[My Little Brony] Phantom Touch
by @silvergunner (for Illuminations)
***

It was a beautiful day in the land of Equestria, with the sun bathing the entire land and its residents in warmth and light. To many, they had to go around fulfilling their daily tasks like normal, but to others they decided to take advantage of the warm weather. Because it was a Saturday however, many ponies had the day off and were able to go outside and have fun. Including three young mares who had decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to go on an adventure together.

Lugging a sidebag each filled with treats, the three mares made their way across the fields and towards the great Everfree Forest at the edge of Ponyville. The edge of the forest was always a nice place to have a picnic. They hoped that they would have a day of fun together, eating snacks and playing games while at the edge of the forest, in a clearing they had been in many a time before.

The first mare to make it into the forest was a young white unicorn with purple hair. “This sure was a good idea to go on a picnic today, Apple Bloom” she complimented to a yellow Earth Pony. “Not to mention it was really kind of your older sister to give us so many Apple-based snacks and cider” she added.

“Its fine Sweetie Belle. Besides we need the break from our usual duties” Apple Bloom replied. She adjusted her red hair and after sitting down, gazed back at Sweetie Belle. “Well, whenever we do need to do our usually duties, in the rare case that we have somebody we need to help” she added sadly.

Sweetie Belle sighed. The three of them were known to the rest of Ponyville as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and since they had gotten their cuties marks only a few months ago they had been helping out other ponies who had issues with their cutie marks and what it meant to them. However things had settled down in Ponyville since then, and their talents hadn’t been used much. As she passed a bottle of cider to each of her friends and opened one herself, she thought about their purpose in life. Apart from school, they didn’t have much to do.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find ponies to help eventually” an orange Pegasus mare replied. “We go around solving problems, not making them. We’re behind that...” she added, popping open her bottle and raising it to take a swig.

Sweetie Belle was about to say something but suddenly a crack of thunder came from overhead. Scootaloo jumped at the sound of it, spilling her cider all down her front. Sweetie Belle gazed at Scootaloo with a funny look. “You still scared of Thunder, silly mare?” she asked. “I thought you had grown up...” she teased.

Suddenly a downpour of rain happened and Sweetie Belle squeaked as she felt the rain make her hair all soaking wet. Scootaloo grinned, knowing that now that the other two couldn’t complain about her reactions. “We need to find shelter, fast” she said.

“Come on, let’s go find somewhere to shelter then” Apple Bloom replied. The three young mares grabbed their bags and charged out of the clearing further into the forest.

The rain and thunder had made them panic and they were hardly paying attention to which way they were going. Swerving from left to right to avoid puddles of water, they eventually came to another clearing. Sweetie Belle braked suddenly and her two friends did the same. They let out a gasp as they realised they had come across the palace of the two sisters. After pausing for a few minutes, Apple Bloom cleared her throat. “Should we go in there and shelter?” she asked.

“I don’t know, I heard that palace was haunted...” Scootaloo said with a look of worry on her face. “You know, by the Pony of Shadows” she added.

“Oh Scootaloo, that was just Pinkie Pie playing the organ” Sweetie Belle sighed. “Come on, let’s go get sheltered and crack open a fresh bottle of cider each” she said. Her two friends nodded and they made their way across the rickety wooden bridge and into the ruins of the palace.

All was quiet inside the palace, with everything so still if it wasn’t for the thunder outside you could hear a hairpin drop. As the Cutie Mark Crusaders walked slowly into the main hall, they shook themselves to get rid of the water soaking their manes and tails. They stood there in consideration as they gazed at the architecture, the still intact roof shielding them from the thunder and rain outside. Eventually, Scootaloo broke the silence. “So where should we go sit?” she asked.

“Let's head to the library” Sweetie Belle replied. “Rarity always said there were comfy seats in there” she added. Her two friends agreed and they made their way through the long hallways of the castle.

They entered the library and gazed around them at the thousands upon thousands of books stacked on every shelf within reach. Princess Twilight Sparkle had moved most of them to her palace in Ponyville, but still a lot of them remained here. However at that time, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were not interested in books. They were more interested in the food in their sidebags, as they were all quite hungry from their mad dash through the forest.

The three of them pulled their chairs into a circle and sat down. Apple Bloom passed round a slice of Apple Pie each. As they munched away at the sweet treat hungrily, Scootaloo gazed around at the library. “It's hard to imagine that once this place was haunted by a creature in a dark cape... I hope it’s not here still...” she commented.

“Oh Scootaloo, stop being such a chicken!” Apple Bloom said. “There's no such thing as a pony of sh...” she started, but her head spun to her left side when she heard a creak come from behind a shelf. “Girls, look!” she yelled, pointing at the strange thing in front of her.

The ‘thing’ they saw in front of them was wearing a long black cape and standing quite high, almost like it was balancing on its back two legs. It was holding a book but dropped it when it heard Apple Bloom’s voice alert her friends to it. Within a second of being spotted, it turned and dashed away from them.

Scootaloo turned back to Apple Bloom with a grin. “So you were saying I was wrong?” she asked.

“Nevermind that, we need to find out what that thing was!” Sweetie Belle replied. She got up and started dashing after it. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo downed the remains of their Apple Pie in one bite and gave chase as well.

They dashed through the hallways in pursuit of the creature, with even more determination than they had in reaching the castle to begin with. After several minutes of dashing around at speeds close to what the Wonderbolts were capable of, they came towards a dead end. And right in front of them was the creature in question, stuck with no place to go.

As the three mares walked slowly towards the figure, they could see it’s body language was reflecting an emotion of pure terror. It was shaking and pushing its back against the wall, uncertain about what the Cutie Mark Crusaders had planned with it. With the Crusaders just inches away, it panicked, and what happened next had the three mares reeling in surprise.

The figure raised its left front limb in the air. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were surprised not to see a hoof, but a five fingered hand, quite like the ones that Twilight Sparkle had described people having on the other side of the magic portal. An orb of energy suddenly appeared in its open palm and began glowing blue, rather like when a Unicorn began casting an icy spell. However just before the energy orb reached the size of a tennis ball, it faltered and disappeared. Despite the best effort of the creature, it couldn’t gather enough energy to fully cast the spell it had intended to.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were surprised at its action. They didn’t expect it to try and cast a hostile spell on them, and wasn’t sure how to react to the strange creature in front of them. Eventually Scootaloo was the first to speak. “It's okay, we’re not going to hurt you” she said with a smile. She began walking closer towards the figure and nuzzled her cheeks against its leg. “We’re all friendly here” she added.

Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were taken aback by Scootaloo’s sudden act of bravery, and decided to do the same in order to calm the creature down. They moved in close and nuzzled their cheeks against the creatures’ legs. “Everything is going to be okay” they all said together.

The figure was a bit surprised at how forthcoming they were, but began to stop shaking as it began to calm down. Eventually it got the courage to reach its hands down and pat each of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ heads. The mares smiled, knowing they had succeeded in calming him down.

Sweetie Belle looked up at the figure. “So... who are you?” she asked. “What do you look like?” she added.

The figure paused for a moment, twitching a little. The Cutie Mark Crusaders heard it let out a sigh, the first noise it had made since they had first seen it. They watched as it pulled its hood backwards to reveal its head. They were surprised that instead of a pony, there was the face of an Elven creature, a race only seen in dusty old history books of extinct species in Equestria. He looked down at the mares and smiled.

“So you can’t tell us your name” Scootaloo said. “Can you at least show us what you were trying to do just now with your hand?” she asked. “We’re interested as we’ve never seen anything like it before...” she added.

The Elven creature was unsure what the Cutie Mark Crusaders truly wanted, but didn’t want to upset or offend them in case it led to negative repercussions. He waved them away to clear some room for him to attempt casting the spell again. This time, with much less fear inside him, he was able to focus and successfully cast three different elemental spells, one after another. The Cutie Mark Crusaders gazed in awe as they saw shoot from his palm first a wintery blast of ice, then a long burning flame, and finally a crackle of lightning spreading outwards in front of him.

Still pleasantly surprised by the amazing magic show he had just demonstrated, Apple Bloom’s attention had however moved towards the Elven creature’s hand. On it was a symbol that looked rather like a cutie mark. “Hey, is that a Cutie Mark on your hand?” she asked. The Elven creature withdrew his hand and shook his head. “So what is it then?” Apple Bloom asked. She moved back towards the creature and nuzzled her head against its leg again. “Come on, you can tell us” she smiled.

The creature took a deep breath. “It's a symbol of my power, not a cutie mark” he said in a deep masculine voice. “I’m not a pony” he added.

“So what are you? And what’s your name?” Sweetie Belle asked, repeating her earlier questions.

“My name is Shintaru” the Elven creature replied. “I’m... a demon sorcerer” he sighed.

“A demon? Like in the legends?” Scootaloo gasped. “What are you doing here in Equestria?” she questioned.

“I needed to come here, as this is the only place on the planet that has the books I need for my research” he said. “I’m researching magical runes and stones of incredible power, which link to my elemental powers” he added.

“Elemental powers... like those fire, ice, and lightning spells you showed us?” Apple Bloom asked. Shintaru nodded in return. The young earth pony stared at Shintaru’s symbol of power for a few seconds. “So why is you c... symbol of power three feathers arranged in a triangle?” she asked.

Shintaru sighed. “I... don’t really want to talk about it” he replied. “It's my special power, and I find it humiliating” he added.

“Aww, I’m sure it’s not humiliating at all” Sweetie Belle replied. “Plus, you’ve shown us some amazing elemental magic. How can your special power be any less impressive?” she asked.

Shintaru looked around at the three of them. “Its... Tickle Magic” he spat out quickly. As the Cutie Mark Crusaders gazed at him in surprise, he let out another sigh. “I find its insulting and humiliating to both me and my family heritage. The rest of my family were gifted with great elemental magic powers, while I was cursed with this Tickle-Magic” he added.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were quiet for a few minutes as the gravity of what he said sunk in. Elemental magic was one thing, but Tickle-magic was something completely different. Nopony in Equestria had ever used Tickle magic, and considering how delicate tickling was, the three mares were unsure what to think or feel about Shintaru’s unique form of Magic.

Eventually Apple Bloom broke the silence. “That sounds like an amazing skill” she said. “I don’t suppose you’d demonstrate it to us?” she asked.

“Are you kidding?” Scootaloo said to Apple Bloom. “Letting him tickle us?” she added.

“Hey, its harmless, and I’m sure you two both want to see it too?” Apple Bloom asked her friends. They paused awkwardly for a moment before nodding their heads in admission of their curiosity. “So then Shintaru, can you give us a demonstration please?” Apple Bloom asked.

Shintaru shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry girls... but I can’t” he commented. “You should know that tickling is an awkward thing. Plus I don’t like using that magic very much...” he added.

“Oh come on... please?” Apple Bloom pleaded. She got closer to Shintaru and rubbed her cheeks against Shintaru’s leg again. She pushed a little and Shintaru stumbled backwards and fell onto his butt. As he sat on the carpet, Apple Bloom climbed onto him and gave him a really intense, really warm snuggle. Shintaru smiled as he felt the warm snuggle, something he had never received back where he came from. “You’re such a nice person... we’d love for you to demonstrate it for us...” she commented.

Scootaloo decided to give Shintaru some attention too in an attempt to convince him. She moved next to him and reached towards his abdomen. She took her hooves and began rubbing at his belly through his clothes. Shintaru enjoyed the feeling of his belly being rubbed, a feeling of happy warmth spreading through his body as Scootaloo gently rubbed the sensitive spaces on his tummy. “Please Shintaru... You can do it in front of us. We won’t tell anyone...” she offered.

“We promise not to laugh or make fun” Sweetie Belle added. She had gone up so she was next to his face. She kissed him gently on the cheek in a gesture of close friendship, and Shintaru felt her warm muzzle caress his cheek. He smiled, the warm feeling of attention spreading through him in a way completely unfamiliar to him. “We’re your friends now, and you can trust us” she added.

After enjoying so much loving attention from his three new friends, Shintaru’s opinion had changed. If they really didn’t plan to laugh or make fun of his tickle-magic, then there would be no shame in privately showing it off to them, especially if they liked that sort of thing. “Okay then girls, I’ll show you” he replied. “I don’t think this is the right place to do it though...” he added.

The CMCs broke their hug and paused in thought. “Hey, why don’t you come to my house?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I’m pretty sure there’s enough room at my house to show off your tickle-magic in privacy” she added.

Shintaru looked at them all and considered it. He didn’t want to expose himself to the world just yet by showing off his power publicly. However, in one of his new friends’ houses he could be sure they wouldn’t be seen. “Okay, I’ll come along” he replied slowly.

“Yay!” the Cutie Mark Crusaders said as a trio and hugged Shintaru again. Suddenly Apple Bloom had a thought. “I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves” she commented. “My name is Apple Bloom...” she smiled.

“...and I’m Scootaloo...” the orange Pegasus added with a grin.

“...and I’m Sweetie Belle” the white unicorn finished.

“Its... nice to meet you all” Shintaru complimented. “Well, I’m ready to move when you are” he commented to his three new friends. They nodded, and began moving away from the dead end and back towards the library.

After reaching the library, the Cutie Mark Crusaders gathered up their picnic things and put them back in their saddle bags. Slinging them over their flanks, they then made their way through the castle towards the grand entrance, with Shintaru in tow. Once they reached the entrance, they saw to their pleasant surprise that the storm had ceased and it was sunny outside. “Can you feel the sunshine?” Scootaloo asked.

“Does it brighten up your day?” Apple Bloom added. She looked at Shintaru to see him looking around nervously. He nodded quietly. He hadn’t seen sunlight for a long time, having been cooped up in libraries and ancient temples during the day and only moving at night for the past several months. The sun’s warming rays felt strange to him, but gave him a sense of positivity he had missed. “Okay then, let’s get moving” the young earth pony added, and the four walked across the rickety bridge and into the Everfree forest.

Shintaru had thought that the biggest danger to them would have been in the Evergreen forest, what with its multiple unknown regions and the many monsters and creatures even stranger than himself that lurked in the depths of it. But when they reached the edge of the forest and entered Ponyville, Shintaru’s fears began to materialise. All of the ponies around him stared at him with looks of horror and shocked surprise. None of them had seen a creature like him outside of history books, and it felt uncomfortable having such a strange outsider amongst them.

As they entered the town square, Shintaru gazed around him. The town looked really nice and friendly as far as the architecture and small animals moving around were concerned. But the residents gave off a negative feel. Suddenly Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. “Welcome to Ponyville, Shintaru” she said. “It's so glad to have you h...” she started.

“SWEETIE BELLE!” a familiar voice coming from nearby yelled at them. The four of them spun their heads towards the source of the voice and saw a grown up unicorn mare, looking a lot like Sweetie Belle with purple hair and white body, charging towards them. “Where have you been darling?” the mare asked. “You said you would be back by three, and its nearly six” she added.

“You’re in trouble too, Apple Bloom” came the voice of an orange earth pony mare who walked up besides the white mare. “Me and Rarity have been worried sick about you three” she added.

“We last saw you enter the Everfree forest and not come back out” came a third voice, this time from a blue Pegasus mare with multicolour streaked hair hovering above them. “Scootaloo, I know you’re trying to be brave, but you know it’s a bad idea to go in there. Especially with Rarity and Applejack’s sisters” she added.

“No matter what though, we’re glad you’re safe” came a fourth voice, this time of a purple mare that looked like a fusion of a unicorn and a Pegasus. “Your sisters were so worried we were considering a rescue operation” she added.

“We’re sorry we’re late” Apple Bloom sighed. “It's just we spent so much time talking with our new friend...” she added, looking up at Shintaru.

“Yeah, I noticed that... creature... with you” the blue Pegasus replied. “What exactly is it?” she asked, scratching her head with her hoof.

“His name is Shintaru” Scootaloo replied. “He’s a demon sorcerer” she added.

“Did you say demon?” a yellow Pegasus asked, a look of fright on her face. “Oh dear...” she added, no doubt thinking of all the demons she had heard about from the legends about the Everfree forest.

“Whatever Shintaru is, he certainly doesn’t look like he’s from round here, Fluttershy” Applejack commented. “Any ideas, Rarity?” she asked the white unicorn mare.

“Hardly, darling” Rarity said. “I must say his clothes aren’t from round here. They are too... vulgar...” she commented.

“Girls, don’t be so negative” the purple alicorn replied to them all in a loud voice. “Shintaru here must be a good person, after all he didn’t harm the Cutie Mark Crusaders while they were with him” she commented.

“You’re right, Twilight Sparkle” the yellow mare smiled. She walked up close to Shintaru and gazed at him. “I mean, we can’t judge creatures just by their looks. Look at the friendly bears who share my place” she added with a smile.

Twilight Sparkle smiled too and went up to Shintaru. “So Shintaru, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?” she asked him. She got silence in response, as Shintaru’s nerves took over as he felt he was being cross-examined more than anything else. “Okay then... can you tell us about him, Sweetie Belle?” Twilight suggested.

“Sure thing” the young mare replied. As Twilight Sparkle and her friends listened, she went on to tell them all about what Shintaru had told them. About who he was, why he was here, where he came from, and the fact that he had some amazing magical powers. In addition, she told them about how they met him during their misadventure through the Everfree forest.

“So, what magical abilities does he have?” Twilight asked, interrupting Sweetie Belle suddenly. “Any that haven’t been seen before in Equestria?” she added with her voice blooming with excited curiosity.

“Well, he has elemental magic powers” Scootaloo replied. “He can shoot flames, a blizzard, and a bolt of lightning out of his hoof... hand... thing” she explained.

“Not to mention his special talent as well, that Tickle-Magic of his” Apple Bloom blurted out, completely forgetting that Shintaru didn’t want any pony to know about that ability of his.

Shintaru facepalmed as he heard Apple Bloom say this, and dreaded the response the others would give him. His fears came true as he saw their facial expressions change in different ways. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were gazing him with a look of disgust, no doubt thinking that tickling people was a negative thing to do. Fluttershy, Rarity, and a pink Earth Pony however had smiles on their faces, more than likely because they thought tickling was fun or harmless. With an almost split judgement, he looked at Twilight Sparkle who had an expression of deep thought. She seemed to be the most important pony of the six, and her decision would more than likely determine if he was to be received positively in Ponyville or would be exiled from yet another place...

“You know, that’s a pretty interesting talent” Twilight Sparkle said suddenly. “I’ve never heard of it before in Equestria” she added.

“You don’t think it’s weird or humiliating or bad?” Shintaru asked, speaking for the first time while in the company of the six older mares.

“Of course not, no magical talent is humiliating” Twilight smiled. “Sure, we might find it a bit weird, but that’s because we’re not used to that sort of magic here in Equestria” she added. She held out a hoof as a gesture of friendship. “Besides, Tickling is hardly a bad thing. Its harmless fun after all” she added reassuringly.

“Yeah, we thought so too” Apple Bloom said. “I mean, we even asked Shintaru if he could demonstrate it for us sometime, when we got back to Ponyville” she added.

“Demonstrate... his tickling magic...?” Applejack gasped. “Apple Bloom, you seriously plan to let Shintaru here tickle you? I didn’t even know you liked tickling!” she continued, quite shocked at what she had just heard.

“Oh come on, like Twilight said, its harmless fun” Sweetie Belle replied. “Besides, we were just curious, and hoped we could go to my place to test it out” she added.

“I still don’t know about that darling” Rarity sighed. “Tell you what. If I supervise you, I’ll let Shintaru demonstrate his tickling magic in front of you” she added. “I mean, Shintaru seems nice enough...”

Shintaru looked around to see the other ponies begrudgingly agree. Although they were worried about their younger friends and family getting tickled by someone they had only just met, his politeness and good manners had left a good impression on them. After all, the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the past had had worse misadventures, and getting tickled like how kids did to each other at a slumber party seemed harmless enough.

“Thank you all for making me welcome” Shintaru smiled and bowed at them. “I just wish some of the other ponies in this town would be less distrusting...” he added.

“Well, how about we lead you on a tour?” Twilight Sparkle suggested. “You can see what Ponyville is like and we’ll introduce you to the residents” she added.

“Okay then” Shintaru agreed. “Lead the way please” he added.

Twilight Sparkle and the Cutie Mark Crusaders decided to lead the tour, while the rest of Twilight’s friends said they had other things to do before the sun sunk below the horizon. They all parted promising to meet up the next day, and as her five friends left for their respective homes, Twilight started Shintaru’s introductory tour of Ponyville.

Time flew by as Shintaru got his brief tour of Ponyville. The place was much larger than he had imagined. As he feared, ponies were quite scared of his appearance at first, but found that when they saw Twilight Sparkle leading him happily, they seemed to cheer up a lot and be more accepting. They had a lot of respect for her somehow, and Shintaru wasn’t sure why.

“Hey Scootaloo... why has Twilight Sparkle got so much respect here?” he asked. “I mean, she is amazing of course... but everybody seem to revere her in a much more noble light than I expected...” he added.

“Because she’s the Princess of Friendship, silly!” Scootaloo replied.

“Princess?” Shintaru replied quietly, despite appearing taken aback. “Maybe I should have been more respecting and...” he started.

“Oh don’t worry about it Shintaru - I’d rather be treated as a friend than a princess” Twilight interrupted. Shintaru blushed at being heard, but he saw Twilight was smiling in a friendly way at him, so let himself relax. Apart from the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she was certainly the most friendly person he had ever met.

The first place the Cutie Mark Crusaders took Shintaru was Sugar Cube Corner to meet Mr and Mrs Cake, and their two foals. Both were nervous at first, but when Shintaru started speaking they got comfortable with him, even going as far as offering him a free sample cupcake. They left soon after, and with Shintaru munching the sweet and delicious treat, headed straight towards Twilight’s place, located right in the centre of Ponyville.

As they approached the palace, Shintaru was taken aback by the immerse structure of it. Before he could comment on how wonderful and awe inspiring it was, he heard a yell come from near the palace. He gazed towards the entrance and saw a small purple Dragon rush towards them. “Twilight, we need you now, your dinner is getting c...” he started, but then towards Shintaru. “Erm... who’s your friend?” he asked.

“Spike, meet Shintaru” Twilight smiled. “He’s my new friend” she added. That statement made a smile spread across Shintaru’s face - he was being considered a friend by the Princess of Friendship herself...

“Nice to meet you, Shintaru” Spike smiled, and offered a handshake. Shintaru accepted it and both of them smiled at each other. “How about you all come in and join us for dinner? There’s plenty to go round” he suggested.

“Absolutely!” the Cutie Mark Crusaders said together. Shintaru and Twilight looked at each other, and nodded in response. “Follow me then to the dining room” Spike said, and led all of them into the palace.

Dinner consisted of Caesar Salad washed down with non-alcoholic cider. Shintaru enjoyed the taste of the fresh lettuce and cheese within the salad, something that wasn’t common where he came from. Over dinner, he met another pony as well - Starlight Glimmer. She turned out to be one of Twilight’s students, and helped her a lot with research in the palace library.

When Dinner concluded, Twilight walked up to Shintaru. “Would you like to stay over tonight?” she asked. “We can see if there’s any books that relate to your studies in the library in the morning” she offered.

“Yes thank you” Shintaru smiled. “It means I don’t have to sleep outside in the rain again...” he added.

He had expected to have a quiet evening, with plenty of sleep in order to be up bright and early for research. But instead as the night went on, he was too polite to ask to go to bed. Instead he, Starlight, Spike and Twilight sat up all evening, with the two ponies bombarding him with questions about himself. He gave the same answers that he had given the Cutie Mark Crusaders earlier that day, being very careful to not mention anything that was too personal to him. However when they asked him about his abilities, he knew that as they knew about his most embarrassing magical ability, telling them a little more about his other special abilities wouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Before he could tell them about his training and how he got his special abilities, Spike let out a loud yawn before lying on the ground and closing his eyes. Within seconds he was asleep on the floor and snoring. “Its time we all got some sleep” Twilight Sparkle commented, gazing at Spike’s sleeping happily on the ground. “Starlight Glimmer, can you show Shintaru to his room please? I need to take Spike up to his room” she added.

“Sure thing, Twilight” Starlight replied. The three of them who were still awake got up, and Twilight used her magic to carry the sleeping Spike up and out of the room. In the meantime, Starlight had waved at Shintaru, and was now leading him through the palace and into a large, spare bedroom. “Hope you sleep well... we’ve got a lot of research to do in the morning” she smiled, before closing the door behind her.

Shintaru threw himself onto the bed, and fell asleep almost immediately without even stopping to change his clothes or pull the covers over himself. He had an important day the next day, and the more sleep he got the better. He needed to focus, considering there would be a lot of complicated questions he would no doubt be asked.

The next day, Shintaru woke up almost as soon as the sun rose over Ponyville. Although he was still tired, he wanted to get to researching in the library as soon as possible. Heading downstairs, he saw that Spike was brewing coffee for all of them. After accepting a mug from him, he headed straight to the library to start his work.

He was surprised by the immense collection of books that Twilight Sparkle’s library held, and after a few minutes of searching found a section dedicated to the various artifacts of Equestria. Within an hour, he was surrounded by books about gemstones and objects marked with runes.

A few hours after he had started work, both Twilight and Starlight entered the library together to join him. “Good morning, Shintaru” Twilight said to him happily. She noticed the pile of books around him. “I see you got to work early?” she queried.

“Yeah, I found the books I needed to start researching what I need to know” Shintaru replied. “I imagine you’re getting ready to expand your knowledge too?” he asked.

“Yes, but not by books” Starlight said. “We’d like you to talk about your powers” she added.

Shintaru took in a deep breath. “Well, magic flows through my family line, but it has to be awakened first. That can only be done through intense training and exhausting and painful physical trials” he said. “Because I paid my dues in pain and suffering though, I’m able to use elemental magic” he added.

“Can you maybe give us a demonstration?” Twilight Sparkle asked. Shintaru nodded, then went on to demonstrate his three elemental powers in front of the princess and her assistant. “That was amazing” Twilight complimented when his demonstration was finished. “But what about your tickle-magic?” she asked.

“That was bestowed upon me by my brother out of his jealousy” Shintaru sighed. “Its more of a curse than anything else...” he added.

Before Twilight could ask more, a crash was heard coming from the hallway. “My bad” came a familiar voice. As Shintaru and the two mares gazed towards the doorway leading into the hall, they saw a grey Pegasus mare with ruffled hair walking in. “Special delivery for... Shintaru?” she commented, before holding a hoof out with a letter addressed to him.

Shintaru walked over and took the envelope. “Thank you... who are you?” he asked.

“Derpy Hooves, number one courier in Ponyville” the grey Pegasus smiled. “Well, I’ve gotta deliver more parcels. Sorry about the door” she added, before wandering off out of the castle quickly.

While Twilight groaned and commented she’d have to fix the door with her magic later, Shintaru ripped open the envelope and read it. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo have invited me to a... Slumber party?” he read aloud.

“That’s great news” Twilight Sparkle smiled. “No doubt you’re gonna go along?” she asked.

“I’m not sure... I’ve never been invited to a party of any sort before...” he added.

“Then make it your first” Starlight Glimmer suggested. “Twilight showed me how friendship is important, and if the CMCs are kind enough to invite you to their place, its good that you acknowledge their friendship and accept.”

Shintaru paused and thought about the situation for a moment. He then nodded. “Okay, I’ll set off later tonight and attend the slumber party” he smiled.

“That’s good” Twilight smiled. “In which case, we’ll help you with your research so you can get to the party with time to spare” she offered.

The rest of the day went quickly as the three of them researched gemstones and runes in the library for Shintaru. When the time came for Shintaru to leave for the slumber party, he had gained a better knowledge of what he was looking for exactly, yet still not the precise information he wanted. It was a good start though, and he didn’t regret spending the hours in the library with Twilight and Starlight. Not just because of their help, but because of the warmth of their friendship they were showing towards him.

The Slumber Party was been held at Rarity’s combined house and boutique, where her younger sister Sweetie Belle also lived. As he approached the building, Shintaru felt slightly anxious over what he would experience while in there. It was his first party, and he was unsure how he would handle it. However, he decided even if it wasn’t that great, he would just bluff his way through it, and knocked twice on the door and waited to be let in.

The door swung open and he was surprised to see Spike there. “Oh hi Shintaru, you’re just in time” he smiled. “Rarity is getting supper set up while Sweetie Belle is sorting out the stuff needed for the party for us six” he added.

“So that’s me, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rarity... and you’re joining too, Spike?” Shintaru asked. Spike nodded happily. “Looks like this might be a good party then” Shintaru replied. Spike agreed and led Shintaru into the house, shutting the door behind them.

Inside the house, Spike led Shintaru through the shop floor and up a flight of stairs to the living area. The entire lounge had the furniture moved around to allow an area for the six of them to party and sleep that evening. On the floor were sleeping bags and fluffy pillows. On a nearby table was a large array of party snacks and drinks.

Shintaru suddenly spotted something next to the table. He walked over towards them and picked them up. To his surprise they were feathers, each a different colour of the rainbow. “These are...” he started.

“For the demo you promised” came the voice of Apple Bloom. He spun around and saw the Cutie Mark crusaders walking towards him. “We thought it would be great to have a tickling party instead of a pillow fight at this slumber party” she added.

Shintaru didn’t reply, but instead just nodded. A nervous smile spread across his face - he was cornered, and knew he had to reveal the true extent of his powers to his new friends that very evening.

Within less than an hour of Shintaru arriving at the house, the party was in full swing. Music was playing off a record player in the corner, drinks and snacks were plentiful, and all of the attendees were sitting around talking. Shintaru, normally quite the nervous one, found himself happily talking to the others. His new friends the Cutie Mark Crusaders certainly had a positive effect on him as he began to feel more confident now that he felt like he fit in with them.

After the first record finished playing 79 minutes of DJ Pon3’s greatest hits, the CMCs turned to Shintaru. “So, we were hoping you’d show us your talent for tickling tonight, Shintaru” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yeah, I bet its amazing fun” Sweetie Belle added. “I’m pretty sure all of us will like it” she added.

“I don’t think so” Spike butted in, looking a little concerned. “I mean, its tickling. That’s not exactly an experience you’d want to have, even if it is harmless” he commented.

“Oh come on Spike” Scootaloo sighed. “Its just a bit of harmless tickling that makes you laugh. Surely that can’t be a bad thing?” she commented.

“It is if you finding tickling uncomfortable. I’m not into that sort of weird stuff” Spike countered.

Shintaru looked at them all bickering. He began to feel uncomfortable, not just because the implications of his magical powers were being discussed, but also because his friends were raising their voices. He hated arguments. However, his exposure to this bickering was soon to be limited as a sound of a mare clearing her throat was heard. He looked over and saw that Rarity was standing there before them all. “Girls... Spike... that’s enough arguing” she said to them all. “Spike sweetheart, I’d never let anyone harm you. I’d never let anyone harm any of the girls either” she said. “Will you stop if we ask you, Shintaru?” she asked their guest.

“Of course... I wouldn’t want to harm any of you at all” Shintaru responded.

“That’s good then” Rarity smiled. “So then, who’s gonna go first?” she asked the group.

“I think Spike should go first!” Sweetie Belle said. “I’m pretty sure he’s the most ticklish, considering how he’s worried about a few feathers...” she added.

“Erm, no thanks” Spike said, backing away. “I’m not sure I want this. I mean... I’m not even ticklish!” he added.

“Oh Spike dear, I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine and you’ll enjoy it” Rarity said to him with a smile on her face. “Let's get started” she added, and her horn began to glow.

Before Spike could respond to this, a magic aura surrounded it. Rarity smiled as she used her unicorn magic to levitate the little dragon over towards Shintaru. As soon as he was within a metre of the Elven demon, she dropped him on the ground gently. Before he could move, the CMCs had pounced on him. Scootaloo held his hands above his head while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pinned down his legs onto the ground.

Spike looked terrified as he saw Shintaru walk towards him. “Please... no... I don’t want to be tickled!” he yelled.

“Rarity is right, this won’t hurt” Shintaru smiled. He opened his right hand and a magic aura radiated from it. He flicked his hand around and in synchronism with his wrist movements three feathers levitated in front of him under his control. Normally he felt he would be embarrassed and ashamed to be showing off his tickling magic, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders had given him the confidence he needed to test it on his first subject, Spike the dragon...

Spike wriggled around trying to break free, but was unable to overcome the might of the three Cutie Mark Crusaders pinning him to the ground as a trio. He gazed in horror as he saw the three feathers approach him, worried that they would find his ticklish spot and embarrass him by making him laugh uncontrollably. His struggles however came to a sudden end when the feathers rubbed against his tubby belly.

Shintaru decided to find Spike’s ticklish spot by testing a few common locations. He began by rubbing his feathers against the little dragon’s tubby belly. Within seconds, Spike was trying his best to hold back giggles. However this was to no avail as he began giggling, his ticklish spots lightly brushed by the feathers. Shintaru continued to tickle Spike’s belly and the little dragon’s stream of hearty laughter increased dramatically.

While the feathers were busy tickling Spike’s stomach, Shintaru decided to see if Spike’s feet were just as sensitive. He stroked his long fingers against the dragon’s feet, and heard Spike’s laughter become uncontrollable. The dragon stopped struggling against the Cutie Mark Crusaders as the tickling overcame him completely. His smooth scaly toes and soles were just as ticklish as his belly was, and Shintaru smiled as he saw his magic working just as he had imagined.

A few moments passed as Spike continued to be tickled by Shintaru. Feeling that he was unlikely to struggle any further now he was overwhelmed by the tickling sensation, the Cutie Mark Crusaders decide to release their grip and go watch from the side along with Rarity. However, only a few seconds after the grip on him had been released, Spike used the last of his resistance to try and get away from Shintaru as fast as he could.

Rarity saw suddenly that Spike was about to get away, and her horn glowed as she cast a telekinetic spell. Spike felt himself pinned to the ground once again while continuing to be tickled, and looked above to see Rarity gazing down at him. “Rarity... why?” he blurted out between loud laughs.

“Oh Spikey-wikey, can’t you handle this?” Rarity asked in a seductive voice. “I thought such a hunky, brave dragon as yourself would be able to bear this quite easily. Especially for me...” she added.

“You think I’m... hunky?” Spike asked.

“Of course, you’re my favourite little dragon” Rarity giggled. She reached out a hoof and patted him on the head. “So, think you can handle it, for me?” she asked.

“Anything for you Rarity...” Spike replied dreamily in-between his uncontrollable laughs.

“That’s my Spike” Rarity said in a half motherly, half seductive tone. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. She then stood up and turned to Shintaru. She walked over to him to whisper in his ear. “Spike’s most sensitive spot is underarms” she revealed, with a wicked grin spreading across her face.

“Understood” Shintaru replied, a grin spreading across his face. He stopped tickling the little dragon’s feet, and moved around so he was close to Spike’s head. He reached both of his hands beneath Spike’s underarms, and began scratching at his sensitive spots there. What happened next confirmed Rarity’s statement, and surprised even Shintaru.

Spike’s laughter increased to dramatic levels, even higher than the volume setting of the music player earlier that evening. His face turned pink and his mouth curved into a big smile none of the ponies had ever seen him express before. His body began wriggling, not in an attempt to escape, but from feeling extreme happiness flowing through his system. From what Shintaru could see, it was almost as if Spike had experienced an orgasm from all the tickling.

At that point, Shintaru felt that Spike had taken enough tickling for now. He withdrew his hands from the little dragon’s armpits and made the feathers float away from Spike’s green stomach. Rarity released him from her telekinetic lock, and Spike laid down on the floor, his giggling decreasing in volume as the tickling sensation left him.

Eventually his laughter paused, and he looked up at Rarity. “Did I... do good?” he asked.

“You did, my brave little Spikey-wikey” Rarity smiled. She leaned down and kissed him on the head again, and Spike’s smile grew wider. He didn’t respond however, as he closed his eyes and within moments he was snoring. “Looks like all that tickling took it out of him” Rarity said to Shintaru. She used her magic to float Spike up off the floor and onto a nearby sofa for him to rest.

Shintaru diverted his attention from Spike to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were standing there in stunned surprise, unsure what to think about what they had just seen. Eventually Scootaloo was the first to speak “That... was... Awesome!” she commented.

“Yeah, sure looked like a lot of fun” Apple Bloom said. “Plus, I never knew a dragon could laugh so much” she added.

“I really wish Shintaru could try it on me next” Sweetie Belle commented. “However, I’m unsure if Rarity will allow it...” she added.

“Oh I think its perfectly fine” Rarity smiled. “In fact Shintaru, how about you tickle all three of the girls next?” she suggested.

“I’d be happy to” the Elven wizard smiled. He looked at all three Cutie Mark Crusaders in front of him and pondered. “Rarity can’t hold all three of you down at once, so I might have to resort to another spell that’s common to tickle-magic, but I’ve never used before...” he suggested.

“Well, go ahead and try it, and I’ll tell you to stop if its too much” Rarity replied.

“Okay, let’s do it then” Shintaru smiled. He raised other hand and a green light began emitting from it. Suddenly everyone in the room felt the ground begin to shake. To their shocked surprise, the floor beneath them burst open, and out of a hole in the floorboards slowly rose several long tentacles. All of them were green and very slimy, and moved around in response to Shintaru’s hand motions.

While the Cutie Mark Crusaders were still staring in surprise at the strange tentacles in front of them, quite like those which they had seen during the crisis of the Tree of Harmony a few years ago, Shintaru had flicked his wrist towards his targets. Suddenly one tentacle each wrapped itself around the waist of each of the young mares, and upon gripping them gently but firmly, lifted them into the air above the ground. 

“What are you doing?” Rarity asked, still gazing at the tentacles in awe.

“I figured these three would have more energy than Spike, so these tentacles should keep them held steady in the air while I demonstrate my magic on them” Shintaru replied. He diverted his gazed towards the three cutie mark crusaders. “So girls, how ticklish are you all?” he asked them.

“I don’t think I’m that ticklish” Apple Bloom said. “What with working on the farm and all, I’ve pretty resistant to tickly plants and the like” she added.

“I’m not ticklish at all” Scootaloo countered. “I’m brave and bold like Rainbow Dash” she added, quoting the name of the Pegasus she looked up to.

“Well I certainly am, Shintaru” Sweetie Belle admitted. “At Slumber parties I’m always the one who enjoys getting tickled by Scootaloo and Apple Bloom the most” she added.

“Well then, its time to see if you are all been truthful or not” Rarity replied. “Shintaru, start when you are ready” she said to him.

“Sure thing” Shintaru smiled. Using his hand to control their movement, he levitated a feather over to each of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Aiming for their stomachs, he began tickling away with each feather, similar to how he had done so with Spike.

He got different reactions from each of the mares. Sweetie Belle, who had earlier confessed she was very ticklish, had burst into laughter within seconds of the feather touching the side of her tummy, without even trying to hold it back.

Scootaloo on the other hand was staying quiet, obviously attempting to tough it out. Shintaru decided to try a different spot, and moved the feather from the side of her belly up to her bellybutton. As soon as he began tickling there, Scootaloo let out a squeal of laughter.

Apple Bloom on the other hand, true to her statement, wasn’t very ticklish and Shintaru’s feathers weren’t having much of an effect on her. He decided in order to make her laugh he had to escalate things slightly.

He moved the feathers away from the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ bellies and up against their rear hooves. He tickled them gently before speeding up slightly in order to see if he could get an even better reaction than he had from tickling their tummies. He was pleased to see that there was.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were now bawling in laughter as their hooves were brushed by the feathers. Apple Bloom’s resistance was dropping by the moment, and even now she was letting out light giggles from the sensation of having her hooves tickled. Shintaru however was determined to make Apple Bloom laugh as much as her peers, and moved towards her. He took a hand and outstretched his fingers, before rubbing them against her belly and sides while the feathers continued to tickle away at her hooves. It made her crack slightly and she started letting out small laughs from the tickling sensation.

While Apple Bloom was getting tickled like this, Scootaloo struggled against the tentacle holding her, and it slid against the base of her wings. She bucked in vain and laughed even more when that happened. Shintaru didn’t fail to notice this, and he summoned an extra tentacle from under the floor. He directed it to tickle at Scootaloo’s wing base, and smiled as he heard her laugh even more.

Remembering that Spike had especially sensitive armpits, Shintaru decided to see if the Cutie Mark Crusaders were the same. He moved around them, directing one hand to Sweetie Belle’s right armpit on his left, and Apple Bloom’s left armpit on his right. He began scratching away gently underneath, attempting to stimulate the ticklish nerves at that spot. In the meantime, he moved the feathers tickling those two’s hooves to Scootaloo, and had one feather scrubbing her hoof, one her belly, and a third to her armpit as well.

It was too much for Apple Bloom, and finally her resistance to the tickling was broken. She burst into uncontrollable laughter like her two friends before her, and was joined by them with even more laughter. It seemed that all three young mares were especially ticklish under their armpits. Sweetie Belle especially was screaming in laughter due to the extreme amount of tickling she was experiencing. Scootaloo’s cheeks had turned Rosy with laughter as for her the tickling fun had been tripled. Shintaru himself chuckled as he had his three new friends giggling in happiness around him.

As he continued to subject the Cutie Mark Crusaders to more tickling torture than they could bear, Shintaru suddenly noticed there was more than three ponies in the room giggling. He turned his head and saw that Rarity was giggling as well as she watched the three younger mares get tickled. “Something funny?” he asked nicely.

“Your talent is pretty amazing and quite amusing” Rarity replied. Seeing Shintaru’s face drop as he thought about how he thought his talent a joke, Rarity quickly injected “...in a good way” to ease his worry.

“What do you find the most amusing about it?” Shintaru asked. He looked up and saw that Scootaloo was trying to break free due to the armpit scratching he was giving her. He used his abilities to tighten the tentacle’s grip around her to keep her steady in one place.

“Its great to see the girls laughing so much” Rarity giggled. She looked up to see Sweetie Belle breathing out begs for mercy as she continued to be tickled. “I mean, you’re not hurting them and they seem to be having a great time” she added.

Shintaru nodded then turned his attention back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He noticed they were laughing almost as much as Spike was before the little dragon’s face had turned pink earlier. He decided it was worth pulling out his final tickling trick in order to finish their experience off with a climax of laugher from them all.

He walked towards Scootaloo first and leaned down over her stomach. He blew raspberries into it, giving a tickling sensation unlike anything she had felt before. Her laughter became deafening as after 30 seconds of raspberries she hit her tickle climax. Her body stopped struggling and her face turned pink as her smile turned from one of simply laughter to one of actual pleasure. Like Spike earlier, she had reached her tickle climax.

Seeing how this had made Scootaloo so happy, Shintaru decided to repeat the same with the other two mares. Sweetie Belle took only a few seconds of raspberries before she hit her tickle climax, while Apple Bloom took a little bit longer at 40 seconds. Shintaru was happy to see he had made all three of the cutie mark crusaders happy as they giggled in their tickling climax.

After he had finished all of this, he could see clearly all three Cutie Mark Crusaders were an even more extreme state of giggling that Spike had ever been. Feeling tired from using all of his magic power and knowing that he really couldn’t push the Cutie Mark Crusaders any further, he decided to leave it there for the evening.

He stepped back and let his hands fall away from the three. He then ceased his control over the feathers and let them float down to the ground gently. Finally, he used his other hand to control the tentacles, moving the Cutie Mark Crusaders over to the sofa and releasing them gently onto it. He then ceased his control over the tentacles and they sunk below the floor again. Noting that the shop floor was still damaged, he used the last of his available mana and repaired the floor with a simple enchant spell he had learned from his research in the past few days.

It took several minutes for everyone to recover and stop laughing from the mass tickling that Shintaru had delivered. Soon though the Cutie Mark Crusaders got up one by one and went over towards Shintaru. They nuzzled him like they had back when they first met him, only this time it felt more comfortable to Shintaru. As Sweetie Belle got up last and walked over, she became the first to speak. “Thank you so much for that, Shintaru!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, that was the most fun we’ve had all week” Apple Bloom complimented, giggling. “You deserve a big hug for all that” she added.

Suddenly Shintaru felt himself get knocked back onto the couch with all three Cutie Mark Crusaders on top of him. They moved up his body and hugged him tightly around his torso in a gesture of their appreciation. They hugged him so hard that he felt himself almost be crushed by their grip on him. He never knew that hugs could be so tight they could kill...

When the girls finally released Shintaru, he breathed in and out deeply to recover from the hug. Rarity suddenly came up to him and smiled. “You did good tonight, darling” she said with a smile. “In fact, even better than I imagined you could” she added.

“What do you mean?” Shintaru asked. “I just used my magic like how its supposed to work...” he added.

“Precisely why you were so great” Rarity smiled. “You demonstrated your skills despite your fears of humiliation, and they came to good use in making this slumber party one of the best I’ve seen” she said. She then gestured towards the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “I think the girls here agree as well” she added.

“It was fantastic” Apple Bloom smiled. “No doubt the most fun tickling session I’ve ever received” she added.

“I agree” Scootaloo smiled. “It was especially funny seeing Spike getting tickled first” she included.

“Yeah, you’ve gotta do it again sometime” Sweetie Belle smiled. “Can Shintaru come around again for another slumber party, Rarity?” she asked her sister.

“Of course he can” Rarity smiled. “In fact, considering how good care he took of you and how he made your evening so much fun, I can’t see why he can’t come and foalsit you three while I’m at evening events” she suggested.

“I’ll be happy to take care of my three friends while you’re busy, Rarity” Shintaru replied.

“In which case, I’ll be sure to ask you first if I need you to take care of these three” Rarity replied happily. The Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded in happy agreement.

The rest of the evening passed quickly with them talking, eating snacks, and drinking soda. Eventually they became too tired to continue and got into the sleeping bags around the floor. The Cutie Mark Crusaders fell asleep quickly, tired from their tickling experience, but Shintaru lay awake for a while thinking. That day things had escalated and he had tested out his tickle-magic for the first time, on his new friends. He had gained new self confidence and was no longer ashamed to use his abilities, as he now knew what they could be useful for. He fell asleep, feeling more positive about the future despite wondering what exactly could happen to him next.

The next day, Rarity and Shintaru had left the house early after eating breakfast with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They headed to Twilight’s Castle for the Mane Six’s usual mid-morning meet-up with Twilight Sparkle. As they entered the grand hall where they discussed things, they noticed that besides the chairs for the Mane Six, Spike, and Starlight, there was an extra chair pulled up especially for Shintaru. Being polite, he and Rarity sat at the table and waited for their friends to join them.

An exhausted looking Spike wandered in and plopped himself on his chair. “You could have waited for me to tag along” he said in their direction grumpily, before turning to face the door. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie entered one by one and took their seats around the great table. Finally Starlight Glimmer came down, followed by Princess Twilight Sparkle herself.

Twilight didn’t take long to get to the topic of Shintaru. “Rarity, what do you have to report on Shintaru’s powers?” she asked the white unicorn.

“Well, during the slumber party he tested out his tickle-magic on the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike” she said. “All of them enjoyed it, and he was quite gentle. I’d happily trust him with them” she added.

“That’s good” Twilight Sparkle replied. “We’ll help you with your research later today Shintaru” she added, turning to look at him.

The rest of the talk of the meeting was about the general goings-on around Ponyville and what implications there was of The Crystalling that had taken place a few weeks before. Eventually as the clock struck noon, the group departed to continue on their usual daily tasks elsewhere.

When it was just Twilight, Starlight and Shintaru left in the hall, Twilight cleared her throat again. “Shintaru, we’d like you to help with an experiment we are running” she said. “We’re interested in how your tickle-magic combines with your elemental magic, and we’d like to learn it from you by running a little experiment” she said.

“What did you have in mind?” Shintaru asked. He was a little concerned at what they wanted, but after last night he felt comfortable around the ponies and didn’t mind showing off his abilities.

“We’d like you to test out your abilities on the other ponies who attended today’s meeting, without telling them yet” Twilight said. “We need to see how the tickle-magic effects adults, and do it under lab conditions for scientific analysis” she added.

Shintaru was a bit nervous at Twilight’s serious tone. Deep inside he wondered what would happen next to him, why they wanted to know more about his powers, and - most importantly - who was to be the first of the Mane Six to be tickled.

- The End -