//
Just a warning. I was writing this chapter while sick and if it feels like it makes no sense or the writing quality is low then it probably is because I could felt the difference in my writing capabilities and they weren't really promising at that time XD
Update on the virus: I already feel relatively ok, but I'm pretty sleepy and found two funny symptoms. First, I don't feel hungry or at least not as much as usual seeing as I'm posting this chapter at 2pm without feeling any hunger and having eaten nothing since yesterday. And second, My sense of smell is messed up and every now and then there Is something that smells like a nasty rotten food. The most notable examples are every Mayonnaise and Ketchup, bodily fluids like saliva, and surprisingly fresh air depending on the time of day XDD All in all pretty annoying but not to the extent of being unbearable.
Anyway hope I managed to make a satisfactory chapter despite all that... So ENJOY!!!
//
Not long after Starfall left the library to visit Rarity, Twilight, Spike, and Phoebe decided to go into town.
Luna, who still suffered the aftereffects of the previous night, decided to remain where she was, and soon found herself a comfy spot by the fireplace, where she spend the day reading a book.
She was still waiting for the delivery of her stuff from Canterlot, but in the meantime, she didn't mind spending her time on some quiet reading. Especially after Twilight gave her this awesome book before leaving! Although her mischievous smile when she was doing so, made Luna a bit wary.
At first she was sceptical and thought that it was about cooking, but she was soon proved wrong after getting through the first chapter.
The book was called "Fifty shades of Hay" And it was certainly not about cooking...
___________
Spike was still groggy from the previous night but he didn't want to waste the day doing nothing.
He decided to see what the girls were up to today, and seeing as it was the weekend, he was almost certain that he would be able to find the three of them in the Clubhouse.
It didn't took him long before he reached the Sweetapple Acres, but to his surprise, no pony was present there!
A bit discouraged, Spike went towards the farmhouse to hopefully ask Applejack or Big Mack about the girls whereabouts.
As he approached the house, he spotted Granny Smith dozing off on her favourite chair and decided to say hello.
"Good morning Granny Smith." Spike said, but the elderly mare didn't seem to hear, making Spike realize that she was asleep.
Not wanting to wake her up, he decided to just go inside, and he did just that, only to realize that the farmhouse was unusually quiet.
"Hello?! Is there anypony home?! Applejack? Big Mac?" He called out, but didn't get a reply.
He decided to go upstairs. Maybe they didn't hear him, if they were even home, which was becoming less and less likely.
The first few rooms on the second floor turned up empty just like he suspected, but something soon caught his eye.
There, at the end of the corridor, one of the doors gave him a strange feeling... He could see a reddish aura through the crack under the doors, and some weird voice had been chanting louder and louder, the closer that Spike approached.
"...The army...-f clo-..Clashed!...Sir Mcbi-.... Sword!"
Spike as an avid player of Ogres and Oubliettes, could easily recognize a campaign of the game when he heard one, so without any warning he dashed through the door, and seeing Big Mac in a paper armour sitting in darkness beside a gameboard surrounded by candles, screamed.
"Sir Mcbiggun! It is I! The Great Garbunkle! I shall assist you in your battle!"
.
.
.
In another room, one that Spike failed to check after spotting Big Mac's candle light, a trio of Fillies were sitting on a bed.
Suddenly Sweetie Bell turned towards the doors.
"Did you girls hear something just now?" She asked.
Applebloom and Scootaloo shook their heads.
"Huh...I could have sworn I heard Spikey just now..." She shrugged and turned back to the girls.
"Must have been the wind..." She said and went back to chatting about what she learnt from Rarity earlier that day, causing everypony to blush heavily in embarrassment...
__________
Twilight trotted down the street taking in the sights and breathing in the fresh air of spring.
The day started pretty chaotically but other than that she really couldn't have any complaints...
Her walk soon brought her towards the Park Near Fluttershy's Cottage. She knew that her friend wasn't home, but the location itself had a very calming effect on anypony and she just felt like indulging in her bookworm tendencies in the middle of nature...
It wasn't long until the mare found a quiet spot under a tree and took out a book from her saddlebag.
It was one of the Journals of Starfall. One that the Stallion gave to her after making sure it didn't contain any blatant future knowledge between its pages.
Twilight was really happy with the gift because she really loved looking for secrets inside those Journals.
Once she even found a coded message speaking about some magical cataclysm that removed all pony magic, but after asking Starfall about it he just laughed and said that it was to make Twilight curious. He then gifted her the current Journal while taking the one with the coded message, which she didn't question at the time...
Twilight opened the book and started to read.
It was a new version of his so called SCP Catalogue that Starfall made, and it mostly contained things like Magical Creatures, some Magical Artifacts/Places, and even other sentient Races of Equestria.
She really found it interesting to learn that Hippogryphs were living in a country not that far from their borders while some codded information had mentioned the Crystal Empire and the word Umbrum... She didn't know what it all meant but Starfall's journals always pushed her to research the topic further so she knew exactly what she was going to check when she would visit Canterlot Library next time.
As she was drown in the lecture, Twilight suddenly found a White Phoenix standing right beside her, a book of magic in its talons.
"Oh Phoebe! You also wanted to have some quiet reading?" Twilight asked and Phoebe nodded before forming a weak mental link between them. She was already pretty good at telepathy but it was always easier with Starfall with whom she already had a kind of connection since birth.
'Yes Mommy. I wanted to learn some magic If you're ok with that?' Phoebe said and Twilight smiled.
"Of course I'm ok with that. Say how are your natural magic talents though? Weren't you supposed to train fire teleportation?" Twilight asked causing Phoebe to roll her eyes.
'Mooom...I knew how to do that for over a year! Sister Philomena taught me everything very quickly! didn't you know Daddy is teaching me normal magic now?' She asked and Twilight had to blush in embarrassment, She felt a bit ashamed of paying so little attention to the Phoenix who is regularly calling her mom...She was really happy to have met Starfall because she could already see herself training Spike as an assistant instead of giving him a childhood... She wasn't a material for a single mother...
"Right, sorry Phoebe. So how far did you get with your studies?..."Twilight asked causing the Phoenix to push up her chest proudly.
She then showed Twilight how she could cast a few simple spells and levitate stuff using magic. Twilight was really impressed and she quickly realized that she was stupid not to pay attention to Phoebe. They were actually pretty similar in their fascination with magic and her huger that normal intelligence made Phoebe on par with any other Pony.
Twilight promised herself to pay more attention to Phoebe from now on. She wasn't just Starfall's familiar after all, but a family member and a good friend...
//Just roll with it XD It's not like she didn't acknowledge Phoebe before, it's just that she didn't pay as much attention to her as she should have.//
___________
"Alright, get ready everypony! Photo Finish is about to arrive!" Exclaimed Rarity as she made the last corrections on the clothes of the Ponies.
Starfall looked at an embarrassed Fluttershy and gave her a reassuring smile.
"You look gorgeous Shy. Don't worry about anything." He said and Fluttershy smiled back at him. Damn! she had such a pretty smile...
Starfall controlled an impulse of kissing Fluttershy silly, and looked in the mirror. It wasn't the same suit that Rarity made for him for the Gala, but it was still very fashionable, and of good quality. Rarity really deserved all the praises. She knew exactly what she was doing.
It wasn't long before the Photographer, Photo Finish herself arrived and Rarity got to work announcing her dresses.
As soon as Finish saw the model's though, her glasses almost fell off.
"Magnificent! You two! Are...Perfect!" She exclaimed taking out her personal camera and disregarding Rarity as she started to take different shots of Fluttershy and Starfall.
Starfall made sure to give Fluttershy a few compleliments quietly which made her squirm in embarrassment, but Photo Finish clearly found this to be a perfect opportunity to take more Photos.
Before they realized it, the Passionate photographer Pony was breathing heavily from running around but a satisfied expression was on her face.
"I decided! I shall make you two Stars!" She said but here was where Starfall had to interrupt.
"Mrs. Finish. We appreciate your offer but we aren't interested in the modelling businesses. On the other hand, miss Rarity requested your help in promoting her designs and I'm sure you can recognise the quality of her creations." Starfall said, completely shocking all the mares present.
"Starfall! What are you saying-" Rarity started but was interrupted.
"Rarity love. Fluttershy clearly doesn't enjoy being the center of attention and I am already famous." He winked at that part. "On the other hand you, The mare who deserve it the most didn't seem to catch the eye of the so called great Photo Finish." He said with a pointed look at the other mare who suddenly had a contemplative look on her face as she looked between the models and their clothes.
It took a moment, but finally Photo Finish nodded.
"I'm sorry my Prince. In my rush I only looked at what was right in front of me and disregarded everything else. I saw two Ponies with the potential for greatnessh! But I, Photo Finish failed to notice thy attire...miss Rarity! Let's finish this session! I won't get my models, but your clothes more than compensate for all of it! Of course I hope that you two shall help in this endeavour!" She turned back towards them to which they nodded.
"Of course. That's why we're here in the first place." Starfall said and Photo Finish grinned on her chance of Photographing Royalty...
There was another reason why Starfall wanted to avoid all this mess with Fluttershy's modelling.
Applejack asked them to join her in transporting an apple tree to Appleloosa tomorrow and he really had no time to waste as a model. He wondered how they managed to fit it all together in the show though, as he doubted Fluttershy's being a model lasted less than a few days or even weeks...
Maybe the events just took place at a different time because of his presence?
He shrugged and went back to posing for Photo Finish as Rarity continued bringing new clothes to them.
He soon realized that he disliked being a model just as much as Fluttershy, but from a different reasons...
It was because of all those funny posing and constant changing of clothes...He just didn't like it in general...
So it was with a sigh of relief that he took of all the pieces of clothes at the end of the day and sat on a sofa while Rarity served them tea.
Fluttershy sat very close to Starfall, thankful for saving her from being made a model, while Rarity was thankful for his help in making Photo Finish recognise her talent.
They spent the rest of the day together and at the end one thing led to another and the trio were soon off to the bedroom, where the two Mares experienced their first proper triangle that made them even closer...