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A weekend of R&R, nothing more (Dusty)


Blueblood

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A deep purring laugh boomed from Niils muzzle, the sound echoing in the sky as he kept his head turned to keep one eye on her. “That is more like it, now do hunker down. You trust me, yes? Trust in the buckles and straps as well and know I will not let you fall from my back. Just enjoy flying.” With that he looked ahead, beat his wings then pulled them close and dropped. It was a slow movement at first and seemed like they were not moving at all until gravity beat his forward momentum and drew them down. The wind picked up from a strong braze into a roaring gale that whipped at his mane and her own as he dived into a sea of white clouds. In a flash she was engulfed by the mist like some thick fog that closed her world into being nothing but herself and Niil. She can feel he was not just falling. Strong muscles were twitching, shifting to keep his half shut wings steady and aimed to lead this fall. He was complenty in control even as the wind rushed all around them.

 

And then the sea of white ended as trails of cloud mist followed him out and into the open skies. Looking down and around she saw vast woodlands, far off mountains and open planes. She can see so far out the world curved away and out of view like looking off into the open sea. In a few places she can spot airships sailing the skies, some with steam powered props leaving smoke trails and others going only by sail. And the world was coming up to meet them as he kept going down. Down. Down. Soon the endless woods were under paw and his wings shot open as they raced over the treetops. Pines rushed past like so much grass under hoof as his downward speed shifted into new forward momentum.

 

The trees gave way to grasslands and lower yet he let himself drift down until she felt a jolt, impact and push upwards as his body moved and flexed underneath her. Then another one. It was hard to see what he was doing but soon it was clear he was running! Or leaping. Each thump was his paws hitting the ground and launching them up as his wings flapped to send them in huge bounding leaps over the field that crossed an vast amount of land in each spring. Hills passed in a rush and she saw a remote cabin come into view, then alongside as one very shocked looking earth pony ran inside his or her home. By the time the door shut Niil was well past it and leaping off the top of a hill and launching them back into the sky with his wings. He did not seem to even be winded by this as he took them both back into the sky and just laughed again.

 

This time he aimed them at some far off looking mountains. “We still have a lot of land to travel!” He says in a booming voice, speaking over the wind. “But do you feel it? The change? We are leaving the lands well populated. The deeper north we fly the more wild and free it is. No farms, no towns, no cities. Raw land, untouched and seen by few. There is something magical in such places. And why I see such hope in it. A palace I can dig my claws into and claim as my own.” He glanced back at her, smiling in his odd catish way. “Blue told me the claims on the land out this way are very weak, by pony or griffin. But we are not yet at the place I wish to claim. This is just the border into the wild lands… In fact…” He looked down, then aimed a paw out too guide the mare's eyes. Resting up on top of some tall hills was a stone fort. “Road’s End. That is the last real town owned by Equestria, they do own the land far north of it but only on paper apparently. Settlements further north of that fort only pay lip service to Equestria or the birds. We are now in the wildlands proper! And to think, you will reach the deep wilds without one day of camping or getting muddy… Or have to set camp. I may have in fact gone on ahead and set up a camp just for you. You're welcome.” 

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Spoiled did trust Niil, she found.  This was a hell of a time to discover that, of course, suspended by leather bindings and metal snaps to an absolute beast reaching air speeds only possible through gigantic musculature and gravitational assistance.  She did not scream like a townie on a rollercoaster at Whinnyworld, she was hardly so lacking in dignity as all that, but the thrill took her breath away silently, as the awe and adrenaline took possession of her.

 

The memories, later, would be a vague sense of the thrill, punctuated by certain concrete impressions; the whistle of the air as it felt, for the first time to the earth pony mare, like a liquid or solid thing.  The chill, broken only by warmth of hide and muscle beneath her.  The crash of smell returning to her senses as they skimmed the ground in leaps and bounds, the scent carrying a potent mix of pine and big cat.  The very incongruous thought that her stylized mane had been wind-blown into a wild and unkempt state, and no salon would touch it until they returned...

 

Breath returned, after a minute or two.  And with it, words.  "The Deep Wilds..."  There was a spice there, of something beyond the civilized and truly dangerous.  Though, on reflection, perhaps not so dangerous as the Everfree.  Still beyond regular climate control, but not concentrated with lush and magically toxic foliage, and beasts of who knew what size or disposition.  That still might be the case here, of course, but Niil was a beast of enormous size and friendly disposition, at least to her, so what was to worry about?  "I wish I could say I was a great appreciator of nature... when I look at empty land, I usually see potential for development.  But what you speak of... intrigues me.  A campsite where a city might one day be..."

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  • 11 months later...

“Indeed, if I do claim it in the end.” He remarked with a strong beat of his wings lifting them skywards. All of the hard flying was wearing him out, even if he did not show it. It’d take more to leave him winded but he did have plenty more airtime ahead of him. Normally he took a nap heading out to his spot. But with Spoiled he planned for it to be one trip without stops. If he wanted to keep that he’d have to pace himself again after that outburst of energy… Even if he felt no shame in it. And swelled with pride at her look. He knew he impressed her with his flying and strength. “It’s a valley leading into the webwing  mountains, facing out into the northern plains of the crystal empire. On paper they own it, but far as I can tell that’s far as the ownership goes. Honestly calling them an Empire feels like a cruel joke. But given the soft-claim on the land I think it will be easy too bargain for it and part of the northern plains. There's a nice river to use as a border… But I’d want more land than that. Still it's a good fallback point for border talks.” He remarked, settling into an even and slow beat of his wings. 

 

“But the valley shields the worst of the north winds, the planes are very fertile in summer with the long days. But with the winters good stocks will be key… Luckily it has some nice caves to convert for such a duty. But the real charm is this old fort I found… Ugh, saying that hurts. From what I found it was built after I was put into my stone jail.” He huffed, the haunting fact of how long he was sealed away was still a sore spot. When you see some old half buried ruins it's rather stressful to learn you lived hundreds of years before it was built. It made him feel ancient. “Well I left out the best part. It has hot springs inside the fort. Maybe why it was even built there. Even in the heart of winter it can be positively warm inside its deeper halls… Moist. But warm. With some reapers I can see it being truly fit for holding my den mates and kittens.” He added with a wishful tone in his voice.

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Niilaavin's description of the territory began to invoke Spoiled's land-development mentality, and she keenly honed in on the mental image, asessing it as she would land on the margins of town, open for municipal purchase.  "I daresay the Crystal Empire would be glad enough for a friendly garrison on their border, considering what the alternatives might be if the land remains open.  Frankly, I have to admit I'm a little surprised that there isn't some kind of fronteir settlement there already; more marginal land has been settled before, and the fact it is beyond the current reach of tax collectors is attractive to a certain kind of pony... or griffon.  Or whatever other species might settle in.  Though, isolation might account for why it hasn't been reached yet... or occupied by bandits.  Nothing close by convenient to steal."

 

Still, she had to admit overall it sounded like a promising start for a settlement, and as for a campsite- "Oh?  A pristine hot spring?  You do know how to treat a mare, I must say~"  The wistful tone in his voice not escaping her notice, and in truth it made her miss the tme when her family was gathered together happily...  But the ache she felt was not the mere pang of a temporary separation, but nostalgia over an unrecoverable past.  When had that barrier between her and Filth arisen?  How many times did she have to come home to an empty manor, or stay in her office late, to drift apart from the father of her daughter?

 

However many it was, she realized now that she was past that number.  Not a pleasant thought, just as well she wasn't alone when she had it...

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A deep rumbling chuckle rolled out of niils muzzle when she made her remarks on the oddity of the land being ‘unoccupied’. “The planes have a few remote homes. Hoof-to-muzzle farms out there to live on their own. But they are how I found the land takes seed well, if one can deal with the winters. As for bandits there was a small camp of such. I believe it was a fallback camp, some place to hide out if they pulled too much heat as you are not wrong, hardly much worth stealing that way. No trade paths too speak of, or other movements of good worth the risk… But they have been dealt with. Other than that the land is mostly unoccupied, like much of the ‘empires’ lands not close to its capital…” He mureed in thought for a moment. “Yes, I do think the Crystal Empire will be willing to sell, or strike some deal, for the land just to have someone on the northern borders friendly to them and keeping the land managed.”

 

He felt like he picked everything well. The land was worth claiming, even if it was harsh… But his paws were tied in many ways. Much of the land more suited to him was claimed a dozen times over. And he can’t take on the powers that be now… No petty kingdoms where one can take a bite out of them easily. Open land like this was rare, more rare for it to be so loosely claimed as to have a hope of removing it from something without steep costs. It was remote, but not so remote as to make trade not happen. Most of all as he can reach the Crystal Empire’s seat of power in about a day's hard flying if needed, so keeping in contact will be reasonable to help lay down the paths of trade. With luck the webwing mountains will hold some riches. If not, the planes of the north had other bounties. All in all… Not perfect. Far from it. But it was something. Something he can set his claws into. Hold. Shape. His land. His kingdom. A Pirdeking in the making. A Pirdeking with no queen or clutter…

 

No, that was a lie. He had a clutter in his own way. His ponies. His little ponies. He can’t see them as tools. They were more than just a means to an end. They were his bedrock and the backs that will hold the kingdom and enforce his will. That is one thing he learned well from Blue. Times changed and he had to adapt. And adapt he will. Too cold in the north. To this land and its long summers of sun, long winters of darkness. Too his little ponies. And… New love. He need not be alone. It's why he was doing this. It’s why he keeps trying to impress her. Deep down he’s already adapted and changed. And so when she praised him again a deep purring vibrated his body under her hooves. “I will warn you, the fort needs much work. But it is safe and I cleaned out rooms with some help. But much of it is still untouched. But I hope you will see what I can in that valley and old fortress. You have eyes for such and your remarks and judgment will help me deeply… But let’s not forget what this trip is for. Getting you relaxed. Even if it's just for a day or two.” He leaned his head to the side so one eye can look back at her, its crescent shape aimed at the mare as soft smile pulled at his loose cat-lips. “I do wish to make the Spoiled of your name about being indulgently looked after, and not the unfitting other term for you.”

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"Well, it's good to know we won't be interrupted by robbers out here."  Spoiled said decisively, before softly smiling, giving the an almost undectable nuzzle to the back of Niil's neck.  "Not that I feel unsafe with you around.  Quite the opposite, in fact."  Niilaavin was certainly the kind of large, strapping male that a mare would crowd against in an uncertain space for comfort; Spoiled hadn't ever let herself get into a situation she felt unequal to, standing strong and independent, commanding her own course and future.  She'd always thought that doing otherwise would make her feel weak and awful, placing herself in the power of another, but the way Niil treated her... respect and deference from one who could easily lord it over her if he wanted to... she liked it.  Perhaps this what some ponies meant when they said she could stand to be a little more feminine.

 

Though... if she hadn't been acting like that before, was that something Niil would find attractive about her, if she caught his attention before admitting that part of herself?  *Ugh... I do not miss this mind game aspect of courtship, whatever else was exciting and better when I was young.*  Well, if the sphinx didn't give an indication either way, she was a grown up mare who could just straight up ask what he saw in her.  At least clearing up in her own mind that she was thinking about him like that now, that she would allow herself to go down this road, removed some inner ambiguity.

 

She did have to give a little smirk at the mention of her name, though.  "Honestly, you might ask what kind of mother would name their filly that if their last name was 'Milk'... well, I'm sure you can imagine.  And you'd be right."  Her smile was tight at the lips, and did not reach her eyes.  

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His emerald eye stayed focused on her for a moment with that half turned head, then he made soft yarlling of a sound. “Why don’t you take another name?” He asked after a moment, looking ahead at his path with a glance. Then turning his head all the way back as best he can to look at the mare between his wings. “I wanted to ask some time ago. But felt it wrong to bring up such. Maybe you liked the name. But it seems you do not. So why keep it?” He asked, his tone full of honesty and open hearts. “I hope I can ask such a question. Names hold power, but names are not carved in stone. A name is our voice when we do not speak. It is our eyes when we do not see. Our ears when we hear not. It stands for us when spoken, this you must know. So why let your name be one easily scoffed? I do not think it is out of blood, you dislike your den-mother.” He flicked his ears, doing his best to focus on her as he fly's. 

 

Time to time as he spoke he glanced ahead and adjusted back on course. “But I am glad you feel safe my Rasha, I just hope such safety passes onto your mind as well. You can speak freely, you know this. Yet you bite it back. I can see it on the lips. But I will not push such. Just know you never old milk in my eyes. You are the sweetest and freshest I know. And look just as delicious.” He cuffed at the end, a sound she’s learned means 'happiness, enjoyment and fondness’ all rolled into one sound.

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"Another name?  Hm..."  Spoiled lapsed into silence for a while at the suggestion.  It wasn't as if she hadn't considered the matter, but in her experience, it was often hard to get a name one chose for oneself to stick, if everypony already knew you by a former name.  And if she was being honest with herself, one of the reasons she'd been so quick to marry Filthy Rich in the first place was to have an easily-acceptable way to change the context of her name.  "What name would you think best suits me, say, in your own language?"

 

She did have to blush at Niilaavin's compliment, and by this point, she was far distant enough from her old life and anypony who knew of it that she felt more comfortable opening up.  "Charmer~  Well, if you want to know what I really think, I think you're a handsome but rather impertinent young male trying to court a married mare... and doing a most excellent job of it, I must say."  She had to be open with herself first of all about what was going on.  This was a tryst, an affair; even if the intimacy did not go beyond emotional it was outside the bounds of monogamous practice.  But as she'd had little enough of it within said bounds... well.  Niil had been sharp enough to sport the opportunity, and Spoiled was now more than willing to indulge.

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He was rather surprised too be asked such. Naming her in his own language? That was no easy task too do, let alone when one was flying. But seeing her open up more and openly flirt back? That almost took his wings out of the sky. Such a smile, such remarks! It made his titanic ego swell even more with the pride she not only liked having him around, but was fully aware and wanting of his courting. It made that loneliness slip deeper away into nothingness and the purring throb of Laudi-Prrum vibrated his body. “Oh, my RaSha.” He purred. Spoiled can easily change in the word. No longer Rasha, but RaSha. A small shift in the pronunciation with much meaning for his kind. “You bring my heart laudi, do you feel it? It is song with my prrum. And one day I hope to hear yours as well.” He says looking back at her, his feline smile flashing teeth longer than her own legs. Yet not one hint of danger can be seen behind his crescent eyes. He looked at her as one looks on the thing they hold most loved and close. It was affected, simply and honestly. 

 

“Nilrasha…” He murred the word, playing with in his muzzle a moment. “Deeply cute but maybe too on the nose. Halaflora? No.” His eyes moved away from her, looking on ahead as he flys. His mind fully took too the task of naming her. He muttered more names, softly and rumbling. After a moment his ears perked up and he swung his head around. “Jizara, if you will have it. It's… It was the name of a sister. I loved her deeply and wanted… Well. She was incredible. Smart. Cunning. Claws sharper the blade, yet paws so caring to the touch. You are every bit as smart as she was. And just as pretty. If any can carry her name into this worrisome age, you can.” He smiled, more somber this time as his mind danced with memories that seem not so distant, yet happened so impossibly long ago.

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Spoiled ears were by no means so sensitive as a sphinx's, but Niil had put enough emphasis on the difference in tone and pronunciation for her to know that Rasha and RaSha were not the same thing.  The latter, closer, and more intimate, seemed to warm her even against the cooler air of higher altitudes and latitudes.  "I don't know if what I hear or feel is your heart, or the pounding of my own.  It's been so long since anyone made me feel like this."  She smiled back, unafraid of his crescent eyes and sharpened teeth.  This sphinx, this large loving cat... was presenting himself as hers, in a way, giving himself in such a way that she couldn't help but reciprocate, regardless of what bounds or bonds it broke.

 

She snorted a bit at the first suggestion of a name.  "Niilrasha is the sort of thing the tabloids call couples.  Not that I expect we'll be able to prevent that..."  If she did end up moving out with him to the frontier, though, it was unlikely the paparazzi would follow them.  Though she suspected the big cat had his own ways of discouraging hangers-on!

"Jizara..."  She rolled the name on her tongue like a rich floral tea.  It was certainly a regal sounding name, and she was touched by the act of affection it represented.  "You are... a long way from your birth family, aren't you?"  She'd known about him being encased in stone for millennia, but the full weight of what that would actually mean was only now starting to be made clear to her.  "It's a lovely name, and I would be proud to bear it."  Not the only thing she would be proud to bear, if she was being honest, but that would have to wait to see if she could receive a new body to go with her sphinx name.

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“Jizara it is.” He says pulling a more earnest smile to his lips, even if what she asked clearly tugged on him. “I am very far from home. And Not just distance… I willingly keep the distance in truth. I do not wish to cross that sea again and see a land… I do not recognize. I must be honest. I still don’t fully know how long it's been, it’s been that long from my time. I can only piece together details by a few names and places. But even then narrowing it down has been hard. But I think the stone spell was cast on me… Over three thousand years ago. Give or take a hundred or so years. Even too my kind, that is a staggering amount of time.” He flicked his ears down, looking away from her at his path ahead. “Everything I know is gone. Even if some places kept a name, it's not the same. It's not easy to think about and it felt… It was only a few years ago too me. I still remember it all vividly. The places. The faces.” His voice trailed off, resting on the wind and the beating of his big wings. 

 

He didn't know what more to say. He did not want to destroy the happy moment of her joy with his burden. So he was left in a limbo of thought as his mind struggled with memories he didn't want to deal with at the moment. “I’m glad to call you Jizara, know that. I don’t want you to think it hurts me. You can use that name well, and use it with all my blessing. So keep it with pride RaSha-Jizara.” He took in a breath and looked back at her, a warm glint in his eyes of happiness and contentment. “The sands ever change, one must learn to walk the new dunes. As do I learn to walk new times. I have my pride. My den. And maybe… A mate someday. Such is the change the winds bring. One just has to embrace it.”

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Spoiled listen to Niil's lament for lost times with more attention and sympathy than most would have thought her capable of.  It must really be love between them, and she trusted that Cadence herself would assent.  "I won't lie, there's a part of me that wants to say that there's a bright side in being able to make a clean break... but I'm not yet sitting on the opposite end of an unbridgeable gulf between myself and my past."  She may well be about to leap across it, though, if the fortune-teller's words and previews meant anything.

 

The thought was less pleasant than the sound of her new name and title in her mouth.  "RaSha Jizara... I won't lie, it sounds even better than Mayor Rich.  A much more prestigious position.  It may be a while before I'm able to convince other people to use it for me, though.  Perhaps, if that alchemist ever figures out that transformation..."  She left off, not wanting to cruelly raise an unfulfillable hope.

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“I think the clean brake is an amusing idea, and you are not the first to say it to me. Yet I found no such thing to be true. No matter the ‘unbridgeable gulf’ as you put it… The past follows you. I am better than I was the first year. But still some days I wake up and feel completely out of place. Maybe it's because I was not ready for it. Did not ask for it. Maybe if one wants too cut rope it feels different. Maybe not. No matter how far you fly, the land and sea is still here and the stars out of reach.” He found his reply longer than he was thinking it may, yet… It felt proper. He was speaking too himself in a way. No matter how far he may go. His past will still be there. He can’t change it. But he was making peace with it and in a way this was part of that. He was moving on and shedding more what was. 

 

Speaking of moving on… He chuckled out a deep purr at her remarks. “I am glad you love the name. It is pretty, is it not? Much for fitting a name. Even if I do enjoy spoiling.” He chuckled more, his mood glowing with her own. It was hard to linger in darker places when she was around. And such things only reinforced his wish to court her. Even if she was a pony, she gave him a feeling he was missing. One that drove him onwards to courtship in his own way. He may not be a pony and she may not be a sphinx. Yet… He felt relaxed as if she was. And maybe one day she can be. “If. Such a word for this. Yet I wonder if it can be done. Can one be raised to the body of a sphinx? What will it do? Will you gain wings? Magic? Not that it matters, even without wings you’d make for a fine sphinx.” He purred at that, enjoying the idea of her being more his size. As much as he did see her as a fellow sphinx… She was a pony. And that made some things a hint difficult. 

 

He flicked his ears, chuckling as he looked ahead. They had a ways to go yet and some hours of flying. Still he had ways to pass the time. “Jizara, would you like to talk about something? My home, are ways. My dreams for this land? We have much sun left in the sky before I reach the old fort and camp. And I know you enjoy hearing me talk about such things… And if you do become a sphinx I can stand too teach you some more sphinx ways.”

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Was it possible to escape one's past?  Many ponies throughout history seemed to think so, though the ones that made it into the history books self-evidently failed to truly do so.  You'd have to go fast, stay hidden, and not live long enough for it to catch.  Spoiled Rich didn't count any of those three things among her future ambitions, so perhaps Niilaavin had a point there.

 

At least, though, she could leave her name behind, perhaps her species as well.  That begged the idea of what it was like to actually be a sphinx.  And given that she had a wealth of knowledge that she was literally resting upon... "I'd like to know more of your ways.  As a sphinx, how do you see the world differently than most ponies?  And, if I may ask, what was it about me that reminded me so much of your own kind?"  She chuckled at that, "No doubt that last would be a mere recitation of my best features, but I can tell you right now, young cat, there is no female of any species that will not enjoy that!"

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  • 3 weeks later...

He let out a long chuckling purr at what she asked, glancing back at her atop his back. “Very well Jizara. I shall do my best to explain how we are… And why you… Well, you remind me of.” She let out a breath of air and looked on ahead as he fly's. “Your wits. You are cunning, scheming and nimble with thoughts. I see how you navigate around problems and seek ways to sit atop the order. Ponies view such traits poorly I am told. We do not not see them as such. To our kind they are esteemed traits to have and I see such in you. That sharp cunning to out move your target and place yourself where you need to be. You have come far, have you not? And you will go further. But I see more as well. More than a cat's cunning you have a cat's confidence. You do not meek away. Not even to me when we first crossed paths. You looked at me as if I was every inch your size. You spoke to me as if you were every part my equal. You walked with grace, spoke with assurity and power. Some ponies may do one, but falter on the others. Even ones that dislike me and speak such still back away, look down or at others. They show fear when they speak with none. You never did. Not once did you ever act for a moment as if you were not every part my equal in every way.” 

 

He looked down at the passing land. A deep and old forest that seemed to go on until the very end. But in that sea of trees sometimes she can spot small clearings. Sometimes she can see smoke rising from them and shapes that may be buildings. Niil spoke more. “It pulled me in. That personality had a feeling to it. Some call it ego. I call it a birthright. It is a fire that will not be snuffed out. Even when it is just an ember it is ready to roar back into life with kindle. And I offered that fuel. And the ember took it. You took it. No hesitating. Even now that small flame is growing into a fire. And it is beautiful, warm and gives the warmth of a den I lost so long ago. Your body is a pony, but that soul sings of so much more. And the longer I hear the song the more confident I am in what I do. Even now. I do not feel so alone when I walk… or well, fly, alongside you. For once I feel as if I am speaking with my own and not something less.” He moved his head to look back at her with one eye, pulling his cat-muzzle into a smile. “Jizara fits you more than whatever it was. When I look a you… I see more than some prey. You are a fellow hunter at heart. The world is a gift for us and we are made to rule. Do you feel it? You were born to rule, such as I. I know not your bloodline but you must feel that truth. We are not made to bow.”

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