go over to your cold weather gear and begin pulling on your snowpants
- >"Where are you going?"
- I'm going to take a walk and give you a little space, alright?
- >"oh... okay..."
- Besides
- >You put your hand up to your mouth and stage whisper at her
- I have to piss something fierce
- >This gets a giggle
- >You should be fine leaving the tent now
- >The sun is going down
- >And you're fairly sure the guardsp0nies are going back to the castle by now
- >You pull on your snowpants
- >Your jacket, hat, goggles, boots, scarf and gloves
- >You've just finished strapping on your snowshoes and are standing up when an object tumbles through the doorway
- >Upon closer inspection, it's a completely black stallion wearing deep purple armor
- >For the briefest instant, you all stand perfectly still in shocked silence
- >Then the guardsp0ny looks at you with eyes the size of saucers
- >"help me" He silently mouths at you
- >Before anyone can do anything else a gaggle of twittering guardsmares of similar coloration push through the flap
- >Fuck
- RUN!
- >You and Twilight both simultaneously start for the door
- >The unfortunate guardsp0ny does his best, but he's much too close to the door
- >He barely manages to get to his hooves before the mares dogpile on him
- Go!
- >You shout to Twilight
- I'll catch up!
- >Twilight hesitates
- >"Are you sure-"
- Yes! gogogo!
- >Twilight reluctantly turns and exits the tent
- >You run up to the guardsp0ny
- >He made a plea for help
- >And you intend to oblige it
- >Right now, you can't see him
- >Just a pile of mares
- >SO you stoop down and seize one of them by her armor
- >She giggles at you coquettishly
- >You respond by bodily pitching her out the door
- >The second one is dealt with in much the same manner
- >But the third has her hooves around him
- >Prying them off proves to be no easy task
- >But the guardsp0ny in her grasp struggles with all his might
- >And together you manage to remove the mare
- >She follows her compatriots out the doorway
- >The moment he's free, the guardsp0ny springs to his hooves
- >You open your mouth to ask his name, but he cuts you off
- >"Get out of here! More's coming!"
- >Now you understand the urgency
- Let's go!
- >You head for the door and reach through it, yanking your cloak off the front of the tent
- >Then you quickly pin it around your neck, and hold the doorway open for your unlikely comrade
- >He wastes not time in bolting through it
- >You step out the door and into heavy snowfall
- >The three guardsmares you removed from your tent are still squirming in the snow
- >To your right, the guardsp0ny stands in the entrance, looking back at you
- >You wave him onwards
- I'LL BE FINE!
- >He turns and heads off into the maze
- >Now for Twilight
- >You sweep your head about the clearing, searching for her
- >Oh, there she is
- >In a corner
- >With another two guardsmares advancing on her
- >Shit
- >Twilight looks to you, her eyes pleading with you
- >You need to get her out of there
- >Well, no time like the present
- >You jog right past the guardsmares and up to Twilight
- Up we go
- >You grunt as you lift her up and onto your shoulders
- >"I-Wha-"
- Relax, I got this
- >You turn around and push right through the hedge
- >Hopefully, the guardsmares won't be able to follow you through it
- >But just for safety's sake you jog through a few twists and turns before stopping
- >Twilight speaks up
- >"Could you put me down now? I don't want to be a burden"
- Sure
- >You take her down off your shoulders and set her in the snow
- >She immediately sinks in nearly up to her belly
- >"So, what do we do now?"
- We go back to the main buildings
- >"Really?"
- Yep. The tent is compromised; can't go back there. The castle is the last place they'd expect us to be
- >"Well, when you put it that way..."
- I figure we can spend the night in the carriage garage, or an unoccupied part of the main building. Does that work for you?
- >"As long as I get to spend the night with you..."
- >Twilight catches herself
- >"Sorry"
- Let's just get going, okay?
- >"Yes, let's"
- >The walk through the hedges is long, and fraught with worry
- >There are twice as many guardsp0nies in the hedge as yesterday
- >Both the light ones and the dark ones
- >This issue is both aided and compounded by the heavy snowfall, which both limits visibility and muffles sound
- >The guardsp0nies can't hear you and Twilight coming, but on the flip side you can't hear them either
- >You're glad for your goggles
- >Twilight trudges beside you, struggling through the snow
- >It must not be easy for her
- >It's slowing down her progress considerably
- >And by extension, your own
- >Finally, you arrive at the entrance
- >The snowfall, no
- >The blizzard is now so bad you can't see the castle lights
- >The lamp-lit path back, however, stretches out invitingly in front of you
- >It's been re-plowed
- >Presumably to allow access to all the guardsp0nies currently flooding the maze
- >Twilight goes to walk on the path, and you stop her
- >"Why?"
- That path is probably full of guardsp0nies. We walk through the snow
- >"Easy for you to do"
- Hah, I can help with that
- >You reach down and pick her up once again, draping her over your shoulders
- Better?
- >"Mmmmm, much better..."
- >You shake your head, causing her to giggle
- >Then you ford off into the blizzard
- >Twilight lowers her head down next to your own, resting it on her hooves
- >"I can see why you wear those goggles now"
- They're great for weather like this
- >You agree
- >"I might just have to see about getting a pair"
- >Then she falls silent, leaving you to your thoughts
- >For what feels like hours you press through on through the raging blizzard
- >Until finally you come upon a section of grey castle wall
- >Set at about shoulder height beams of timber run along the wall, lit lamps hanging off each one
- >And above that there's a frosted over window
- >You could walk around and find a door
- >But then it would probably be guarded
- I'm going in that window
- >You announce to Twilight
- I'll lower a rope to you once I'm in
- >"Of course, the doors would be guarded at a time like this..."
- Clever mare
- >You lift Twilight up off your shoulders, then set her down in the snow
- >Then you sit down yourself and remove your snowshoes, stowing them in your cloak
- >You stand up once more, and knock the snow off the top of the lamp bar
- >It's about as thick as a fence post, and should hold your weight
- >You grunt as you jump to begin your momentum and lever yourself with your arms until the bar is at waist level
- >Then you swing your right leg up and get it on the bar
- >From there it's a relatively simple matter to get your left knee up and come to a kneeling position
- >And then up to a standing position, your hand on the wall for support and balance
- >Your objective is now at chest height
- >Piece of cake
- >"Hurry up and open it!" says a slightly strained voice from behind you, making you nearly fall off the lamp post
- >You whip your head around and see Twilight hovering behind you at eye level, coated in her signature purple glow
- >Her face is screwed up in utter concentration
- >"This isn't exactly easy!"
- >You don't need to be told twice
- >Lucky for you, there's a handle on the outside
- >You grab it and heave
- >And nearly overbalance and fall off the post
- >But you keep your grip on the window and manage to stay up
- >Twilight immediately floats past you and through the window
- >You duck under the window and begin climbing inside yourself
- >Up and over the edge you go, tumbling to the floor
- >Then you rise and close the window, and examine your surroundings
- >You're in a red carpeted, lamp lit hallway lined with windows on the left side
- >To the right, a door set into the end of the hallway
- >And to the left it turns right, going deeper into the building
- >Twilight is in front of you
- >You immediately begin stripping off your jacket and gloves, stowing them in your cloak
- Any idea where we are?
- >"I believe this is the prominent secondary causeway"
- English, please?
- >"We-"
- >Twilight is cut off by a thump and a curse from the door behind you
- >You both freeze
- >Then the jingle of metal hitting stone
- >"Damnable keyring!" comes from the door
- >You point to the end of the hallway and motion for Twilight to follow
- >Holding a finger to your lips, you head for the end of the hallway
- >Twilight immediately gleans your intentions and tiptoes towards it with you
- >Your boots are hardly made for sneaking
- >But the carpet helps to muffle your footfalls
- >The second you're around the corner you take off at a jog
- >Twilight quickly speeds up to match your pace
- We need to put some distance between us and whoever was on the other side of that door
- >You grunt as quietly as you can
- >"I agree" pants Twilight
- >A maze of twists and turns later, and you're fairly sure you're out of earshot of whoever came through the door
- >You passed several other doors set into the hallway, but didn't dare stop to check them
- >Now, however, you feel you're far enough away you can slow down
- >So you do
- >You spend the better part of a minute catching your breath
- >Then you address Twilight, who is in a similar state
- Any idea where we are?
- >"Of course! We're right next to the..."
- >"Well, No"
- >She looks stricken
- >"I should know where we are! This is the Royal Palace, for Celestia's sake!"
- Shhhh
- >You shush her
- >Twilight kindly stops talking and looks at you
- No worries, eh? We'll just try these doors
- >You gesture down the hallway; there's a door every now and then, marked with a light bracket
- Until we find a utility closet or something where no one will find us until morning. Sound good?
- >"That will work, I suppose..."
- >You put action to your words by walking over and trying one of the doors
- >Locked
- >No problem
- >There are more doors
- >All the doors are locked
- >Every single goddamn one
- >You're at the end of the hallway
- >And the end of your wits
- >There's one more door to try
- >Larger than the others, and slightly more ornate
- >You reach forward and try the handle...
- >Success!
- >Behind the door, there's a short hallway
- >And then a spiral staircase
- >This is your last respite
- >Otherwise you risk being found by a patrolling guard
- Let's see how deep the rabbit hole goes, shall we?
- >You say to Twilight, gesturing to the staircase
- >"This could be one of the observatories"
- Excellent
- >You pause to strip out of your snow pants
- >Then the pair of you begin your ascent
- >Up you go, around and around
- >The way lit by periodic light sources
- This is a long way up
- >You muse aloud
- >"We... We should be nearly there..."
- >Her prediction proves to be correct when you crest the stairs soon afterward
- >You are presented with two massive, ornate doors
- >One, lighter colored with stylized sun that is disturbingly familiar
- >The other dark, with a crescent moon
- >Twilight gasps next to you when she comes into view of the doors
- What?
- >Twilight begins hyperventilating
- Twilight, what is it?
- >She's having a panic attack
- Twilight, easy now. Deep breaths
- >Twilight begins to slow down
- >"Those are Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's rooms!"
- >Twilight is interrupted by a sound, from far, far down the stairwell
- >The most terrifying sound you could possibly hear at this moment
- >The sound of the door at the bottom of the stairwell slamming shut
- >And then the clopping of hooves on the stairs
- >FUUUUUCK
- >You move as quietly as you can to the moon door
- >"What are you doing?" Whispers a shocked Twilight
- The only thing I can
- >You whisper back, trying the door handle
- >Locked
- >Fuck
- >You head for your last chance of salvation
- >And try the handle
- >Unlocked
- >You open the door and beckon to Twilight
- Come on!
- >"What? Are you insane! We ca-"
- They'll find us for sure if we stay out here! Come on!
- >Twilight reluctantly follows you through the bedroom door
- >You gently close it behind her
- >Then you frantically begin searching the room for a hiding spot
- >There's a bed in one corner with a massive canopy
- >But it's too close to the ground to hide under
- >On either side of it, a pair of night stands
- >Some kind of holder for something
- >A mini fridge?
- >What
- >A writing desk
- >A bookshelf, completely stocked
- >And a fireplace with a roaring fire
- >One door, hanging slightly ajar, leading to a bathroom
- >And a glass door that leads out onto a balcony
- >Well shit
- >There's nowhere to hide
- >You run over to the bathroom and peer inside
- >There's a royal size bathtub and a royal size shower
- >A gilded toilet
- >A sink and oodles of soap and shampoos everywhere
- >But nothing capable of concealing you
- >or Twilight
- >You go back into the main room
- >Twilight is sitting on her haunches
- >Looking around in awe
- >You look frantically around the room once more
- >There has to be hiding place
- >There has to be!
- >Your gaze is drawn to the bed once more
- >You can't hide under it...
- >But perhaps you can hide on top of it
- Twilight, come here!
- >You say over the ever increasing sound of hooves on stairs
- >"What?"
- There's not time! Get your ass over here!
- >Twilight gets up off her haunches and joins you by the bed
- >The second she's close enough you snatch her off
- >And dump her on top of the canopy
- >The thick posts supporting it from the edge of the bed don't even creak
- >You jump up yourself, getting your elbows on the edge of the frame
- >Then you execute a similar maneuver to the one that got you up on the fence post
- >And flop over the edge of the frame
- >You lay down immediately
- >And slide to the center of the canopy
- >Right next to Twilight
- >"oooohhh, this is nice..."
- >You you take off your glasses and put them in your cloak so they don't get crushed
- >You might have to spend the night up here
- >The door opens, and you both hold perfectly still, hardly daring to breathe
- >The faintly metallic footsteps enter the room
- >Then the door closes
- >Sniff
- >Sniiiiff
- >Something, presumably the Princess, sniffs the air
- >...
- >She's probably smelling you
- >You hear a few metallic clinks, followed by a sigh
- >Then an equal number of thuds of metal striking wood
- >The hoofsteps got towards the bathroom door
- >Then it closes, and you hear running water
- >The bathroom door opens once more, and the footsteps approach the bed
- >The light fixture you can see is enveloped in a golden glow, and goes out
- >As do the rest of the light fixtures around the room
- >The footsteps come directly underneath you, then the bed shakes slightly as the Princess climbs into it
- >All is quiet for a few minutes
- >Maybe you can get off the bed with Twilight and get out of here once she goes to sleep...
- >The bed frame begins to vibrate
- >It's faint at first
- >Almost undetectable
- >But it quickly increases in intensity until you can hear the frame squeaking
- >"Anonymous..." moans the Princess
- >You rotate your head over and look at Twilight
- >By the firelight you can see the horrified look on her face
- >All you can manage is a cheesy grin
- >The absurdity of the situation strikes you
- >And it's all you can do to choke down a laugh
- >You are literally feet away from the leader you've been hiding from for nearly a week
- >Princess Celestia, Ruler of All Equestria, supposed controller of the sun itself
- >Who is currently masturbating furiously to the thought of you
- POMF
- >The vibration stops almost as quickly as it began
- >Beneath you, Celestia exhales
- >A smell floats up to you
- >Of citrus
- >And bananas
- >The fuck?
- >You slowly, silently shift over to the edge of the canopy and peer downard
- >by the firelight you see a large, white wing hanging off the edge of the bed
- >You equally silently retreat to your original position
- >Neither of you will be getting out of this canopy until she pulls those wings in
- >You mouth your discoveries to Twilight, who takes them with stoic silence
- >...
- >At least you won't be cold
- >Not with your own personal purple blanket
- >you close your eyes and try to get some sleep
- >You have the feeling you're going to need it
- >Unbeknownst to you, your belt buckle digs into the fabric of the canopy, creating a small tear...