More Than Friends-Chapter 7-(Recovery-Discovery)

7

>You look over your own brother, wrapped in casts.
>The machine hooked up to him lets out a steady beep, signaling his life.
>You can see his exposed chest rise up and down.
>You let out another sigh.
>The doctors said he was knocked out in the hit, nothing too bad.
>The only problem was that he broke two of his forelegs.
>The doctors said he was lucky you pulled him out.
>The instructor called him an idiot for risking his life like that.
>On the other hoof, he commended on your bravery.
>Fuck man, you were just jumping like an idiot.
>Shining was struck out of the list, being told that he was too rash.
>He was out of commission as well.
>Of course, your first order as ‘Captain-in-training’ was to deliver the news to Shining.
>Well, you knew how much the training mattered for him.
>His goddamn Cutie Mark was a shield.
>He always believed it was his destiny to protect Equestria.
>So much for that.
>Cadance is standing next to you, as well as Twilight.
>After all, she was her new foal-sitter.
>”Anon?” Twilight climbs up to the side of Shining’s bed, examining him.
>Then she turns to you, with glazed eyes.
>”Is Shiny going to be alright?” She asks, cocking her head a little.
>You can see tears welling up on her eyes.
>You lower your eye-level to Twilight, and smile.
>”Don’t worry, Twi, the doctors said Shining will be back up in two weeks or so. No worries.”
>You ruffle her mane again.
>”Oh, come here.”
>You lift Twilight and give her a hug.
>Twilight squeezes back, much harder than you.
>”Twilight, the doctors said-“
>”How do you- they know?” She holds on tighter.
>”You see Twilight.” You peel her off. “Doctors have extensive knowledge, so they know how a pony will be, like Shiny here.”
>”Now-ledge?”
>Twilight sniffles.
>God that is cute.
>”Yep, like the ones you find in books. With that, you can help a lot of ponies.”
>”A-a lot of ponies?” Twilight wipes her eyes with a hoof.
>You also wipe a tear off her face.
>”Yep, a lot.”
>Cadance leans onto you.
>Twilight processes this information for a while, then jumps out of your hands.
>She then runs to the door.
>”Where you going, Twilight?” Cadance asks, surprised.
>”I need to find books.” Twilight magic the door open.
>”A lot of books.”
>Speak of the devil; a book cart passes by the room.
>Twilight gasps and gallops out.
>Cadance looks to you and giggles, before going after Twilight.
>You are suddenly hit with a certain worry.
>Not sure what.
>Something about Twilight.

>As you close the door, you hear a few coughs.
>Shining’s finally awake.
>He tries to move his legs, and then notices the casts.
>Oh boy here it comes.
>”Huh, what the heck?” He tries another futile attempt to move his leg.
>You can see beads of sweat appearing on his coat.
>You walk over right away.
>”Anon, what happened?”
>”You got hit by a boulder, Shining.”
>”Dang. How long am I going to be out?”
>”Docs said at least two weeks.”
>”Daaang. How am I going to catch up the training?”
>You swallow your spit.
>”Heh, yeah, about that.”
>You take out a pink envelope, and hand it over to Shining.
>Shiny opens it with magic.
>He starts reading it.
>His expression slowly twists into fear, and then anger.
>You look over him sadly.
>He crumples the letter.
>”Then who gets to be the captain, huh?”
>He already knows the answer.
>”That makes it-“
>”YOU! Of all the ponies, YOU!” He throws the ball at you.
>You calmly catch the ball.
>He starts trashing, shouting insults at you.
>A nurse comes in, but you wave her off.
>”It is my special talent, Anon! I NEED to defend Equestria! It is my entire point!”
>”You could always be a guard.”
>Shining looks to you in disbelief.
>”It is all your fault, Anon. You made me hit that rock.”
>”How the fuck it is my fault?” You retort, more or less insulted.
>”You know how I always freak out. You made me do it!”
>That’s it- you’re not taking this shit anymore.
>You stand, showing Shining your new patch on your shoulder.
>This makes his thrash around more.
>”Shiny.”
>”Buck you, Anon. Buck you!”
>”Shine.”
>”You are a cheating, conniving-“
>”Shine!” You shout.
>This shuts him up.
>”Bro, listen to me.”
>He lowers his head, before muttering something under his breath.
>”You’re not my brother. Your own parents threw you away.”
>This drives you to the edge.
>”WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY?” You roar, lashing out.
>Shiny chokes a little, before going silent.
>”Yeah, come on, say it louder. Tell me, you mother fucker.”
>”You don’t even have parents, Anon. You’re just pretending to be a pony.”
>You stand.
>You are not taking this shit.
>You open your door, and face your entire family.
>Mom and Dad looks to you in worry.
>Twilight is burrowed in her book.
>Cadance approaches you, she is worried as well.
>”Is everything alright, Anon?”
>”Yeah, perfect.” You wave her off, and walk away.

>Perfectly fucked up.

==================

>It has been a while after your fight.
>You’re still going through some tough training, and without any other peers, you find yourself getting more load from the instructors.
>Cadance still takes care of Twilight, the two of them look happy together.
>You still share your room with Shining, but the two of you rarely talk.
>Cadance took it to herself to take care of Shining, and tried her best to restore your old friendship.
>She even tried using a ‘friendship’ spell on you.
>Even love.
>Oh god you’ll never live it down.

>More than once, she convinced you to talk to Shining, only to be replied with grunts and insults.
>And more so, you were annoyed to even trying to reason with him.
>For an idiot who is only out for two weeks, he sure was moody.
>You also noticed you’ve been spending less and less with Cadance.
>With all of the training coming up, you had no time.
>The best was just five minutes with her, probably asking each other’s day or just a quick peck.
>You really should have paid more attention to her.

>And today, you shall.

>You stride back home early, holding a banquet of flowers.
>You convinced the instructors to let you go early, with or without the excuse of royalty.
>You made some reservations, called in a few favors- for this perfect day.
>You made sure the dinner was perfect.
>You had to make it up to Cadance somehow.

>You first visit Mr. Snap, the local fashionista.
>At least that’s what he called himself.
>”Ah, it’s Anon, my good friend.” The stallion warmly welcomes you.
>You helped him out in an alley once, and he thinks a world of you.
>He’s this old, Teal colored stallion, often seen with his black mustache.
>He had a son, this annoying fanboy, Snips.
>Snips and Snaps. Heh.
>Seeing you as the next captain, the colt followed you around.
>You felt kinda bad for ignoring him.
>You were once playing football with some stallions, before the little fucker jumped in.
>You punted the fucker in the groin.
>He recovered quickly thanks to your magic.
>But his nuts…
>Let’s just say some things cannot be fixed with magic.
>So you call him a filly now.
>Technically, he still had one testical.
>”Oh, hi, Mr. Snaps, just checking in for the suit.”
>”Of course, of course! Right here, my boy.”
>You go and high five Snips, who is more than happy to see you.
>The stallion produces a suit from the curtains.
>You smile and imagine yourself in the suit.
>Damn good looking, Anon.
>Thank you Anon, you too, good chum.
>Oh you.
>You place your bag of bits on the counter, and go to try on the suit.
>”Wait!” The old stallion calls.
>”Yes sir?”
>”You’re going to a date, right?”
>”Yes?”
>”Then let me do you hair.”
>You look up checking.
>What’s wrong with it?
>”My boy, it is not what is wrong, but what can be made better.”
>You like the sound of that.
>”But I got no bits to pay you.”
>”Think of it as returning the favor.”
>He said that twenty times.
>You kept count.

>You find yourself with a shit-eating grin, while you hummed throughout your entire path.
>Ponies you knew immediately cheered you on.
>Soarin came over to pat your back and ruffle your hair.
>You just had your hair done.
>Fucker.

>As the sun is starting to set, bleaching Canterlot with orange light.
>Just a few more hours.
>You quickly spot Twilight playing on the front porch.
>She’s playing on the soft grass, levitating a small doll.
>She’s playing airplane.
>You can’t be more proud.
>She also has an opened tome next to her- is that your last year’s biology textbook?
>Sometimes, you are immensely proud of your little sister.
>Other times, you are more so.
>You go over and ruffle her mane.
>”Well, Starswirl, what you got there?”
>”You biology textbook, Anon! I figured I needed to learn more and more!”
>You sit next to her.
>That pretty advanced stuff.
>”Say, Twilight, you won’t know how the ‘equilibrium’ works, do you?”
>Twilight looks to you in disbelief.
>”The equilibrium theory, proposed by Starswirl the Bearded, is one of the fundamental theories on magical life. It tells a ‘balance’ in all of magical elements, like life to death and-“
>Look at this filly.
>They grow up so fast.
>You smile and wipe a tear.
>”So, Anon, can you explain the four standards of rejuvenation aura?”
>You quickly stand up and NOPE your way out of there.
>You failed that class.
>NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE
>You head to the door, only to find it locked.
>”Anon! Cadance is busy right now!” Twilight shouts at you, before going back to her books.
>Fuck that, this is your house.
>You prep a teleport spell.
>What is the worse that could happen?
>Say, what was Cadance doing leaving Twilight out so late and-
>Teleport activates.
>You quickly materialize inside.
>”HONEY!” You shout.
>”I’m-“ You quickly glance around the living room.
>On the couch, there are two ponies on each other, lips locked and-
>”Home?”
>You see Cadance right on top of Shining Armor, his casts off.
>That’s one good news.
>Sort of.
>Because you were about to put him back in it.
>Cadance shoots up, blushing.
>”Anon! This isn’t what it looks like!”
>You raise a brow.
>As you clench your fist and head towards Shining, Cadance block you.
>You look down to Cadance in disbelief.
>She is stern.
>Fuck it.
>You unlock the door and walk out.
>Your slam was a little harder than you intended to be, but you’re too confused to care.
>Seriously, what the fuck was that?
>You go over and sit by Twilight.
>You cross your legs.
>”What’s wrong, Anon?” Twilight comes over and places a hoof on your thigh.
>NON-SEXUALLY, YOU SICK FUCKS
>”Are you alright, Anon?”
>”Yeah, just fine.”
>”Then why are you crying?”
>You feel a cold tear roll on your cheek.
>You sigh and lay on your back.
>You reflexively cup your hands on the back of your head.
>Twilight comes over, and wipes your tear with her soft hoof.
>”Don’t cry, Anon. Everything will be alright.”
>Twilight sits next to your head and rests her against yours.
>”Now, I can’t have my BBBFF sad, do I?”
>You feel her soft coat on your cheek.
>You can smell her shampoo from here.
>You reach a hand over and ruffle her mane again.
>”No, I guess not.”
>You smile.
>”You’re the best sister ever.”
>You give her another hug.

>Cadance eventually comes to see you in the front.
>You’re busy getting lessons to notice.
>”Uhm, Anon?”
>You glance to your back to see Cadance.
>”Oh, hey, Cadance, glad to see you.”
>”Can we talk?” Cadance motions to the back yard.
>You glance over to Twilight, who waves you goodbye.

>”I hope you got a good explanation.” You cross your arms.
>Cadance looks around awkwardly, drawing circles in the ground.
>She opens her mouth.
>Please let it be a joke.
>”It’s all your fault, Anon.”
>Not this shit again.
>Remember the golden rule.
>The mare is always right.
>”You never spend your time with me, always obsessed in your trainings, and- and-“
>You step closer and wrap her with your arms.
>She immediately closes the gap and cries.
>”I’m sorry, Cadance, I’m sorry.” You whisper to her.
>”N-no, I’m sorry, Anon, it j-just felt so right and-“
>She cries more.
>Each gasp, you pull her closer.
>You really loved this mare, you stupid idiot.
>Feeling the love.
>You pull back a little, and look into her eyes.
>Searching for answers, if you will.
>Nope, just being a hopeless romantic.
>You then lean in for a simple kiss, to wrap it all up.
>”Hey.” You whisper again.
>”I got us a dinner reservation, wanna go?”
>Cadance looks to you with large, glazed eyes.
>”F-for us?”
>”Come on, we can’t be late.”
>You give her another kiss.

>Tonight turned out much more differently than you expected.
>You still got your money’s worth.
>The two of you had a good time.
>You agreed to leave what happened as what happened.
>”How about Shining?” You ask, poking the salad.
>”Done, no more, Anon.”
>”The conversation, or the relationship?” You stab into a tomato.
>Cadance stares you down.
>”Both.”
>Good enough.

>You slump back on the wooden seat, Cadance next to you.
>You feel the tight tug of your suit.
>It was kinda hot.
>As in temperatures.
>Oh, I should leave?
>”So where are we going again?”
>”To meet my parents, Anon. They wanted to meet my special somepony.”
>”Then why the fuck are we bringing that guy?” You point with your thumb.
>Shining grunts at you, before settling on his seat.
>Cadance is starting to sweat.
>”You see Anon, my parents are very conservative.”
>What the fuck does that mean.
>She senses your un-knowledge.
>”They do not approve of relationships out of ponies.”
>You’re starting to get it now.
>”So, Shining is here to-“
>”He’ll act as you, so my parents can approve.”
>What the fuck, Cadance.
>”I thought you loved me?”
>”I-I do! It’s just that-“
>”What, you’re embarrassed?” You stand.
>”No!” Cadance forces you back to your seat with her magic.
>”I’m just afraid my parents will incinerate you alive if they knew you were dating me.”
>That is a pretty good point.
>”Then why am I coming along?”
>”To make sure Shining doesn’t go too far.”
>You look back at Shining, who sneers and smiles at you.
>That fucker.
>Of all of the available stallions.
>”Why him, of all the possible stallions?”
>”I tried searching for others, but they were afraid of the guard Captain.”
>True.
>You would hunt them to the end if you caught them smooching Cadance.
>You turn to Shining and let out a glow in your hand.
>”You try anything, anything, you motherfucker.”
>Shining just smiles and stares at Cadance.
>”That’s fucking it.” You stand up, only to be brought down by Cadance.
>”Anon, please! Just one day, okay?”
>”Fine. One day.” You spit the words.
>You then face your brother again.
>”If you even try kissing, or anything more, I will end you.”

>The carriage flew immediately, setting a course for Prance.
>Fuck that, you heard ponies were uppity there.
>With their must-asks and their accents.
>And something in your gut tells you this plan will suck.
>Hey, if it comes to worst, you have an excuse to beat up Shining, right?
>Right?

>You sigh and stop your shaking hand, as Cadance rests her head on your shoulder.

>Shining keeps his gaze on the mare.
>This was his chance to make it right with her.
>That human did not deserve the beautiful mare.
>Soon.

>Very soon.

>For a reason, your jimmies keep rustling.