What if Xenilla and Blade Dancer Met In High School?
Life is full of ups and downs along with twists and turns. We know that the Kaijus arrived to Equestria as adults, but what would have happened if they had grown up in Equestria as ponies. We will now see how a certain Kaiju would have fared in High School.
Xenilla sighed as the bell rang and he entered the school. As expected, most of the ponies in the school gave him the wide berth due to his gargantuan size for his age and his eye condition. The white maned blue stallion made his way to class where he shared a glare with Buck Withers and his cronies. Ever since he arrived at school, they tried to make him join their team due to his size, but he always found their sport to be pedestrian. It also did not help that the unspoken rule was that he would have to become Buck Withers' lackey and he had more productive things to do with his life than being part of a meathead club.
The stallion sighed as he was forced to sit besides the "Princess" Mi Amore Cadenza, who did not hesitate to give him the stink eye. Normally, Cadence was a very sweet pony to nearly everybody in school, but Xenilla found ways to push her buttons in ways other ponies sans Buck Withers never could, such as the incident of their first meeting.
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"I am not going to call you a princess, Cadence," stated the stallion with annoyance as they had gone through the same argument three times already. "Your office title is Duchess and that's final," stated the foreign stallion.
"I am a princess, Xenilla. Celestia adopted me as her niece and I ascended as an Alicorn, so my position is princess. It's not that hard to call me by my title, Xenilla," begged the pink mare.
"Cadence. You are not the ruler of a principality and Celestia, who is a queen in all but name, already carries the title of princess, so your title is redundant. Based on my research, the highest rank of nobility that you should carry is Duchess and I'm not bulging," said Xenilla with resolution.
"Why you obstinate..." said the pink alicorn as the memory ended. Truth to be told, despite their less than cordial interactions, both of them had been chosen as project partners in different subjects, so they had an excellent working relationship. It also helped that their grades were high enough that they both qualified as the class' valedictorians, so they developed a cordial frenemy relationship.
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As Xenilla was about to focus on his book, the teacher arrived and coughed on her hoof to grab the class' attention. "Good morning, everypony. I would like you all to give a round of applause for the return of one of our very own. Brenda Cheryl Dancer," said the older mare as the class stomped in applause.
The door opened and Xenilla watched as a tall mare with porcelain fur, a red mane tied in a bun, and blue eyes hidden behind round glasses entered. She was wearing a black sweater that hugged her lean frame, making it obvious that she was just as svelte as Cadence, but the nervous expression on her face detracted from her beauty. "Hello, everypony. Call me Blade Dancer. It's nice to be back into this school again. I hope we can all have fun in our final year," stated the red haired mare as the teacher pointed to an empty seat in front of Xenilla.
"Miss Dancer, you may take the empty seat in front of Xenilla. You already know who everypony is here due to being in this classroom last year, but Xenilla is both the foreign exchange student from Neighpon and the first pony in class to skip two grades," said the teacher as her eyes focused on Xenilla.
Xenilla caught the gist as he stood up with a grumble and extended his hoof to the new student. Blade Dancer was about to take a step back at the sight of a stallion twice her height, but stood resolute despite her shyness. "Hello, Xenilla. I hope we can be friends," said the pegasus mare amicably only to get disappointed as Xenilla stared at her blankly with his eyes. "Don't waste your breath, Miss Dancer. I'm not the most sociable stallion here, but I wish you the best as well," stated the stallion as he sat down and resumed his lesson.
The weeks passed and although Blade Dancer rarely spoke with others, she became fast friends with Princess Cadence as they both share the same taste in fashion and romance novels. Ever since Shining Armor and Cadence got together, Blade Dancer also started to hang out with the blue-maned stallion and his group. Shining Armor was buzzing with excitement as he produced four tickets. "Look what I got here, Caddy! Tickets to the play 'Epona and the Passage of the Seasons,' said the stallion before he and every male in the class pressed their ears against their skulls to combat the squees of excitement of their female counterparts.
"I can't believe it! The tickets are sold out and the cast of the play are all members of Canterlot's Dance Troupe, the best dancers in all of Equestria," explained Blade Dancer.
"Correct! Cadence and I will take two tickets and the other two will go to..." said the stallion before three male voices interrupted him. "Not it!"
Shining Armor sighed as he looked at his friends. "Okay, since my friends would rather play Ogres and Oubliettes on the premiere day, it means we have to get two more people to join in. Blade Dancer, would you like to join us?"
"Seeing the best dancers in Equestria on one play. Of course I'd go," said the red-maned mare before Cadence coughed into her hoof. "The ticket says that it's a couples event, so another person must join."
Blade Dancer sighed as her blue eyes scanned the people in the classroom. Truth to be told, she did not have many friends in school, so getting a date from the other classes was not possible. Most of the people she wanted to ask out, such as Shining Armor and Cadence, already had relationships and she was too nervous to ask her other crushes at class. There were only two ponies who could probably help her, but she would rather break Buck Withers' face than ask him out, so she went with the lesser of two evils.
Xenilla was finishing his homework ahead of time before a shadow covered his book. Red eyes on yellow sclera looked up and saw a nervous mare with blue eyes and glasses rubbing the back of her head. "Hi, Xenilla. I was wondering if you...okay, this is awkward. There is a play in town called 'Epona and the Passage of the Seasons and I wanted to know if you'd like to come with me," stated the mare, expecting a rejection before Xenilla took a breath and said his answer. "Okay, mind telling me where and when should I pick you up?" A scratched record resonated around the classroom as Xenilla accepted the invitation.
"What?! It's a wonderful opportunity for me to experience Equestrian culture," defended the stallion against the classroom's reaction. Class continued as normal as Xenilla took the ticket home and checked the date.
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"I'm home!" shouted the stallion as he entered his home. The outside of the house looked like a regular Canterlot house, but the inside had bamboo doors and Neighponese style floors and decorations. He saw a giant stallion with gray mane and scars talking with a nearly as tall purple mare with red eyes. Xenilla smiled as his parents nuzzle together, but then assumed his stoic facade. Before Xenilla could talk with them, he grunted as he was glomped by a green mare with a floral motif. "I'm going to assume that your thesis was accepted, Biollante," said the younger stallion as his sister giggled. "That's right, Xen. In a few months, I will become a teacher at Princess Celestia's school. Isn't that exciting?!" exclaimed the jubilant mare. By this point, both of their parents approached them with smiles on their faces.
"Where is our brother? I was betting that Junior would have been the first to hear from you," inquired Xenilla before his mother, Gojirin, interrupted him. "Your brother is hanging out with Lea, Rodan, and Anguirus. The three of them were visiting, so Junior decided to have a sleepover with them at Aoi's home," said the mare. "I'm going to assume that Anguirus and Rodan were the ones who voted for staying at Miss Aoi's place. They did have a crush on her growing up," snarked the stallion only to grunt as his father bonked him in the head. "If memory doesn't fail me, you also used to give her flowers back when you were younger, so don't insult your brother's friends, young stallion," said Godzilla Senior.
"Yes, father. I apologize," said Xenilla as his father smiled at him. "Now, how was school today?" inquired the older stallion.
"Well, I aced my exams along with the Duchess, had to keep myself from punching Buck Withers, drew some designs for my crystal structures...and a classmate asked out to see a theatrical play," said Xenilla only to regret it as the three oldest members of his family got into his face. "YOU GOT A DATE!"
'Dear Tanaka, I should have kept my mouth shut,' thought the stallion as he was dragged around the house for clothing to wear while being bombarded by instructions on what to do on the date.
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In another site of Canterlot, Blade Dancer was trying to relax on the cloud she smuggled from her days at Cloudsdale, but she couldn't focus. As much as she enjoyed the idea of seeing her favorite group of dancers participate on the play, the fact that she had to go on a date with the most stoic guy in Canterlot put a damper on her mood. The door to her room opened and her mother, a pegasus nearly as beautiful as Celestia herself, approached her. "Brenda, what is the matter? You are normally playing with your siblings by this hour and you nearly skipped dinner. Is something the matter?" inquired the older mare.
"It's nothing, mother. It's just that I'm going to go to see a play tomorrow with Shining and Cadence, so I'm a bit nervous," stated Blade Dancer.
"I remember Cadence! You used to crush on her badly!" exclaimed her mother.
"MOM!" shouted Blade Dancer, much to her mother's amusement. "It's okay, Brenda. I heard that she is with Shining Armor now. Is that why you are out of sorts?"
"Not really, mom. Shining confessed first and he is very attentive to her, so I'm happy they are both together. The thing is the play only offered tickets to couples only and Shining got four tickets. Shining and Cadence are going together and since his friends are not available...I might have asked the class' grouchiest stallion to accompany me," said the red maned mare, only to regret as she saw her mother's widening smile.
The house rumbled as happy mother squealing resonated. "My baby girl is on her first date!" yelled the mother mare excitedly, which was then followed by a stampede of hoofsteps as a large Earth Pony crashed into the room followed by Blade Dancer's siblings.
"BRENDA IS ON A DATE!" yelled the rest of the family with either jubilation or wariness in the case of Blade Dancer's father. "Look, I don't think he is into me and honestly I think the best that could happen would be if we become friend. There is nothing romantic about it," said Blade Dancer which caused her siblings to get sad while her father smiled...only for him to flinch as his wife stared at him. "Nope. That is not acceptable. As Canterlot's premiere romance novelist and former model, I will not have your first date treat you as if you didn't exist. Come along, my dear. I will get you a makeup that will knock him dead," said the mother as she dragged her daughter into her private quarters.
"Aren't you exaggerating, mother?"
"Brenda. You are about to graduate from high school very soon. If you don't overcome your shyness now, you will have trouble learning how to handle relationships when you enter college or join the Royal Guard. It's better to have innocent dates in high school before your work overwhelms you. Your father can tell you about the multitude of ponies I dated in college..." started the mare before Blade Dancer put her wing in her mouth. "If I agree to the makeup, would you spare me your dating history?" asked the embarrassed mare while her undisturbed mother nodded excitedly.
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A few hours later, Shining Armor and Cadence were waiting at the theater. Shining was wearing his blue tuxedo from prom while Cadence was wearing a pink dress that combined with her fur. "Where are Blade Dancer and Xenilla? The play will start in a few minutes," said a worried Cadence before her ears perked up at a deep voice.
"Will you relax, Duchess? Even if this is a fake date, I'm not rude enough to let my date or the hosts who invited me standing," said Xenilla as he approached the two ponies. To their surprise, his white mane was combed until the hair was straight and he had a classy braid that resembled a wolf's tail. Their eyes moved down as they noticed that he was wearing a black kimono that hugged his large frame yet gave an aura of casual sophistication. Xenilla grunted as he saw the ponies' reaction to his new look. "My mother and my sister found out about the date, so they decided to make me look presentable. Anyway, do you both know where my date is?" asked Xenilla until he heard the sound of wings flapping.
"I'm right here. How do I look?" asked a voice that the three ponies were familiar. Their jaws nearly dropped to the ground as they saw Blade Dancer. She no longer wore her mane in a bun and it was instead braided elegantly, which allowed everybody to see how long it really was. The round glasses she wore were replaced with contacts to make her blue eyes stand out, which were also complimented by the dark blue eyeshadow that she wore. Lastly, she wore a purple dress and a scarf that hugged her lean body and made it obvious to Xenilla that despite her mousy disposition, she was toned and in shape.
"You look amazing/fabulous," said Shining and Cadence as they approached and hugged their friend. Xenilla had a tinge of red on his cheeks before he shook his head and approached. "Nice dress, Blade Dancer. It matches your eyes and contrasts your red mane. You'll probably get more attention if you kept that look," said the stallion awkwardly. Solving mathematical theorems and giving expositions about different languages or scientific principles was easier to Xenilla than complimenting a mare!
"Thanks. You also look handsome on that kimono, Xenilla. It suits you," replied Blade Dancer as her eyes couldn't help but admire how the kimono outlined his large, muscular frame and the combed hair allowed her to see his expression more clearly. A blush formed on her cheeks until she saw the clock. "I think we should hurry up, the show is about to start!" exclaimed the pegasus as everypony rushed to the theater.
Due to the ticket numbers, Xenilla and Blade Dancer sat together at opposite booths to Cadence and Shining Armor. Both ponies felt awkward around each other but the play would not start until a few minutes and they decided to talk. "So, I know this is going to be an obvious question considering your name, but do you like dancing?" asked the stallion as he tested the waters. "Of course. I practiced ballet, tap dancing, ballroom dancing, flamenco, and other dancing styles. It's great exercise and is a way to express yourself with your body. I even joined a belly dancing class," admitted the mare, which caused Xenilla to blush.
"Wow. You don't seem to be the type of pony who takes belly dancing," said the stallion with a surprised voice. "I know. I'm shy around ponies, but I am fully confident when it comes to dancing, so I don't mind belly dancing for myself or my fellow dancers," admitted Blade Dancer. 'So she has more spine than I thought. What a pleasant surprise,' thought Xenilla.
"Does that means that you are going to join the dancing troupe once you graduated?" asked the stallion, only to widen his eyes as Blade Dancer shook her head. "Not really. I might love dancing, but I want to make a difference in this world. I'm planning of joining the Royal Guard Academy once I graduate," said the mare proudly only to narrow her eyes at his incredulous face.
"Is something funny?" asked the mare icily. "Not really. If being a royal guard is your dream, then go for it. I just have trouble picturing you in armor or fighting criminals since you act so shy..." said the stallion only to feel the edge of a wing stop close to his throat. His eyes widened and he looked down to see that Blade Dancer had momentarily stood up and swung one of her wings like it was a blade to nearly hit his throat. A confident smile was on her face as one of her eyebrows was raised up inquisitively. "Okay, seems I underestimated you, Miss Dancer," admitted the impressed stallion, causing her to giggle. "There is a reason my nickname is Blade Dancer. Now, would you mind sharing a bit about yourself?"
"Not much. I come from Neighpon with my parents and siblings. My parents have been married for over 20 years. I have an older sister named Biollante and a younger brother named Godzilla Junior. We moved to Canterlot since my sister is taking a thesis in Canterlot to become a teacher and I took some accelerated programs in my native country to skip a few semesters once I entered college, but I needed to take my last semester here to graduate and have the chance to study some Magical Engineering and Thaumaturgy involving crystals," informed the stallion.
"I didn't expected the giant, asocial stallion to be into science," said the mare teasingly as Xenilla's horn shone red and a crystal materialized in front of her. To her surprise, Xenilla used his magic to mold the crystal's structure like clay, shaping it into her cutie mark, then an elaborate tower, and then a bust showing her face. "Sculpting models and architecture are also part of my hobbies," said Xenilla with a confident smiled as the lights dimmed. He took the chance to mold the crystal into a small bracelet that he hooked into her arm, causing her to giggle in surprise.
Before long, a melancholic song resonated across the theater. It was sung on a language that didn't exist, but Cadence and Xenilla recognized that some words had pronunciations based on Neighponese, Carrean, and Latin. 'Okay, this play is certainly more intellectual than I gave it credit for. They created a language by synthetizing parts of modern and dead languages to make a song,' thought Xenilla with admiration as the dancers arrived.
The four ponies watched as the unicorns used their magic to float ethereally while their horns shone with colored magic to form an aurora. The pegasi flapped their wings to the beat of the music, moving in synchrony while shedding some prop feathers to spice up the background and using the auroras of their tails to draw in the sky. Lastly, the earth ponies gracefully ran and leaped across the stage while holding ribbons to highlight their movements. The motions of the dancers kept Blade Dancer and Cadence enthralled and even Shining Armor and Xenilla found their acting entertaining. However, the stallions were more focused on the fantastic elements of the story from the complex architectural props, the unique language and writing, and the magic system. Before long, the play ended after two hours and everypony gave a standing ovation to the dancers.
"I can't believe how good the play was!" exclaimed an ecstatic Blade Dancer. She and Cadence were hopping happily as they discussed the dancing and the songs.
Meanwhile, the stallions were having their own discussion. "So, romance story aside, I love the intricacy of the language they created from the play and the designs of the prompts. Reminds me a bit of the artwork of Ogres and Oubliettes," stated Xenilla as Shining Armor stared at him. "You play O&O?" asked Shining Armor incredulously. "Shining Armor. I have a life outside studies. I don't play campaigns the way other players do, but I enjoy the stories and the models that comes with the game. I even made my own worlds using crystals," said the stallion smugly as he brought out a few of his crystals and transmuted them into small towers and temples. As Shining Armor admired the intricate designs, both stallions heard a cough behind them and they found their dates being unimpressed.
"Well, since you boys prefer discussing about games, then maybe Blade Dancer and I should go to the fair," said Cadence with fake annoyance. "There is a fair?" asked both stallions as their dates facehooved. "Yes. Blade Dancer and I discussed it after class. We knew there was a chance that neither of you would like the play, so we decided to ask you to play some games at the fair. It's a few minutes from here. Do you want to come?" asked the princess as both stallions nodded their head.
The four ponies only had about an hour to enjoy the festivities as their parents would not approve of them arriving so late at night, so they rushed through the stands. Xenilla gagged as he tasted the popcorn and the cotton candy, but still ate them silently since his three classmates enjoyed them immensely. They participated in the rigged ring game and shoot the target game and he was surprised that while all four of them performed poorly at the ring game, they managed to get a perfect score in the shooting game. 'Okay, it makes sense that Cadence aced the game as the Princess probably included combat training and self-defense, but I didn't expect Shining and Blade Dancer to do so well. I guess they are really dedicated to joining the Royal Guard,' thought Xenilla in admiration of his classmates.
They then followed with the hammer game. Not surprisingly, he grabbed the hammer and managed to hit the bell, earning him the big price. Cadence followed and then it was Blade Dancer and Shining Armor's turn. To his surprise, Cadence also hit the bell due to her alicorn strength while Blade Dancer earned second place and Shining Armor earned third place. It seemed her Earth Pony father made the pegasus stronger than expected as she surpassed Shining's score despite his bulky frame. Cadence had to console the sullen stallion as Xenilla and Blade Dancer chuckled.
Next, the group of classmates entered the haunted house, which was filled with animatronics, trick mirrors, and ponies in monster disguises trying to scare everypony. Xenilla felt bored as the costumes were not up to par with some of the horror movies he watched with Biollante, so he entertained himself by watching his companions.
Ironically, Shining Armor was the most scared while Cadence and Blade Dancer found the exhibit hilarious, but he watched in approval that Shining always put himself between the 'monsters' and Cadence despite being visibly afraid. 'He is really worthy of being her protector,' thought Xenilla as Blade Dancer moved ahead of the group and into a corner...only to scream loud enough for everypony to stand still.
Xenilla rushed towards her and was intercepted by the scared mare jumping at his face and twisting her body around until she was hiding behind his back. "Get me away from that horrible thing!" yelled the hysteric mare as she pointed at a small spider that managed to infiltrate the haunted house.
"It's okay, Blade Dancer. It's just a tiny arachnid. You can just squeeze it," said the annoyed stallion in a soft tone to avoid upsetting her. He used his magic to levitate the spider and increased the red color of his magical aura so that she could not see the arachnid. He made a motion with his head as if to throw out the insect, but instead just rapidly moved it to a crack where it could hide in silence. "I don't care! They are hairy, have creepy legs and jaws, too many eyes, and are just disgusting. Can we leave?" asked the shaken mare, which convinced Xenilla and his fellow classmates to escort her out.
Xenilla was patting Blade Dancer's back as he watched the clock. "We only have ten minutes, everypony. If you want to go someplace else before we leave, you better think fast," warned the stallion. The group pondered for a bit before Cadence gasped and pointed at a ferris wheel. There was a promotion that the wheel would stop for 5 minutes at the zenith to ensure maximum romance, so she practically dragged Shining Armor by the hoof, much to his approval. Xenilla knelt down and offered his hoof to the smaller mare. "Look, I'm sorry you had a bad time because of the spider. What if we follow those lovebirds to the ferris wheel. I know you love romance stories, so maybe seeing those two nuzzle while telling each other 'I love you' over and over again will cheer you up," joked the stallion as Blade Dancer took his hand. "You are one sour stallion, are you?" teased the mare as she followed him.
True to his word, Xenilla managed to get him and Blade Dancer a booth behind Shining Armor and Cadence, so he sat besides Blade Dancer as the ferris wheel moved. There was a gap of space between them as the wheel slowly spun in a circle, but he felt comfortable around her to talk. "So, how are you enjoying our...date?" inquired the stallion as he was still unsure to consider it as one.
Blade Dancer blushed and played with her braid as she avoided looking at him. "Well, at first I didn't think about it as a date. I only went since I wanted to see the play and you were the only unavailable pony in class that I personally knew was not a jerk. Still, tonight has been a fun experience. You joined on the fair's games, you told me about yourself and showed me some of your hobbies, and you even protected me from that spider and comforted me. So, I can say that you are dating material," admitted the pegasus with a slight tinge of red on her cheeks.
Xenilla blushed as he was not used to receiving compliments from ponies that were not his relatives. At the same time, he noticed that the booths stopped just as Shining Armor and Cadence's booth stopped at its zenith. 'I guess the five minutes of romance promised by that wheel are starting,' thought the stallion as he looked at Blade Dancer. Truth to be told, he was not interested in romance at the moment as he knew that he would eventually return to Neighpon after the semester was over, but he actually enjoyed spending time with Blade Dancer as she was a smart, graceful, and beautiful mare who did not hesitate to fight despite her shyness. Xenilla then remembered an advice he got from both his mother and Biollante and he audibly groaned.
"What's the matter, Xenilla?" asked the concerned mare. "I just remembered something that my mother and sister told me. Look, I had a surprisingly fun time and you showed me that there is more to you than a shy mare afraid to talk to others. So...what am I saying is..." fumbled the stallion as he groaned and gave Blade Dancer a kiss on her cheek. The mare gasped at Xenilla's boldness while the stallion blushed up a storm. "I don't think I'm ready for a relationship, but at the very least I wanted to say thanks for the date and would love to be friends," admitted Xenilla only to notice Blade Dancer stood still as her face turned red and her wings flared. "Are you okay? Look, if I overstep my boundaries, I want to apologize," said the stallion, but Blade Dancer had other things in mind.
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Blade Dancer's mind returned a few hours ago to when her mother was giving her a makeover. She couldn't help but admire how gorgeous her mother made her look with the eyeshadow and her braided hair, so a part of her was excited for the date despite her shyness. "Now remember, Brenda. Many people have different speeds when it comes to romance. The important thing is that both of you go to a pace where both of you are comfortable. If he is a jerk and does not respect your boundaries, you can take your father's advice to smash his face in with those self-defense classes you took. If he is worth it, however, you might want to give him a chance. Though I also hope you don't go overboard with him if you happen to like him," said her mother embarrassedly.
Blade Dancer looked at her mother inquisitively. "Overboard?"
The older mare sighed with a blush on her cheeks. "Look, my side of the family are romantics. When there is a pony we like, we can be very amorous. I was a shy mare like you until my first coltfriend asked me out. A few confidence boosting dates with him later followed by a surprise kiss from him turned me from a shy little thing into a very confident mare who turned him into putty with my feminine wiles. After the relationship ended, I became the one looking for partners rather than the other way around. Got myself a few marefriends and coltfriends before I eventually fell in love with your father and had you and your siblings," admitted the mature pony as her daughter also blushed. "Is that why we have so many 'uncles' and 'aunts'?" asked Blade Dancer.
"Pretty much. However, do bear in mind that if you are like me and he happens to be special, that you don't go overboard. I don't want to be a grandmother so young," said the mare semiseriously. "Mother! Don't worry, nothing like that would happen," said Blade Dancer.
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Her mind then returned to the present as she felt her heart speed up like crazy and her cheeks blossomed from a mixture of embarrassment and another emotion she never experienced before. Her wings flared as she looked at the stallion who kissed her. A tall, muscular stallion slightly younger than her and who, despite his grumpiness, was a surprisingly dorky and sensitive stallion. A smile slowly formed on her face and she licked her lips while lidding her eyes at Xenilla, who widened his eyes as she moved over the gap until they were side to side.
"Blade Dancer?" asked the stallion a bit nervously as she cuddled up beside him and used one of her wings to turn his head to the side before pressing her lips against his. Red eyes widened as they stared at a pair of blue eyes and then both pairs closed as Blade Dancer's lips gently slid against his own. It wasn't a passionate kiss between lovers. It was just a chaste kiss that let him know that she was interested on him as she did not go overboard or ignored his boundaries.
The booth started moving away as she pulled away from the kiss with a slight tinge of red on her cheeks. "I would love to be friends with you, Xen. Though I hope you can consider becoming a couple in the future when you feel ready for a relationship," said the pegasus mare while Xenilla's brain rebooted.
The doors of the booth opened and both ponies left the place, though Xenilla was surprised that Blade Dancer now felt confident enough to place her wing on his back. Needless to say, Cadence squealed in glee when he and Blade Dancer met her and Shining after the kiss. Leave it to the Princess of Love to figure out something romantic happened between them at first glance. Eventually, the four young ponies returned home and they went to sleep to meet at school.
Xenilla groaned as he sat on the classroom and had to deal with Cadence grinning at him and asking him for details. She didn't even seem to mind when he called her Duchess, which kept him from getting entertained by her reactions. The only good thing about his day so far was that Shining kept her from bothering him and also shared some concepts he planned for his next game of Ogres and Oubliettes. The only one who was missing right now was Blade Dancer but he had not seen her since their date. He was about to focus on his book before his ears perked up at some incident outside class. He got up and decided to see what was happening only to see everypony gaping at Blade Dancer's new look
This time, she decided to go without a braid, which allowed everypony to see how long and vibrant her red mane truly was and she kept the eyeshadow and contact glasses from last night, bringing attention to her blue eyes. Lastly, she stopped wearing the sweater, which gave everypony complete view of her intricate cutie mark and her toned, slim body. Needless to say, she was swarmed with admirers, but she ignored them with a confident smile on her face.
Buck Withers came from the group and attempted to flirt with her but was met with a wing smacking him in the face as she ignored him and entered the classroom where her eyes zeroed in on Xenilla. She took her seat in front of him but turned around to stare at him. "So, you decided to keep your look from yesterday's play?" inquired the stallion. "Well, a certain somepony told me I look better this way, so I decided to dolly up for him. By the way, I noticed over the last few days that you have lunch on your own. Would you like to join me, Cadence, and Shining Armor at our table for lunch?" asked the pegasus mare with a smile on her face that made his heart skip a beat.
"He accepts," interjects Cadence for him, which causes him to glare at her but otherwise does not refute her statement. Despite everything, he did enjoyed his time with her and he wanted her as a friend, so Xenilla accepted the invitation. His days in high school were happy thanks to his friendship with those three, but due to his responsibilities at Neighpon he did not take Blade Dancer's proposition of dating even with Cadence helping her. They soon graduated and he left Canterlot soon after, but fate would have the four ponies meet again in the future.
Ten Years Later...
Shining Armor coughed as he gathered his best subordinates. He was wearing the purple armor marking him as the Captain of the Royal Guard and he looked grimly at Lieutenant Colonel Blade Dancer and his future successor, Blueberry Frost. "Okay, everypony. The Crystal Empire has returned and we need to save the crystal ponies. Originally, Celestia asked me and Cadence to go alone, but I believe having the help of the best of the Royal Guard will turn the odds in our favor. We also got report from Celesita that Neighpon is willing to help and sent a specialist to help deal with King Sombra. Cadence should be talking with him right..." said the stallion only to stop as he heard his wife yelling. Military experience was momentarily forgotten as he, Blueberry Frost, and Blade Dancer opened the door and peeked their heads out to see who could make Cadence of all people scream her lungs out.
"I can't believe this! We haven't seen you in over 10 years and you didn't think of informing us about your presence! And you still refuse to call me a princess!" yelled the exasperated alicorn to a gigantic stallion that was a head taller than even her adult form and twice as heavy.
"We already went over this in High School, Cadence. I don't care what Princess Celestia calls herself, unless she changes her title to queen, then you are not a princess. Furthermore, I heard she wants you to rule the crystal ponies, but they are part of an Empire. In other words, I refuse to call you a Princess since you are technically a duchess and you are on your way to become an empress. Get over it," said Xenilla as he turned around and saw three ponies staring at him. His eyes widened as he recognized Shining Armor but then he took a step back as a red-maned pegasus tackled him into a hug.
"Xenilla. It's been a while! How you been?" asked the excited Blade Dancer as she nuzzled his face. Despite her training with the guard, Xenilla still grew up to be a powerhouse of a pony, so he remained still as he hugged her back. "I'm doing wonderfully, Blade Dancer. I got my PHD and joined Neighpon's army for a few years. When the Crystal Empire returned, my country tasked me with investigating and here I am," said the stallion. Both he and Blade Dancer lost themselves to the conversation while Blueberry Frost stared at him with surprise.
"Mind telling me what is going on right now?" inquired the blue mare as Cadence brought her to their meeting room. "You see, Xenilla was on the same high school as Shining Armor, Blade Dancer, and myself. He was Blade Dancer's first date and the one who made her confident enough to become the flirt she is today. However, he only stayed one semester and didn't hook up with her despite my best efforts," said the pink princess as she grinded her teeth together. Shining Armor and Blueberry Frost took a step back from the show as Shining knew from personal experience that his wife did not like it when anypony refused to follow their heart. He and Blueberry Frost silently agreed to take her away from Xenilla and Blade Dancer and gave the two ponies their privacy as they escorted the princess away.
"So, are you seeing anypony?" asked Blade Dancer with lidded eyes as she stared at the stallion. Xenilla sighed with a smile on his face. "Not at the moment. My parents and my sister insist I find a marefriend and marry her as quickly as possible. I already accomplished most of my work goals, so I don't mind relaxing a bit and maybe give dating a try," explained the stallion as Blade Dancer wrapped her wing around his back. "Took you long enough, Xen," teased the mare.
"What about you, Blade Dancer? Are you single?" inquired the stallion. "Well, I had a lot of coltfriends and marefriends over the last 10 years. I dated a fellow guard named Cache Ire but she and I are no longer together," said Blade Dancer. "Is she a mare old enough to be your mother?" asked the stallion, which caused Blade Dancer to lose her grin. "No, she is about the same age as me. Why do you ask?" asked the mare icily.
Xenilla just gave her a teasing grin as he made a show of looking up. "If memory doesn't fail me, before you told me that your first crush was Cadence, I found out that you were attracted to mares during Spring Break. I invited you, Shining, and Cadence to go to the beach with me, my family, and Junior's friends. However, you were distracted by the sight of Miss Aoi in a bikini. It was the first time in months that I saw you go from a confident flirty mare into a shy filly," teased the huge stallion as he started laughing.
Blade Dancer blushed from the memory and growled at him. "Hey. Aoi is a gorgeous mare with a mature look, exotic tattoos over her body, and a sexy bikini body. How could I not be attracted to her?" asked the mare with annoyance on her tone. Xenilla moved his head to the side of her head, making her blush as she could feel her breath. "You know, Miss Aoi has retired and will move to Canterlot to spend her retirement. She even gave me her address to visit. She is single," said the stallion in singsong as Blade Dancer's wings popped up. 'Okay. At the very least if things don't work out with Xenilla, I can go visit my first mature crush,' thought the mare absentmindedly before she shook her head to focus.
"Look, Xenilla. Tempting as that offer is, I wanted to know if you would be up for going on a date with me. You can still say no and I'm happy to remain as friends if you are not interested," started the mare only to smile as Xenilla pecked her cheek. "I would be delighted to. I've been on dates before, but I couldn't go all the way," admitted Xenilla.
"Oh, and why is that?" asked a curious Blade Dancer.
"Because they weren't you," admitted Xenilla with a blush as the mare once again tackled him into a hug. Both ponies smiled together as they now had a good reason to succeed in saving the Crystal Empire.
The END.