Antecedent 8
#8 of Antecedent
Wisp hummed happily to herself as she toyed with a new piece of old technology, rolling it over and over in her paws and peeking at it. She was sitting in the courtyard off of the main palace itself, in what appeared to be a junk yard. Truthfully, Wisp had just demanded 'amusement items' and told Celestia that she was quite interested in old tech. Five hours later, she'd been given a veritable treasure trove of old devices originating from both griffons and ponies.
A cool breeze was rustling her feathers, and the end of her red-and-yellow banded scarf trailed in the wind as she worked, her gaze intent.
Still, the young griffon wore her eyepatch. It was a habit thing more than anything now. Previously, she had used it when she was working on the airship. When she was inside the airship, in the dark, she would cover her left eye with the patch, and when she went outside, she would cover her right. That way, as soon as she was inside the ship and swapped the eye patch over, her eye was already adjusted to the dark. It was an old seafarers trick.
Firebrand was going absolutely stir crazy. Just the knowledge that she wasn't allowed to go out and fly around as she wished was torture in and of itself. It made her want to do exactly that, but she restrained herself. Without her flight uniform on, the Wonderbolt captain was startlingly white, and with her red mane and tail, she really did look like she was ablaze. Annoyed pink eyes watched Wisp as she worked at her little machines, trying to fathom what she was doing.
Eventually, it got too much for Firebrand, and she slipped down to the courtyard to watch the griffon closer.
"Wanna see?" Wisp offered cheerfully, holding out a strange device that seemed to be no more than switches connected with tubing.
"I find it very... boring," Firebrand stated.
Wisp shrugged and gave a smile, "Can't expect everyone to like old tech!"
"What is your name?" Firebrand asked suddenly.
"I'm wisp, who're you?" the griffon asked, looking up from her device.
"I'm Firebrand. I'm the Element of Honesty," she replied with a slight incline of her head.
"Ever gone down on a pony before?" Wisp asked innocently.
Firebrand's eyes widened and she flustered, "W-what?! I-I... That's hardly a question for a young griffon to ask!"
"So you really are honest," Wisp said coolly, grinning up at Firebrand with an oh-so-innocent expression. "Just how old do you think I am?"
"Not old enough to ask that question of someone you just met!" Firebrand replied heatedly, her cheeks flushed, the colour highly visible on her white hide.
"I was just checkin' that you were truthful," Wisp said with a nod and a grin, "And you didn't deny it immediately like most ponies would. So I figure you're truthful. Also, I'm likely older than you are... I'm just runt."
"That is hardly a word I would choose to call myself if I were in your position," Firebrand stated, staring at the griffon.
Wisp shrugged faintly, "I am what I am. The labels ponies and griffons put on me don't mean much more than words."
Firebrand paused at that, and then looked the diminutive griffon up and down for a moment, and then said guardedly, "Why do I feel as though I could learn much from you?"
Wisp grinned at that, and then patted the ground beside her, "Well first off, come here and I'll show you a steam gauge works!"
The tranquility of the moment was broken by a single, jarring statement. "If you get sappy on me, I'm going to beat it out of you."
Sentinel gave a faint laugh, leaning down to nuzzle gently at Raindrop's neck, humming quite happily in the back of his throat.
"And if you say the 'M' word, I will also beat you until you forget the meaning of the word. There are to be no 'cutesy wutesey' nicknames, no schmoopy doopy do, no sickeningly sweet platitudes, none of that, understood?" Raindrop asked, her eyes narrowed up at him.
Sentinel's ears splayed backwards, and he pouted at her. "Not even 'Rainy'?"
"Not even 'Rainy'!" Raindrop protested, swatting at him with a hoof.
The guard was unperturbed, his ears splaying back further as he tilted his head down a little bit, letting his eyes widen, his bottom lip beginning to quiver. "But... But... Not even if I ask nicely?"
Raindrop splayed her own ears back, wincing at the expression on the guards face. "Nope. I'm a rock on this subject."
"Pweeease?" Sentinel implored, gently touching at her shoulder with a hoof in a placating motion. "Don't make me beg..."
Raindrop scrunched her hooves up and then threw them in the air, giving a huff. "Fine! But Rainy is the only nickname you can use!"
Sentinel immediately grinned, nuzzling against her nose with his own for a moment. "No one can resist the cute eyes."
"You are so manipulative," Raindrop said with a slow shake of her head.
"Isn't it awesome?" Sentinel asked with a sly grin.
"It won't be if you use it on me too often," Raindrop warned, pulling him in for a kiss, and squeezing him with her hooves tightly. "If you break my heart I'll break your bones."
"I know, Rainy," Sentinel said with a grin, drawing back and bopping her on the nose with a hoof, instantly causing the mare to deflate.
"And when I want sex, I get it. I don't want any of this female recalcitrance you keep exhibiting!" Raindrop stated, stamping her hoof firmly.
"I solemnly promise that I will try my utmost not to be female," Sentinel said with a serious salute.
Raindrop rolled her eyes and shook her head, nudging him once with her nose and wrapping her hooves around him, holding him close.
"Any more rules I need to be aware of?" Sentinel asked, perking an ear at her.
Raindrop shook her head, "Not that I can think of off the top of my head."
The mare paused for a moment, and then her ears pinned back as she asked delicately, "U-uhm... Is there anything I need to do?"
Sentinel looked at her for a moment, and then shook his head, going quiet for a moment.
"There's something you want me to do but are too afraid to ask, isn't there?" Raindrop asked after a moment.
Sentinel snorted faintly and then nodded. "Yeah. But you'll just think it's stupid."
Raindrop shook her head, gently pulling him around to face her again. "Try me. I won't laugh, I promise."
"Well... It's just..." Sentinel trailed off, unsure how to phrase it, and too embarrassed to just ask for it.
"It's some kind of freaky fetish, isn't it?" Raindrop asked, her ears pinning back.
"No!" Sentinel said immediately, lowering his head a little bit, a pained expression crossing his face. He licked his lips a moment, father his courage, and then murmured faintly, "J-just... Once in a while... I want you to tell me that you love me."
The stallion then buried his head in his hooves.
Raindrop blinked a little bit, recoiling at his request, her tone mildly hurt as she asked, "You don't believe me?"
Sentinel shifted his hooves, and then shook his head gently at her. "No, it's not that... I just... I like to hear it. It makes me feel... complete."
Raindrop stared down at the guard, and she felt her heart just melt at the reasoning behind the request, inexplicable tears springing into her eyes again. She leaned down and pushed Sentinel's hooves away from his face and then hugged him fiercely.
"That is the most female thing I have ever heard," Raindrop accused, nuzzling against him fervently, and then pulling him up to stare into his eyes as she smiled and rested her nose against his own. "I love you."
"So..." Raindrop started, leaning back against Sentinel a little more firmly, looking at him over her shoulder. "Why the day off?"
Sentinel peered back at her for a moment, and then wrapped his hooves around her chest a little more firmly, squeezing gently. "I just needed some time to think."
"I have that much of an effect on you?" Raindrop queried, blinking at him.
"Nope, I was just philosophising on the meaning of carrots," Sentinel quipped, nudging her once.
"And did you come to any life-shattering conclusions?" Raindrop queried, ears perking.
"Carrots are orange." The guard nodded sagely at the statement, as though imparting great wisdom.
Raindrop shook her head, and then rolled over to hug him, nuzzling gently into his neck. "You are such a goof."
Sentinel grinned at that, and then rested his head against her own, looking out over the reflective lake. "I just needed time to figure out what was going on."
"I was turning you down," Raindrop said, rolling her eyes.
"I know that," Sentinel chided, nudging the mare gently with his nose. "But I just... Needed to come to terms with it."
"It can't have really been so crushing to you, could it?" Raindrop asked after a moment, concerned.
"It kinda was..." Sentinel admitted, looking down at his hooves and then shaking his head. "I don't have a whole lot. I've got my duties as a guard, and a picture of my mother and father. Other than that... I don't have any connections with anypony, no real friends outside the guard, and no family."
Raindrop's ears pinned back, and she nuzzled up at the stallion gently, wrapping a hoof around him.
"You're the first pony I've felt strongly for. I just... I needed to come to terms with the fact that I might not get what I wanted."
The mare gave the faintest of sympathetic whines at that, and then kissed his cheek gently. "Well you got what you wanted. And oh boy, are you going to regret it."
Sentinel gave a faint laugh, and then hugged Raindrop, nosing at the crook of her neck. "So which element are you chasing after next?"
"Going after Kindness," Raindrop answered with a single nod of affirmation. "I checked the stone when I was flying over. It was pointing at Ponyville."
"Any idea on what kind of pony it'll be?" Sentinel asked, raising a brow.
Raindrop shook her head. "No idea. I'm thinking they'll probably be kind."
Sentinel rolled his eyes. "Really? How do you divine these things?"
"Practise," Raindrop quipped, grinning and kissing his nose, looking up into his eyes. "You know... I think you're the Element of Loyalty."
Sentinel blinked once, and then tilted his head slightly to the side, a quizzical expression on his muzzle. "What makes you think that?"
"Because, well... You're a Royal Guard. And even though you hated me and I left you for dead, you kinda continued your duties," Raindrop said with a nod.
"That's not loyalty," Sentinel said with a shake of his head. "At least... That's not what I think true loyalty is."
Raindrop raised a brow at that."Do tell."
"Loyalty is... Well... Loyalty is sticking with someone even when bad things happen. Loyalty is choosing someone based on things that... Well..." Sentinel trailed off, chewing the inside of his lip for a moment. "I'm not sure how to explain it. It's not something that I can put in words so easy. But... Loyalty is choosing to stick with someone even if its hard. When it would be easier for everyone, including yourself, to just walk away. Maybe it's just an antithesis of cowardice. But it's more than that, too... Ack. I suck at explaining."
"I understand," Raindrop said, gently stroking his cheek with a hoof.
"I was loyal to my responsibility as a guard. But I was not loyal to you. Not back then. I would have gladly left you in those tunnels," Sentinel said with a shake of his head.
"And if I even think you'd contemplate doing that now, I'd beat you until you were properly compliant to my needs," Raindrop said with a firm nod.
Sentinel grinned at that, and then nosed in against her happily. "It's nice to know I've got somepony who'll beat the crap out of me if I take a wrong turn."
"It's my pleasure," Raindrop said with a grin, kissing him with a happy hum.
The two pegasi stayed at the lakeside for another few hours, just enjoying eachother's company, until the chill wind chased them from the hillside. Raindrop and Sentinel ended up together, in a room at the inn, entwined in eachother's hooves.
A lance of morning sunlight pierced the room, and forced Raindrop awake, her eyes opening and her form slowly stretching. She yawned heavily and rubbed at her eyes with a hoof. She peered up at Sentinel for a long moment, watching him sleep, smiling faintly to herself, before she pushed at his chest with her hooves, to awaken him.
Sentinel's eyes snapped open, and he blinked at her, his pupils slowly dilating as he woke up, blinking once or twice and then looking around, askin groggily, "Did I miss anything?"
Raindrop pondering on that for a moment, and then nodded. "I woke up frisky and had an hour-long clop session because I couldn't wake you up. You missed it."
"Liar," Sentinel accused, kissing her nose gently. "If you needed me awake that badly, you'd throw water on me until I was. You'd probably drown me if I didn't wake up."
Raindrop pondered on that for a moment, and then nodded, grinning. "You're absolutely right. Plus, I'd eat you alive if you were heavy of a sleeper."
"We are going to have so many domestic abuse complaints," Sentinel stated.
"If you complain, I'll beat you harder," Raindrop said in a seductive tone, grinning and kissing his nose. The mare stretched slightly, and then slipped out of bed, arching. "Stop staring at my rump and get up. We have a bearer to find."
Sentinel blinked once and then pointedly looked away, his cheeks flushing faintly.
Raindrop rolled her eyes again. "Oh come on. We had wild hospital sex a few days ago and you're still acting all shy and blushy?"
"Not my fault!" Sentinel complained, huffing.
"I know a few ways to make you more comfortable with that kind of thing," Raindrop offered, grinning and licking her lips, staring at him lustfully.
"Why do I suddenly fear for my safety?" Sentinel asked blankly.
"Experience?" Raindrop offered, grinning and then picking up the Seeker Stone from the bedside table. It was pointing somewhere to the east, towards the other side of Ponyville.
Sentinel grumbled and pulled himself out of bed, stretching and arching himself, shaking his wings out. "My armor is at the castle."
"And?" Raindrop asked, raising a brow. "You don't see me wearing a tin suit everywhere I go."
"It's tempered iron, not tin," Sentinel said with a shake of his head.
"Iron, tin. Same difference. You don't need your armor. We're going after a bearer, not a fire breathing dragon," Raindrop said, rolling her eyes.
"Actually, guards are taught not to wear armor if we have to engage a dragon. The fire heats up our suits and basically cooks us inside them," Sentinel pointed out.
"Lovely." Raindrop shook her head, and then tugged at his short mane with her teeth. "C'mon! The sooner we find the bearer, the sooner I can drag you off to celebrate."
"Celebrate?" Sentinel asked blankly.
Raindrop pondered on that for a moment, and then grinned slightly.
"Well, I'm thinking maybe..." the mare wheeled around to bump her hip against his own, her tone mischievous, "I might let you choose."
Sentinel's ears perked up at that, and he plucked the Seeker Stone out of her hooves and bounded out the door, shooting back over his shoulder, "Time's wasting!'
Raindrop giggled and then bounded after him, grinning.
The seeker stone lit up towards the east of Ponyville, and the two pegasi walked down the street, following the directions of it. They passed Sugar Cube Corner, where the blond-maned proprietor was selling cupcakes with an almost gleefully happy smile; the Ponyville hospital, looking as somber as always; the Mane & Hoof beauty parlour, already with a line of unicorn patrons waiting to be serviced; and then they had to stop as they came to the Country Inn. It was one of three Inns in Ponyville, and this Inn was famous for its 'country' appeal.
The Inn looked to have once been a big red barn, but was converted and added to until it was a passable Inn. There were ropes hung up on the side of the doors, cowpony hats, leather chaps*, and other cowpony related accoutrements. Off to one side of the Inn was a large, open-air dining area, set with a bar, stools, and a dance floor. Hay bales stood to one end of the dance floor, intended as a seating area, to give the entire area an old 'hoe down' feel. *Leather in Equestria is made from bonded plant fibers.
Behind the dance floor was an open area set aside for a restaurant-type area, with tables and chairs set up. The Inn sold various 'authentic' meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But at present, it was almost deserted. There was only one patron there for breakfast.
And the Seeker Stone was pointing right at her.
As the two pegasi cautiously got closer to the mare, the white lines fractured, pointing everywhere.
The nurse looked up from her food, and then blinked once, snorting in annoyance. "You two just follow me everywhere I go."
"You two know it's rude to stare, right?"
Sentinel and Raindrop both blinked, and then looked away at the same time, chagrined.
The nurse snorted faintly and shook her head, picking up a fork and slipping another piece of eggplant into her mouth, chewing on it placidly.
Raindrop and Sentinel exchanged glances, and the Raindrop took a tentative step forward, clearing her throat.
The nurse took a sip of orange juice, and then looked up, raising a brow. "Yes? Do you need more relationship advice? I'll have you know, I'm going to start charging."
"We would hardly interrupt your breakfast for just that," Raindrop said with a shake of her head. "We uhm... Well, I'm not quite sure how to say it."
The nurse perked an ear at that, and then rolled her eyes. "You open your mouth, move your tongue a bit, and exhale."
"You're the Element of Kindness," Raindrop blurted, staring at her.
The nurse raised a brow at that, looking up at the two pegasi over the top of her breakfast, before sniffing faintly. "Preposterous."
"Well, you kinda gave us good advice," Sentinel chipped in, stepping forwards.
"Advice is not kindness," the nurse said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Kindness is being nice to ponies. And I'm not usually that nice. I can actually be kind of a bitch."
Raindrop exchanged another glance with Sentinel, not sure if she should agree with the nurse's words. "But... The Seeker Stone was pointing right at you."
"Let me see this 'stone'," the nurse said, lifting a hoof, making a beckoning motion.
Sentinel shuffled over closer, and offered up the Seeker Stone. It was still fragmented with white lies, pointing in every direction.
"It's not even pointing anywhere," the nurse said dismissively, pushing it back towards the guard.
"That's what happens whenever we get really close to the bearer," Raindrop pointed out.
The nurse sniffed again, and then shrugged slightly. "Seems a silly process, that. What if they're in a crowd?"
"Then we have to search them out," Raindrop said with a frown. "But either way... You're not in a crowd. It was pointing at you."
"Even so, I'm just a nurse. I have a job to do. I can't go off on flights of fancy at a whim," the nurse said with a wave of her hoof.
"You obviously know about the things that are going on, right?" Raindrop queried, perking an ear.
"You seem to have dark guards, griffins, and everypony else trying to harm you, and you're searching for the Elements of Harmony. And their bearers, apparently," the nurse said with a slight shrug of her shoulders.
Raindrop exchanged an awkward glance with Sentinel, and then looked back at the nurse. "...Nopony ever told you about the changelings?"
"Changelings?" the nurse asked, wrinkling her nose. Goodness gracious no. They got wiped out before I was even born."
Raindrop gave a nervous laugh. "Funny story there."
The nurse raised a brow slowly.
"The changelings are back. They're kinda... Everywhere. From what I've seen. They're part of the Diamond Dogs... Or maybe all of the Diamond Dogs were actually changelings... Their queen, Chitin, was masquerading as Discord. They also masqueraded as a griffon army. That's why we ended up in hospital last time," Raindrop said with a nod, watching the nurse.
The nurse absorbed all of this information, and then blinked once, raising a brow at Raindrop. "Quite a story there."
"You don't believe me," Raindrop stated flatly, ears pinning back.
"Changelings? No. That's silly."
Raindrop sighed and then shook her head slowly.
"You wouldn't take the word of a Royal Guard?" Sentinel asked, stepping up to stand beside Raindrop.
"I tend not to believe in that which I cannot see."
"So... You don't believe the changelings could possibly exist in this day and age?" Raindrop queried flatly.
The nurse nodded once.
Raindrop sniffed, and then turned to Sentinel. "Sentinel, hun. What's your favorite colour?"
Sentinel blinked, and then pondering on that for a moment, before saying, bewildered, "White, why?"
Raindrop nodded and then turned back to the nurse.
The nurse blinked once, her ears splaying backwards as she stood up from her seat, taking a step away from the table. "H-how did you do that?"
Raindrop grinned, and blinked once. Her eyes went from a strange milky white colour, to their normal pink, in an instant. "I dunno. You'll have to explain that one to me, I'm afraid. There aren't any changelings left... So it can't be that."
The nurse looked back and forth between them both, her eyes narrowing. "Explain yourselves, now!"
Sentinel raised a hoof to try and calm the nurse. "Raindrop isn't a changeling."
"Not... Entirely." Raindrop grinned eerily as she corrected the guard.
"Then what the hell are you?"
"My grandmother was Queen Chrysalis. So I guess that makes me... An eighth of a changeling?" Raindrop pondered on that for a moment, humming and rubbing her chin with a hoof.
"Wouldn't it be a quarter?" Sentinel suggested.
"A quarter sounds about right," Raindrop conceded, looking at the nurse again. "Do you believe us about the changelings yet?"
The nurse frowned deeply, and then cautiously sat back down, chasing a piece of eggplant across her plate with her fork. "I... I guess your story might make some things make sense."
"Good. We need you as a bearer," Raindrop stated flatly.
"But... Why me?" the nurse asked, frowning deeply.
"Because you're a kind pony?" Raindrop suggested with a helpless shrug. "I know as much about the way bearers are chosen as I do on theoretical flight magic physics."
"And if I don't want to be a bearer?" the nurse asked guardedly, ears perking at Raindrop.
Sentinel stepped forwards. "We'll have to keep injuring ourselves until you get sick of us."
The nurse scoffed at that, shaking her head. "I wish I didn't believe you two would willingly hurt yourselves to make me do anything. But fine. What is it that you would have me do?"
"Report to Celestia. She'll know what to do next," Raindrop said, waving a hoof slightly.
The nurse nodded gently, and then looked down at her plate, her ears splaying backwards. "Can I finish my breakfast first?"
"Surely," Raindrop replied with a gentle nod. "Uhm... I never did quite catch your name."
"No one ever asks the nurse her name," was the quiet reply, followed by a faint sigh. "I'm Remedy. Nurse Remedy."
"It's very nice to meet you, Nurse Remedy," Raindrop said politely, her expression turning chagrined. "I don't think I ever thanked you for your advice and for treating me."
Remedy waved it off with a dismissive flick of her hoof. "No, it's fine. I just hate it when ponies pussy-hoof around eachother. You two belong together, everypony can see it."
"They... Can?" Sentinel interjected, perking his ears.
"If they know what to look for... Or if, you know, they have eyes." Remedy smirked faintly as she ate another piece of eggplant.
"You'll report to Celestia?" Raindrop asked.
"Yes, yes. I'll go... But... Can you come with me?" Remedy asked, her voice no more than a murmur.
Raindrop raised a brow slowly. "You're scared?"
Remedy scowled faintly in response. "I am not scared! I just..." her voice lowered, "It's Princess Celestia. I don't want to face her alone!"
"She's not going to eat you," Sentinel said with a soft chuckle.
"I know that!" Remedy protested. "But still..."
"I shall go with you to the castle," Sentinel said with a laugh and a shake of his head. "Raindrop, do you want to come with?"
Raindrop pondered for a moment, and then looked to the right, at the Inn, a slow smile coming over her. "Actually, you have fun with that hun. I'm gonna do some stuff. Ask the innkeeper what room I'll be in, okay?"
Sentinel blinked once, raising an eyebrow at Raindrop for a moment, before nodding. "Very well. I'll be back once I've been to see Celestia."
A short train ride later, and the two ponies were walking through the front gates of the Canterlot Royal Palace. Sentinel nodded to the guards as they moved aside to allow the pegasus and earth pony nurse into the palace itself. After that, it was a short walk up to the Hall of Elements, where Celestia was maintaining an almost permanent presence.
Remedy seemed to be getting more and more nervous the closer they got to the Hall of Elements, and she twitched slightly whenever a loud sound echoed.
Sentinel pushed the door open to the room where the Elements were stored, and ushered Remedy inside. The nurse stepped through the door nervously, her eyes widening as she caught sight of Celestia.
"Princess Celestia, I have brought Remedy to you. We believe that she is the bearer for the Element of Kindness." Sentinel saluted as Celestia turned around.
"Ahhh, Miss Remedy. Welcome," Celestia said, bowing her head smoothly.
Remedy flushed faintly, her ears pinning back as she bowed jerkily in response. "T-thank you Princess Celestia."
"Take this," Celestia said, offering Remedy the dull grey, stony Element of Kindness.
The nurse reached out, taking the element, looking bewildered.
"Now tell me..." Celestia paused for a moment, thinking. "Why did you become a nurse?"
"Because it pays well," Remedy said immediately.
Celestia tutted faintly. "You will have to cease with the modesty, I'm afraid, or we will get nowhere. Why did you really become a nurse?"
"It's... It's a stupid story." Remedy shook her head, moving to place down the element. "This is stupid."
Celestia shook her head gently, and then lifted her hooves, pushing the element back against Remedy's chest. "No, tell me, Remedy."
Remedy sighed faintly, and then looked down at the element in her hooves, before closing her eyes. "Because of my grandfather."
"He was kind?" Celestia enquired.
"Not really, no. He was a crotchety old bastard at the best of times. He often yelled at his wife. I didn't like visiting him," Remedy said with a shake of her head. "He had a very painful medical condition. It basically crippled him... He had to be constantly cared for."
"That... Is not a very happy story," Celestia stated.
"Oh, my grandmother gave as good as she got," Remedy said with a faint smile. "They had a kind of... rapport, I guess? I think they took their problems out on eachother so that no other pony had to put up with them."
"Indeed?" Celestia asked, frowning slightly. "Continue."
"Well... One day, my grandmother got really sick, and ended up in hospital. I had to look after my grandfather while she was in hospital. My mother and father stopped by occasionally, but they were both really busy with their jobs. Anyhow, my grandfather got really drunk. He was really quiet for most of the time, until after he got really drunk. And then he just got... Kinda pensive or something. Started talking about the old days, before his condition."
Celestia nodded gently, imploring her to continue her story further.
"Well... I didn't really understand the two of them at the time, so I asked him why he hated my grandmother so much. Of course, he didn't take the question very well. Told me that he didn't hate her at all, and that he loved her more than anything he had ever had before. And that he didn't deserve her. That he was pulling her life into the gutter by forcing her to care for his frail body. Told me that he would have killed himself a long, long time ago if he had the courage." Remedy shook her head, sighing faintly. "And then he went quiet for a really long time, and I didn't know what to say. And after a little while, he told me 'What your grandmother is doing is the very best thing a pony can ever do for another pony. Caring for them when they can no longer care for themselves. That is the ultimate act of selflessness, and you should learn from that'. And so... that's why I'm a nurse."
Celestia nodded, looking down at the element. It remained stony and grey.
"Now... Was there anything else?" Remedy asked, placing the element back on the table on its stand, shaking her head.
"I... Do not know," Celestia said, confused.
Remedy shook her head again, and then turned to leave.
"A second, Remedy... What is true kindness to you?" Celestia enquired, raising a brow at the earth pony.
Remedy paused in the doorway, a frown crossing her features, her tail giving an errant flick as she sighed softly, and then began to explain.
"I guess that true kindness is... Giving something of yourself without asking for anything in return. Even if it hurts you to do it. True kindness is just... Helping ponies. Even if they don't know it's help. Like if I have to hurt somepony by rebreaking their leg so it'll set properly later on. If they didn't know what I was doing, they would see me only as somepony who hurt them, somepony who injured them and caused them pain. That's what kindness is to me. Just... Doing the right thing for somepony other than yourself, even if it hurts you as a pony to do it, and makes people hate you," Remedy said, before her cheeks flushed hotly and she shook her head. "I sound stupid."
Celestia shook her head gently. "Not at all, Remedy. Your view of kindness is quite noble. And look."
The princess raised a hoof, pointing at the Element of Kindess, which now say, glowing and amber.
Remedy blinked, looking back at it, her ears pinning down against her skull. "...I did that?"
Celestia nodded gently. "You are the bearer of the Element of Kindness, whether you wish the title or not."
"Kinda railroaded into it, huh?" Remedy asked with a sardonic smile.
"Indeed," Celestia said with a nod. "Come, you should meet the other bearers."
Remedy nodded gently, and then turned around, heading back over to the table, and then lifting a hoof to tentatively reach for the Element of Kindness. "M-may I touch it?"
Celestia nodded gently, smiling and motioning for Remedy to touch it. "Feel free. After all, you are its bearer now."
Sentinel pushed open the door to room number five of the Ponyville Country Inn, finding it unlocked and slightly ajar. The innkeeper had told him that it was this room that Raindrop had hired out for the night, and, conversely, the entire day, as well. He had the Seeker Stone for the Element of Generosity tucked under one wing.
Sentinel sniffed at the air as he pushed the door open, listening to it creak faintly, stepping into the room.
The door slammed shut behind him, and he jumped, spinning around, coming nose-to-nose with a grinning Raindrop. She looked different. Partly because her blue mane was slicked down in a new style, straight and sleek rather than styled up like it was previously. And the pegasus was also wearing cowpony clothes and had a length of rope around her neck.
Raindrop's hind-end was covered in bucking chaps, specifically made for ponies out to the farm, to protect their hindquarters when they bucked fruit trees or had to gallop at full speed through a patch of thorns or the like. They were made of smooth leather, a material made from bonded plant fibres carefully burned and pressed until the material was seamless. It covered her lower legs, her rump, and her lower back. There was a long area along her inner thighs and stomach where the material didn't cover, so as not to restrict her movement.
It was an odd thing to see a pegasus wearing, as pegasi didn't engage in treebucking or running through thickets of brambles or sharp sticks.
"Uhhhh... Hi." Sentinel blinked once, pulling back slightly to stare at Raindrop. "Uhm... You look different."
"I did something with my mane," Raindrop said dismissively, beginning to unloop the rope from her around her neck with a wild grin.
"A-and some new clothes," Sentinel said, suddenly nervous. Somehow, he regretted not retrieving his armour from the castle.
Raindrop nodded gently, transferring the rope to her mouth after saying, "Yeah. I figure they fit the occasion."
"Occasion?" Sentinel asked warily, beginning to circle around the mare towards the door.
Raindrop deftly blocked Sentinel's passage. "We're celebrating."
"I-I'm not sure I wanna celebrate right now," Sentinel tried to protest, as Raindrop stepped towards him, raising the rope.
"Aww, I'm sorry hun, but ya gotta buck the tree if ya want the best apples!" Raindrop said with a grin, affecting a country accent as she deftly twisted the rope and threw it over Sentinel's head. With an eager grin, she gripped the rope, and pulled him towards her with it, kissing him heatedly for a long moment, holding the rope taught.
Sentinel squirmed slightly in place, not quite sure how to react to this strange new Raindrop.
Grinning, Raindrop broke the kiss, and then with a simple movements twisted the rope, turned, and yanked upwards on the rope, bringing the guard's legs out from under him, dumping him on his side so she could pounce on him eagerly, pinning him down and beginning to quickly hogtie him.
Sentinel snorted faintly, still unsure how to react, not knowing if he should struggle. "W-what are you doing, Raindrop?"
"Giving you a memorable time," Raindrop said, looking up at him for a moment. Her eyes flashed green. She slid up his form, and then kissed him again with a hungry passion, her eyes green and demonic, refusing to change back to normal at all now. The mare leaned in close, testing the tightness of the rope, her warm exhalations mingling with his own as she grinned mischievously. "At least... If you beg me."
Sentinel stared up at Raindrop for a long moment, idly tugging at his bonds to test their strength. He was quite certain that he could slip out of them if he really wanted to. "...Beg?"
"Beg," Raindrop agreed, a sly grin crossing her muzzle. The pegasus' eyes were still an eerie demonic green, and she was watching him with quite an eager expression on her muzzle, licking her lips slowly.
"I'm afraid I'm not going to beg," Sentinel said with a slow shake of his head. A Royal guard did not beg. He was trained to resist torture, and trained to resist psychological stressed. There was absolutely nothing Raindrop could do to make him beg.
Grinning, Raindrop narrowed her eyes at him, flicking her head, to get her new mane style out of her eyes, watching him intently. "I'm going to make you beg."
"I have been trained to resist torture." Sentinel snorted once, arching a brow at Raindrop, unperturbed.
"You haven't been trained to resist this," Raindrop purred, shifting slightly and then turning around slowly, lowering her chest to the ground and straightening her hindlegs, pressing her rump up into the air.
The chaps she was wearing didn't cover the inside of her legs, or anything under the length of blue tail that Raindrop was even now teasingly raising, revealing to Sentinel everything that lay underneath.
Sentinel felt his mouth go dry as his eyes traced the contours of Raindrop's sleek muscles right up to her sex, which was visible as a plump pair of blue-furred outer lips and a sliver of pink against the azure of her hide. He swallowed once and felt his cheeks flushing faintly with heat.
"Like whatcha see, cowpony?" Raindrop asked, affecting the strange accent again, which somehow just made the whole sordid scene all the more arousing. Raindrop grinned, giving her rump a suggestive wiggle, "Ah've been applebucking all day, and sure could use a pair of nice, firm hooves to massage some a' this stress outta my muscles."
Raindrop peered back over her shoulder with a saucy grin, her eyes narrowing and tail giving a slow flick back and forth, staring at the guard for a long moment, her expression definitively seductive. "Don't ya just wanna help me out here, cowpony?"
Sentinel squirmed slightly in place, swallowing thickly as he watched Raindrop so enticingly putting herself on display for him, so close, and yet so far away. He snorted once in defiance, and then shook his head. "N-no. I'm fine."
The mare grinned at that, eyes narrowing further as she slipped a hoof back to slowly rub and grind against the top of her sex, causing the plump outer lips to shift and spread faintly, exposing and then hiding away the pink of her inner flesh in turn. "The waver in your voice says otherwise..."
The guard scowled faintly at that, his ears splaying back as he licked his lips for a moment, and then tried to clear his throat. He was trying hard not to be drawn into Raindrop's game, but it was impossible. His eyes were always drawn back to that delectable sight of her hoof rubbing up against her sex, so close in front of him.
Already, the mottled length of his arousal was making itself evident, swelling traitorously to its full size. Raindrop noticed this, and grinned further, her eyes narrowing and her tone turning sultry. "Ah bet yer just dying to get a taste of this..."
Raindrop's hoof rubbed against herself even further, grinding slowly against her clit, causing slick dribbles of her arousal to begin moistening her pliable outer lips and causing the exposed pink inner flesh to become shiny and visibly wet. "Ah know yer'd love to saddle this filly..."
Sentinel shuddered, squirming and tugging at his bonds impotently as he stared at Raindrop, feeling the aching length of cock already drooling a tiny amount of his slick precum to the floor.
"Awww, are yer all worked up, hun?" Raindrop asked innocently.
The mare slew around, and pranced over to him, grinning down at him and then leaning down without a word, capturing the tip of his length in her maw and sinking her lips over it.
Sentinel cursed, his eyes widening in surprise and back arching faintly as he felt the soft tongue and blunt teeth consuming his member, until the tip of it hit the back of her throat and she closed her mouth over it all the more firmly, increasing the pressure, and giving a sharp, hard suck.
The guard shuddered and arched, his hips trying ineffectually to buck towards the stimulation as Raindrop began to fervently bob her head, suckling hungrily over his member while swirling her tongue maddeningly against the sensitive tip and underside, teasing him and coaxing him with her amazing maw.
In mere moments, the intense stimulation was causing the stallion to lose control. It had been only seconds since she started her treatment and the inexperienced guard was already about to blow. He shuddered and whimpered helplessly, his hips pushing towards Raindrop's oral treatment in an eager, reflexive motion as he eyes clenched closed. The thick tip of his member flared, readying to spill his mess right into her mouth as he tried his articulate a warning.
Raindrop didn't need the warning though, and with a slick pop! she had pulled herself off of his member, giving a swift, teasing lick at the drooling tip before drawing back completely, leaving the drooling member standing at attention, achingly hard, unfinished.
Sentinel shuddered, his maw parted as he panted hard for breath, looking up at Raindrop for a moment. Now was when he would get to screw her, right?
Raindrop grinned, and then leaned in to lay a delicate kiss on the tip of his member, one hoof slowly stroking up and down it, keeping him on edge but maddeningly giving him no more stimulation.
"S-stop it!" Sentinel hissed, his ears pinning back and hips shifting reflexively, trying to grind into her motions.
"Yer gonna have ter beg for it, hun," Raindrop said with a wicked smile, drawing another maddeningly slow lick across the tip of his throbbing member. "Everypony knows yer gotta break an animals will ter make em truly compliant."
Sentinel hissed faintly as Raindrop gave him another kiss and lick, squeezing the base of the thick member with her hoof, grinning up at him mischievously. It would be so easy to comply to her, to just give in and beg. And then he would get to screw her brains out. The guard fantasized about that for a few moments, until a swift lick and swirl of the pegasus' tongue jarred him back to reality. He stared down at her for a long moment. "...Never."
Raindrop grinned at that, her green eyes flashing as tilted her head and dove her muzzle back around him, suckling eagerly at it and even swallowing against it, causing a delightful tugging sensation that was so intense it almost made him go cross-eyed. With a another slick pop! she pulled back, and then pressed the length of his cock against his stomach with a firm lick right up the underside, from base to tip.
Sentinel watched the mare working him, his eyes wide and ears pinned back, panting hard and trying his best not to whimper. Raindrop seemed aware of the power she had over him, enjoying it, drawing her long lick up his length and then paused to stare up into his eyes as she delicately swirled her tongue directly against the tip of his aching cock, teasing him.
"Jus' tell me how much yer need me and this can all be over, hun," Raindrop said with a wicked grin, closing her lips over the very very tip of his member and giving a harsh suck, before tugging back and pulling off again, slowly stroking him with her hooves.
"N-never!" Sentinel squeaked, barely having control of his voice any more, trying to sound much more confident than he was, overcompensating for his lack of conviction by trying to say it louder.
Raindrop grinned up at him again, before tilting her head down and taking him back into her maw, beginning to bob furiously.
Sentinel sucked in his breath through gritted teeth, his back arching and hindlegs quivering in helpless delight as she continually suckled around him, drawing him closer and closer to the edge. He knew that Raindrop was going to pull off before he finished, but he had a plan!
As he felt the flare beginning again, Sentinel quickly curled around and tried to push his chin against Raindrop's mane, trying to hold her in place so he could grind his hips into her muzzle and hopefully find release with a few accurate thrusts.
His plan immediately failed as Raindrop merely juked her head out of the way, and then went down on him further, actually taking the tip of his member into her very throat and swallowing once around it before she began to gag and had to tug back, gasping for air and grinning wildly up at him.
"Oh no!" Raindrop crooned, grinning and licking at his tip slowly, breaking character in her fervour, "You don't get your release until you beg for it!"
Sentinel shuddered and arched, giving an anguished cry and staring down at his mare, his hips trying their best to arch against her. He could pull himself free of the ropes, and then just shove her over and have his way with her. He was sure of it. But somehow, he felt as though it would violate some larger 'rule'.
"R-Raindrop," Sentinel breathed, staring down at her imploringly, his aching member giving a pointed throb. "P-please."
Raindrop watched him impassively with a sly grin, giving another lick and kiss at his tip, ears perking. "Please... What?"
"P-please Raindrop!" Sentinel cried helplessly, squirming impotently, "P-please make me c-cum!"
"Good boy!" Raindrop said with a grin, quickly untying the guard's legs with a neat tug of the rope between them, standing up and then crouching in front of him, her rump wiggling in the air. The only problem was, she was facing the wrong way. Instead of presenting her rump to him, she was facing him, with her muzzle open and eyes half-closed.
Sentinel's eyes widened and his mouth went dry as he realise that Raindrop was offering her muzzle to him. She wanted him to muzzle-fuck her!
The guard shuddered, shakily crawling to his feet and then quickly wrapping his hooves around the mare's middle, his cheek resting against her rump, just above her tailbase, his eager member seeking the warm, moist confines of her mouth.
Sentinel felt her twist her muzzle underneath him, and then a hot exhalation washed against his member, and suddenly, he was engulfed in the maddeningly warm and tight maw of his fillyfriend. His back arched and his wings instantly shot out, spreading and stiffening as he bared his teeth, biting down hard on nothing as he resisted the urge to just shove himself in her maw to his base.
Her warm tongue swirled slowly against the base of his member, but other than that, she didn't give him any further stimulation, just resting there, cock buried in her maw, waiting.
Sentinel shuddered and gave an uncertain whimper, not quite sure if he should actually do anything. But very quickly his instincts took over, and he began to rock his hips back and forth, grinding the first few inches of the rigid length of pony cock in and out of Raindrop's maw.
With a grin, Raindrop lifted a hoof to gently toy with the guards testicles, rubbing and squeezing them encouragingly as he ground his hips into her maw. She began to suckle firmly around him, working her tongue against the tip fervently.
Sentinel whimpered once more, his ears pinning back and his motions getting erratic. There was no way he could hold back after all the teasing. He needed to cum. With an immense show of self control, the guard pulled back, his flaring tip leaving her maw with a lewd pop!, a slick dribble of precum leaving him as Raindrop leaned forwards, trying to recapture the retreating tip.
"I-I'll f-finish!" Sentinel tried to warn.
Raindrop growled heatedly, and then suddenly, with a show of almost freakish strength, she pushed herself upwards with her forehooves, tipping the guard over onto his side with as much effort as a breeze picking up a leaf. With him splayed out on his side, she was free to return to work, eagerly pressing forwards and sinking her maw over him, beginning to suckle hungrily at him, bobbing her head with a fervent, rapid pace.
Sentinel snarled and arched under her stimulation, a hoof lifting to twist through her sleek mane as he tried to shout out a warning, the flare of his cock filling Raindrop's maw instantly, stretching her jaw around it as she narrowed her eyes and gave a final, hard suck.
The cock in her muzzle just exploded. Repeated, powerful bursts of heated stallion spunk fired into Raindrop's maw again and again, surprising her with its ferocity. Her eyes widened as she began to swallow repeatedly, trying to time it with the fresh bursts of gooey, thick, sticky cum shooting across her tongue and splattering the inside of her maw with her stallions musky essence. Her wings fluttered and then stiffened, her eyes widening as the musky taste of a stallion's essence flooded her senses for the very first time. Having no prior experience with the act, she quickly failed to swallow it all, and it began to choke her, building up behind the plug-like stoppage of Sentinel's flare buried in her maw.
Raindrop had to pull back or choke on his spunk, and with another lewd pop! his cock was out of her maw, her mouth held wide open as she gasped for air, wearing repeated sticky bursts of Sentinel's mess across her muzzle and face.
After several seconds, the flow died down, and Raindrop closed her mouth, panting through her nose and shuddering at the inescapable musky taste of her stallion flooding her senses. She felt alive! Energy was flooding her body like she had never experienced. She felt like she could take on the world!
The hot coating of Sentinel's spunk was heavy on her face and in her maw, and she cast an amused glance up at the guard's expression. He was limp and panting hard, his mouth parted slightly and tongue hanging out dopily, a smile plastered across his muzzle.
Grinning, Raindrop pressed a hoof to his chest. Sentinel weakly lifted his head, eyes opening, staring at her in a glassy sort of way.
Raindrop hummed happily and looked back at him for a long moment, before grinning and opening her mouth up wide, presenting the sticky mess in her muzzle to her lover. It covered everything. There were splatters of it across the roof of her maw, forming sticky strands with the veritable pool of it that was sitting thickly along her velvet tongue. A slow dribble of it was spilling from either corner of her mouth messily, competing for attention with the strands of gooey white that painted her face and muzzle.
Sentinel stared for several long seconds, his expression a mix of shocked awed and delight, the length of used mottled flesh between his legs giving a weak throb and spilling a single final spurt of mess across his stomach, before the guard promptly passed out.
Raindrop giggled and closed her mouth, swallowing thickly to clear the mess in her muzzle, and then trying her best to wipe it off her face. It was everywhere.
As she got cleaned up, she exalted in the strange sensations running through her form. Was this true love? Was this why it was so damn satisfying to make him cum like that?
Either way, she knew that she had never done anything like that with Shine before. The most adventurous thing she had done with him was the one or two times she had licked him to full erection before returning to plain vanilla sex. She had broken that barrier with Sentinel the first time they even did anything together!
Humming happily to herself, and wearing a large grin, Raindrop began to clean up the unconscious stallion with a towel, before crawling into his hooves contently. She found it strange that she didn't need anything herself... After all, it had been so exciting when she was planning the whole little ordeal, imagining him tied up, with her sitting atop his face, grinding herself down against him and forcing him to pay homage to her with his tongue. But when she had finally gotten him there, she had just wanted to make him submit. To bend him to her will. So she could enjoy the power she had over him.
Making the guard beg her for release was more satisfying to her than any of the times Shine had fucked her. It was even almost as satisfying as when Sentinel had fucked her into a stupor.
The musky taste of her stallion was still strong in Raindrop's maw when she laid her head on his foreleg and closed her eyes to rest with him.
Sentinel whimpered weakly as he stirred, his eyes flitting open and his wings fluttering faintly. He blinked slowly down at Raindrop, whom was staring up at him, a sly grin stretching her muzzle.
"Was that... Was that a dream?" he asked faintly.
Raindrop grinned wickedly. "You dream of me tying you up with rope?"
"S-so it wasn't?" Sentinel asked, giving a shudder as he cast his mind back. "I-I didn't know it could be so... Intense."
"Intense is a good word for it," Raindrop said with a slow nod and a sly grin. "I trust you enjoyed it?"
"You made me beg!" Sentinel protested.
"And you loved it, didn't you?" Raindrop insisted with a purr.
Sentinel's cheeks flushed faintly, and he gave a shaky nod. "I-I guess."
Raindrop grinned and nuzzled up against his chin slowly. "I'm glad."
"I feel so weak and shaky though..." Sentinel panted, nuzzling against her slowly. "Is it always like this?"
"It is if I do a good job," Raindrop said with a giggle, wrapping her hooves around him and holding him close.
The two pegasi emerged from the room a few hours later, and the innkeeper gave them a suspicious glance.
"I heard some thumping and yelling up there earlier," the innkeeper said with a slow nod. "Ya'll best not be wrestling all over my beds and furniture, y'hear?"
"No sir," Raindrop said with a bow. Sentinel didn't say anything, but averted his gaze, his cheeks warming faintly.
The two pegasi left the inn, and Raindrop stretched a little bit, kicking her hindlegs. "You know, those chaps were sexy, but they're kinda constricting."
"You were planning that for a while, weren't you?" Sentinel accused, staring at Raindrop sideways.
Raindrop snickered innocently. "It only took me a few minutes to buy a pair of chaps. The rope was already hanging up in the room... Then I just had to wait for my prey and pounce."
Sentinel snorted once, before grinning at her. "You make a sexy cowpony."
"And you make a sexy ball of whimpering, hog-tied pegasus," Raindrop replied with an innocent giggle.
It was already noon when the two pegasi made their way up to the castle, and Raindrop stopped in to see Princess Celestia. The two of them meandered their way to the Hall of Elements, and then stepped into the room where Celestia was observing the Elements of Harmony.
"One more to go!" Raindrop said with an eager bounce. "At least, until you can find where the Element of Magic is."
Celestia nodded at Raindrop's appraisal. "Indeed. Finding the Element of Magic while it is dormant is proving to be a difficult prospect at best."
Raindrop gave a sad nod at that. "Well... I'll go find the bearer for the Element of Generosity and then... Well... I dunno."
"I wish you to become friends with the current bearers," Celestia stated.
"You... What? Why?" Raindrop asked, blinking and shaking her head in confusion.
"I wish you to become friends with the current bearers. I feel this to be necessary." Celestia waved a hoof as though to express the importance of it.
Raindrop blinked again, and then perked her ears. "But... Why?"
"The Elements of Harmony require friendship as a catalyst. It is the force that holds them together. I feel that you, Raindrop, offer the best chance of cohesion between so many rogue elements," Celestia explained. "You are a likeable pegasus when you allow yourself to be, and you have need of the elements. You will succeed where others will fail."
"Well... That sounds reasonable," Raindrop said with a single blink, unable to bring up any viable protest.
"I wish for them to accompany you to find the next bearer, and the next two after that, circumstances permitting," Celestia stated, looking back over her shoulder at the two pegasi. "You are very quiet, Sentinel."
Sentinel blinked and lifted his head, as though only just realising that Celestia was in the room. "Awhu? Oh. Yes. I'm just... Tired."
"Are you sick?" Celestia enquired, sounding worried.
Raindrop giggled and then shook her head, interjecting, "Nope, he just had some... Vigorous training with me earlier."
Celestia looked back and forth between the two of them with a soft giggle of her own as she put two and two together, watching Sentinel's face turn slowly pink. "I see. I remember when I had to order Sentinel to accompany you. It would seem his loyalty has shifted."
"I am forever loyal to you!" Sentinel protested immediately, lifting a hoof to salute the princess.
Celestia leaned down to be more on Sentinel's level, peering into his eyes. "As a Royal Guard, you are expected to be. But as a lover you should remember your priorities. Do not let being a guard interfere with love."
"I... I..." Sentinel trailed off, dropping his hoof slightly, his ears pinning back. "Are you telling me to disobey you, Princess Celestia?"
Celestia giggled, "Goodness no, Sentinel! I merely mean to say that should I give you an order that directly causes your personal relationships to fail, then you should feel entitled to tell me to shove my orders up my flank and get somepony else to do it."
The two mares laughed at the look of utter mortification spreading across Sentinel's face at the thought of telling the princess to 'shove it up her flank'.
"B-but," Sentinel spluttered.
"Shush, hun," Raindrop said, lifting a hoof to halt his spluttering. "I'll make sure he understands what you mean, Celestia."
Celestia bowed her head and then lifted the Seeker Stone for the Element of Generosity, a purple, glowing orb, from the table, and then handed it to Raindrop.
Raindrop took the orb, and slipped it under her wing, turning about. "Come, Sentinel."
Sentinel looked back and forth between Raindrop and Celestia, giving a faint whine. He wanted to protest Celestia's words, but he didn't want to keep Raindrop waiting.
Celestia smiled at her guard. "You have much to learn, Sentinel. But my cardinal rule for being a princess is that my orders shall never interfere with love, lest I become a tyrant. Think on it."
Celestia made a shooing motion with a hoof, smiling.
Sentinel nodded and saluted again, before turning about and heading out the door, trailing after Raindrop.
"So, uhm, where are the guest quarters?" Raindrop queried.
"East wing," Sentinel stated, pointing with a hoof towards a door coming up.
"So even Celestia knows now, huh?" Raindrop said with a slight giggle.
Sentinel nodded gently, "It would seem so."
"So... If it came down to a choice between me or your orders, what would you choose?" Raindrop queried.
Sentinel lowered his gaze to the floor, his ears splaying backwards.
"I would follow my orders," Sentinel said quietly, with painful honesty, "But it wouldn't be an easy choice."
"Thank you for being truthful," Raindrop said, extending her wing and nudging it against the guard's own, entwining their pinions together as they walked, squeezing his wing reassuringly. "I'll just have to make sure it never comes down to you choosing between love and loyalty."
The two pegasi walked down the hallways leading to the east wing of the Canterlot Palace, where the three current element bearers were presumably biding their time.
Pushing open the door to the guest quarters, they found the three of them ranged around the room. Wisp was in the corner, facing out, humming to herself as she played with her steam pipes and gauges, presumably trying to get something working.
Firebrand was sitting in the opposite corner, dubiously staring at her own collection of parts, shooting furtive glances towards Wisp, as though she were competing with the griffon.
Remedy was sitting on a couch, forehoof tapping impatiently, jerking back and forth in agitation as she chewed on the rim of her free hoof nervously.
All three of them looked up as the two pegasi entered, and Raindrop and Sentinel looked back at them.
"Well," Raindrop started, looking from one face, to the other. "We're off to find the bearer for the Element of Generosity, and Celestia wants all three of you to join us."
The three females exchanged glances at that. Wisp carefully placed aside her collection of pipes, and rose to her paws. Firebrand carelessly tossed aside her own set of piping, rising to her hooves and moving over towards the pair.
"Finally!" Firebrand stated flatly. "I've been going stir crazy in here!"
"Oh shush," Remedy said with a shake of her head as she stepped over closer as well. "We get it. You like flying. We got it the first five times time you said it."
Scowling, Firebrand rounded on the nurse, "You are a quite detestable pony, you know?"
"Oh please, I've had foals use worse insults," Remedy said with a contemptuous snort.
"Your usual choice of companions?" Firebrand retorted bluntly.
The two ponies continued to bicker, with Wisp standing between them, looking back and forth as each one spoke, giggling.
Raindrop turned to Sentinel, and then perked a single ear. "We... never argued like that, did we?"
"Nah," Sentinel said with a shake of his head head. "Not like that."
Raindrop snickered slightly, and then stepped towards the arguing mares, stuffing her wings against their mouths to make them cease. "Shush, both of you! Don't make me give a sappy speech about how we need to pull together."
The two mares gave Raindrop a mutinous look, exchanged a glance, and then huffed and looked away from each other.
"Good. Now come, we have a bearer to find." Raindrop removed her wings from the mares' mouths, turning away from them. "And no arguing. If I catch you two arguing again, I'm going to tie you both together," Raindrop shot over her shoulder.
Sentinel grinned a little bit at her, nudging her once with his wing. "That was kinda mean."
"Remedy is the Element of Kindness, she should know better. And Firebrand is the Element of Honesty, so I'm not gonna mince words with her," Raindrop replied with a flippant shrug.
"You realise we're right here?" Firebrand asked heatedly, narrowing her eyes.
Raindrop looked back over her shoulder for a moment, and then rolled her eyes. "Nope, I'd forgotten completely. Now hush."
Firebrand snorted once, pursing her lips, but remaining quiet.
Wisp pushed past Remedy and Firebrand, looking between them with a grin and a giggle, and then looking up at Raindrop knowingly. "They're gonna be the bestest friends ever, aren't they?"
Raindrop gave a slow, wise nod, "If they don't murder each other first."
Remedy and Firebrand looked at eachother for a long moment, eyes locking, before they both snorted and tossed their manes, turning away from each other, and saying, at the exact same time, "Never!"
Wisp just giggled.
A train trip was required to reach Ponyville, as both Remedy and Wisp were unable to fly, and they all agreed that walking would take far too long.
Firebrand, however, elected not to bother with the train. Instead, she produced a pair of goggles seemingly from nowhere, and took to the skies. She followed the train in a long, looping circular flight pattern, to keep pace with it while still being able to stretch her wings.
Wisp watched her out the window of the train, her beak pressed against the glass and ears splayed against her skull, looking slightly sad.
"You wish you could fly out there with her, don't you?" Remedy asked of the young griffon.
Wisp nodded sadly, giving a long sigh and lifting a paw to press against the glass. "I've never really flown before. I just kinda feel... I dunno, attracted to it?" Wisp shook her head uncertainly and then turned back to Remedy. "But there's no use pining over something I can't have."
Remedy nodded in response to that, casting a glance over at Raindrop and Sentinel, sitting on the other side of the carriage, a tangle of wings and hooves as they laid together.
"What do you think of those two?" Remedy quieried the griffon.
Wisp gave a thoughtful hum, peering over at the pair for a long moment. "I think they're right for eachother. They're both kinda... Odd."
Remedy gave a laugh and nodded in response, "Exactly my thoughts." The nurse cast her gaze back to the two pegasi, and then shook her head. "I'll never understand ponies."
Wisp nodded once. "Neither will I."
The four ponies and single griffon all followed the Seeker Stone's guidance through the streets of Ponyville. Raindrop could tell they were getting close, as the glowing portion of the orb kept 'sliding' away to the left as the walked up the main street.
Turning down the street and following the guidance of the stone, Raindrop soon found herself standing in front of a building she recognized. It was the doctor's practise where she had taken Shine what seemed like years ago now.
A crowd of ponies, earth, unicorn, and pegasus, all milled about in the waiting room at the front of the building. There were at least a round dozen there. Any single one could be the bearer.
"So, uh... How does this thing work?" Firebrand asked, raising a brow and peering at the seeker stone. The pointer on it was 'fractured' again, pointing in every direction.
"One of the ponies in there is the Element of Generosity," Raindrop said, looking at the front of the building with a frown, and then giving a soft little sigh. "I guess we could wait and watch them leave... And then follow whichever one of the stone is pointing at?"
Firebrand snorted at that. "I was not eager to leave the palace so I could just sit around. Let's go find this bearer. The sooner we're done with this, the sooner I can get back to the Wonderbolts."
Raindrop frowned after the Wonderbolt captain, snorting once. While Remedy seemed to have calmed greatly now that she was removed from the castle, Firebrand was just as annoyed and bitchy as ever.
"We should follow. Or we could sit here and watch and giggle?" Raindrop suggested half-seriously to Sentinel.
Sentinel shook his head sadly, "As amusing as it would be, we really should find the bearer. There's a lot at stake. It'd be pretty dumb if we all got wiped out because we were having a good giggle at the expense of Firebrand."
Raindrop heaved a heavy sigh, shaking her head. "I guess you're right." Raindrop strode forwards, and pushed through the door and into the hubbub of the waiting room.
The four ponies and the griffon all milled about in the waiting room, seeking the bearer of the Element of Generosity. None of the ponies there really fit the bill.
Raindrop even considered the doctor himself; but that seemed untrue. His prices were quite high, and he wasn't exactly known for being generous. He was kind and helpful, but 'generous' was rarely a word used to describe him. There was a commotion a few minutes after they arrived; a pony hit by a runaway cart down the street, and the doctor himself sprinted out to see if he could lend assistance.
Eventually though, the five of them had to admit defeat in the face of their task. Finding the bearer of the element amongst the crowded waiting room was a daunting prospect, and just out-and-out asking if people were generous was a way to get nowhere, fast. Most generous ponies didn't go out of their way to bring it to other's attention, for fear of being manipulated or mobbed.
It was as they were leaving that Raindrop noticed that the Seeker Stone was pointing out the door.
Raindrop snorted her annoyance, and motioned towards Sentinel. "Looks like the bearer already left," she said, showing him the stone.
Sentinel nodded, and then blinked, looking up at the door alertly.
Peering back down at the stone, Raindrop saw that the 'signal' had fractured, becoming many spikes again. She lifted her gaze to the door as it opened.
First through was a large earth pony with a makeshift splint on his foreleg and a strained expression on his face, obviously in pain, blood leaking through his bandages. And behind him, the one whom the Seeker Stone was pointing at.
"To ze back room," the unicorn said, ushering the earth pony towards the doors leading off from the reception area. "Ve need to get you lying down."
Raindrop stared for a moment, exchanging a glance with Sentinel. "You don't think..."
"Sure looks like it," Sentinel said with a flippant shrug.
Of course, Sentinel didn't know that the Seeker Stone was pointing at the self-same doctor that Raindrop had taken Shine to see, before she even found she was a changeling.
The bearer of the Element of Generosity.