"I take you in, and you spend all my damn money and make a mess out of my house!"

There are tears in her eyes now. She screams, "I hate you, Ivan! You're so bucking selfish! Why can't you ever think about anyone but yourself?!"

"Hahaha. Now, isn't the pot calling the kettle black?"

She looks into the kitchen where a pot is sitting on the ground, probably knocked over from all the ruckus. For a second, you think she's going to throw it you. Instead, she bolts out the front door in a streak of rainbow.

You run out after her. All she is now is just a speck in the sky.

"Yeah, and good riddance to you too!" you scream. Your eyes start to water, but you fight it back. Not a tear will be shed for that inconsiderate little prick.

Ponies are looking at you now. Angry and a bit embarrassed, you slam the door shut. You just want to be alone.

You walk back to the couch and look around the room. Yours and Rainbow's crap is scattered everywhere. You begin cleaning up, placing your belongings back in their places and throwing all of hers in a haphazard pile by the door. During your cleaning, you happen upon a rolled-up paper on the ground, likely a poster. You unroll it and are presented with a large, flashy picture of the Wonderbolts. Your heart feels like a lead weight as memories, brought to mind by the image, flash through your mind.

A soft tapping echoes through the empty house, breaking you from your thoughts. Sighing, you toss the poster in the pile with the rest of Rainbow's stuff as you go to see who's at your doorstep.

Without checking to see who's there, you inch the door open. A little pink maned, butter yellow pegasus stands at your doorstep.

"H-hi Ivan... May I come in?"

You don't really feel like talking to anyone, Fluttershy being no exception... You're about to tell her you're busy, but a lump in your throat makes it difficult. You take a glance back into your livingroom, and again you're hit by a fresh wave of anger, sadness, and a thousand other things wrapped up in a whirlwind of emotions.

Realizing you could use a break from your thoughts, you dedice to invite Fluttershy inside.

"Sure, come in."

After some adjusting of the cushions, you both settle down on your couch.

She surveys the damage that has been done to this room alone. "Wow."

"Yeah," you concur, "wow."

"So it's really that bad, huh?"

You mutter, "Oh, you don't know the half of it..."

A pause. "So..." Upon catching your gaze, Fluttershy shifts a little. "I know you may not be in the mood to listen right now, but... Well, are you in the mood to listen?"

For the first time in what seems like a while, you genuinely smile. "Sure."

She smiles nervously, as if unsure of what she's about to say. "Okay, good. Just... can you promise me something?"

You raise an eyebrow. "Sure. Uhm, promise what, exactly?"

Her eyes dart around the room for a second, as if someone were listening. "I have something to tell you, but you can't tell anyone I said this. Especially not Rainbow Dash. Okay?"

She has your interest now. "Alright. Deal."

She sighs. "Okay, so have you noticed Rainbow acting a little, funny, lately?"

"You mean besides being a little b-"

"That, among other things."

You nod. "Yeah. I mean, she's never exactly been the most polite pony, but recently it seems like she's been trying to get on my nerves." You shake your head. "We used to get along so well together, too. I still blame the whole Wonderbolts fiasco."

"Maybe that's part of it..." Fluttershy hums thoughtfully. "You know, she was really excited to move in with you. This probably sounds weird, but it was almost as if she was happy about what happened to her house. After everything that happened, this was the one good thing that came out of it. For her, at least."

"Okay," you say, feeling a little bad about what you were about to call the cyan pegasus, "So what are you getting at?"

She twiddles her hooves. "I guess I'm just trying to help you understand what she's thinking... She's not trying to doing this on purpose."

You pinch the bridge of your nose. "I know, I know... Look, I get it. It's terrible what happened, and I tried my best to help her. This isn't easy, you know; she's my best friend!" You groan. "I just can't deal with this!" You gesture to the wreck that's become of your home.

"I understand that. You've been patient with her beyond what most ponies would put up with, and as a friend who deeply cares about the both of you, I appreciate that." She looks you in the eye. "That's not what I'm getting at, though."

You raise an eyebrow. "Okay, then what is it?"

"I- Let me put it this way. You know that Rainbow cares about you, right?"

You give a reluctant grunt, but agree.

"...And the longer you know someone, the more you care about them?"

"Go on."

"...And sometimes those feelings grow into something different."

Silence hangs in the air. Despite her funny, roundabout way of saying it, her meaning hits you hard and clear.

Not to say it's not a bit... incredulous. "Are you serious? She's into me?"

She gives a slow nod.

"Buh... what? She's spent, like, the past month terrorizing me! How does any of this make sense?"

Fluttershy shifts a bit. "She has a funny way of showing things. She was probably trying to get your attention, but just didn't know how."

In a strange way, it does make sense. Dash has never exactly been the touchy-feely type, always becoming embarrassed in the face of anything the slightest bit emotional. Hell, she could hardly admit to being your friend for at least a month after the two of you started hanging out.

Added to the growing maelstrom of emotions welling within you is guilt. You just inadvertently shot down the closest pony to you, in perhaps the worst way possible.

"Ugh... I feel a headache coming on."

"It's a lot to take in," she says, nodding. There's a quick pause, before you feel a warm body press against yours and two forelegs wrap around your midsection. You almost smile, returning the gesture.

"Thanks, Flutters," you say, smoothing out her mane. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"You're welcome, Ivan," she says, welcoming the gesture of approval.

The two of you sit there for a moment in silence. Somewhere in the hallway a clock ticks away, a constant reminder of the task now ahead of you.

After a bit, you break the hug. "So, I'm gonna be out of here in a minute. Catch ya later?"

"Sure thing, Ivan."

She hops off the couch and heads towards the door.

"Fluttershy?" you say as she's about to step outside.

She stops and looks over her shoulder. "Yes?" she asks, big blue eyes blinking innocently.

"Drop the candle."

"Wh-Wha?" She taps her hooves on the ground nervously. "I don't know what you're--"

"Not gonna ask again. Drop it."

She squeaks, then shakes her head. A single candlestick falls out of her mane.

"And the bits."

She does some maneuvering with her cheeks, and one, two, three, four coins fall out of her mouth and land in a neat pile.

"..."

"Sorry Ivan."

"It's fine. Just don't take anything else."

She blushes and nods, then steps out the door and closes it behind her.

How does she do it? You wonder.

You shake your head, then reach into your pocket for a sucker. You really need a sucker right now.

Your eyes widen in realization. No suckers.

You jump up with a start, run up to the front door, and fling it wide open. You step out onto your front porch and frantically look around.

No sign of Fluttershy.

"Celestia's meaty fucking-- How does she do it?!"

----------

It's a bit later in the day. After Fluttershy's little visit, you took a nap to clear your mind. You walk through town now, on the lookout for the rainbow maned pegasus.

It's possible she skipped town, at least for a little while. It's happened before, over lesser things than this. Even so, you're placing your trust on the off chance that she's still here.

A half hour into the search, and you haven't found her. You decide to take a break and sit down at a park bench, quite disappointed with the results of your efforts.

You need to talk to her, but she's nowhere to be found. You look to the sky. It's afternoon now, maybe around five-ish. The sun will be setting soon. When it does, you'll have no choice but to call it a day.

What a way to spend your weekend. Paying bills, arguing with your best friend who seems to have spent half of your paycheck on booze and pointless crap, then going on a fruitless search for her once you realize why she's acting this way.

Maybe you should just go home. You've wasted so much time looking for her already. She might not even be ready to forgive you, and talking to her will just make it worse--

Your thoughts are interrupted by a sobbing coming from above. The source of the sound happens to be a cloud with a light blue hoof sticking over the edge.

"Rainbow?" you call without thinking.

The crying stops, and Rainbow's head peeks over the edge of the cloud. Her wide eyes reveal themselves to be bloodshot, but the tears are quickly blinked away and her eyes narrow into slits.

"What do you want?"

Her response nearly causes you to lash out at her again, but you manage to bite your tongue and do what you came here to do. "I want to say I'm sorry."

She's clearly taken aback. "You're sorry? I spent, like, half your money on pointless shit, and there's no way I'm gonna be able to pay you back! I trashed your house, which you may not even be able to afford anymore because of me, and now you're apologizing?"

You chuckle. Despite still having qualms about the whole thing, hearing her admit that cools you down a bit. "The house was already a mess anyways. As for money issues, I get a welfare check from the government every month for taking in a national hero. And even though it's not nearly enough to pay off what I've lost, I still have some very good friends that I know will support me financially, seeing what I'm--er, we're going through." You smile warmly. "Friends help each other. So why don't you come on down, and we can drink some of that cider you bought. Just like old times."

She sniffs. "You hate drinking. You always watered everything down whenever we went out drinking..."

You smirk. "Well, I can't say you haven't rubbed off on me a bit. We'll seal our truce with some of that--what was it called? Angry Orchard?"

"Angry Apple."

"Right. Some of that. I'm willing to put this all behind us if you are. Come on, Dashie."

You hold out a hand. She smiles and wipes her eye, then flies down to take your hand. Together, you walk home.

----------

"Ahh, pony feathers." You shudder as the lovely poison runs down your throat, burning the whole way down. "I remember why I used to hate drinking now."

"No orange juice yet! You gotta take one more shot! That's the rules!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." You look down at the last shot glass, your third one tonight. You brace yourself, then down the hatch it goes.

You gag a bit, then comment, "I didn't know cider came that strong. Now where the buck is my orange juice?"

"Here ya go, champ," she says, sliding over some Sweet Apple Acres old-fashioned, lightly sweetened non-alcoholic cider.

"Not what I asked for, but thanks," you reply, chugging it down enough to get the taste out of your mouth.

Dash really likes cider, it seems. She's had her fourth shot, and she's not even a little tipsy. She bends over, pulls a bottle of the stuff out from under the table, and starts chugging.

You shake your head. "Y'know, I'm starting to think five-hundred bits worth of alcohol won't be enough for tonight."

She slams down the empty bottle. "You're right! We should go get more!"

You know she's joking, and you both laugh heartily. You've stopped being mad at her, and hot-headed as she is, she's fairly forgiving.

It seems things may go back to normal.

Or, almost.

"Hey, Rainbow, I was thinking," you say, setting down your bottle, "before I get too drunk. I should pull out my guitar, maybe play some--oh, what about some songs from Earth? I know you used to like those."

She's in the middle of salvaging the very last drop by holding the empty bottle over her open mouth, tongue lolled out. Upon hearing you, however, she slowly lowers the glass container while eyeing you. Cautiously, she asks, "Earth songs?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I might be a little rusty, but ever since I lost my iPod, there's a few songs I've been dying to hear."

"Ivan, the last time you played that thing, you kept playing that "Hurt" song over and over. You couldn't stop thinking about ho- your old home, and you were crying the whole time. And about that little music player? You told Twilight to disassemble it, remember?."

You remember that. You had just found out that you would never make it home, and it was hard on you. You went on an "Earth binge," obsessing over everything that reminded you of your home. Pinkie wouldn't come near you when you had your guitar out, because of the one time she had heard you playing "Dust in the Wind" and started crying. Eventually, you got rid of or stored away your home world relics for the sake of your mental health.

"But things are different now. I've been living here for over a year, and I'm over the whole 'never going home' thing. Besides, there's more to Earth music than sad tunes."

Rainbow seems to be scrutinizing you, just to make sure you haven't relapsed into depression. After a few thorough scans, she concedes.

----------

"There was this band I really enjoyed called Green Day. I happen to know a few of their songs on guitar."

Rainbow Dash watches you tune the guitar. The strings are all out of tune, and make awkward noises before they're pulled to just the right tightness. "Sounds lame."

"That's what a few of my friends said. It all depends on your taste in music, I guess." With the final string, the high E tuned, you strum each string individually but fast enough for the notes to meld together into sound. "Let's begin with a song called 'Time of Your Life.'"

You can tell that she doesn't like the idea of you playing songs from your old world, but she seems fascinated by the instrument. She gives a quick nod.

"Alright, here we go..." You warm up by playing the first chords in progression. Your fingers feel slow and unsteady, probably due to the cider finally setting in and the fact that you haven't played in forever. It's an easy song, however, and it all comes back to you as easy as riding a bike. You begin.

"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road... Time grabs you by the wrists, directs you where to go... So make the best of this test and don't ask why... It's not a question but a lesson learned in time... It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right... I hope you have the time of your life!"

You're getting into it now. Your hand swipes up and down naturally with the tune of the song. It's been such a long time since you've felt the rush of the music. It feels as if your throat is re-opening, shaking off the collective dust and awakening to the sweet flavor of song.

You open your mouth to sing, but instead are surprised by another voice sounding out the lyrics.

It's Rainbow Dash. "So take the photographs and still frames in your mind... Hang it on a shelf, in good health and good time..."

Her singing is beautiful. You can hardly believe that sounds coming out of her mouth, having gotten used to her usual scratchy voice.

You join in with her. Your voices complement each other perfectly. "Tattoos and memories and dead skin on trial... For what it's worth, it was worth all the while..."

She stops here, and watches you as you sing, "It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right... I hope you have the time of your life."

You strum the next chords wordlessly. You and Rainbow lock eyes with one another for a few seconds, until she turns away with a blush.

You smile, a hint of red coming to your cheeks as well. The morning's discovery of her hidden feelings had revived a few memories of your own. You were reminded of a time when you maybe, just maybe had had a slight crush on your best friend. Still plagued by Earth's taboos and assuming she wouldn't be into you anyway, you'd done your best to push it aside until you were sure the feelings were gone. But now...

Her lips barely move, but she sings the final words with you. Your voices again intertwine, "Something unpredictable, but in the end is right... I hope you have the time of your life."

You don't have time to play the ending. Before you even have time to inhale, her lips have locked with yours.

You let the instrument fall to the ground. You have no idea what is happening, only that it feels... so good.

You don't even get the chance to regain your senses before she bolts down the hallway and a door slams shut.

"Guh... Rainbow?"

----------

You open the door to the guest bedroom, and there Rainbow Dash is, red as a beet.

She looks up at you from the tops of her eyes. They're a little puffy again.

You sigh, and sit down next to her. Neither of you say a word.

It's you who breaks the silence. "I guess this changes things, huh?"

She buries her face in her pillow. "You can kick me out now, if you'd like..."

You sit quietly for a little while longer, unsure of how to approach this. "So, have you felt this way for long?"

She looks scared out of her mind. Her mouth opens, but she doesn't speak. After a few attempts, she finally answers, "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I... Yes."

"So you've liked me for a while, then?"

She nods. You see she's tearing up again.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" You don't mean it to be, but your voice is almost accusing.

She's found her voice. "I was really embarrassed. And nervous. Really nervous."

"...That makes sense."

She buries herself back into the pillow. "Celestia, I'm such an idiot..."

"You haven't even heard my response yet, though."

Her ears suddenly shoot up. She looks up from her spot, her teary eyes now brimming with hope.

"So... would you like to know what I think?"

She's paralyzed for a moment, but as she regains strength, her head bows in one final nod.

That's when you do it. It's almost close enough to be considered pouncing on her, but whatever it is, it's for Dash.

You put all your strength into that kiss. All other thoughts are blocked out as you focus all energy into making it as deep, as meaningful as possible.

Dash has recovered from the shock, and your lips are now being brushed by her incredibly soft tongue.

You can't get over how great this feels. You're seeing a whole new side of her, one you're sure no one has seen before. That fact alone, that you're truly special to someone, sinks in and makes you giddier than a schoolgirl. You try to break the kiss, but she just keeps pushing for more and more. This turns you on even more, weakening your resolve to distance yourself. Finally, when you do manage to separate, a strand of saliva connects you at the lips, and she's panting. Her hot breath tastes like cider.

She gives you just enough time to catch your breath, before she dives in for more. She misses, however, and ends up sucking on your cheek.

She seems content with that. You're actually enjoying it, until you smell a musk in the air.

She's wet. Celestia, she's wet.

"Rainbow," you urge, trying to push the lust-filled pegasus off of you. Her body is pressed tightly against yours.

"Rainbow, please," you beg, but she just sucks harder.

"Rainbow, stop!"

That seems to have gotten her attention. She releases the suction on the side of your face and stares at you, confused. A drop of spit hangs from her mouth. You chuckle and wipe it off, then bring the same hand to the back of her neck.

She suddenly starts giggling. "I think I'm a little drunk."

"You don't have to blame it on the cider, ya know."

She groans. You go in for another kiss, running your hands along her head, neck, shoulders, and through her hair.

You both eventually end up next to each other on the bed, her hind legs wrapped around your torso like a towel. You feel something wet soak through your jeans, and almost freeze upon realizing what it is. However, not wanting to ruin the moment, you decide instead to just not mention it.

"Wait," you say. You clap, triggering the on/off toggle for the magically-enhanced lamps in the house.

Two claps turns the ones in your room off.

Three claps, and the whole house is dark.

Close Bonds: Second Chapter

You wake up one morning to find a sleeping Rainbow Dash atop you.

Wait... What?

Recollections of the previous day wash over you. The fighting, the reconciling, the binging, the singing...

The kissing. Celestia, the kissing. T'was glorious.

...

So. You slept with Rainbow Dash. Literally.

It's not a bad thing, really. Aside from that period of resentment the two of you shared this past week, you've always found her kind of attractive.

It was just kind of a thing you didn't put much thought into. Really, you were content with a simple friendship.

You feel movement on your chest. Rainbow Dash, unconscious, stirs atop you, causing the covers to slip off of her. She shivers, and searches for warmth. She seems to have found it in your chest, and snuggles into you.

She's cute when she's asleep.

You realize how hungry you are when your stomach growls. Breakfast has always been your favorite meal, especially since the day you started cooking for yourself.

You make a move to sit up. Or at least you try. The little cyan pegasus has you pinned down.

Oh well. Breakfast can wait...

----------

You step out of the shower once you're convinced that you're free of all mare juices.

You look into the mirror. Every time you see your reflection, that one faded eye catches your attention more than anything else on your body.

Yeah. You're blind in your left eye. No sob story behind it; just an over-excited five-year-old who didn't listen when his teacher said not to run with pencils.

You shudder. The pain you went through that day is unforgettable. To this day, you get goosebumps just thinking about it. Not to mention the occasional twinge of pain you still get in your eye.

Turning from the mirror, you inspect your dirty jeans. There's a huge stain on the pant leg Rainbow borrowed last night.

Damn. Those were your favorite jeans.

It was completely worth it. Besides, if you bring along the ruined pair, Rarity can probably whip you up new pants just like the old ones.

It's going to be awkward explaining the stain though. And knowing the fashionista, she's going to want to make you a whole new set of clothes.

Not a lot of money to spare, as of late.

You slip a towel around your waist, and step into the hallway. Steam escapes out the door and a cold wind rushes in past you, causing you to shudder at the sudden change in temperature.

FWIP!

Whoops. Almost ran into-

-Rainbow.

She stands before you, wings fully erect. Her mouth hangs open in shock. She must not have expected to see you half-naked in the hallway.

In reality, that's pretty civilized for you. When she had her own house to live in and you were here by yourself, whole weekends were spent in the nude. Not that it wasn't normal for most stallions to run around town naked.

Of course, you stand upright. That makes your unmentionables just under eye level for the average pony.

Yeah. Some parts just aren't made to see the sun.

You realize what Rainbow's staring at.

They're just under eye level.

"Uh, mornin' Dash."

She jumps, suddenly aware of what she's doing. "Oh, h-hey Ivan. I-I just wanted to know," she stutters, trying to think of something, "Are you cooking breakfast today?"

"Sure. Pancakes sound good?"

"Y-yeah." She nods rapidly, "Say, you done in that bathroom there?"

You nod. "Uh-huh."

"OkaythanksI'mgonnatakeashowernow!" She bolts into the bathroom and slams the door behind her.

You smirk. Silly Rainbow, you never take showers in the morning.

----------

The smell of melted butter graces your nose with its tantalizing goodness.

You slide the sixth pancake onto a plate next to the pan.

"Hey Ivan. Smells good, they ready?"

You turn around and spot a wet Rainbow Dash trotting into the room.

It's fortunate you're wearing more than a towel right now, lest there be more staring.

"Yup. You hungry?"

She sits at the table and picks up a fork and knife. She takes the classic pose of the child waiting to be served, and says, "Hungry for your pancakes? Hay yeah!"

You smile at her typical behavior, and carry over two plates. Three pancakes go on one, three on the other.

"Syrup's on the table. Eat up."

You've barely even touched your food by the time Rainbow's on her second pancake.

Damn. She eats more than me.

You pick up the pace, trying but failing to keep up with her speed. She sees your measly attempts, and only eats faster.

You find that really funny. All the girlfriends you've ever had all but starved themselves in front of you, yet Rainbow Dash wolfs down three pancakes in two minutes. Maybe that's what you like about her; she's not afraid to be herself.

And even though Rainbow Dash is quite the opposite of overweight, you know what they say; it's just a little extra love around the waist.

"You gonna make more?"

Rainbow Dash leans back in her chair, ready for a second round.

You slide your plate across the table. "Here, have the rest of mine. I'm gonna go make some with chocolate chips in them."

She shrugs. "Suit yourself."

----------

By the end of the morning, you had four pancakes.

She had nine.

How the little pegasus could fit so much down her throat is beyond you.

...

No, Ivan. Get those dirty thoughts out of your head. Now.

Right now, the two of you sit on your couch. The dishes are somewhat clean, you feel like you're about to burst, and there's nothing to do on this beautiful Sunday morning.

Perfect.

"So, Dash. What do you wanna do today?"

She blows a strand of hair out of her face. "I dunno. Chill?"

"You've said that every day for the past year."

She leans back. "Longer than that, actually. Why, did you think it was gonna change just 'cause we spooned?"

You smirk. "You also humped my leg. But I guess that's out of this equation?"

She socks you in the shoulder playfully. "Nerd."

You ignore the pain in your shoulder, holding your teasing look. "Just because I know something you don't doesn't make me a nerd."

"Oh, I know what it means. I'm not stupid, Ivan."

"And I'm not a nerd. In fact, I worked in construction before I got here."

Her eyes widen. "Really?"

There's something humorous in the way she does that. Grinning, you say, "You seem excited. Is that your fetish, or something?"

You receive another sock to the shoulder.

You lay back, rubbing your shoulder."But really, I've never had a job until I came here and was forced to take care of myself."

She raises an eyebrow. "Then how did you support yourself?"

"I didn't. I lived with my parents."

She bursts out laughing. "Oh, man! What a loser! You lived with your parents?"

"Dash, I was only sixteen when I got here," you clarify.

She immediately stops. "Wait, so you're... Seventeen, now?"

You shiver. Why does it feel so cold suddenly?

"Uh, yeah," you say, rubbing your neck. "Why?"

----------

"I thought you were older than that!" she nearly screams. "Why didn't you tell me?"

You frown. "Why are you so worried?"

"Ivan, I'm twenty-six!" She waves her forelegs around in the air, as if to emphasize her point.

You smile. "I'm fine with dating older mares."

"Stop joking around!"

"I'm not. I'm truly okay with it."

"Ugh! Why couldn't you have been a year older?" she pulls at her skin.

"I'm turning eighteen in two months. Why is that-"

Then it hits you. Eighteen years.

"Ohh..."

She plants her face in the rug. "Legally, I'm a pedophile now..."

You look for some way out of this. "We haven't actually had sex yet. I don't think you can still get in trouble, can you?"

She buries her face in her hooves. "We tongued each other for Celestia knows how long, and I rubbed my vagina all over your leg. I don't know about where you come from, but in Equestria, that's close enough."

You shake your head. "How did you not know I was minor, anyways? I'm not even old enough to apply for immigrant citizenship yet!"

"It's not my fault! You're just so... so mature! If anything, I thought you were older than me!"

Huh. That's quite a change. Your parents always called you lazy and childish.

Well, you did spend a lot of time on your ass playing video games. And when they told you to get a job, you said you wouldn't need one once your band got its first gig.

Yeah. How the times have changed.

Being the 'mature' one, you try to relax. You need to think of something that'll keep Rainbow from going to jail.

"Nobody else knows I'm under eighteen, right? I can just pretend I'm a year older."

She doesn't even look at you. "Too late. You already gave Pinkie your birthday information, and Fluttershy probably knows, the way you two gossip." She rolls her eyes. "You're probably even worse than Rarity."

You can tell she's getting stressed now; when she's stressed out, she insults you.

"Okay, I guess that only leaves one viable option."

She continues to keep her head to the ground.

"We'll just keep this a secret. At least until my eighteenth birthday."

This time, she looks. Except for the fact that she's frowning.

"Keep it a secret? How are we going to do that?"

You shrug. "We just don't tell anyone. And we won't be able to touch, kiss, or anything like that in public."

She's still frowning, but her face softens a little. "Just for two months?"

"Just two months."

She looks at you for a few moments, then lets out a long breath of air. "Alright. I think I can deal with that."

----------

You walk through town, meaning to run some errands before you meet up with Rainbow at Sugarcube Corner.

Sweet Princess Twilight, that was a tense discussion back there.

Speaking of Twilight, you wonder how she's doing? Maybe she's gotten back to you on your letter.

A voice calls to you from behind."Hey, Milky!"

Shit!

You duck. An orange blur rockets right over your head.

You stand back up and taunt your little pegasus tormentor. "Hah! Missed me!"

She hits the dirt with her hind legs first, sliding on her hooves before coming to a halt on all fours and facing you. Immediately, she accelerates again, gaining surprising speed before leaping into the air.

You have no time to react. The world slows down as you watch the little orange pegasus come at you, head down, the top of her helmet on a collision course with your stomach.

This is gonna hurt like a-

The next thing you know, you're laid out like a sack of potatoes.

Scootaloo stands on top of you, grinning triumphantly. "Spoke too soon, huh, Ivan?"

You spit out some dirt. "Yeah. Gotta watch out for those flying chickens, I guess."

She scowls at you, and you hear giggling not too far off.

Oh, look. Scootaloo's friends.

...and Applejack.

"Scoots, git off a' him!"

She does as she's told, and steps off your chest. Frankly, you're surprised that Applejack's defending you, especially after the incident.

The one where you got fired from Sweet Apple Acres.

You wave it off. "It's fine, Applejack. Just a game we play," you say, smirking at Scootaloo. "And I'm still winning."

She points an accusing hoof. "Are not! Remember last week, when..." she trails off when Applejack gives her a glare.

An uneasy feeling wells in your gut. The fact that Applejack is trying to be nice to you is making you nervous. 'Trying' being a key word here.

But it's just not something you're used to.

"Hey, Ivan. Uh, need a hoof?"

You smile and politely shake your head, preferring to get up on your own. After you've dusted yourself off, Applejack waves off the fillies.

"Run along, you three. Rarity's house is close enough from here."

They all wave goodbye to you, and Applebloom even hugs your leg. You grin. This is something you used to experience twice a day: once in the morning when you arrived at the farm, and once in the evening when you left.

You sigh. You kind of miss those days. Working as an orderly at the Ponyville hospital is fine and all, and even gives better pay, but... You used to enjoy those long days in the open air. You recall the idle conversations you would have with the members of the Apple family, not to mention the occasional mud or rotten apple fight with Applebloom. The two of you would always get chewed out for it in the end; you especially. But it was well worth it.

You ruffle Applebloom's hair, and she looks up at you, smiling. The call of the other fillies beckons her, however, and she runs off, glancing back at you and Applejack one last time.

Applejack cautiously edges towards you. "You sure got a way with the young'ins, don't ya?"

"I suppose so."

She must sense your uneasiness, as she chuckles and tries to lighten the tension. "Milky, huh?"

You chuckle along with her. "Yeah. That started when Twilight mentioned my eye had a milky appearance, and Scootaloo just happened to be there. Because she needed something to counter my pet-name for her, which was 'Chicken Little' at the time, she mimicked that and called me 'Milky'. As you can see, it stuck."

Applejack chuckles. "So, Milky, ah assume things have been going well recently?"

You fiddle with your hands. "I guess you could say that. Rainbow moved in with me almost a month ago. But I'm sure you heard."

Applejack looks at the ground. "Yeah. So ah've heard."

You feel kind of bad for her. Applejack and Rainbow Dash used to be close friends, but when the drama began and you were put out of work, Rainbow sided with you.

The two haven't spoken in months.

"Listen," you hear Applejack say. She's looking up at you again. "Ah'm sorry about blamin' you fer the missin' tools. Ah really don't believe you took 'em anymore."

What? She believes you now?

You stutter a bit, shocked by her sudden apology. "W-well, thanks, Applejack. What convinced you?"

"Well," she says, letting her eyes wander, "In all honesty, you just didn't seem like the type to do it in the first place. So ah had ma doubts."

"Uh huh."

"And even if ya did do it, you've more than made up for it by all the things you've done for this community. Namely, yer closest friends."

You're at a loss for words. This is truly profound.

She holds out a hoof. "If ya ever need a job, you're always welcome ta come by Sweet Apple Acres."

"T-thanks Applejack." You shake her hoof, stunned. "I don't need a job as of right now, though..."

She smiles warmly. "Ah know. But if ya ever do..."

With that, you give a nod, then part ways.

----------

A bell rings as you step through the entrance of the Carousel Boutique. The atmosphere, composed of ten percent gaseous perfume, makes you gag.

A soft but quick-paced trotting comes from the hallway near the counter, and Sweetie Belle's face pops up next to the register.

"Welcome to the Carousel Bou-oh, hi Ivan!"

You walk over to the counter, and kneel down. Pony counters are small.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle," you say, placing your elbows on the counter, "Where are the other girls?"

"Oh, they're in my room. I'm just watching the store for Rarity while she's busy. What are you doing here?"

"Well," you say, removing the ruined jeans from your jerry-rigged saddlebag, "I spilled some grape juice on my favorite jeans last night. I need Rarity to make me some new ones."

"Hmm, okay," she says, inspecting the stain. "Y'know, sometimes these things come off with spit. If it's still fresh, maybe I can lick it and it will-"

"No!" you say, yanking away your pants before her tongue reaches them. She stares at you, confused and a little shaken.

You try to regain your composure."I mean, I already tried it. It didn't work, so there's no use wasting your time trying again, right?"

She raises an eyebrow, then cautiously takes back the jeans. "Okay, if you say so..." She then pulls a bag out from underneath the counter and puts them in. "I'll bring them to Rarity once she's done with whatever she's doing."

"Okay. Thanks, Sweetie Belle."

She smiles nervously and trots back into the hall.

As you walk out the door, you sigh.

She's gonna wonder about that encounter for the rest of her life.

----------

The post office is mostly devoid of ponies today, most likely because there's no shipping on Sundays. But that's not what you're here for.

You look for your assigned mailbox, going down the rows eliminating numbers.

1011... 1021... 1022... Ah! Here it is!

You pull out the key to box 1023, and slip the teeth into the lock. With a click, it opens, revealing three days' worth of mail.

You groan. You can already tell most of it's junk.

"Hey, Ivan. Did Twilight get back to you yet?"

Oh, look, Lyra's here.

How did she know about you mailing Twilight?

"Uh, I don't know yet. I'm checking right now."

She opens up her own mailbox, which happens to be near yours. "Take your time."

Does she expect you to tell her?

You can't help but smile. That's so like her.

After sifting through the pile of papers, you find the letter you're looking for. The envolope is purple, and has the royal Equestrian insignia of Princess Twilight Sparkle stamped on the front. Namely, her cutie mark.

"Ah! So she did get your letter! What'd she say?"

You realize she's been watching you go through your mail, and you quickly shut your mailbox.

"Why do you want to know so badly?"

She shrugs. "You're going to read it anyway. Why not let me hear?"

You look up at the clock. Eleven forty-five. Fifteen minutes until you're supposed to meet Rainbow at Sugarcube Corner.

"Sorry, Lyra. I gotta be somewhere soon. I'll tell you about it later." She opens her mouth to protest, but you quickly shove all your unwanted mail in there.

As you walk away, you hear sputtering and the sound of papers falling to the ground. "Not cool, Ivan! Not cool!"

You laugh. "See ya at work tomorrow, Lyra!"

----------

You arrive at Sugarcube Corner around noon. The smell of cake baking wafts into the open air from inside the bakery, and graces your nose with its savory goodness.

You inhale deeply. Pinkie may be a little strange at times, but she's unparalleled in her baking skills.

You step through the door. The air inside is comfortably warm, and the doughy smell is magnified. You're surprised to see Rainbow Dash already here, talking to Pinkie Pie at the counter.

Pinkie suddenly looks over Rainbow's shoulder, and blurts, "Hey, Ivan! I didn't know you and Dashie were dating!" Dash's head slams on the glass counter.

You wince, expecting to see more than a few eyes on you. However, thank Celestia, there's nopony else in the building.

Rainbow throws her hooves up defensively. "I didn't tell her! I swear!"

You walk up to the counter and rest your elbows in a similar manner as at the Carousel Boutique. "Pinkie, how did you even find out?"

She pulls a tray of cupcakes out of the oven. "Oh! Your cupcakes are ready, Dashie!"

"Answer the question," Rainbow growls.

The question seems to be ignored. "Taking them out without messing up the frosting is the hardest part!"

You frown. "Come on, I know you can-"

"Here ya go!" she chirps, sliding each of you a cupcake on a napkin.

"But-"

"Don't worry, you guys! This one's on the house!"

"W-"

"In fact, I'll throw in a whole free meal!"

You sigh, rubbing your temples. "Pinkie," you enunciate slowly, "I have no idea how you knew about this, but can you keep a secret?"

She stands upright and plants her hooves on the counter. Her eyes dart around the room, searching for anybody who might be listening. Then, leaning close, she whispers, "Sure. What's the secret?"

You shake your head. "The relationship. We're keeping our relationship a secret."

She gasps, and pulls her head away from yours. With wide eyes, she asks, "But why?"

Rainbow Dash has her eyes narrowed in a questioning manner. "Pinkie, you know how old Ivan is, right?"

Without skipping a beat, she recites, "He'll be turning eighteen on July second, which is ten weeks and two days from now!"

You and Dash look at each other. You then turn back to the creepily accurate party pony and ask, "Yeah, but do you know how old I am as of right now?"

She crosses her eyes and twirls her hoof in the air near the side of her head. "You're seventeen! Duh!"

Rainbow Dash groans. You can tell this is grating her nerves.

You press on, hoping Pinkie will get the point sooner or later. "Okay, and what's the legal age for ponies to start... You know...?"

Her eyes widen again, and she stutters, "Wait.. You two..."

Your face starts to feel hot. You look over, and Rainbow's blushing as well.

Pinkie suddenly falls over backwards, laughing.

She laughs for what seems like hours, but may have been a minute at most. During this time, the light blue pegasus beside you seems to have turned more of a violet-crimson.

You swear you see smoke come out of her ears. After a few moments of stewing, she finally shouts, "It's not that funny, Pinkie!"

The sniggering pony sits up, wiping a tear from her eye. "No, no, I'm sorry! I get it. I mean, it's like having a party; you can do it alone, but it's not as much fun, right?"

She erupts into laughter again. This time, you really do see steam come from Rainbow's nostrils.

Wary about what she might be thinking of doing, you place a hand on her shoulder and guide her away from Pinkie.

"We'll be sitting outside, alright?"

"Right! I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she giggles, still unable to contain herself.

----------

The two of you sit outside and wait for your meal. Rainbow Dash is fuming; she reminds you of a bull that's been pricked in the butt one too many times. You're pretty sure you even heard her growl.

One of the things you've learned in life is that telling someone to 'calm down' has the opposite effect. The same goes for 'relax,' and 'you're overreacting.' So, instead of saying stupid things, you just shut up and wait for her to cool off.

After a few minutes, you finally notice her breathing start to slow. You gently place a hand on her shoulder, and massage it.

She sighs. "Okay. I think I'm good now."

You bring your hand back. "She gets on your nerves sometimes, huh?"

"All the time," she groans, "But usually not this bad."

"Maybe she's just having a hard time accepting this?"

She raises an eyebrow. "No. I don't think so."

You shake your head. "Yeah, you're right. That was stupid."

A moment passes, then you ask, "Are you still mad at her?"

She thinks about it. "A little annoyed, maybe, but not really mad."

Silence hangs in the air for a bit. Then, Rainbow asks, "So, what were you doing before you got here?"

You unzip your saddlebag."You mean running errands?"

"Yeah. Whatever."

"Well," you say, fumbling through your bag but keeping eye contact with Rainbow Dash, "I saw Applejack on the way to Rarity's."

"Oooh no," she says, dragging out the 'oh', "What happened?"

"We talked."

Her eyes widen in surprise. "You just... talked? What did she say?"

You take a sip of the complimentary water that's been supplied so graciously. "She said she was sorry, and asked how things were going."

"What did you say?" she asks, leaning closer.

"I accepted her apology, and told her everything was fine."

Her jaw drops. "You just... Forgave her? Just like that?"

You shake your head. "Nope. I actually forgave her a long time ago."

She groans. "You're too nice for your own good, Ivan."

"Well, of course you would say that," you reply without thinking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she growls menacingly, getting closer to you over the table.

You realize what you just said, and quickly attempt to cover it up. "Just a joke, Dash. Don't get so offended."

She gives you the evil eye, then slowly returns to her seat. "I'll let it slip. This time."

At this point, you're trying hard not to crack a grin. "Right."

Pinkie Pie walks up with two sandwiches. "Here are your sandwiches! DLT's, your favorite!"

Rainbow Dash begins eating, but you lift up the bread to see what the D stands for. To your delight, it contains dandelions and not daisies.

You hate daisies.

The two of you eat your sandwiches, forgetting that Pinkie is still watching.

Suddenly, she speaks. "You mentioned going to Carousel Boutique, right? What did you do there?"

You and Rainbow look at each other. You're both a little surprised at what seems like a sudden appearance.

You stutter for a second, trying to remember your story. "Uh, I spilled grape juice on my pants, and had to take them to Rarity's so she could make me new ones."

Rainbow wipes the sweat from her brow in a relieved motion.

Pinkie Pie studies you for a minute, examining you closely. Then, shrugging, she says, "Understandable. So what did you do next?"

Pulling out Twilight's letter and placing it on the table, you announce, "I went to the post office."

Rainbow's eyes widen. "Twilight sent you a letter?"

You nod, opening it. Once the top is open, you turn it over and three pieces of paper fall out.

The first is a check for two thousand bits. The second is definitely a letter. And lastly, there seems to be what looks like a form.

Rainbow immediately grabs the check and stares at it. "She gave you two thousand bits? For what??"

"Here is where you'll find out," you mutter, unfolding the letter. You read aloud,

Dear Ivan Felix Walczyk,

"Wow. She actually spelled my name right."

"Keep reading," Rainbow commands.

I hope everything is going well for you. I am truly sorry to hear about what happened with Rainbow Dash. Regardless of whether or not you continue to let her to stay with you, I am providing two thousand bits to reimburse what you have lost. I know it's much more than you asked for, but with all you've done, you definitely deserve it. And don't worry about paying me back; think of this as a gift from me to you.

Also, I am pleased to inform you that you can now apply for immigrant citizenship in Equestria, rather than simply own a visa. The government is making an exception on the age limit in your case (normally twenty-one), seeing as how you have become a working, house-owning, tax-paying resident in our fair nation.

Included is an application that you may turn in at the town hall to become a citizen!

Your friend and Princess,

Twilight Sparkle

When you're finished reading, Rainbow Dash is staring solemnly at the table.

"So, you had to ask for money because of me?"

Upon hearing her guilty words, you hold her hoof, assuring her, "It's fine, Dash, believe me. I got back four times the amount you spent, so I actually turned a profit from this."

She pulls her hoof away from you. "Alright. But we can't let ponies see us like that, remember?"

"Right."

She sighs. "So, what are you gonna do about that application?"

"What do you mean?" you ask, scratching your head.

"Well, if you write your real age on there, the government will know you're a minor. Now, suppose word gets out about our relationship, and somepony decides to report us? What happens then?"

She goes to jail.

How did you not think of that?

"I guess I can't put my real age then..."

"But wait!" Pinkie interjects. "You're not going lie, are you?"

Once again, the two of you take mutual glances at each other.

"And if we don't...?" Rainbow inquires.

"Let me just say, that it's really hard for me to not tell the truth when I hear a lie."

Before you or Rainbow can respond, she daintily prances back towards the entrance of the bakery, a bell ringing as she opens the door and walks in.

Rainbow seems flustered. "That- I can't believe her!"

"Well, she does have our secret. We don't really have a choice other than to listen to her."

The cyan pegasus grumbles. "What do we do, then?"

You think for a moment. "The same thing we're doing with our relationship, I guess? Wait two months?"

She cocks an eyebrow. "You know Twilight almost as well as I do. There's no way she's just going to sit back and not wonder why you haven't turned in your form. She'll want answers, and will stop at nothing to get them."

"I'm pretty sure that's an exaggeration," you comment, tucking all papers back neatly into their envelope.

She shakes her head. "I thought you knew her better than that. Just warning you, Ivan."

Close Bonds: Third Chapter

You've been having a hard time sleeping tonight. You toss, turn, and flip your pillow in search of the cool side, but slumber eludes you.

Too much on your mind, maybe?

It's been a rather exciting day.

You groan, the day's events weighing down on you. You don't want to think about it right now, you just want some sleep.

Suddenly, the sound of a soft plodding on tile clears your head, and echoes about the dark recesses of your mind.

Those hoofsteps. They can only be one pony.

The plodding makes its way up to your bed. Your eyes are closed, but you can hear a rump touch the ground just in front of you.

A soft whisper. "Ivan?"

You don't respond. The voice takes the initiative to speak up, if only by a little bit. "Ivan, you awake?"

You pretend to be asleep, curious as to what she'll do. The bed squeaks, and you can feel Rainbow Dash climb onto your mattress.

Okay... What now?

The covers lift slightly, letting in a bit of cold air. You peek one eye open, and see Rainbow slide under the covers. You close your eyes shut when she turns back to you, and lets out a content sigh.

A few minutes pass. You think she's gone to sleep, until you feel something soft press itself against you. Daring to peek one eye open, you see that the little cyan pegasus is snuggling against your bare chest. You realize that the only thing you're wearing right now is boxers. If you were to become aroused...

Needless to say, the jig would be up.

She's pressed her whole body against yours now. Her fur feels so good against your skin; its soft, lavish feeling brings about a sense of comfort and warmth...

Okay. You could probably fall asleep like this.

"You're awake, aren't you, Ivan?"

Her voice is flat, as if what you're doing has become extremely obvious.

You allow your eyelids to open, dropping your façade. Finding two lavender orbs staring back into your own, you can't help but smile.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

She gestures downwards. "You're poking my side, Ivan."

Your face and ears start to feel hot. You adjust yourself, then answer, "Sorry. Couldn't help it."

You jump when something tightens around your crotch area.

She giggles, and removes her tail from your nethers. "Hmm, I must say, I'm quite impressed." Winking, she adds, "You know, if it's giving you trouble, I can always give you some help..."

You shift slightly, so that you're eye-to-eye and not you-know-what to you-know-what with her. "As of right now, Dash, I'm content with this. Right here."

She looks you straight in the eye, blushing and smiling ever so slightly. She must be happy with what you said.

Just one of those times when refusing sex is the right thing to do?

She leans forward. You lean forward too, thinking her intent is to kiss you on the lips.

Sike! She moves a little to your left and begins licking your cheek.

And then she moves on to your neck, and then your chest.

You wonder what she's doing. It's pretty enjoyable, but you've never had a girl besides Rainbow Dash lick you before.

Okay, well you have. But not like this, where the girl in question gives you an entire bath with her tongue.

"Hey, Rainbow? What are you doing?"

She stops, and looks at you questionably. "Doing what?"

"Licking me. Do I taste good or something?" you tease.

She raises an eyebrow. "You do, actually. But that's not why I'm doing it."

Your turn to raise an eyebrow. "Then why?"

She thinks a moment, then asks, "Do humans lick each other?"

It clicks. Must be a cultural difference.

"No, not like that," you reply. "Can you tell me what it means?"

She takes another moment to ponder. Then, a devilish grin stretches across her face. "You see, when two ponies love each other very much-"

"Haha," you laugh mockingly, "So it's just something lovers do?"

She frowns. "That word. Lovers. I don't really like that word."

You smile. "Okay, mates then. Mates lick each other when they're about to mate?"

She obviously doesn't like your choice of words, but says nothing about it. "Kind of. It's more of an 'I enjoy your presence' type of thing. Close friends and family do it to each other too, sometimes."

Hm. Interesting.

"If you don't want me to do it anymore, I'm fine with that."

You shake your head. "No, no, I actually like it. I'm just wondering why I'd never heard of this before. I mean, I've been living here for a year now."

She comes up with an answer readily. "Well, it's only really close friends. The only pony I can see close enough to you to try that, besides me, is Fluttershy. And, well, you know how she is."

You chuckle. "Yeah, I guess it kind of makes sense now."

The two of you lay there in silence for a moment, each of you in your own little world on your side of the pillow.

Finally, a thought enters your head. "Hey, Dash?"

She pops out of her thoughts. "Yeah?"

"You wouldn't mind if I... Tried this new gesture out, would you?"

She blushes a bit, and smiles. "Sure."

You view her one last time. Then, hesitantly at first, you lean forward, and wipe your tongue across her cheek.

You expect to get a mouthful of dirt-flavored hair. Instead, the softness that you felt earlier on your skin is now being enjoyed on your tongue.

Deciding to explore a bit, you move down to her neck. She shivers at your touch.

Heh. You're a natural.

You continue to do this all down her neck and shoulders, slowly making your way down to her chest area.

My god. She is soft.

Your hands, which have subconsciously moved down to her cutie marks, begin to squeeze. She lets out a soft moan, and then you realize something.

She voices your concern before you do. "I-Ivan... I-I thought you said you wanted to w-wait awhile... I'm f-fine with this, but..."

You pull her in close, hugging her tight. "You're right. Sorry."

You can feel her chest rapidly rising and falling against yours. She's warm, hot even.

You palm the back of her head, and pull her into your neck. She gives a slight lick and a yawn, then puts a hoof against your chest and falls asleep.

Relaxed now, you follow her example. Draping your arm around her midsection, you slow your breathing and drift off.

----------

You don't remember walking to the hospital.

You remember waking up to Rainbow Dash practically smothering you in her sleep. You remember prying her off your face, taking a shower, eating breakfast, and picking at random scabs while reading the morning paper.

But you don't remember walking here.

Oh well. Not like it matters. Didn't they have a word for this type of thing, back on Earth? Highway amnesia, or something like that.

Alright. Enough dilly-dally. Adjusting your name tag, you venture forth through the entrance.

...And are met by the scent of over-cleaned furniture and the wheezing of sick ponies in the morning.

Oh well. At least you can't catch most of their diseases.

Wait, something's off.

"Hey, Ivy!"

Oh. That's right.

You approach the reception counter, doing your signature 'put the elbows on the desk' move. "You're a few seconds late with that greeting, Cream. I almost thought you forgot."

"Forgot? Please, Ivan, it's like you don't know me." She waves her hoof, and ends up accidentally knocking down a stack of papers in the cabinet above.

"Smooth," you comment, observing the mare scrambling to pick up the papers. "Maybe your age is catching up with you," you tease, smirking.

The cream-pink unicorn flips her ponytail, and quickly retaliates. "Oh? In case you didn't know, I'm turning twenty-four next week."

"Oh, good. So you'll be getting the senior citizen discount soon?"

Coming back up to eye level with the papers neatly stacked, she smiles, feigning anger but unable to hold back her grin. "Ivy, if I'm a senior, you're dead. You're older than me, in case you've forgotten."

You chuckle nervously, scratching the back of your head. "Heh heh... Yeah. So, uh, happy early birthday. You doing anything special?"

She rubs her chin, then shrugs. "Well, besides being forced into a party by Pinkie Pie... Got nothin'. No special somepony to take me out to eat, or anything like that..."

You muss up her now-messy pink and white mane, and reassure her, "Don't worry. You're a pretty mare; somepony's bound to come along and sweep you off your feet..."

She shoves away your hand and fixes her hair. "Feet?"

You facepalm. "Hooves. Sorry. Sweep you off your hooves."

She raises an eyebrow. "Allllrighty then..." Shrugging, she busies herself with some papers. "You'd better report to Lyra soon. Don't want her to think you're skipping work or anything, do you?"

You roll your eyes. "Come on. At most, I'll be a minute late. Even for Lyra, that would be quite the assumption."

She shakes her head. "Yeah, Ivy. Keep telling yourself that."

As you walk past her towards the hallway entrance, you swipe her pen, eliciting a satisfying "Hey!". Catching a few curse words followed by the mentioning of your name, you smile.

This Monday seems to be off to a good start.

----------

"Ivan, you're late!"

You groan. "Lyra, please. My watch says seven thirty."

"Well, mine says seven thirty-one. And around here, we-"

"Hey Lyra sshhhhhhh!"

You don't normally resort to immature tactics like this. But when you do, it's always with Lyra.

She scowls at you, then goes about looking through papers.

You begin cleaning up her workspace. It's not like she's your boss or anything, but you tend to hang around Lyra when you work. You do menial tasks she asks you to do, she does whatever she does, and the two of you have interesting conversations.

Her ordering you around has cast a misconception among your coworkers that she's in charge of you. Lyra herself even tends to believe it at times.

"So," you say, meaning to strike up conversation, "Anything... Interesting, happen recently?"

A styrofoam cup of water is surrounded by a green aura, and levitates up to Lyra's mouth. She takes a sip, then sets it back down. "Well, I was looking through those papers you stuffed in my mouth..."

Uh oh.

"Turns out you got one of those fitness magazines. You know, the ones with all the hunky colts on them? I took it back to my house, and-"

"Ugh, Lyra, don't tell me-"

"Needless to say, it's gonna be a bitch getting those stains out of the rug." She smirks.

"TMI, Lyra. TMI."

She frowns. "What?"

Celestia, that's the second time today you made an Earth reference. "It means 'too much information.' It's an expression used back on Earth. 'T', 'M', and 'I' are letters in the English language, so 'TMI' is an abbreviation."

"Aaand, that just passed right over my head." She makes a dropping sound with her mouth.

You shake your head. "How did you ever become a doctor, Lyra?"

She tosses her mane. "Shut up, orderly. I have a degree in medicine, not Equish."

"English, in this case."

"Hey! Did I say you could talk?"

You stay quiet, deciding that arguing with her over this is pointless. You instead busy yourself with clearing up the cluttered enclosure that's Lyra's office. Without you, she would be a mess, and you both know it.

After a bit, you notice she keeps glancing at your hands. You throw an apple core into the trash; she stares at your hands. You pick up a candy wrapper; she stares at your hands. You take the papers she's working on, and throw them on the ground; she's still staring at your hands.

You bring your hand right up to her snout.

Bop!

"Ow! What the hell, you little bitch?"

You laugh, receiving a hoof to the shoulder. You didn't bop her very hard, just enough to snap her out of her hand-induced trance. She, however, probably left a black-and-blue bruise under your sleeve.

"Heh heh heh. I guess I deserved that."

Her cheeks are red, and she's giving you that same squinty-eyed look Rainbow does. "Ohh, no. I'm not through with you. You're going to go take care of last week's urine samples."

Wait, what?

You groan. "Shit."

She grins deviously. "That's right, Ivan. You don't touch me. Now go piss off."

----------

"They really should dispose of these right after testing, instead of leaving them here for someone else to clean up later."

You look over the precarious tower of pee cups, and sigh.

"Guess I'd better get started..."

You're about to begin with the cup at the top, but something catches your eye.

"Hm... What's this?"

A note is leaned against the side of the tower, near the bottom. The following is written neatly on the front;

~•_••⌠ ~⌂∩§σo,

~¥≡}{ u∞.

~Γu⌠§

What it says to you and anyone else who can read Equish;

Dear Ivan,

Fuck you.

-Lyra

"Overkill, Lyra! Overkill!"

----------

You walk out of the hospital, no lab coat or name tag. They're in the biohazard wash.

It was the perfect time for Nurse Redheart to come running down the halls, wasn't it?

"Ivy! Ivy, wait up!"

Cream bursts through the door after you.

You smile. "Hey, Cream. You looking for your pen?"

She shakes her head. "No, actually. After you took it, I realized it was my fake pen."

What? "Why would you keep a fake pen?"

She giggles. "You may want to check your pockets..."

You do as she says, slightly fearful of what she's referring to. After a few moments of searching, however, you discover that the pen is gone.

Secretly, you breathe a sigh a relief. "I think I left it with Lyra," you say, wiping the sweat from your brow.

Her eyes widen. "Wait. Does Lyra write with her mouth?"

Shrugging, you venture to ask. "Why?"

She goes into another fit of giggles, this time being contagious and causing you to smile.

"What's so funny, Cream?"

In an attempt to quiet down, she lets out a loud snort. It's kind of funny, so you snicker a bit too. For some reason, this causes her to erupt into full-blown laughter, and pretty soon you're both doubled-over on the street, gasping for air between giggles.

You finally settle down, but just enough to get a few words out. "Hehehe... What were we even laughing at, Cream?"

She wipes the tears from her eyes, chuckling at the end of her sentence. "I don't even know anymore."

The two of you continue to giggle on and off as you walk down the road, receiving stares from passing ponies. Pretty soon, it comes time for you to part ways. She waves goodbye to you, and trots off in the direction of her home.

You grin. You spilled pee on Nurse Redheart, you don't even know what's going to or has already happened to Lyra, and you probably freaked some ponies out with your maniacal laughter.

Good day so far. Now let's see what's up with Rarity.

----------

A bell rings as the door to the Carousel Boutique swings open.

A voice calls out from the hall. "Just a min-u-u-u-ute!"

Heh. Rarity and her singsong voice.

The white mare steps up to the counter without looking your way. "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where- Oh, hello there, Ivan!"

She and Sweetiebelle share more than physical traits, that's for sure.

"Hey, Rarity," you say, walking up to the counter. "I hope it's not rude to ask, but how are my jeans coming along?"

"Oh! Wait here!" She dashes off into the hallway again, curled mane and tail bouncing with every step.

Hm. She tends to have a lot of energy for a 'lady'.

You wait there, tapping your fingers on the glass counter. Looking down, you observe the fine jewelry and accessories for sale.

A small sapphire stone necklace catches your eye. Smiling, you realize that it reminds you of someone.

How much does it cost, you wonder?

…

Five hundred bits.

Eh, you can always get her more cider.

"Here you are, Ivan. Your new clothes."

You look up as Rarity walks back in, two pairs of pants floating in a magical aura a little bit to the left of her.

Wait, two pairs?

She seems to read your mind. "And, I made sure to get that dreadful stain out of your old jeans. Free of charge, of course."

You take the now stain-free pants, admiring the satisfactory job she did. You would have never known they had been spoiled in the first place. "Thanks, Rarity. Element of Generosity-"

"Now, that will be fifty bits for the new pair."

"-my ass."

She giggles, handing you the freshly-sewn pair. You must say, they are quite exquisite. Not to mention you're technically buying from a designer company, so you really should have seen it coming.

You pull fifty bits out of your handy-dandy saddlebag, and place them on the counter. "Thanks, Rarity."

She smiles, taking them up with her magic and dropping them in the register. "It's no problem at all, sweetie. Say hello to Rainbow Dash for me, will you?"

"Sure will," you answer, the bell ringing as you step out the door. "See ya, Rarity."

"Ta-ta!"

----------

Ah, home sweet home.

"Hey, Rainbow, you here?"

No response.

You slip off your shoes, relishing the cool air that passes between your toes. You plop down on the couch, setting the jeans beside you. You'll put them away later.

You reach forward, and grab a certain book off the coffee table. I am the Messenger, the title reads. It is, again, one of the few things you brought with you from home.

A good choice, considering you had no idea what was going to happen.

You read a bit. For about the seventh time, you find yourself near the end of the book.

An hour passes. You decide to get up, and do the nightly chores. First, starting dinner.

You put some water on to boil. Something simple tonight, maybe pasta.

Next, put away your jeans.

On the way out of your room, you look down the hall at Dash's room.

Hm. She's not home. Maybe I'll just straighten up a bit in there. I'm sure she won't mind.

You open the door. The lights are off, and the shades are drawn.

Strange. Doesn't she usually like to look at the sky?

You clap twice, and the lights come on.

"Ivan, get the hell out."

You blink. "What?"

"I said, get the hell out of my ROOM!" she lashes out. You see a light blue blur jump out of the covers, and that's enough for you.

SLAM!

Wow.

What's gotten her so worked up?

----------

The smell of spaghetti lingers about the house. Your stomach grumbles, eager to be nourished by your heavenly pasta.

"Shh, it's almost ready," you coo your restless belly. It groans in response.

Rainbow Dash still hasn't come out of her room. It's making you worried. You're hoping the smell of your dinner will draw her out. You need to know what's going on.

But at the same time, you're kind of hoping she won't come out. Especially if her anger is directed towards you, for whatever reason.

You stick a wooden spoon into the boiling pot, and the noodles are soft. You check the tomato sauce, and it seems to be ready.

You take two plates, and put a generous amount of noodles and sauce onto each. You take both plates to the table, and begin eating.

And you wait. You wait for Rainbow to come out.

Eventually, she does. She silently sits down at the table and begins to eat.

The two of you stay like that for awhile. You say nothing, not wanting to accidentally get on her nerves.

Finally, some words. "Listen, Ivan. I'm sorry about snapping at you back there."

Her voice is solemn and expressionless. Mouth full of spaghetti, you wave it off, as if to say, "Water under the bridge."

She sighs. "I suppose you want to know why I was acting so strange earlier."

You swallow. "Only if it doesn't bother you to tell me, then yeah."

She pauses for a moment. "I'm sure you're smart enough to know what 'that time of the month' is."

Ooh boy.

She seems to know what you're thinking. "Yeah. And I'm guessing you're still keeping up your 'lets wait' ideology?"

You nod. "I just want out first time to be... special, I guess."

She nods back. "I understand. Just remember, I... I won't be thinking straight. Most of the time, at least."

"Alright. Thanks for giving me a heads-up."

The rest of the night goes by uneventfully. Soon, dinner is over, and you're in bed. Your own bed. Alone.

Close Bonds: Chapter 4

It's an early Tuesday morning. The air is brisk, and the smell of wet grass is in the air.

The winter wrap-up team was a tad early this year. Not that you mind. You rather enjoy spring.

You soon arrive at your destination. You step through the hospital doors, expecting the usual greeting. However, things are a little different today.

"Psst! Ivan!"

You look over to the receptionist's desk, easily recognizing Cream's somewhat hushed voice.

As you approach, you notice her stifling a giggle. Curious, you ask, "What's so funny, Cream?"

She motions into the hallway with her snout. You look, and see nothing in particular.

"It's a hallway, Cream. I don't see what's so great about it."

She facehooves. "Don't be a doodle-head, Ivan. I was pointing towards Lyra's office."

"And?"

"And I think the fake pen might have worked."

A devious grin forms on your lips. You lean forward, "How do you know?"

She mirrors your expression. "She hasn't said a word all day."

You nod, a silent 'Gotcha.' Turning, you go down the hallway, and without knocking, you open Lyra's door.

You know that bothers her. It's why you did it. The first thing she does is whip around, ready to reprimand you. But her mouth stays shut.

Silently, she turns back around. You grin.

This is going to be fun.

"Hey, Lyra." She doesn't answer, and instead takes a sip of whatever's in her foam cup.

You begin by looking into her trash can.

Hm. Not a lot in here this morning. I'll just have to make do with what's available.

You dump the contents of her trash out onto the floor, and arrange it in a neat little smiley face.

After a few minutes, she glances over her shoulder to see what you're doing. She sees the tipped over trashcan and the papers spread about the floor, and puts two and two together.

With her magic, the trashcan is repositioned against the wall, and its contents put back into their rightful place.

Aw. Guess you'll just have to think of something else.

You walk up next to her, loudly slamming your palms on her desk. The whole flimsy wood structure shakes, and the cups falls over.

Her drink spills off the desk and dribbles onto her lap, eliciting a gasp. And for the briefest moment, you see it.

Just for the briefest of moments, she opens her mouth. Her teeth are blue.

She's staring at you now. Her eyes. Those golden eyes stare straight into your soul.

She knows you've seen her ink-stained teeth now, and no longer cares. She snarls, curling her upper lip.

"You. Little. Son of a bitch!"

And that's it. You're out the door.

----------

You silently walk past the receptionist's desk, keeping your eyes straight ahead of you. Out your peripheral vision, you see Cream shoots you a concerned look.

You stop for a moment, and signal for her to follow you. She does so, and the two of you walk out the front door.

You go around the corner of the hospital building. Then, looking at Cream, you sigh.

Then burst out laughing.

Her eyes light up, and she joins you. This time, she knows what she's laughing at.

Wiping tears from her eyes, she finally pops the question. "So, it worked?"

You nod, chuckling. "Yeah. Her teeth were blue, Cream! Blue!"

The two of you burst out laughing again, and for the second time this week receive stares from passing ponies. After a bit more of this, you finally calm down enough to ask, "So what did that trick pen do to her?"

She smirks. "When you use it, the back end sprays ink everywhere. I was worried it might make Lyra sick, but she seems okay, right?"

"Okay as Lyra'll ever be, I'm sure," you chuckle.

The two of you sit there for a moment, relishing the taste of a successful prank.

Finally, from Cream, "We should probably get back inside now."

"Yeah, we should."

----------

The walk home isn't even worth thinking about.

Cream had to stay late for some reason or another. She explained, but you didn't care to listen.

It was kind of boring. Nopony was outside today. It gave you time to think. Too much time, in your opinion.

You almost dread going back home to Rainbow, mean as it sounds. You recall the fight the two of you had not a week ago.

She was secretly crying out for attention then, though.

Just like she is now, you guess. Probably in a less subtle way.

Scary thing is, she's pretty physical. In a normal state of mind, she wouldn't touch you without your consent. When she's in heat, however...

>rape

Not that being raped by Rainbow Dash would be a bad thing.

Just not your ideal 'first time' with her.

You soon arrive at your own front door. All these thoughts are making you a little uneasy.

Just stick it out, man. Be brave.

You open the door, and-

Holy bacon stuffed Celestia.

The house. It's clean. Cleaner, even, than before Rainbow moved in.

Which isn't exactly saying much, but a big improvement nonetheless.

"Ivan! You're home!"

You're greeted by a very cheery cyan pegasus, who flutters up to eye level and pecks you on the cheek.

You return the gesture, giving her a kiss of your own. She giggles, and flies off towards the kitchen.

Is this what estrus is always like?

If so, you can't wait for next month.

You hear a honey-sweet voice call out, "I made a salad earlier, the kind that you like with the cheese in it. There should be some left in the fridge, help yourself to it if you're hungry."

You walk into the dining area. Dash holds the fridge door open for you.

"Wow, thanks, Rainbow."

She does a polite bow, similar to a curtsy, and heads off into her room.

You take the bowl of salad out of the refrigerator, and scoop some into a smaller bowl. After replacing the salad, you begin to eat.

"This is... Fucking good."

She's obviously a better chef than she lets on. It's a lettuce salad, with onions, cheese, and vinegarette dressing being the main flavorings. Garbanzo beans are also spread generously throughout.

A melodic voice flows from the hallway. "Oh, Ivan, could you come here, please?"

"Give me a second," you call back. Your stomach grumbles as it leaves its meal. You assure it that you will be back.

You take soft steps down the hall. You soon come to her door, and knock.

"Come in..."

Doing so, you turn the knob and step inside. The sight that greets you make your jaw drop.

Rainbow Dash is on her back, legs spread apart, showing you her...

Oh Celestia, I can't look away.

She's wearing striped rainbow-colored socks, which your penis observes, go all the way up to her mid-thighs. "Hey, Ivan," she says in a seductive voice, teasingly rubbing the area where the top of the sock ends, "I need some help taking these off."

You stand there, mouth agape. She winks at you; thankfully, with her eye.

After a few seconds of incomprehensibility, you slam the door shut.

You sit down, back against the door.

Ivan, you're so stupid. Why didn't you just explain to her the 'not yet' idea? Instead, you fucking slammed the door in her face. She's gonna be pissed.

…Well, I'm pretty sure if I had gone any closer, I wouldn't have been able to help it. We would've fucked.

Speaking of which, you adjust your now extremely tight pants.

Fucking Rainbow Dash.

----------

You sit at the dinner table, eating the rest of the leftover salad Dash made.

She still hasn't come out to dinner.

Tomorrow's gonna be a hell of a day.

----------

Tomorrow comes.

Rainbow, of course, still wasn't out of her room when you got up.

You woke up extra early to ensure that.

Reading the news, you take a sip of coffee. You don't normally have caffeine, but you figure you'll need it for today.

You set the morning paper down on the table. Unfortunately, the corner of the newspaper lands on the edge of your bowl of cereal, flicking Magic-Charms and milk all across the table's surface.

"Shit," you mutter, holding the soaked newspaper by the corner. A little marshmallow horseshoe slides off the fine print and lands in your lap.

After a bit of cleaning up, you decide it's time to leave soon. With this extra time, you plan to go to the post office before work.

You look down the hall, and your eyes catch the outer edge of Rainbow's door.

Should you check on her? You ask yourself. Suppose you wake her. How will she react?

She would probably either beat you to a pulp, or rape you.

To be fair, she's in estrus. She can't really think straight.

A random thought pops into your brain. Do ponies use tampons?

You try to shake it off, but the idea just stays stuck. You eventually concede, and decide to ponder the question.

If ponies used tampons, wouldn't you see them? Or at least a string hanging out of-

Okay, enough. You've never seen that, so they must not use them.

…

You've never seen a mare dripping blood in public, either.

Ugh, don't even think about that…

You look down the hall at Rainbow's room again.

...You know, if you go in there, and she's not under the blankets, you may find out...

Yeah, Ivan. Slam the door on a mare showing you her marehood, just to wake up extra early the next morning to see it yourself. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

You're out the door in a minute or so.

----------

You always seem to get to the post office at the right time. Nopony's here, except for the mare at the shipping desk, who looks like she could use a mug of coffee herself.

You pull out the key to box number وશૂέಮ, and stick the teeth into the lock.

The lock is stuck...

"Dammit," you mutter, jerking back and forth on the key. Soon, you realize a pair of blue eyes are watching you.

"Uh, hey Pinkie," you say, pulling the key out a little embarrassedly.

"Hey Ivan! Need some help?"

You're going to ask how she can be of any help, but settle on nodding your head.

She waves you aside, face determined. Why, you don't know. Then, she lets out a disgusting SNRXK and spits right into the keyhole.

"There! Try it now!" she orders, beaming.

Tepidly, you stick the key in and turn the lock. To your surprise and slight disgust, it works.

Thanking her, you open up the mailbox. Before you can even blink, each and every envelope and magazine is individually checked and thrown on the floor.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure none of those are important..."

"Ooh, it's a letter from Twilight!" Pinkie squeals, holding up a violet envelope.

"Yeah, it is," you say, attempting to swipe it away from her. She quickly turns her back to you, then opens up the letter.

"Dear Ivan Wal- Ivan Walk-"

"Walczyk."

"Dear Ivan Waltsick," she reads.

She then tosses the letter over her shoulder. "She wants to know why you haven't turned in your citizen application."

You roll your eyes, sighing. It was kind of unavoidable.

"So what're you gonna do?" Pinkie asks.

You shrug. "Tell her that I couldn't get the application in, but that I'll do it later? I dunno."

She gasps. "But that would be a lie!"

Not this crap again...

"Not exactly. I could tell her that Rainbow was sick yesterday, and that's why I couldn't turn it in. And I will eventually get to turning that in."

"Wait. Rainbow's sick?"

You scratch the back of your head. "Uh, yeah. She's sick, and I had to stay home for her."

Pinkie frowns. "There's something you're not telling me..."

You feign annoyance. "Pinkie, I'm serious. She really is sick."

"Pinkie promise!"

The mare at the shipping desk is awake.

You sigh. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, spear my eye with a cupcake."

She eyes you suspiciously. Then, very quietly, she whispers into your ear, "Do you know what happens to ponies who break a Pinkie promise?"

Goosebumps run down your back, making you shiver. "Alright, alright. Just, don't tell anypony I said this. I'm only telling you because I know you'll find out anyways."

Either that or murder me.

She quickly returns to her bubbly self. "Okay!"

Celestia, it's creepy how fast she can change moods. She could kill someone, and then throw a party for their mother in the same day.

"Well?" Pinkie cocks her head.

You shake yourself from your thoughts. "Sorry. Well, about Rainbow..."

"Yeah?"

"If you really need to know... It's... It's that time of the month for her."

She gasps. "Oh! Well, that's serious!"

You nod. "Uh-huh."

"You have my complete confidentiality assurance!"

"Good." You plaster on a smile, and tuck your mailbox key into your pocket.

"You've been 'pleasing' her, right?"

You're a bit shocked at the question. "Um, why would you need to know that?"

"Nevermind," she answers, turning away. "Is the sex good?"

"God, Pinkie," you mutter, rolling your eyes.

"Wait!" she calls, as you walk out the door.

You let the glass doors shut behind you, finally rid of that invasive little ball of energy.

Meanwhile, as you hurry down the street...

"Wait!" Pinkie calls, "You forgot your mail!" The front door to the post office shuts behind you, rendering you unable to hear her.

"Oh well," she hums, "I'll just pick it up and give it to h- Ooh, what's this?" She blushes, and begins to giggle.

"I'm sure he won't mind if I borrow this for awhile..." she says, slyly tucking away this week's issue of Weightlifter's Dojo into a secret pocket of her saddlebag.

----------

After a good five minute's worth of speed walking, you check behind you.

No Pinkie.

Letting loose a relieved breath of air, you return to your normal pace. Wouldn't want to arrive at work early now, would you?

"Ivan?"

You whip around, sure that the pink menace has somehow caught up to you. Instead, you find a somewhat frightened butterscotch mare, cowering behind her pink mane.

She squeaks. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

You roll your eyes, sighing. "No, it's not you. Sorry, I'm just a bit on edge right now."

"Aww," she coos, trotting up to you and taking your hand. She looks you in the eye, all concern. "Would you like to talk about it?"

You smile. "Tea time?"

She mirrors your expression. "Does three o' clock sound good?"

"Nah. I get off work at three-thirty."

She drops your hand, and rubs her chin. "Hm. Three forty-five, then?"

"See you there," you say, walking off in your respective direction. She waves to you, and does the same.

You don't know what it is, but something seems to click between you and that pony.

----------

After work, as promised, you walk over to Fluttershy's cottage.

It's kind of a pain, her living all the way across town from the hospital. But the walk is nice.

"Milky!"

You whip around, prepared to counter some crazy attack. Instead, you find Scootaloo sitting calmly on the ground, as if in a peace offering.

You walk up to her cautiously, knowing that something's off.

"Hey, Scootaloo. What's up?"

"I heard Rainbow Dash was sick!" She jumps up on you and balances on her hind hooves, leaning on your leg.

Dammit, Pinkie... "Yeah, she's sick. But don't worry, she'll be fine."

She's still tugging at your pant leg. "Are you sure? How long has she been sick? What kind of sick?"

"Yes, I'm sure, she'll be fine. And she's been sick for," you count on your fingers, "three days."

"And what kind of sick is she?"

You groan. You were trying to avoid that question.

"Uh... I think this is something your parents should teach you, before I do."

She rolls her eyes, and gets off of you. "First of all, Ivan, I'm almost thirteen. I don't think there's anything you can teach me that I don't already know."

"And secondly...?"

She turns away for a second. She's trying to hide it, but you see her wipe her eyes. When she turns back to you, she almost looks angry. "Just... don't ask about my parents."

"Alright," you consent, not wanting to upset her. The two of you walk on in silence for a while, the conversation killed by the little incident that just occurred. Just by the way she walks, you can tell that something's troubling her.

Finally, you hear Scootaloo let out her frustrations in a deep breath.

"So, Ivan, where are you going?"

Her starting the conversation surprises you. You jump on the chance to get her talking, "Well, I'm going to Fluttershy's. The walk's kind of long, I know, but unfortunately, I work all the way on the opposite side of town." You mentally stop for a second, something coming to mind. "Where are you going?"

She shrugs. "Following you, I guess." When you smirk at her, she blushes and immediately follows with, "Got nothin' to do. Sweetie Belle's helping Rarity with something boring, and Applebloom said she has to go work on the farm today. Also boring."

You tsk, shaking your head. Scootaloo notices this, and scowls. "What are you 'tsk-ing' about?"

"Come on, Scoots. We're friends. You don't need an excuse to talk to me."

She blushes even deeper, and you laugh at her expense.

The two of you fill the rest of the walk with idle chat. She tells you about life at school, and you find that though she puts on a tomboyish image, she talks just like a woman: a lot.

You decide to have fun with her, since you can barely get a word in anyway. Every time she mentions a colt, you go, 'Oh... Tell me more about him,' or smile and say 'Mm-hmmm. Go on.' You wouldn't be surprised if she and Rainbow were somehow related; by the time she had exhausted all her immediately recallable stories, you had bruises all over your left calf.

Before you know it, you're at the edge of town, near Fluttershy's cottage.

"Well, Scoots, we're here."

You can see a disappointed look on her face, as if she had been having fun. You know you were.

"Aw. Do you think Fluttershy'll mind if I... Well, since I have nothing to do, do you think-"

You ruffle her hair. "It's not polite to invite yourself into other ponies' homes. Although, I'm sure she wouldn't mind; we're just having a tea meeting."

She raises an eyebrow, grinning deviously. "You mean a tea party?"

You blush slightly. "If that's what you wanna call it..."

She snorts. "Isn't that... for girls?"

"Nope. We discuss important topics, some politics, and-"

"Sounds boring. I'll see ya later."

She trots off, wings flapping a little at first, but not really lifting her off the ground. It reminds you of your nickname for her, and you yell, "See ya, chicken!"

She sticks her tongue out at you. The two of you share a smile for a moment, then she trots off, a slight skip to her step.

You turn back to Fluttershy's house. Who do you find standing in the door, watching you?

"Aww," she coos, looking upon you with soft eyes. Your ears heat up, and you quickly walk past her into her simple abode.

Close Bonds: Fifth Chapter

"It's so cute the way you can talk to fillies like that, Ivan."

You take a sip of your tea. "Where I come from, it would be considered creepy. But yeah, I suppose so."

Fluttershy giggles. "Creepy? Ivan, that's a gift. Scootaloo never talks to adults, besides Rainbow Dash and myself."

You smirk. "What did you do to win her affections?"

"Oh, you know, just rescued her and her little friends from a cockatrice. No big deal." She tosses her head. "But even then, her voluntary contact with me is limited."

You shrug. "Well, I'm barely more than a kid myself. Maybe that's why I connect better."

"Scootaloo doesn't know that. In fact, most of the ponies that know you think you're at least thirty."

You groan, gripping your forehead. "You'd think that I would appreciate something like that..."

She looks at you curiously, concern in her eyes. "If you don't mind... Would you care to elaborate?"

You sigh. "Where do I start?"

You start at the beginning. The fallout with Rainbow Dash. You tell her about what happened after she left; how the two of you made up, including the part where you kissed.

She nods, smiling in a satisfactory way. She figured something had budded between the two of you, especially since she's the one who told you Rainbow's secret.

You talk about how things were going just fine. It was a great morning, being able to spend time with your new marefriend, up until she learned about your age.

After hearing your story up to the whole situation with Twilight's letter, she nods. "I don't mean to interrupt, but... Is that why you've been so stressed lately? I mean, it can't be that bad, keeping a small secret for a few months. No offense to you or Rainbow."

"None taken. And really, that's not what's bothering me. Not all of it, at least."

"Then what is?"

You sigh, knowing that you were going to tell her anyways. "She's... on her period."

The yellow ear closest to you lifts up. "Say what now?"

You mentally slap yourself. "Sorry. Earth term. I meant, she's started her estrus cycle."

"Oh, my." Fluttershy blushes, sinking back into her mane a bit. She shows herself a little, a playful smile on her face. "It shouldn't be too bad for you though, right? I mean, as soon as you come home from work-"

You interrupt her, already knowing where this is going. "Ehh, we've... decided to wait on that for a little bit. You know, we've just started dating and all..."

Fluttershy frowns. She looks like she's about to say something, but stops.

You raise an eyebrow. "What was that, Flutters?"

"Well," she says, dropping the scowl, "don't be offended, but personally, I think it's kind of mean to do that to Rainbow. She has to constantly be around you, and the fact that she likes you so much... It's really hard being a mare in estrus."

You ponder this for a moment. You bring your teacup to your mouth and slurp at air, realizing you're all out of tea. You try to pour yourself some more, but the pitcher's empty too.

"Thanks for offering me that point of view, Fluttershy. I'll keep in mind what you said."

She nods. "Anything for you, Ivan."

"Well, as long as 'anything's' for me," you say, signaling to the empty pitcher, "We're all outta tea."

"There's some iced tea packets in the cabinet, the kind you like with the lemon flavoring." She motions off in a direction to the left of you. "You can get some if you'd like."

You rise, bringing the pitcher with you. "I would like." You walk on over to the cabinet you think she's talking about, and look to her for confirmation. She nods. Opening it up, you reach inside.

"Ah, here it is," you say, pulling out a pack of iced tea mix. You observe it, looking over the words and picture on the front. It's almost humorous how similar these things are to the ones back on Earth.

"Low Fat, hm?" This shit's catching on here too?

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy nods, "I've been trying to keep slim recently."

You roll your eyes, ripping the packet where it says, 'τ'•⌠ []••⌠', and pour it into the pitcher. You reach up to close the cabinet, but a glint catches your eye.

Huh. It's not often you see ponies with metal possessions. Or at least, you assume it's metal.

You reach in again, aiming for where you saw the glint. In the darkness, your hand touches something cold, hard, and rectangular in shape.

What the-?

"Fluttershy!" you call. She looks up fearfully.

"How did you get my mp3 player?" you hold it up, showing her your iPod touch.

"Oh!" she blushes, covering up one eye with her pink mane, "Well, I was at the library with Twilight, and... I-it was just laying out there in the open like that, and I-I couldn't resist."

You stare at it for a moment. You recall that in your desperation, you had told Twilight to smash it, take it apart, whatever; as long as it was destroyed. And yet, here it is, saved by Fluttershy's kleptomaniac tendencies.

Really, you're kind of grateful.

You set the metal device down on the counter, and walk towards her. She 'meeps', sinking back further into her mane.

You kneel down, and give her a hug. She squirms at your touch, but calms down once she realizes you're being friendly with her.

"Thanks for saving it for me, Flutters."

Her voice barely comes out as more than a squeak. "Y-you're w-welcome, Ivan."

"Oh, and thanks for giving the lollipops back."

She backs up from the hug. "What?"

You hold up four candies, a victorious grin on your face. "These. But weren't there five?"

"I got hungry..." she mumbles, averting her eyes to the ground.

You chuckle, stuffing the suckers into your pocket. "It's all good, Flutters."

----------

You walk to the door of your home, sucker in your mouth.

Grape. Your favorite.

You come to the front entrance. Taking a deep breath, you open your door, not sure of what to expect.

The first thing you realize is that your house is back to the sorry shape it was in before Rainbow cleaned it.

Not a good sign.

"Well, well. Look who finally decided to show up."

Rainbow Dash sits on the couch, Daring Do novel in her hooves. She has that kind of squinty-eyed look that means she's pissed, but that you've always thought was immensely cute for some reason.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!"

You blink, suddenly self-aware. "Oh. Hi, Rainbow."

I wonder how stupid I sound?

She rolls her eyes, groaning. She snaps the book shut, then jumps off the couch and trots off to the kitchen.

Her tail swings back and forth, forcing your eyes between a state of looking, and averting your sight elsewhere.

Look for the string, Ivan.

What? No.

Look for the string hanging out of-

"Hey, Ivan?" Rainbow flies your way, wet rag in hoof.

"Yeah?" you ask, trying to hush your unruly thoughts.

"Does this smell like chloroform to you?"

You lean forward, about to take a sniff. "Sure, let me-"

Wait a minute.

Chloroform?

"Dash!" you shout, swatting the rag away, "What are you trying to do, knock me out?"

You got it, Holmes.

She scowls. "What else am I going to do? You keep refusing to have sex with me!"

"For good reason," you retort.

"No! Shitty idea, Ivan. Shitty."

"You're just not thinking straight," you say, shoving your way past her.

"Buck that! Where are you going?" she questions, hooves on her hips.

"The one place I can be alone in this house without someone trying to rape me," you answer back, closing the door to your room.

You begin to walk to your bed, but upon further thought, decide to turn back and lock the door.

Just in time, too. The doorknob rattles a bit, followed by what you assume to be a swift kick to the door.

You sigh, sitting down on your bed.

Just one, maybe two more days of this. If you can just stick it out...

----------

You wake up with a bad taste in your mouth. You'd forgotten to brush your teeth before bed, as you recall.

In fact, you hadn't even eaten dinner, your grumbling stomach reminds you.

You sit up with a groan. Shit's falling apart here. You went into this relationship thinking things were going to get better, and what happens? You're back to where you were a week before; arguing with Rainbow as soon as you get home, arguing with Rainbow before you go to bed.

You walk up to the door, a click sounding as you turn the knob and it unlocks. You step out into the hallway, and stop once you see what's happened to the kitchen.

The table is knocked over, along with all the chairs. A gallon jug of water lies broken on the floor, and what's left of the non-evaporated water is spread out along the tiles. You sigh, grabbing the wet mop out of its closet, and set to work.

It takes about five minutes to soak up the mess and set the kitchen furniture back up. Luckily, she only spilled water and not something perishable, like milk.

That would've stunk.

Shut up. That pun was bad and you should feel bad.

You grab a bagel and spread some cream cheese on it, settling on that being this morning's breakfast.

After you change out of yesterday's clothes, you walk towards the door. As you pass through the living room, however, something stops you.

A light snoring comes from the couch. You look down, and see a sleeping Rainbow Dash.

She obviously hadn't gone to bed happy last night. Her lips are contorted into a sad frown, and dark stains on her cheeks mark where tears had been. One of her forelegs hangs off the couch, and under it is an empty bottle of cider.

Shit. I feel guilty now.

You kneel down, dodging the bottle of alcohol with your knee. You reach your hand around, and begin scratching her behind the ear.

Subconsciously, she leans into it. She mutters something, but nothing comprehensible.

"'M'... Surry, Ivan..."

You understood that clearly.

You run your hand through her mane, kissing her on the snout as you do. Then, reluctantly, you get up to go, taking one last look at the cyan pegasus before heading out the door.

----------

Your day at the hospital doesn't go so smoothly.

As usual, you receive the normal greeting from Cream. After waving back, you approach her and ask, "Hey, could you go through my work schedule?"

She eyes you curiously, then reaches into a cabinet and pulls out a box of files. "Sure," she says, looking through them, "None of my business, but what's up?"

"I'm looking to take the day off tomorrow."

She pulls out a piece of paper, then winks at you. "Got something planned? You making a lucky mare, um," she thinks for a moment, "Lucky?"

You roll your eyes, and she giggles. She pushes the paper your way, and points to a space that says Signature before it. You take a pen, carefully inspecting it before signing.

"Relax. It's not gonna blow up or anything."

At that, you carefully sign your name in Equish writing.

"What's this? Taking a slacker's day?"

Lyra's here.

You finish up, then turn to face her. "Yup, sure am."

"What for?"

You don't lie to her, but you don't tell her everything. "Just need to talk to Rainbow about some things. I'm thinking it might be a bit stressful, which is why I'm taking the day off."

"Rainbow Dash? The little blue bitch?"

You feel your ears heat up. "Yeah, Rainbow Dash."

She laughs. "I saw her yesterday afternoon. She looked pretty pissed about somethin'. You kick her out?"

You shake your head. "Nope. She's still living with me."

Her eyes widen. "What? You're letting that bum mooch off you even longer?"

"Yeah," you reply, a hint of annoyance in your voice, "Forgive and forget. It's what friends do."

You slide the paper back to Cream, who cautiously takes it, keeping her eyes on the two of you the whole time.

She frowns. "Friends? Friends don't take advantage of each other, Ivan."

"I took advantage of your offer to help me get a job here. Do you still consider me a friend?"

She shakes her head. "That was done willingly."

"And so is this."

"But it's not like I would've lost much, or anything from what I did!" She sighs. "Ivan, you have to understand, I'm getting a little worried."

Your irritation becomes a bit more evident. "Worried? About what? I'm a grown adult, Lyra, not a foal."

Her voice rises now, too. "Let me put something through that thick skull of yours. That little slut, Rainbow Dash, is bringing you down. If you don't get rid of her, she'll cling to you like a leech, and, listen to me closely now; she will suck you dry. Got that?"

You're doing all you can to hold yourself back. "Now, let me put something straight in your head," you say through gritted teeth, "I. Don't. Give. A flying fuck, about what you have to say. Now leave me alone."

As you turn away, you catch a glimpse of Cream's shocked expression. This may be the first time she's seen you act like this.

For the rest of the day, you and Lyra don't speak. Even your verbal contact with Cream is quite limited, as she almost seems afraid of you.

At the end of the day, she still says goodbye. You wave back, giving her your best smile, though you know it looks forced.

What a shit day.

----------

You sit on a park bench, half-liddedly gazing at the various ponies enjoying their Thursday afternoons.

How you envy them. You feel like a lonely child, watching through a frosted window as a family enjoys their Christmas meal, while you're stuck outside by yourself in the freezing cold.

...Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic. But, I digress.

You feel the bench shift a bit. It seems somepony is sitting on the other end. A child, you guess, as you can feel the amount of extra weight applied through the wood.

"Um, Ivan?"

You turn your head. On your right sits Scootaloo, looking a little apprehensive.

Whatever happened to 'Milky'?

You clear your throat. "Yeah, Scoots?"

She twiddles her hooves. "Well, I know you don't want to be bothered, but," she looks off into the distance, where an orange frisbee is stuck in a tree, "Sweetie Belle accidentally threw our frisbee into the tree, and we were wondering-"

"It wasn't my fault!" a voice behind you yells in protest, "Applebloom's the one that didn't catch it!"

"Well, maybe if ya hadn't thrown it so hard-" They both stop when they notice you looking over the back of the bench, eyebrow raised.

Sweetie Belle steps forward. "Mr. Ivan?" she says, in the cutest pleading voice you've ever heard, "Can you get our frisbee? Pleease?"

Her eyes widen and shimmer, looking as if she may be about to cry. You know it's all a show; she's obviously learned a thing or two from her sister, but still...

"Fine," you mutter, trying to sound reluctant. As you rise to your feet, the three fillies let out a "Yay!" in unison.

The four of you make your way to the tree in question, the girls chattering the whole time. You don't listen to what they say, but just their carefree presence alone is enough to brighten your mood.

As you arrive at the tree, one thing becomes abundantly clear; it's too high for even a tall bipedal being like yourself to reach.

"Um, maybe if you jump?" Scootaloo suggests.

You shake your head. "Sorry, girls."

"Awww," they all moan.

You look at the trunk of the tree, and something comes to mind. You walk around it, circling until you find a branch low enough to grab.

"Hold on a sec."

The fillies watch in curiosity as you run your hand along the bark of the tree, checking to see how rough it is. Then, satisfied with your findings, you grab hold of the branch with both hands, and hoist yourself up.

Strength not being one of your main assets, you've always had to improvise. Instead of letting your arms do all the work, you spring off your feet, and in the same motion, quickly kick off the trunk to gain even more momentum.

The rest comes naturally. You swing yourself onto the branch, sitting on it and bringing one leg over to balance yourself.

The three girls rush up to you, or more correctly, under you.

"Wow! Howd'ja do that?" Applebloom gawks.

You lift one hand off the branch you're sitting on, and wiggle your fingers. "Hands. And lots practice."

They watch enviously as you ascend the tree, branch by branch, until you eventually come to the same height as the frisbee. You look at it for a moment. It's a little over a yard away, apparently snagged on an upwards branch. If you really stretched yourself out, you could probably reach out and grab it, but there's always the risk of the branch snapping. Or, you could simply slip off.

Not a far-fetched idea, considering both instances have already happened in the past.

You look down. You're met by three pairs of eyes, each of them recognizing that something's wrong. No matter. You have more than one trick up your sleeve for a situation like this.

"Hey guys!" You yell. They each perk up, then you continue, "The frisbee's gonna come down, so one of you needs to catch it!"

Applebloom scratches her head. "But how are ya goin' ta get it if-"

"On it!" Scootaloo calls, running underneath.

You try to shake the branch, bringing your body up and down to make it oscillate. Gradually, the branch begins to do so, the rustling of the leaves becoming louder and more frequent with each shake.

The frisbee moves with the tree, up and down, until the shaking becomes too much. The stick bends, then the frisbee tips and falls to the ground, hitting a few more branches and leaves with it.

"I got it!" the three fillies shout. They each run to where the frisbee is to land, and before you can say anything, they all run headlong into each other. As they each fall onto their backs, the frisbee lands in the middle.

You suppress a laugh. It's like something from a cartoon.

By the time you get down, they're sitting back up, rubbing their heads. Scootaloo winces as you muss up her mane, smacking your hand away.

"Heh heh," you chuckle, massaging your slightly red hand, "You girls alright?"

"No," Scootaloo scowls at you, "I think my skull is broken."

"Would you like me to check?" you joke, making a noogie-fist.

"Ack! Get away from me!" she quickly scoots away from you.

"Alright," you say, backing off. "I guess I'll see you girls later then."

As you walk off, a high voice beckons you. "Wait!"

You turn to see all three fillies giving you the pout face.

Okay, this is just getting ridiculous.

Applebloom walks forward, frisbee in mouth. She drops it by your feet, and asks, "Ain'tcha gonna stay fer frisbee?"

You think about it. Why were you leaving anyway? To go back home to an inevitable argument with Rainbow?

That can certainly wait. Why not enjoy your Thursday, like the rest of the ponies are doing?

"Of course I will. Here," you say, picking up the flying saucer, "catch!"

You throw it just a little bit above Scootaloo's and Sweetie Belle's heads. Scootaloo jumps in its path and snaps at it with her jaw, but right before it gets to her, it's engulfed in a pink aura.

"I got it!" Sweetie Belle squeals, lowering the object down into her hooves.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Scootaloo objects.

Sweetie Belle sticks out her tongue.

You cock your head. "What I'm wondering, is why you didn't just use your magic to bring it down in the first place."

The two other fillies turn to Sweetie Belle. Her cheeks redden, and she smiles nervously. "Whoops."

"Ugh," the orange filly groans. "Here, catch!"

She swipes the frisbee out of Sweetie's hooves, and throws it to Applebloom, who catches it in her mouth and tosses it up to you.

You smile, grasping the saucer. You see the three fillies waving about, calling out to you to throw it to them, and them specifically.

You fling it in their general direction, curious as to who the victor will be. Through push and shove, Applebloom emerges victorious, and tosses it back to you.

The day goes on like this for awhile. The four of you throw the frisbee back and forth, and for the first time in what seems like forever, you're genuinely having a good time.

You receive a toss from Sweetie Belle, frisbee engulfed in a pink aura until it reaches your hands. She's not very good at tossing with her mouth, and so resorts to different techniques.

"Go long!" you yell, flinging the frisbee far and high. Though once again you've used an unfamiliar term, the meaning seems to rub off on them, and they each go sprinting off to where they think it might land.

Sweetie Belle is the first to give in. Seeing the trajectory and speed of the frisbee, she decides it's not worth the effort, and stops.

Applebloom is next to give up, leaving only Scootaloo to catch it. Excitement wells up in you as you begin to think that she might pull it off.

"Go Scoots!" you and the white unicorn both cheer.

Applebloom shakes her head, "She ain't gonna make it."

The frisbee starts to drop, lower and lower. The little orange pegasus opens her mouth in anticipation, but as you can all tell, the frisbee is flying faster than her. She runs harder, flapping her little wings as fast as she can.

"C'mon, Chicken..."

The frisbee is ahead of her. She leaps for it, and snags it right out of the air.

"Woohoooo!" you all cheer at her glorious catch.

That, however, isn't what takes your breath away. A second later, she's still in the air.

A second turns into two, and two seconds turn to five. Your mouth drops, as you realize the flightless little 'Chicken' has flown.

She realizes this too, and in her shock, drops to the ground. She tumbles for a bit, but immediately springs back to her hooves.

"I flew!"

"Holy sh-" The parents of fillies and colts glare at you. "-ips!"

You, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle all rush up to her. She's jumping up and down in her excitement.

"I flew! IflewIflewIflew!!!"

"Do it again!" Sweetie squeals, just as excited. Scootaloo takes the challenge, and leaps up into the air, her wings buzzing like a hummingbird's.

She stays suspended for another five seconds, before dropping to the ground again. Her grin spreads wider than her wings, which are buzzing themselves. The two other fillies bounce up and down in a circle around her, barely able to contain themselves.

"Ivan! Where the buck have you been?!"

The fillies stop. You stop. Time slows as you turn to find an extremely disgruntled Rainbow Dash behind you.

"Well!?" she shouts.

In your shock, your mind goes blank. "I- I-"

"You what?" she growls, flying up to your height and pressing her nose against yours.

You look around, noticing the curious stares the two of you are getting. You recover from your shock, and calmly reply, "I can do whatever I want, which means I can be wherever I want."

She narrows her eyes, then shoves you in the chest. "I've been looking for you all day, Ivan. And then, when I ask you why you weren't home, you tell me, 'I can do whatever the buck I want.'"

"Because I can, Rainbow Dash," you catch the hooves coming for your next shove. "You act like you own me or something. Calm down, and learn some self control."

Her jaw drops. "Self control?"

You remember that rule you had, the one where you're not supposed to tell people to calm down or anything to that effect?

She gets closer. "Self. Control?!"

You broke it.

"I'LL SHOW YOU SELF-CONTROL!!!" she screams in your face, causing your ears to ring. She rears back, and sends her forehoof slamming straight into your nose.

The hit lays you flat on your back. Stars fly out of your vision, and you begin to tear up.

You open your eyes, almost unbelieving of what just happened. Rainbow stands on top of you, hoof raised for another strike, but slowly drops it once the full realization of what she's done hits her.

Everyone around you, including Scootaloo and the girls, stares wide-eyed. It's as if the whole park is holding their breath; even the wind has stopped blowing.

Suddenly, your anger rises, and the blood boils within you. If this were a male on top of you right now, you would've started beating the living hell out of him.

Instead, you shove her off. She gives no resistance as the palms of your hands smack her chest, sending her tumbling to the ground next to you. You stand up, fuming, and walk off without giving a second glance.

A warmth runs down your lip. You lick it, and taste the metallic flavor of blood. You attempt to wipe the rest off with the back of your hand, but only succeed in spreading around.

"Ivan, wait!"

Her voice only spurs you on to walk faster. You hear the flapping of wings, and then a pair of hoofsteps beside you.

"I'm sorry, Ivan. I wasn't thinking. Please, just listen."

You pay her no heed. The anger rising in your throat keeps you from speaking. You just keep your eyes straight ahead, and keep walking.

She sees that you're not willing to talk, but continues to follow you nonetheless. For a brief moment, you almost feel bad for her; then that small amount of pity is burned to a crisp in the fire of your anger.

You soon arrive at your house, Rainbow still close behind. You approach the front door and try the knob, then realize that it's unlocked.

Dammit, Rainbow Dash. Couldn't have locked the door before you went on your rage hunt?

You have the courtesy to at least let her follow you into your home. You soon arrive at your room, however, and don't show the same kindness.

"Ivan, please-"

You slam the door in her face.

You've had enough of her shit.

You grab a tissue out of the box on your nightstand, and attempt to wipe the blood off your face as well as you can. You then jump onto your bed, and shut off the lights in your room.

Fuck.

I think I got some blood on my pillow.

You sit up, and feel around where you placed your face. Sure enough, you feel a wet spot.

"Fucking dammit," you mutter, plopping your face back into the pillow.

It's gonna take a lot more than an apology to be forgiven for this.

----------

In the middle of the night, around one or two in the morning you assume, you hear sniffling.

Sighing, you slide off your bed and onto your feet. You're a little off-balance at first, but soon gain coordination with each step you take.

You open your door. The sniffling is a little louder in the hallway, if not by much.

In the darkness, you trudge towards the source of the sound. You soon find yourself in front of Rainbow's door, and let out a sigh.

Every time you step through this door, something bad happens. Do you expect tonight to be any different?

Silently, you open the door. You find Rainbow lying in her bed, her hind legs tucked under her. The moonlight shines on her from the window, and every so often she looks up from crying into her hooves to stare at the moon.

Tears glimmer off her cheeks and eyes. The sight makes you sad, almost guilty. You walk up to her, and sit at the side of her bed.

Her head shoots up upon detecting your presence, and she turns to you, startled. Then, her lip quivers, and she goes back to crying.

You place a hand on her neck, and gently squeeze. Her sniffling slows down a bit, and she raises her head to look at you.

"A-Are you going to kick me out? I'll understand if you do."

You smile reassuringly, and hug her around the neck. "No. Of course not. You're my mare, and it's gonna take a lot more than a bloody nose for me to stay mad at you."

You see her lips curve upwards for a second, but then it goes as quickly as it came. You brush a strand of messy hair out of her eyes, and lie beside her.

"Beautiful moon tonight, isn't it?"

She just stares at it. You think you perceive a whispered "Yeah," but it's too quiet to be sure.

You observe your mare, looking over her features with admiration. Her eyes reflect the moon, and the moonlight bathes her in a way that makes all her colors a tint lighter. Her mane, instead of being neatly combed in the tomboyish fashion you're used to, hangs down over her neck and around her ears in a random array of different colored strands of hair, reminding you of fireworks. It's a truly beautiful sight.

"You know, when I hit you, I thought I'd really done it that time. You didn't even yell at me, you just ignored me. Then, when you shut the door on me, I couldn't help but feel... Alone. I was sure you hated me."

You rub her chest with the same arm wrapped around her neck. She nuzzles you, and you nuzzle back.

"I couldn't hate you. I know it seems a bit early to say this, but... I love you. Not only as your partner, but as a friend. I've known you for too long to just let our relationship end like that."

She's smiling now. She begins to lick you, timidly at first, but once she sees that you're accepting her, she picks up speed.

You do the same, licking her face up and down. At one point, your tongues touch. Both of you hold it there, looking into each other's eyes. Her shimmering, violet eyes.

Then, you kiss her. Softly at first, although you envelop her tongue in your mouth as you lean forward. She slips it back into her own mouth, her softness rubbing your lips. You groan, and enjoy the feeling of her warm lips against yours. Her tongue timidly presses against your mouth, as if in asking for permission, and you let it through, giving it a greeting of your own.

The two of you stay like that for awhile, with your arm draped around her. Two lovers lie in the moonlight, dancing a dance that has been performed for ages.

Soon, you take the hand that's over her shoulder, and bring it to her wings. There, you begin to softly massage her feathers.

She moans, turning on to her side. Never breaking the kiss, you begin to feel her up. Your hands start at the sides of her belly, softly squeezing her womanly plush. You let your fingers run through her fur, once again amazed by how soft it feels.

You move them to her back, gently pulling her into you. Her stomach and thighs press against yours, and you groan when she wraps her left leg around your own.

Not wanting to be outdone, you let your hands drop to her flanks, and squeeze. She moans audibly, her cheeks turning an adorable shade of red.

Your boner presses tightly against your pants. She's sliding her body up and down on you. She gasps when your rock-hard pride limb pushes into her belly, poking in at a slanted angle.

A musky smell fills the air. She's panting now, and when you look at her, you see a completely different look in her eye.

Her hot breath hits you wave after wave, brushing against your cheeks. The two of you lay there for a minute, staring into each other's eyes. Her lust-crazed eyes.

----------

((NSFW Warning. If you don't like reading erotica between a pony and a human, then skip to the page breaker with the [SFW] sign under it.))

Dash is the first to move. She quickly climbs atop you, forcing you onto your back. Once she achieves her goal, she sits on your chest, looking down at you like a well-earned trophy.

She leans down, and whispers into your ear, "I've been waiting a long time for this." She then nips you on the earlobe, causing you to grunt in surprise.

She sits back up, and scooting back to sit on your legs, looks favorably at your crotch. A tent is formed with your pants. She looks you straight in the eye, and demands, "Open it."

You do as she says, quickly unbuttoning and unzipping your jeans. Her eyes widen when the pants come down, but growls when she sees your boxers.

"Why do you wear so damn many clothes..."

She pulls those down for you, feeling liberated as your cock springs forth. Her wings open up with a *pomf!*, and her eyes widen, drool hanging off her lip.

She leans down, closer to your hardened member. However, instead of doing what you think she's going to do, she places her hooves on either side, and begins rubbing up and down.

You lean back, enjoying every last second of this. Somehow, as time slowly goes on, it gets to feeling even better.

You hear Rainbow moan. Curious as to why she might be having these sensations, you look up.

She's not only using her hooves, but her wings now. When she sees you, she smiles, tongue out, and wraps the tips her feathered limbs around your penis, completely covering it with the soft feathers.

You're surprised by the flexibility of her wings, though it feels heavenly. Then, right as you're about to orgasm, she stops.

You groan, an empty feeling aching at your body as you're denied your pleasure. You look at her again, a questioning frown on your face.

"I'm not getting satisfied," she states. Then, before you have a chance to react, she straightens your cock upwards and positions herself over you.

The two of you stay like that for a moment, though it seems like forever. You can feel your tip brush against her folds, the feeling sending electrifying jolts throughout your body.

She grins at you. Then, faster than your numbed mind can think, she brings her hips down.

Every muscle in your body flexes as you feel your manhood slip inside her. Her walls are tight, and push against your extremely sensitive member, sending electrifying jolts throughout your body. You grip the bed, then thrust upwards, lifting the cyan pegasus as high as your hips will go.

You thrust, again and again, lower back never touching the bed as you feel the cum rush out. She moans, and at the same time her walls tighten. A flood of hot mare juices rushes from her vagina, overflowing and spilling out onto you. As your orgasm dies down, you slowly drop back to the bed, semen and Rainbow juice running down your hips and onto the sheets.

----------

((SFW)) (Safe For Woona)

The two of lie there, feeling each other's heartbeats, and the rise and fall of your chests. She feels so warm.

She licks your chest, then slowly climbs up to meet you eye to eye. Then, wrapping her forehooves around your neck, she kisses you on the lips.

She pulls back, looks into your eyes, and whispers, "Thank you, Ivan." She then rests her head in the crook of your neck. In return, you wrap your arms around her, softly scratching her back.

"Goodnight Dash," you whisper softly. You revel in the feeling of her hair washing over your neck and shoulders.

"See ya tomorrow."

Close Bonds: Chapter 5.5

You feel a tongue slide across your cheek. You know it's a tongue, because it's warm, wet, and brings with it the smell of Rainbow breath in the morning.

"Ungh, stop licking me," you groan, turning onto your stomach. You feel a weight next to you lift off the bed, partially but not completely. Two hooves press down on the other side of you, and you realize she's standing over you.

She presses her body against your bare back, starting with her hips, then going upwards until her chest is between your shoulder blades. She then takes her forelegs, and wraps them around your biceps.

The warmth of her body is so soothing. You feel it lulling you to sleep, until-

Lick. Lick.

"Fuck, Rainbow. You're not gonna let me sleep, are you?"

She only giggles in response, hopping off your back and crawling up beside you. She snuggles into you, pushing on your face until you look up. Once you do, you're met with two violet eyes and a wide smile.

"Mornin', sunshine," she says playfully, poking fun at your grumpy mood.

Her smile is contagious, although you do your best to keep up your sluggish demeanor. "You seem awful chipper. What, did your cycle end or something?"

"Yeah, actually." She leans in for a kiss. After an intimate tongue dancing, she pulls back. "But, I wouldn't say I'm not still having... urges."

You glance at the analog clock near her mirror. It's seven-ish, as far as you can tell through your blurry vision.

The hell is Rainbow doing up at seven?

"Okay, um, gimme another... half hour or so. Then I'll let you join me in the shower."

She cocks her head. "Aren't you supposed to be getting up for work anyways?"

You shake your head. "Nope. Took the day off. Don't ask why, just accept that I did."

She shrugs, then gives you a grin. "Alright. I'll leave you alone for now." She rolls onto her back a foot away, giving you your space. You sigh, and dig your face into the pillow.

…

"Ivan?"

You groan internally. "Yeah, Dash?"

"Just wondering, not that I'm unhappy about it or anything, but why did you do it? I thought you said you wanted to wait."

You turn on your side to face her. It takes you a moment to recall; why did you do it?

It comes back to you. "Well, I just... I couldn't stand to see you like that. You seemed like you were in pain. And after what Fluttershy said-"

"Wait," she interrupts. "You told Fluttershy?"

Caught, motherfucker.

"Uh, yeah..." you scratch the back of your head. "I suppose it just kinda came out..."

"You're a terrible liar, Ivan." She shakes her head. "But I think we can trust Fluttershy. Just don't let it 'kinda come out' to anyone else."

Damn, she let you off easy. "Got it."

"So, you were saying?"

You think for a moment. "Oh, yeah. Well, after what Fluttershy said, I guess I understood, as much as a male can understand at least, what you were going through. I may have gotten fed up at some points, but believe it or not, I really felt sorry for you. I saw you crying last night, and knew I couldn't wait any longer. Besides," you gesture towards the window, "it was a nice night. Quite romantic, really."

She looks over you for a moment, contemplating what you said. She keeps a blank expression, hindering your reading of her thoughts. Then, a wide grin encompasses her face.

"That's real sweet, Ivan." She kisses you on the cheek, then goes back to her side of the bed.

You smile to yourself, turning back into your pillow. The feeling of her lips on your cheek hasn't faded.

You close your eyes, attempting to slip off again...

…

"Fuck. I can't even fall asleep now."

You hear a muffled giggle. "Sorry."

You sit up. "You're not sorry at all..."

"Nope." She smiles knowingly. "Shower?"

"Guh, might as well," you roll your eyes. Your bones groan in protest as you step off the bed, the effects of a busy night not lost on you.

A hoof slaps your naked ass. Turning around, Rainbow stands on the bed, smiling impishly.

Your look is just as devilish. "Now, Dash, let's remember that the neighbors won't be able to tell one scream from another."

She jumps to the ground. The two of you walk off towards the shower, intent on starting the day out right.

Close Bonds: Sixth Chapter

"You almost done, Ivan?"

You zip up your backpack, confident that all the 'necessities' are packed. "Yeah, I think so."

Rainbow flies up, bumping you aside and re-opening the zipper. She looks at you, eyebrow raised. "You know we're going to the beach, right?"

"Yep. It was my idea, remember?"

"This," she pulls out a roll of duct tape and a Buck knife, "is not meant for the beach."

"Well," you say, carefully taking back the items, "It's always good to be prepared."

She rolls her eyes. "Paranoid freak..."

"Whatever you say. My money, my trip. I get to do what I want."

She shakes her head for a moment, then sighs. "Right. You done packing yet?"

"Just about," you grab some folded shirts off the counter and plop them into your suitcase.

"I helped a bit with your clothes while you were doing... that," she gestures toward the backpack.

You peer into your suitcase, and lock it with a click. "Oh? So that's why my suitcase looks like shit."

She punches you lightly, and smiles. You smile back, kneeling down and giving her a quick peck on the lips.

Things have been going well ever since her estrus cycle ended a week ago. Other than the usual banter, the two of you haven't really had any arguments, and have actually been having a lot of fun together.

In a perfect world, this is how the relationship would have began. But, seeing as how all is fine and good now, you're okay with it.

"Did you send that letter to Twilight?" Rainbow asks, wiping her lips with a foreleg.

Oh, funny story here. A couple of days ago, Rainbow tried to convince you into drinking hard cider again. After much begging and moaning, you agreed to just a few sips; however, it's difficult to remember how many times you heard the words, "Come on, Ivan, just a little more!"

In a short while, you were as drunk as Rainbow Dash during happy hour. The two of you spent the night telling terrible jokes that seemed funny at the time, discussing the 'All-Seeing Horn', which is basically the pony version of the Illuminati, and making not-so-subtle hints at sex.

Then, you saw Twilight's most recent letter sitting on the table, and for some unfathomable reason, decided you were going to reply to it. Her letter went like this:

My good friend Ivan,

I am sorry to hear about Rainbow. Please tell her that I hope she gets better soon, and say 'hi' for me. I also hope that you will soon find the time to fill out and turn in your citizenship application, and that everything goes well for you.

(P.S.) Sorry for the short letter, but I am rather busy today. I promise to get back to you as soon as I can so we can talk about more casual things. I do miss talking to you.

Your princess and dear friend,

Twilight Sparkle

Pleasant, right? Now, here's how your letter went:

Dearr prinsess,

Thenks for the lettr i hoep yor hgud good...

ivan

Oh, and apparently you wrote it in English, too.

"Yeah, I sent it. Why?"

You sent the Equish version, which was a much better revision.

"Really? Because I found it on the floor this morning."

You chuckle. "Nice try."

"No, really!" She pulls a piece of paper out of her saddlebag, and begins to read aloud, "Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle, thank you for-"

You swipe it out of her hoof. "Lemme see that." Your eyes scan the page for a minute, before you mouth one word.

"Shit."

"Ah-ha!" She points a forehoof at you. "Told ya!"

"Shush. Now, I'm trying to remember. I did take a letter to the post office, I just don't know which one..."

You stop as the realization hits you. Rainbow looks up at you, a wide grin plastered across her face.

----------

"Did you really send her the drunk letter?"

You facepalm, ignoring her. "God, no. What's she going to think when she receives an ill-written, barely legible cider-stained note, in English at that? I mean, how did I let that happen?"

Rainbow giggles. "Maybe you were drunk."

You give her a deathly glare. "You're not helping."

You see her shrink slightly under your gaze, but she hides it with a meek smile. "Hey, come on, I was just jokin' with ya. I mean, it's not like she can read it, right?"

You sigh, rolling your eyes. "Yeah, there's that."

She flies up, circling around you for a second before clinging onto your shoulders piggy-back style. "Twilight's our friend; she'll be understanding. I really don't see what you're so worried about, it's not like she'll think any less of you because of one letter. She probably expected something like this to happen eventually, what with the influence I now have on you."

"Yeah, there's that," you chuckle.

She bops you on the ear. "Shut up. I was just trying to make you feel better."

"My ear's ringing."

"Nope, that's the doorbell." She jumps up, balancing on your shoulders with her hind legs. She then drops a little bit, kicking off of your chest and propelling herself through the air towards the door.

You stumble backwards, catching yourself on the counter as Rainbow whips open the front door. After a second, she turns. "Rarity's here."

You take this moment to whip out your middle finger. She giggles; she's really the only one in Equestria who knows what it means, as she's seen you flip off ponies on certain occasions. Usually in defense of her. Here, though, it doesn't really have the same effect, as it's similar to cussing at someone in a foreign language.

It's been more of a joke between the two of you than anything.

She sticks her head back out the door. Faintly, you hear, "Ivan said come in."

Rainbow takes a step back. Rarity trots through the door, followed by three little fillies. Rarity is wearing sunglasses and a hat, while the fillies each have their assortment of beach toys, including a rubber duck inner-tube worn by Sweetie Belle.

Rainbow gives you a knowing look as you recall what happened here.

It was suggested, sometime in the past week, that the two of you would go to the beach together. In preparation, you bought train tickets, booked a hotel, and put in a vacation day for the following Monday, just for your efforts to be squandered by a simple question.

"Won't it seem kinda suspicious?"

You called Rainbow a troll, to which you received a raised eyebrow and the suggestion to invite someone else along.

It was agreed upon that Fluttershy was the perfect candidate for this, seeing as how she already knew what was going on, and therefore you and Rainbow could act like a couple in front of her.

So, you talked to Fluttershy about it, explaining the nature of the situation. She agreed with you; who wouldn't take up an offer to go to the beach?

The next day, you were approached by Rarity, who was wondering if she and her sister could come along.

"Come along where?" you said, though you already knew the answer.

"Why, come with you to the beach, of course!"

Apparently, Fluttershy had mentioned the beach trip during one of their spa meets. You weren't mad at her; it wasn't like this was top-secret or anything.

But it would've been nice if you could be affectionate with Rainbow somewhere other than the hotel room.

And then, there's the matter of the fillies. After finding out that Sweetie Belle was going to the beach, Applebloom and Scootaloo each begged their guardians to go; Applebloom to Applejack, and Scootaloo to you don't know who.

Applejack kind of represented them both when she asked you if they could come along. At that point, it was kind of a matter of, "Well, everyone else is coming anyways. Why not two more?"

And so, it was decided that Rarity would drop by and pick both of them up, then bring them to your house before you left.

"Ready, you two?"

Rarity's question snaps you out of your thoughts. You blink and look to Rainbow, who shrugs.

You turn back to her. "More or less." Picking up your suitcase and strapping on your backpack, you notice Rarity eyeing you curiously.

"Uh, something wrong, Rarity?"

She snaps to. "Uh, no. Sorry, I was just wondering about that..." She gestures with her hoof.

"Backpack?"

"Yes. Backpack. I've seen you wear it before, but not very often. Is it a human style?"

"Uh, in a way," you scratch your head. "I guess it's kind of the Earth equivalent to a saddlebag. I happened to be wearing it when I got here; kind of a fortunate thing, really."

"Oh, yes. You said you arrived in the Everfree forest?"

You nod. "Yeah. Conveniently, I had been out camping at the time, so when I arrived here, I was already well-equipped with survival tools."

"And he thinks he's going to need them for the beach," Dash mutters.

"You know what? You would be like this, too, if you were dropped in the middle of some unknown... place. What would you do if you found yourself in the Everfree?"

She grins. "Fly home. I know that forest pretty well."

You shake your head. "That's not the point. But whatever. You ready for the beach?"

She throws on a pair of sunglasses and crosses her arms. "Always ready."

You rub your forehead, then turn to Rarity. For the first time, you notice that she has no luggage with her.

"Hey, Rarity?"

"No, it won't hurt the rubber ducky if we- Wha-?" She looks up from a conversation with Sweetie Belle.

"Where are your bags?"

"Oh. That." She chuckles, waving a hoof. "Darling, you didn't honestly think I would bring all that inside, did you?"

You peer out the open door, and for the first time, see a pile of suitcases on a wagon.

You turn back, slightly amazed. "And you managed to pull all that yourself?"

She laughs, waving her hoof. "Of course not, dear."

----------

You're now at the train station.

And the fillies have somehow managed to, as a collective group, lug the mountain-of-luggage-on-wheels all the way to the depot.

You have to give them credit. That's not something you would normally undertake, at least by yourself.

Rarity checks her watch. "I do hope Fluttershy arrives soon. Heaven forbid if the train left without her."

Right as Rarity says this, a suitcase approaches, seemingly hovering by itself. When you look closer, however, you see the legs, claws, snouts, and tails of mice protruding from underneath.

You look a little ways down the road and see Fluttershy, accompanied by another floating suitcase. Meeting your eyes, the yellow pegasus smiles.

"Hello, Ivan." She nods at the others. "Rainbow Dash. Rarity. Giiirls."

She draws out the last word, as a kind of special acknowledgement, you guess.

"So, you have your animals carry your luggage?" you venture to ask.

"Oh! Well, just on the way here. They insisted, and I just couldn't say no." She pats the one nearest to her on the head, and coos, "Okay, Nosey, you can go now."

The mouse squeaks in response, rubbing up against her hoof, and scurries off back towards the road. Fluttershy sighs as she watches him go.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?"

You, Rainbow, and Rarity look at each other, and can each only nod awkwardly in response. Holding a particularly long eye contact with Rainbow, you realize that both your thoughts concern the average lifespan of a mouse.

Fluttershy sighs again, unaware of your thoughts. Turning around, she's met with the rest of her furry servants lined up in front of her.

"Aw, you all want rewards too?" The assembly nods, and Fluttershy starts with the one in front.

"Thank you for helping, Mimsy. Be good while I'm gone, Flipsy. Are you, going to miss me, Kicker? I bet you will!"

It goes on like this for awhile. She names off her pets, giving each one of them their own special little goodbye.

Soon, it's a rather ugly, mostly hairless one's turn. She kisses it, chirping, "Goodbye, Ivan! Momma won't be gone long!"

Ivan?

Rainbow Dash snickers just loud enough for you to hear. In response, you ruffle her hair, messing up her somewhat formerly neat mane.

She stops laughing, and punches you in the thigh. You're ready to retaliate by pulling off her sunglasses, but Fluttershy turns back to you.

"Sorry about that, girls. And Ivan. Ready to go?"

You all nod and pick up your bags. Predictably, Fluttershy is the last one to board. Before she can get on, however, you tap her on the shoulder.

"Um, yes, Ivan?" She asks, doing her best to disguise her impatience.

You make it quick. "Just wondering, why was one of your rats- mice, named Ivan?"

Her eyes brighten up. "Oh! He's the one you saved from the pot of macaroni! Don't you remember?"

You look at your right hand, the evidence of such an occurrence still slightly visible. "Yeah, I remember all right. I'd have to be crazy not to."

Yeah. Especially when the scooping spoon was within reach. But, of course, you went with the option of sticking your hand into a pot of hot macaroni.

"All aboard!" the conductor shouts, making the both of you jump. You gesture for the pink-maned mare to go ahead of you, to which she gratefully accepts.

Now, to think of a way to get back at Rainbow. You do have the whole trip there.

----------

"And I thought beach folk were supposed be friendly..."

You throw your bags on the ground next to the hotel door. Rainbow does the same.

"Well, what did you expect? You were eating beef jerky, in public."

You wave it off. "Gah, griffons do it all the time. Why do they sell it if you're not supposed to eat it?"

She rolls her eyes. "Well, for one, griffons living in pony territory normally don't eat in public. It's kind of an unsaid rule, since this is a vegetarian nation."

You sit down on the bed. "Okay, but I'm still wondering how ponies know what meat looks like. You know, vegetarian nation and all."

She raises an eyebrow. "Do you want me to make you feel like an idiot again?"

"No..."

She smiles, sitting next to you on the bed. "Then shut up for awhile."

You're about to retaliate, but stop when she leans against your shoulder. You look down at her, intending to give her a disapproving scowl, but soften up once you see her big violet eyes gazing back at yours.

With a sigh, you roll your eyes and put an arm around her. Giggling, she hugs you back.

The two of you stay like that for a while. Dash, eyes closed, soon lays across your lap. "You make a good pillow."

You look towards the pillows at the head of the bed, and wonder if she would like to 'have' a real one.

"Don't even think about it."

"What?" you ask innocently. She shoots you a glance that reads, 'Are you fucking kidding me,' then rests her head on your thigh.

Not wanting to move and consequently disturb Rainbow, you decide to finally take a look at your room. From what you can tell from your sitting position, there are two beds, a nightstand in between them, a kerosene lamp hanging above that, and by the door is a bathroom.

It's odd how similar this is to the hotels you would find back on Earth. It has the common nothing-special design that you're used to, albeit the absence of a television.

Actually, the lack of T.V. is making you kind of bored. That's one of the things you always enjoyed about hotels.

A slight movement catches your eye. You look down, finding that Rainbow's ear is twitching.

The urge is irresistible. You bring your hand behind her ear, and begin to softly scratch.

A pleasured groan escapes her. Knowing now that she's not asleep yet, you move your appendages to her shoulders to see if you can get a better reaction.

Your fingers move over her collarbone, caressing the soft area on and around her neck. You squeeze her shoulders and knead her upper back, eliciting pleasured moans and what you perceive as a purr.

You can't help but chuckle at the first mumbled words that pass her lips: "This is enough to make me wet."

At this, you move your hands a little lower, just enough to meet her ribcage. For some reason, you've always liked to touch her ribs.

She knows this. She also knows what this tends to turn into. Adjusting herself so as not to hit you, her wings snap open, awaiting your caressing touch.

Licking your lips, you lean forward, ready to bring forth sensual feelings-

Creeak...

"Ivan? Rainbow? Are you two in here?"

Close Bonds: Seventh Chapter

You immediately jump up to a sitting position. The prospect of being found in such a compromising position with Rainbow doesn't fare well with you. Rainbow, however, just continues to lie there on your lap.

"Hey Rarity," she says, calm as can be. Lazily, she pulls her wings back to her sides.

Rarity steps through the door, smiling. "Hello, you two." She stumbles over one of your bags, but regains her balance easily enough. She sees Rainbow on your lap, and raises an eyebrow playfully. "So, I take it you're getting... comfortable?"

"Like you wouldn't believe..." Rainbow rolls off the bed, landing neatly on her hooves. "Ivan gives the best back rubs. Ever."

"Oh? Is that so?" She eyes you skeptically. "Lotus and Aloe are the two best masseuses I know."

"They were. Hop on the bed."

Being the curious mare she is, Rarity trots on over and climbs up on the bed. She glances over her shoulder to smile at you, then settles down onto her stomach.

You look at Rainbow. Looking back at you, she nods slightly towards Rarity. Hesitantly, you bring your hands forth in same way you did for Rainbow.

"Come on, now. It's rude to keep a lady waiting."

You let your hands rest on her back for a moment. Her coat's really soft, a lot like Rainbow's actually, just maybe a little better maintained. Slowly, you begin pressing your fingers into her skin, pushing softly so as to not cause discomfort.

"Hm, I don't know, Rainbow Dash... He doesn't feel very strong."

"Yeah," Rainbow plops onto the other bed, "He isn't."

Seriously?

"Well, then," you mutter, pressing your palms and fingers firmly into her back. She jumps and lets out a slight gasp, but soon relaxes.

"Ah," she sighs, practically melting as your fingers grasp and pull at her skin, "This is... absolutely wonderful."

"Glad I'm strong enough for you," you groan.

"Sorry for that, dear. You just haven't said a word since I walked in. I almost forgot you were even listening."

"Don't sweat it, Rarity. Ponies forget about him all the time." You glare at her for her comment, and she hides her face behind the book she's reading, chuckling as she does so.

Rarity tsks. "Oh, don't be like that, Rainbow Dash. He's just a gentlecolt, who likes to be polite and not interrupt when others are talking."

"Thank you, Rarity." You go a little slower with the rubbing, making sure to drag it out to give her the most amount of pleasure possible.

Rainbow scoffs. "Gentlecolt? Hah! You'd be tellin' a different story if you lived with him a few months."

You're about to retort, but Rarity beats you to it. "Well, considering he lives with such a brash individual, I wouldn't blame him for being a little out of character at times. Is that right, Ivan?" She looks back at you, winking.

That was much better than what you were going to say. You grin. "Spot on, Lady Rarity. Spot on."

She giggles, and you join in. Rainbow rolls her eyes and buries her nose in her book.

The room is silent for awhile. After a bit, you hear a soft snoring, as well as slight vibrations to your hands. You and Rainbow glance at each other.

"Is she… sleeping?"

You stop with your massaging.The only sound in the room is Rarity's breathing.

"Aww," you coo. Rainbow raises an eyebrow at you.

"You're weird, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah. You tell me all the time."

Once again, silence.

"So, what should we do with her?"

You scratch your head. "Dunno. Let her sleep?"

Rainbow holds her two front hooves out. "And just leave her on the bed like this? What if somepony sees her?"

"'What if someone sees her?' You make it sound like we just committed murder."

If she were closer, she would have socked you. "Shut up. Really, though."

"Well, if you're so worried about it, we could wake her up." You gently nudge Rarity in the side. "Hey, Rarity."

"Hmmph...?"

"Wake up. Rainbow's uncomfortable with you sleeping here."

Rainbow shoots you a glare. Rarity's eyes waft open, and she yawns.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just a little tired after the long trip here. I'll leave now." She sits up, yawning again, and checks her mane for any misplacements. Then, sleepily, she steps off the bed.

WHUMP!

Rainbow and you both jump up. "Shit! You alright Rarity?"

Her face is planted firmly into the floor. She picks herself up, rubbing her snout. "I-I'm fine... Legs fell asleep on me, I guess."

You and Rainbow glance at each other worriedly. Rarity shakes her head, becoming fully orientated.

"...I'd be lying to not say how much it smarts, though."

You nod, putting on a smile. "Well, thanks for checking in on us. Be safe on the way back to your room, alright?"

Her forehead creases, but she chuckles lightly at your banter. "Well, alrighty, then." She turns to leave, but makes an abrupt stop. "Wait! I just remembered. I came here to ask you something. It was something relating to this trip, but I just can't seem to recall..."

"Bump your head a little too hard?" Rainbow smirks.

Rarity simply ignores the comment. "Ah-ha!" Whatever she was thinking seems to click in her head. "I was supposed to ask you, by request of the girls, if you would like to go to the beach soon?"

"Oh?" You look to Rainbow for an answer. She nods. "Yeah, sure, we'll go. Give us, what, fifteen minutes?"

"Hm," Rarity thinks for a moment, "I suppose if I packed light, I could be ready by then."

"Alright. Meet you in the lobby in fifteen?"

"Agreed." She gives you, and then Rainbow, a nod before trotting out the door.

"She didn't trip over the bags this time," Rainbow observes.

"Yeah," you reply, "Really wondering how she got in here in the first place. Don't these rooms have locks?"

"Yep. You just forgot to secure ours." She smirks. "What is it with you and asking stupid questions?"

"I'm not the only who does it, you know."

She raises an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Really. Remember when you asked if I could suck drinks through my 'vampire teeth'?"

"Hey!" She points an accusing hoof at you, "That doesn't count! I'm stupid when I'm drunk, and I know it."

You chuckle. "But you're also so much fun!"

She raises an eyebrow. "Uh, huh. This is coming from the guy who sighs every time he sees me drinking apple cider."

"'The guy who sighs'?"

"Yeah, like this." She rolls her eyes, shakes her head, and imitates your 'sigh'.

A wide grin spreads across your face. Clapping, "Bravo, Dash. Bravo."

She just looks at you for a second, then frowns. "Are we going to the beach soon?"

"Yeah," you start taking off your pants, "Let me just get ready, and we'll go down to the lobby."

After watching you remove your sweats, and groaning upon realizing you had boxers on underneath, she walks over to her bag and begins searching through it.

As you slip on your shorts, you begin to wonder what she could be looking for. It couldn't be a bathing suit, right?

Sure enough, she comes up with a reddish-violet bikini between her teeth.

"Hey Dash?"

She tosses the unnecessary beachwear on the bed. "Yeah, Ivan?"

"Why do you have a bikini?"

She gives you a quizzical look. "Why not?"

"Because you're already naked."

She looks at her body, and then back at you. "Do mares on Earth go to the beach naked?"

You pinch the bridge of your nose. "No no no... Okay, let me ask you something. How come I've never seen you wear a bikini before? For example, at the lake?"

She grins. "I had no one to show off to before."

"And how is covering up your body 'showing off'?"

----------

You get it now.

As you help Rarity put up an umbrella, you find it difficult to not glance over at Rainbow, who celebrates her victory by keeping her butt to you at all times. Every chance she gets, she wiggles her hips and looks back at you smugly.

To add to it, the absence of a bra makes her look topless from behind. Right now, you feel very fortunate that your shorts aren't the stretchy kind.

"Here, let me fill in the rest," Rarity offers, kicking some sand in around the base of the umbrella. You give it a good wiggle, and upon determining that it's in well, you thank her.

"It was no trouble, Ivan." She grimaces at the dirt on her hoof, quickly wiping it on the beach towel. "No trouble at all."

You walk over to Rainbow Dash, who smiles at you from behind her glasses. "Sup, Ivan?"

"You know what's 'sup'," you say mockingly, ruffling her mane.

She swats your hand away. "Y'know, messing up my mane won't do anything since we're going in the water anyways."

"I don't care. In the end, there's still sand in your hair."

She looks at your hand, which is still sandy from helping Rarity with the umbrella. Making the connection, she runs a hoof through her hair, and growls. The individual grains of sand on her hoof are easily noticeable. "You son of a bitch."

You laugh, narrowly dodging a swift kick from her hind legs. You run down the shore, knowing that you're merely delaying the inevitable, but having fun nonetheless.

It's not long before you feel her slam into your back. She knocks you down, causing you to roll with the momentum of your running.

While you're spitting out dirt, you feel a hoof being placed on your back as if in victory. You look up, to find...

Scootaloo is standing over you, a triumphant grin spanning her face. "Another point for me!"

You spin on her, trying but failing to grab her. She nimbly avoids your grasp, hopping on your back every chance she gets.

You finally get up to your knees. She's still on your back.

"Alright, Scoots, get off. You win."

She hops off, grinning with her teeth and getting close to your face. "I'm getting better now that I can fly, huh?"

"Nope. Nope. You're a cheater. No wings allowed."

Rainbow lands next to the orange pegasus, and gives her a slap on the back. "Good work, kid!"

Scootaloo's grin just got five times bigger.

You're about to say something to Rainbow, but notice her looking somewhere far off. Seeing her scowl, you turn your head to see what's going on.

"Aw, shit..." you mutter.

"Come on, Flutters," Dash groans, "don't let them do this..."

Fluttershy is surrounded by three stallions. Two stand in back of her, whispering and passing quick glances at her flank, while a rather bulky stallion with sunglasses on his forehead makes his best attempt at 'smooth talk'.

"She's not that naïve... Is she?" You think back to all your conversations, all the advice and wisdom she's given you.

"No, she's just too timid... I'll deal with this." Dash goes to approach the group, but you stop her.

"We can't do anything unless they touch her..."

'Sunglasses' says something to make her blush.

"She isn't seriously being fooled by this," Dash states more than asks.

The two hug.

"Alright, he touched her, time to kick some flank."

"No," you grab her hind leg, stopping her in mid-air "She hugged him. We can't do anything. We'll just... talk to her when she gets back."

"Humph." Dash floats down and frees her leg, stomping it into the sand.

After a moment, the two break the embrace. 'Sunglasses' says one last thing to Fluttershy, to which she nods, and makes her way towards you.

Fluttershy approaches, the sun glinting off her sunglasses as she happily trots along. She notices the expressions on your faces, and lifts her sunglasses so you can see her eyes.

"Is- is something wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong!" Rainbow Dash rushes up to her, getting in her face. "You just let that jerk make a pass at you!"

"Uh, huh. I know."

Rainbow looks confused now. "But why didn't you do anything about it?"

The soft-toned pegasus sighs. "Oh, Dash. You just don't see it, do you?" She slips the sunglasses over her eyes again, then looks at you. "Ivan?"

You observe her for a moment. Something seems off, but nothing truly-

It strikes you. You quickly glance back to the trio of jerks. They've already moved on, pestering some other unfortunate mare. Only, 'sunglasses' seems to have forgotten something.

You grin. "You little sneak."

She steps past Rainbow, nose held high in a smirk. "You know I'd do anything for a new pair of sunglasses."

She walks off towards Rarity, a skip to her step. Rainbow and you both look at each other.

Rainbow Dash shakes her head. "Mental note: never doubt Fluttershy."

"Agreed," you nod.

Scootaloo cocks her head. "I still don't get it."

----------

After a long day of playing in the sand and splashing in the water, all seven of you sit around a beach campfire, cooking marshmallows.

"C'mon! Nopony has any scary stories??"

Fluttershy looks up from nibbling on a perfectionist job of a smore sandwich. "I really don't think anypony else has any tonight, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow tugs at her face. "Ugh! I can't be the only one to tell these!"

Rainbow's been whining like this for awhile now. It's obvious that you all just want to relax and talk, but she seems to think it's tradition to attempt to frighten each other with cliché tales of overused themes. Not only that, but ponies don't seem to have a good idea of what's scary.

Well, if it's tradition she wants, it's tradition she'll get. You raise your hand. "Wait, I just thought of one."

"Finally!" Rainbow blurts, making her annoyance known.

"Okay," you start, lowering your voice to fit the creepy tone of the story, "'Once, there was a loud pegasus named Rainbow Dash, who kept asking for a story-"

"I don't like where this going," Rainbow interrupts.

"Shh!" Rarity shushes, "Go on, Ivan."

"'So,'" you pick up where you left off, "'a human named Ivan heard her cries, and decided to make a story for her. It went like this;

"''Once, there was a loud pony named Rainbow Dash, who kept asking for a story. A human named Ivan heard her pleas, and decided to make a story for her. It went like this;

"'''Once, there was a loud pegasus named Rainbow Dash, who-'''"

"Alright! We get it!" the main character of the story yells.

Rarity laughs very unladylike, her curled mane bouncing with every exhale. The fillies follow her example, a chorus of laughter echoing from the three of them. Even Fluttershy, whose face is hidden behind her mane in thought of Rainbow, lets out small giggles.

"I don't see what's so funny," Rainbow argues, flustered, "I mean, he didn't even remember all the words right."

"Is that so?" you inquire, smirking at her attempts to belittle your story.

"Yeah! You switched 'pegasus' and 'pony', and 'cries' and 'pleas'. Your story doesn't even have decent consistency to it!"

"Well," you tease, "Maybe you just have bad taste."

Her eyes widen incredulously. "Bad taste? Me!? You're the one who-"

"Calm down, you two." Rarity wipes her eyes, finally in control of herself. "You bicker like an old married couple."

You and Rainbow look at Rarity, then at each other. The implications of what she just said...

"You're right," you say, hugging Rainbow around the shoulders. "We shouldn't fight. Right, Dash?"

She shoves you off of her, trying to hide a smile. "Get off of me, you big oaf."

You chuckle, and so does everyone else. Rainbow gives the cutest blush, lightly punching you in the shoulder.

It's getting rather difficult not to kiss her in public.

----------

You step into the hotel room with Rainbow, closing the door behind you.

"There," you groan sarcastically, securing the lock, "nobody gets in this time."

The blue pegasus giggles, hopping onto the bed. She looks at you expectantly.

You're not sure exactly what she's expecting, but you have an idea. You throw yourself next to her, bouncing the rainbow-maned pony quite a bit.

"Mm," she snuggles up to you after the bouncing has stopped, "you smell like smoke."

"So do you," you chuckle. As you hug her, you feel a tongue slide along your neck. You're not sure if it's a friendship one or sensual one. How do you tell the difference?

You lean towards the side of the bed, right hand feeling its way across the nightstand. All the while, Rainbow has continued to lick you up and down your face and neck.

Your hand comes to the iPod on the flat wooden surface. Grasping it, you bring it up to your chest and begin unraveling the cords wrapped around it.

Rainbow stops licking you when her hoof bumps the metal object. "What's that?"

You're just about done undoing the cords. "It's my iPod."

"I know that." She sits up. "I thought you gave it to Twilight to be smashed."

You smile, sticking earbuds into your ears. "Yeah, well, lucky Fluttershy was there to save the day, huh?"

Rainbow just looks at you, bemused.

You pull out an earbud and hold it out to her. "Uh, wanna listen to some music?"

Hesitantly, she takes the little white object. She puts it up to her ear, but keeps looking back at you in a confused manner.

Finally, "How do you put this on?"

Sighing, you take the earpiece from her. Looking from the earbud to her ear, and back again, you realize that the earbud won't really be able to fit.

"Uh, when the music turns on, I'll just hold it up to your ear. Alright?"

"'Right."

You press the power button, only to find that it's already on.

"Hm." This vexes you slightly; you don't quite know yet how you're going to charge the device, so for now you've settled on conserving battery.

You slide the slider, type in your passcode, and watch the springboard open up. As you search through your apps for the music library, you observe Dash through the corner of your eye.

Her pony jaw hangs open in wonder. You chuckle. "Amazing, isn't it?"

You can tell how awestruck she is just by the fact that she doesn't try to cover up her curiosity. "Yeah... I've never seen magic do something like this."

You look at her. "Magic? No. This is electricity." When she gives a confused look, you continue. "Electricity... Uh, kind of like lightning."

"Wait. So there's lightning in there? How come it doesn't explode?"

"I'm surprised Twilight hasn't explained it to you. She knows, right?" You scratch your head. "Okay, let me explain it this way. The electricity in this iPod is like lightning, just a lot smaller. One of the measurements humans have for electricity is volts. The battery, which stores the electricity, only lets out seven or eight volts. Lightning is somewhere in the... thousands? So what's in here," you tap the screen, "isn't enough to hurt you."

"Could you still get shocked by it? Y'know, if it came through the front part or something?"

You chuckle. "First of all, this 'front part' is called the screen. Second, it would be highly improbable for electricity to jump through glass."

"But suppose it did. What would happen?"

You think on that. "Well, I probably wouldn't feel it. I know that if you stick a nine-volt battery on a sensitive part, your tongue for instance, it tingles at the most."

"Okay..." She's obviously having trouble absorbing this. "So, how do you get lightning to do all," she touches the screen, recoiling upon accidentally opening the Safari app, "that?"

"To make the screen move?" You press the home button, and return to the springboard. "Personally, I have no idea. You'll have to ask Apple."

"What?"

"Nothing. So, what do you want to listen to?" You open up the music app and start scrolling through your library.

"I dunno. What, you think I can read any of that?"

"Whoops. Forgot." Stupid. You're the only one in Equestria who can read English. "How 'bout this one? Called 'Welcome Home', by Coheed and Cambria."

"Is it good?"

"No, Dash. I just wanna listen to it because it sucks."

She lightly hits your chest. "Don't get smart with me, Ivan."

"Yes, Mother." You tap the screen, and the song starts to play. Absentmindedly, you hold the headphone up to her ear.

...

"Fuck!" She hits your hand away. "What was that!?"

"My music." You pause it. "Why?"

"It was so loud! And I couldn't understand any of what she was saying."

You smirk. "Actually, it's a he. And I thought you would like it."

She rubs the inside of her ear. "And why the hell would I like that?"

"It's the kind of music that a lot of people who were, I dunno, rebels, I guess you could say, liked."

She shakes her head. "Ivan, Ivan. You don't have to be a rebel to be cool. Of course, you wouldn't know that."

"Whatever. So I take it you're not into metal?"

She shakes her head. "If that's what it's called, then no."

"Okay," you scroll to the top of your music list. "How 'bout this one?"

"It better not suck," she says, taking the earbud again.

"I think you'll like it."

...

"Laaaame."

"You listened to it for thirty seconds."

"I don't care. It sounded gay." She glances at the screen. "What was that called, anyway?"

"'Free Bird', by-"

"Yep. Sounds lamer than it did before." She thinks for a moment. "Do you have that one song? The one where you brought out your, uh, guitar?"

You know which one she's talking about. "Oh, you mean 'Time of Your Life.' Yeah, I have it."

"Can you play it?"

"Sure. Just let me find it." You scroll down a bit, coming to the title. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Dash focusing. Maybe she's trying to decipher the words; to be able to recognize the title of the mysterious song from Earth.

You tap the song, keeping your finger on the screen for longer than is necessary so she can accomplish her supposed goal. She scoots into you, which reminds you to hold the earbud for her.

You feel two hooves placed on your hand, pulling it away from you and closer to her. The song begins.

...

As the tune ends, you let your hand hang limp, intending for it to drop onto the bed. Instead, the two blue hooves keep it in place next to their master's ear.

"So," you say, turning to her, "what'd you think?"

"I definitely liked hearing the original." She grins impishly. "Better than the way you played it."

"Ahh..." You roll your eyes.

"But," she continues, snuggling up to you, "it reminds me of our first night."

You think back. Pleasant thoughts come to mind. "Hm, yeah."

The two of you just sit there for a bit, enjoying each other's company. You think about her, how nice she feels with her body pressed against yours, and turn to her.

Normally, it's the other way around; tonight however, you decide to take the initiative, and lick her neck.

The first thing that comes to mind? "Fuck, that's grody."

You don't let yourself voice that thought, but the taste of ash, sand and sea salt doesn't bode well with you. So, you move to her lips instead. As soon as your lips touch, she opens up, practically swallowing your face, and vigorously assaulting your mouth with her tongue.

Mm. Smores. Much better.

Through the kissing, you feel hot breaths escaping her nostrils, brushing off your nose and cheeks. You slide a hand behind her neck, pulling her in as much as room allows. She wraps two hooves around your ribs, pulling herself into you until she melds with your body. You take your free hand and slowly slide it down the curve of her back, until it reaches a particular curve and-

Knock knock knock!

The loud rapping at the door startles you both. You groan.

"Every goddamn single time..."

Rainbow stands up, hopping off the bed and trotting towards the door. From the way she steps, you can tell that she's not happy either, and is likely to give the unfortunate soul who's behind the door a piece of her mind.

She whips open the door, and you smile. It's time to hear somepony get chewed out. Too bad Rainbow's in the way; you would've like to see their face.

Rainbow says something. You can hear a childlike voice answer in reply, but can't really make out who it is.

Rainbow moves aside. A little purple-maned, orange pegasus steps through the doorway.

Aw, come on...

"Hey, Scootaloo," you greet, trying to mask your annoyance, "What are you doing here?"

She looks down, as if afraid to admit something. "I... Rainbow's stories were pretty scary... and I just didn't feel that safe with Fluttershy and Applebloom."

You look at Rainbow, who shrugs. She looks empathetic, slightly guilty even.

You sigh. "Alright. Make yourself comfortable. You'll be sleeping in," you point to the other bed, "that bed."

Her eyes widen. "You mean, by myself?"

Rainbow wraps a hoof around her. "Of course not, squirt. You can bunk with me, alright?"

What?

You shoot Rainbow another glare, to which she shrugs again. "Sorry," she seems to say.

You groan, stepping off the bed and heading into the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"I'll take one in the morning," Rainbow says, an apologetic tone to her voice. You take a last look at her and sigh, before heading into the tiled wonder.

----------

The first thing you realize when you step out of the steamy bathroom is that the lights are off. Or, more accurately, the lamps.

You blow out the candles in the bathroom, and wait for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. The enchantment they put on those candles was a bit too strong, you decide, because it's taking you awhile to see anything.

Finally, you can make out vague objects in the room. You take a few steps, cautiously avoiding the luggage by the door, then make your way to the space with the beds.

You can now see a bit better. That, and the moonlight coming in through the window help you notice the forms of Rainbow and Scootaloo under the covers. Rainbow has a foreleg draped around Scoots, and the little orange pegasus looks to be the happiest filly in the world.

Smiling now, you slip under the covers of your own bed. You look across the room to the girls, and figure that one night in your own bed is almost worth it for this.

"'Night girls. See ya tomorrow," you whisper, then let yourself fall into the warm embrace of slumber.

Intermission: Scootaloo's letter

Dear Mom,

Hey, it's me, Scootaloo. I know I haven't written in awhile, but I just wanted to say happy Mother's Day.

A lot's happened since you left. A lot more than should really go into a letter. But, if you want me to sum it up, life's been hard without you.

I think Dad took it the hardest. In the first couple weeks of you being gone, he started drinking. A lot. He would come home late at night, always with some bottle in hoof, saying weird things about seeing you at the bar. It scared me, but Lyla would always be there to comfort me.

And about Lyla. I really don't know where she is anymore. She kept getting into fights with Dad, telling him about how he needs to be responsible, how "we're all sad that Mom's gone, but you need to buck up and be there for your daughters." Sorry for the language, but that's exactly what she said.

Lyla ended up moving out. She told me that she was going to take me with her, to get me out of that awful house. Unfortunately, the government got to me first. They had deemed Dad's behavior unfit for a parent, and so I was moved to a foster home somewhere else in Cloudsdale.

Lyla tried to adopt me, but apparently, she was also unfit to be a parent. Her income was barely enough to support herself, much less adding an eight year old filly.

I was moved around a bit, from foster care to children's homes and back again, until I ended up in a filly's home in Ponyville. I stayed there for a few months, occasionally wandering around town and going to school. There, I met my best friends, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. I also met Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria and most awesome pony ever! I soon realized how nice Ponyville was, and stopped trying to run away.

Things have been okay ever since. I still miss the way things were when I had you, Dad, and Lyla around, but I guess I feel pretty lucky about the way things turned out.

Oh! I almost forget to mention. The strangest thing ever happened. This really weird creature came out of the Everfree Forest. It walked on two legs, and kept freaking out and running away when anypony got near it. Well, after the guard ponies tackled and captured it, we found out it could talk. It said its name was Ivan, and kept asking if we knew where Bridle Lake was.

Me, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were shooed out of the library before we could see anything else, but I was able to meet him later.

Applebloom knows him really well because he used to work at Sweet Apple Acres, or the farm where she lives. She liked him a lot, but I myself didn't really try to get to know him until after he took Rainbow in after she lost her job. Something to do with the Wonderbolts, she said, but she never fully explained it to me. Ivan probably knows; maybe I'll ask him.

Well, anyways, it turns out he's a really chill guy. I kind of wish I would've known him earlier. He's funny, and not really like all the other adults. He doesn't get mad if I make fun of him, or tackle him or anything like that. He gets a bit competitive sometimes, but even though I've never done it, I know that if I ever need advice I could go to him. Of course I would go to Rainbow Dash first, but if she couldn't help then he would be my next option.

I guess I kind of poured my heart out there. But that's what mothers are for, right? To listen to their daughter's problems.

I'll make sure to lean this letter against your grave as soon as I get the chance. Once again, happy Mother's Day.

Your daughter,
Scoots.

Close Bonds: Eighth Chapter

Nudge nudge.

Hm?

Harder nudge.

You open your eyes, turning to look at what the nudging is coming from. A little ball of orange and purple has her nose stuck into your side. She doesn't seem to be awake, you realize, and you sit up.

Her eyes open as well, taking in the room, bed, and you. She looks confused.

"Where am I?"

You smile at her. "We're at the beach, Scoots. Remember?"

Her eyes widen in her recollection. "Oh. Yeah. I remember." She scans the room again, pausing particularly long on the sleeping Rainbow. She yawns, then sits up.

"So," you ask, "Any reason you left Dash's bed for mine? Just wondering."

As the wheels in her head begin to turn, she starts to take in what you said. Her cheeks tint themselves a light pink, and she averts her eyes. "I, uh... She kicks a lot in her sleep."

You look at the perfectly still Rainbow Dash, and raise an eyebrow. "You sure? She looks like she stayed in that same position all night."

"Well, she does move a lot."

"Uh, huh." Once again, you watch Rainbow for a bit. Then, silently, you get up and walk over to her bed.

"Hey, Rainbow. You should get up now."

She groans, then grabs the pillow she's sleeping on and pulls it over her head. You shake your head, then lift the corner slightly. "C'mon, Dash. Don't you want to eat breakfast? The complimentary buffet ends at ten."

Her reply is muffled, but quite understandable. "Would you like to get bucked in the face? It starts in ten seconds."

"Depends on which 'buck' you're referring to," You whisper into the pillow. Deciding not to test her patience any further, you back away from her bed and look to Scootaloo.

"So. Breakfast?"

----------

As you and Scootaloo walk through the entrance to the buffet, you're greeted by the smell of waffles, pancakes, coffee...

...and an all-too-familiar lecturing voice.

"Now, Sweetie Belle, remember to use the knife with your right hoof and hold the fork in your left hoof, then when you're done cutting your food switch the fork back over to your right hoof. And when using a napkin..."

Sweetie Belle nods. From the wide smile and angelic eyes, you can tell that all of this is going in one ear and out the other.

Good girl, Sweetie.

You grab a plate, and begin piling on fruit, hash browns, and different flavored pancakes. You're about to grab a strange green colored pancake, but upon seeing the label Grass Pancakes, you decide that curiosity kills the cat.

By the time you make it back to the table, Scootaloo's already digging in. Rarity, however, is just wrapping up her lecture.

"...and make sure not to get anything on your coat. Your fur is a pristine white, very beautiful, but such beauty requires much care. You do want to have a coat like your sister, right?"

Sweetie Belle nods rapidly. Rarity smiles, and touches her little sister's cheek with her hoof.

"Good girl, Sweetie. Eat up now."

Rarity levitates a fork and daintily begins her meal. Sweetie Belle does the same, except she stuffs a whole syrup-soaked waffle in her mouth when her older sister isn't looking.

You manage to stifle a laugh. At this time, the soft pitter-patter of hoofsteps approach from behind.

"Hello, Ivan," a soft voice greets. "Is anypony using this chair?"

Without even looking her way, you pull out a seat for Fluttershy. Out of the corner of your eye, you watch a yellow wing outstretch itself, and a plate slides off and onto the table.

Impressive, really, but you don't say anything.

Fluttershy takes a seat beside you. "So," she asks after taking a few small bites of grass, "Where's Rainbow this morning?"

You gulp down some water. "Asleep."

"Still? Is she okay?"

After taking a few bites of hash browns, you answer. "Yeah, she always sleeps in this late. Sometimes, on the weekends, she doesn't wake up 'till I'm having lunch. Guess she's just used to burning time, no job and all."

"Poor Rainbow. I feel sorry for what happened."

"Yeah, me too."

Fluttershy looks at you in a concerned manner. "You shouldn't, Ivan. You were the first one to help her, remember?"

A memory runs through your head.

You wait underneath the cloud that is Rainbow Dash's home. Looking around you at the few boxes of her belongings, you shake your head.

This... This wasn't supposed to happen. Rainbow was supposed to become a Wonderbolt. She was supposed to be famous, rich, rising above you all in Ponyville. You even remember promising her that you would watch her air shows.

Now look where you are.

You see the sullen pegasus's silhouette come from over the cloud. You begin to make out her face as she draws nearer. She looks sad, defeated.

Without even looking at you, she touches ground. You rest a hand on her back.

"Ready to go?"

She just nods ever so slightly. You pick up a box, and together you make your way back to your house.

You were still partway in your thoughts when you answered Fluttershy. "Yeah. Still, I feel bad though. I recall, numerous times, telling her that she was a shoo-in, that there was no way they wouldn't accept her. Makes me wonder if she just kind of lost it... because she felt she failed us."

Fluttershy looks like she's about to say something, but a shrill cry rings out. "Sweetie Belle! What have you done??"

Both you and Fluttershy snap your heads up. Sweetie Belle has syrup all over her face.

"Whath?" she asks, cheeks stuffed full of waffles. As she talks, spittle flies out of her mouth.

Rarity catches the saliva drops mid-air with her magic and floats them into a nearby trash can. "Ugh! I told you not to get anything on your coat!"

Sweetie gulps down what's in her mouth. "On my coat? Whaddya mean- Oh, do I have something on my face?" She proceeds to take a foreleg and wipe it across her mouth.

"No-! Sweetie! Ugh," Rarity does the pony equivalent of pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Relax, Rarity," you chuckle, "she's only... twelve, right?"

Sweetie Belle nods, wiping the syrup that's stuck to her foreleg on the table cloth. Rarity groans.

"Just don't come crying to me when you're losing all your fur…" she mutters, stepping away from the table.

You lean across the table. "That won't happen," you whisper to Sweetie Belle, who's licking the sweet, nearly-hardened substance from off her coat. She giggles.

A rather loud yawn sounds from behind you, as well as Rainbow's drowsy voice. "Hm... Whassup over here?"

Again, you don't turn around, instead waiting for her to show up beside you. You lift a strawberry to your mouth and slowly chew, savoring the perfectly sweet flavor. Fruit this heavenly was rarely found on Earth; even with all the genetic engineering that was possible in that world, they never did produce very good fruit, at least by your standards now.

Eyes closed, you reach for another one, only for your hand to hit table. You open your eyes, confused.

"Why did you take my plate, Rainbow?" you question the pegasus who's eating your food.

Rainbow doesn't even have a chair, she just places her forelegs in the surface of the table and eats like an animal. She doesn't answer for a second, gulping down all your delicious strawberries before turning to you with a smirk. "My plate now."

"Fatty. You gonna eat all that?" You tease.

This elicits a gasp from all the females in the area. Because you called her fat, you assume. But Rainbow seems undaunted.

She swallows the last bit of pancake, and steps down from the table. "Seems as if I'm more of a stallion than you."

"Ooooh," Scootaloo says.

You smirk. "If you mean by the smell, then yes. You still haven't taken a shower."

Rainbow waves you off with her hoof. "If we're going to the beach today, I don't need to. In any case, you need to help me clean up that pigsty of a room."

You raise an eyebrow. "I've kept it pretty clean, actually..."

"I tripped over the bags on the way out."

You laugh, then stand up and tug Rainbow by the ear out of the buffet. She eventually manages to pry your hand off her earlobe, and bites it immediately afterwards. It hurts, but not a lot, since ponies only have molar teeth.

It's a long way of shoving and tripping each other before the two of you finally make it to your room.

----------

The door swings open. You run in and kick a few bags clear across the room.

"Kiyaa!" you yell, clearing a path for Rainbow to walk through. After locking the door, she simply flies over to the bed, obviously in an attempt to vex you.

In retaliation, you sit on the side of the mattress, and lay your head on the outstretched pegasus's belly. In return, she lays her rainbow tail across your face.

After laughing and throwing off the mass of red and yellow, you turn to Dash. "I've come to a realization."

"Hmm? And what's that?" Again, she wraps her tail around your head.

You push it aside and pin the devious limb against the bed. "I think we fight now as much as we did before we started dating."

Rainbow scoffs. "Dating? We've fucked a few times, if that's what you mean. And I punched you in the face." Her lips curve up into a smile. "But we do the fun kind of fighting."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." You take her hoof and kiss it. "But still, you think we're going a little too far?"

"What? I thought it was all in good fun?"

"Just remember Dash, there are much worse things that can be put on doughnuts than salt."

Rainbow giggles. "You really should've seen your face! It was priceless!"

You sigh, putting on a show of false disappointment in her. Rainbow Dash sees your wistful expression, and groans.

"Fine. Whatever. I'll tone it down a little. But just a little."

You grab her hoof, lightly kissing it again. "Thanks, Dash."

The two of you lie there for awhile, head on her belly, not really thinking of anything in particular. Then, you both hear and feel her stomach gurgle.

"Somepony still hungry?" you tease.

"A little. You cut my meal off short." She bops you on the nose.

"Sorry about that. You're still nice and soft though."

"That's the waffles." She ruffles your hair. "You mind getting off them?"

Waffles. Getting off her waffles. Hm...

Adhering to her wishes, you take your head off of her belly and place yourself on the pillow next to her. Immediately, a loud burp sounds in your ear.

You look over at Rainbow, giving her a 'Well, now why would you do that?' look. Her eyes light up, and she giggles.

You shake your head. "Rarity would have a fit if she were here."

"Well, good thing she isn't then, hmm?" Rainbow clambers on top of you, giggling the whole way and resting her chin on her elbows.

She really seems to like this position. Looking straight into her violet eyes, you begin to softly stroke the back of her neck.

She coos, giving you a quick peck on the cheek and resting her head where her elbows had previously been. You hug her above the wings, dragging your fingers back and forth through her silky, though slightly gritty blue fur.

The lulling rhythm of her heartbeat causes you to become drowsy, and your mind to wander off. You find yourself in memories of the beach; the sand, the water, the hot sun.

Rainbow's bikini. Fluttershy, and her little act of deviousness. How she stole the sunglasses, and how you wish you had some. You'd always been told to at least wear a hat to protect your eyes and skin, so you'd made it a habit to-

Wait.

You realize you'd dozed off when your eyes reflexively open. Rainbow is still in the same spot, snoozing away.

Slowly, so as not to disturb her, you remove your right hand from her back and begin examining your arm. Curious, you do the same with your left arm.

Rainbow shifts a bit, opening her eyes half-liddedly to check if you're there, then drifting off back to sleep.

At least it seemed that way to you. "What're you doing?" she mumbles.

You rest your arms on her back again. "Nothing... Just needed to get comfortable."

Despite the drowsiness, suspicion is still quite evident in her voice. "Saw you lookin' at your forelegs..."

"Just checkin' something... It would take some explaining."

She lifts her head and yawns. Looking at you with half open eyes, she smacks her lips. "Explain."

You sigh, sensing that she's not going to let this drop. Her dominating personality just won't let her, you think in your mind. "Alright, well, while I was asleep, I realized that I had no sunburns, and was wondering why."

She scoots up on your body and puts her muzzle in the crook of your neck. "I dun' even know what that is..." she mumbles, falling back asleep.

This comes as a shock to you. "You mean a sunburn?"

She nods in response.

"You don't know what a sunburn is? Surely you've seen one."

Actually, come to think of it, you can't recall ever seeing a sunburn in Equestria... Not even on yourself.

"No, Ivan, don't be stupid. The sun's too far away to burn anything."

You groan. She can be so ignorant sometimes.

You need to send some letters to Twilight. You're still wondering about the whole electricity thing... Maybe she'll know.

You lay back, running your fingers through Rainbow's mane. That's something you'll worry about later; for now, you intend to just enjoy your vacation.

Close Bonds: Chapter Nine

This day at the beach, you've arrived a little earlier than you should have. The water's still a bit cold this early, but at least the sand isn't burning your feet.

As you set up the umbrella, you look out over the beach. Sweetie Belle's building a sand castle, Applebloom and Scootaloo are doing... something. Hopping over each other? You can't tell from here. And Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are talking.

While you secretly tune out Rarity, who's helping you set up your spot on the beach, you notice more than a few mares with topless bikinis, Fluttershy included.

The purpose of having the bikini in the first place eludes you, but you suppose you're not one to question Equestrian society.

"...and with that, I managed to fill out five orders in the same night, while simultaneously keeping Sweetie Belle and all her little friends locked in her room!"

"Uh-huh," you absentmindedly nod. It's hard to believe how much this mare can talk.

"There, I think we're all finished." Rarity opens a folding chair, placing it on one of the assorted beach towels, and sits down. "Ivan, would you be a dear and fetch me a lemonade?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." You walk the few steps to the ice chest, and grab a can of lemonade. You bring it back to Rarity, who takes a sip. "Ahh," she sighs, "quite refreshing. Thank you, Ivan."

"No problem, Rares." You lie on the beach towel beside her, and assume the common relaxing position.

"I really don't see how you stand being so near to the sand like that." You open your eyes to see Rarity leaning over you from her chair. "I mean, for myself, I just absolutely hate getting sand in my mane."

It's perfect. Just too perfect. Right as she says this, a perfect ball of sand hits and disintegrates against the side of her face, causing her sunglasses to fly off and tiny dirt particles to get in her precious mane.

She recoils from the hit, but quickly whips back around in rage. "Who threw that!?"

Rainbow Dash is on her back, kicking her legs into the air and laughing. Fluttershy, obviously not wanting to be associated with this, takes a step back.

"Oh, Rarity!" Rainbow practically exhales between fits of laughter, "You really need to look out for those things! Never know when someone's gonna-" A sand ball hits her in the face.

"Hey!" she stands up, looking for the source of the projectile. Her eyes come to you, and you smile.

Something hard bounces off the side of your head. You quickly turn, and see Scootaloo with a stash of kelp bulbs.

"Hey, this is a sand war, you cheater!" You throw a sandy projectile her way, which she quickly dodges.

She gets a look in her eye. A kind of smirk, as if challenging you. You look to Rarity and Dash, and they both have the same look.

"I call Applebloom and Scootaloo!" Rainbow calls. The two fillies immediately jump to her side.

A little white-coated unicorn with her tongue sticking out in deep concentration is in the process of making a sand castle. To her surprise, Rarity's magic aura surrounds her and floats her beside the two of you.

"You're on my team, Sweetie," Rarity states. Sweetie Belle looks a bit confused.

The two teams face off. You stare each other down, trying your best to intimidate the opponents. Fluttershy cowers in the middle.

"Charge!" Rainbow cries. You immediately pull the umbrella out of the ground and lay it on its side for cover, just in time for a barrage of mud balls to hit.

You look to your comrades. You smile upon seeing the pile of dirt balls Rarity has already started on. You grab some of the packed piles of dirt and begin chucking them at the charging group. They quickly halt their advances and jump behind a sand dune.

For a period of time, the two teams relentlessly barrage the other side's base from behind cover. Sweetie Belle has taken over the duty of crafting ammo, while Rarity uses her magic to redirect sand balls mid-air. You know you've hit Rainbow and Applebloom a few times, as well as taking a few hits yourself. Rarity, for the most part, has managed to keep her coat clean.

Soon, there's a pause. A gut-wrenching, nerve-wracking pause, as the enemy has seemed to cease fire.

Suddenly, Scootaloo and RD take to the skies, mud balls in each hoof. You all watch as they both fly high into the blue beyond, then dive downwards, coming at you with grinning, evil faces.

They release their cargo onto you like Douglas dive bombers. In response, Rarity quickly levitates her folding chair, using it as a maneuverable shield. What with there only being four projectiles, she manages to skillfully block them all.

They swoop low, landing behind the dune to collect more ammunition, you assume. You wait a few moments, and they both take off vertically into the sky, climbing higher and higher, until taking the dip downwards to barrage you with hell-fire.

This time, however, it won't be so easy for them. Even as they ascend, you ready yourself with a shot in each hand, and begin throwing.

Rainbow nimbly dodges your anti-air assault. Scootaloo, however, being far less experienced in flight, takes a hit directly to the face. Like a plane damaged in flight, she precariously begins to waver, then spirals downwards to an inevitable meeting with the ground.

In concern, both you and Rarity look her way. Dirt gets kicked up all around her, blocking your vision of the downed pilot. Fortunately, through the wreckage you see a small pegasus sitting on her haunches, albeit rather wobbly.

Sweetie Belle, who's been packing dirt all this time, curiously peeks over the umbrella to see Scootaloo. However, by doing this she leaves herself wide open. The shot from the deceptively strong earth filly hits her square in the jaw, followed up by an aerial shot from Rainbow to the chest. She's knocked to the ground hard by the merciless attacks.

The little white filly looks up at you and Rarity with tear-brimmed eyes. For a second, you think she's about to cry.

Then, her tears turn to pure rage.

Your whole ammo supply floats up into the air at once. Everyone looks in awe at the sight of 20, maybe 30 dirt balls simply floating there.

Then, they're all simultaneously flung at Applebloom.

The poor mini apple farmer covers her face as she's pelted by wave after wave of mud and dirt flying towards her at high speeds. Eventually, after a few long seconds, all the near-dangerous ammunition has been used.

You think it's over, but the worst is yet to come. All of the dirt balls that missed and previously crumbled reform themselves and float above the ground. Rainbow Dash, who has been hovering in one spot and watching the spectacle in horror, gasps when the reformed projectiles suddenly speed toward her in a straight line.

She moves to the side, narrowly escaping the deathly barrage. Unfortunately, they aren't done with her yet; they loop around back and come for another round.

The pegasus speeds off in a rainbow streak, the stream of death fire following in hot pursuit. When she looks back and sees them still behind her, she flies even faster.

For a second, it looks like she might outfly the dirt balls. But then, half of the group breaks off.

You begin to wonder what they might be doing, until you notice the pursuing stream herding her in an arc. An arc that leads to six awaiting mud balls.

The unfortunate pegasus flies straight into each one of them, then is mercilessly pelted by the remaining five pursuers.

At this point, she's completely lost control. Mud covers her face, rendering her unable to see. She tries flapping at first, but soon resigns to tucking in her wings and letting the remaining momentum take her.

Much to your relief, she splashes into the water about fifty feet out. You wait a moment for her head to clear the surface of the water.

A moment passes.

A few moments pass.

"Dash?" you call. Predictably, there's no answer.

"Rainbow Dash?" you call again, this time with more urgency. You get up and begin walking towards the water, but that walk quickly turns into an all-out sprint.

The girls join you at the coastline. You're ready to dive in after her, but her head soon pops up out of the water.

You let loose a relieved sigh. Rainbow coughs up some water, then calls out to Sweetie Belle. "Truce?"

A pink aura surrounds Rainbow, and she's floated out of the water and plopped in front of the little unicorn. Sweetie tosses her head and holds out her hoof. "I accept your terms of surrender."

----------

You and the girls dry yourselves off while Rainbow and Fluttershy help Rarity clean the mud off her umbrella. As you dry off, you can't help but notice Rainbow's mussed-up 'fireworks mane'.

As the group of you idly chat, what appears to be the Earth equivalent of a rent-a-cop followed closely behind by 'Sunglasses' and his toadies approaches Fluttershy.

"Hello there, M'am." The guy's tone is one of someone who takes his job too seriously. "This man tells me that you robbed him of one of his possessions."

Fluttershy cowers back. "W-what?"

Sunglasses jumps forward and points an accusing hoof at her. "Those sunglasses you're wearing! You took them from me!"

The cop pushes the stallion back, while keeping his eyes on Fluttershy.

"H-here," she stutters, shakily taking off his glasses and holding them out, "T-these are mine, b-but I don't want to cause any t-trouble."

You can literally see the cop's hard gaze soften behind his own sunglasses. He frowns, then whirls on the trio. "Really? Do you take me for a fool?!"

"W-wha?" Sunglasses takes a step back, visibly shocked.

The overzealous officer steps closer to him. "Do you expect me to believe this mare took on all three of you at once?"

"B-but-"

"No! Get out of here, scram! Before I arrest you!"

As the three outwitted jerks gallop off, the police turns back to Fluttershy. "My apologies, M'am. Continue with your business, and have a nice day."

"Th-thank you," Fluttershy barely whispers through chattering teeth. The officer stomps off, shaking his head and muttering to himself.

As soon as 'Rent-a-Cop' is gone, Fluttershy immediately stands and assumes her earlier composure. The whole group is stunned, except you, shaking your head and grinning.

"You little sneak, Fluttershy."

----------

After everything's packed up and the umbrella's cleaned off, you all stand around, deciding what to do next.

"Well, I wanted to go into the designers' stores to look at clothing styles. Perhaps even buy a hat, or something that looks nice."

Sweetie Belle makes a gagging motion, and the girls giggle. Then, Scootaloo pipes up.

"I want to go to the arcade! I heard they have video games, and action games, and-"

Upon seeing the looks she's getting, she blushes and backsteps out of the spotlight.

Rainbow's turn. "Well, I'm freakin' hungry! We should go get some food; I saw some nice hot dog stands on the way here."

"Well, I'm not very hungry..." Fluttershy's soft voice somehow penetrates the circle. She draws circles in the sand with her hoof before looking back up. "M-maybe I can take the girls to the arcade. After they're done, we can grab dinner on the way back to the hotel."

"That sounds like a splendid idea! That way, I can shop without having to drag Sweetie Belle around wherever I go!"

You give Rarity a funny look, but she doesn't notice as Rainbow makes her input known. "Yeah! Then, me an' Ivan can go get somethin' to eat! Right, Ivan!"

"Well, I suppose that means I'm going whether I like it or not," you joke. All the mares nod, and each group goes their separate ways.

As the two of you walk down the beach towards the food stands, Rainbow brings up an important question. "So, you're buyin', right?"

You raise an eyebrow at her. "Well, it's not like you have any money. So yeah."

She smiles impishly. "Good."

----------

"Can we stop now, Ivan? I'm getting tired."

The pegasus on your back yawns softly into your ear. You smile when you feel her hooves tighten around your shoulders and her head rest on your neck.

You feel like mentioning that you're doing all the walking, but decide against vexing her. "Alright. I guess we've gone far enough." You kneel down and let go of Rainbow's legs. Her hooves drop to the sand, and she slides off your back.

"Why did we have to walk this far anyways..." she half-yawns.

You look down the shoreline, and back to her. "You don't want anyone we know to see us, right?"

She raises an eyebrow at you. "I don't think anyone can see us at all. You took us pretty far down the beach."

"It was either this or the hotel... And you didn't want to walk all the way to the hotel."

"Well, what did you expect? You said you wouldn't carry me, and I'm carrying a baby, you know."

Your turn to raise an eyebrow.

"...a food baby. Made out of burritos and soy dogs."

"Right." You lay back, viewing the moon-lit water. Rainbow joins you, laying on her side and cuddling up to you.

Through the moonlight, you view her perfect pegasus form. Her wings are tucked in neatly at her side, her belly... The amount she had eaten is noticeable, but not by a lot. Her hair falls gracefully around her slender neck in that random array of colors that you seem to find so attractive...

It gives you a thought. "You know what this reminds me of?"

She raises her head to look at you. "What's that?"

"A week and one day ago." You bring your hand around her ribcage and begin to kiss her up and down her neck and shoulders.

"We're not having sex tonight."

You continue to kiss her on the neck, only briefly stopping to ask, "Why?"

"Well, unless you want me to give mouth-birth to my food baby tonight..."

You take her open mouth as an opportunity to place your lips on hers. As you begin to get into it, slowly sliding on top of her, the most unsettling thing happens.

"BrAAp!"

"Oh, fuck," you gag, reeling back and hunching over the sand.

Rainbow only laughs. "I warned you, Ivan. You didn't listen."

"Ugh, I can taste cheese." You spit into the dirt.

She rubs her belly and licks her chops. "Mm. Burritos."

"Alright, we're going back to the hotel." You stand up to leave, but two hooves hold onto your hand, trying to bring you back down.

"No, don't go!" She looks into your eyes pleadingly.

"I'm not going by myself, you're coming with me."

"No! I mean, aside from the burping, I thought this night was kind of... nice."

You look at her for a moment, silently willing her to continue.

"Well, we're all by ourselves here, on the shore at night... I mean, we're constantly being interrupted at the hotel room, and I just felt like tonight was a nice night for us to be alone. Y'know, just the two of us."

You stand there for a moment, a bit surprised at her emotional monologue. With a slightly giddy feeling in your chest, you sit down next to her and drape an arm over her shoulders.

"I never took you for the romantic type, Dash..."

Without a word, she simply leans into you. You smile at the warm feeling of the sides of your faces pressed together.

Soon, she yawns, and lies down across your lap. She shifts a bit, not seeming to like this position, and rolls onto her back.

The way she is, arched on her back across your legs, you can't resist the urge to rub her slightly distended belly. As you do so, she cross her legs and purrs, nuzzling into your stomach.

Eventually, you hear and feel a soft snoring emanating from her form. You brush aside the hair that's fallen into her eyes, and see that she's sound asleep.

Gently, as if she were an infant, you cradle her by the head and carry her back down the shore, and eventually to the hotel.

As you walk, a soft voice whispers to you. "Hey, Ivan."

You look down, and see that Rainbow's eyelids are partially open. Mentally, you berate yourself for waking her.

"Yeah, Dash?"

"Lean closer. I want to tell you something." She beckons you with her hooves.

You do as she asks, lending her an ear. She cups her hooves around your ear, as if to whisper something secret. Then, she licks it.

Shivers run through your body as her warm appendage runs through the cracks and folds of your ear. She sinks her tongue behind your earlobe, then pulls it out and smiles at you.

You mirror her expression. "Hey, Dash. I have something to tell you, too."

You lean forward again, this time giving her a kiss on the cheek. The sensations that come with kissing a mare are quite different from those that arise from kissing a woman. Her soft fur lingers on your lips for a bit, until the warmth from her cheek comes through and graces you with its presence. You can almost feel her skin through her fur.

You pull back, and watch her giggle at your somewhat prolonged smooch. She closes her eyes and snuggles into the crook of your arm, wrapping her tail around your other bicep.

Moments like these make you feel lucky that you ever ended up here. That things turned out the way they are now. That, somehow, through all the turmoil, you've managed to come out with your head held high and a smile on your face.

Chapter Ten: End of Second Arc

It's Sunday, time for you to go home. As you sit on the train with a group of chattering girls, you mull over some things.

One, Rainbow. In the few weeks that you've been in this relationship, you've learned so much about the rather hard-headed pegasus. It's strange, even now, to see so much emotion from a pony who makes herself out to be the toughest, most competitive mare in Ponyville.

Two, sunburns. They do exist here. In fact, the aforementioned 'emotional' pegasus keeps poking at your light-pink shoulder.

You just had to wear a muscle shirt today...

"Stop touching me!" you swipe at Rainbow's hoof. She pulls it back faster than you can blink, and giggles.

You groan, bracing yourself for the next wave of harassment from her. Hoof-poking aside, you're really quite grateful. The sunburns are light, and that's a lot coming from someone who's half-Polish, half-Irish and completely white.

Still, it annoys you to look over and see Rainbow going at it once again. She seems transfixed on the way your skin changes color every time she lifts her hoof.

"Hey. Did you know humans were called the 'sentient chameleons' on Earth?"

A look of interest comes across her face as she sits back and listens.

You smile. "You see, certain races of humans were able to change color to fit in with their surroundings. It was kind of like a survival mechanism, since our environments are much harsher than the ones you have here."

Her eyes widen. "Really? Can you show me?"

"Well, you already saw," you chuckle. Is she really this gullible?

"Well, can you turn any other colors? Like blue, or purple?"

"I think I can turn blue," you say, scratching your chin, "but I need to be touching something of the color."

"Here," she holds out her hoof to you. You shake your head.

"No, it needs to be a little more than that. Here," you place your palm on her chest. Her wing twitches, and she watches your hand with interest.

"Hm. Maybe that's not enough. Maybe if I..." you wrap your arms around her body and pull her into you.

After a moment, "I don't think it's working," she says skeptically.

You grin. "I know. I just wanted a hug."

She shoves you off of her, and punches you in your sunburned shoulder. You laugh as she blushes, just realizing that everyone in the car has been watching.

"Hey Dash," you chuckle, wiping a tear from your eye, "Is it me, or do we have a new chameleon on the train?"

She punches you again, much harder this time. You play it off, managing to maintain your grinning composure, but in actuality she gave you a dead arm.

"Oh, come now. Who wouldn't want a hug from our dear Ivan?" She giggles, winking playfully at you.

You flash her a wink in return. You open your mouth to say something, but a high-pitched Sweetie voice pierces the air.

"Hey! We're stopping! Look!"

Everyone looks out their designated windows. Sure enough, the speed of the passing dirt and underbrush is beginning to slow.

A voice comes over the intercom. "Hello, this is your conductor speaking. I am quite sorry to inform you that, unfortunately, there has been a slight delay."

Everyone in the car groans. The squeaking of the brakes resounds through the train.

"We will be stopping in Dogwood Forest momentarily. Estimated time of delay is..." he seems hesitant, "...approximately two to three hours."

An even louder groan resounds from the train's occupants. As if trying to appeal to this, the conductor's voice comes onto the intercom again, "All passengers will be allowed to temporarily exit the train during the wait period. Please do not stray too far from the train, as we will be calling passengers back fifteen minutes before departing. Thank you for your patience, and once again, we are very sorry for the inconvenience."

----------

You sit outside the train, digging through your backpack before pulling out two jagged rocks. "Ah-hah!"

Rainbow cocks her head. "And why do you have two rocks in there, again?"

"I told you before," you slide them together, causing a few sparks to fly off. "They make fire."

"Oh," she rolls her eyes, "And you didn't think of using them when we were all looking for matches a few nights ago?"

You shake your head. "No, because I didn't bring my survival backpack to the beach. It just didn't seem necessary at the time."

She blows her bangs out of her eyes.

"The other reason, is that starting a fire with flint and steel is a lot harder than it looks."

"I'll bet I could do it."

You chuckle. "That's what they all say..."

"Come on, Ivan."

You look at her for a moment. You're surprised she didn't lash out with an insult or something like she usually does.

You roll your eyes. "Alright. Just remember to use something really thread-like, like some dead grass, then slowly work your way up to the heavy stuff. Fire's an art, something that can't be rushed. Alright?"

You're not even done talking, and already she's started showering a sparks onto a pile of twigs.

You shake your head. "I'm gonna go get some berries. I'll be back in fifteen."

She replies, but doesn't look up from her fire-making. "Fifteen minutes? It takes that long to get some snacks from Rarity's bag?"

"No, I'm going into the forest."

She looks at you worriedly. After a moment, she lets out a breath. "Fifteen minutes, alright?"

You nod, zipping up your backpack. Before you enter the brush, you turn and wave.

"You better not come back with a dead rabbit or somethin'," Rainbow jokes.

"Rabbits need cooking. I don't see a fire anywhere," you counter. She sticks her tongue out at you, then waves back.

The forest is alive today. Birds, hidden from view, call from the trees, while the frogs in the grass and bushes croak from their moist spots.

A smell hangs in the air. It reminds you of the scent wood has after being left outside in the rain.

As you scan for edible berries, or maybe even a flower that Rainbow would enjoy, something glints, catching your eye. You stop and take a few steps back.

There it is again. You turn towards the source of the light, and find what looks like a piece of metal. Or at least, it looks like that from a distance.

As you come closer to the mysterious object, it becomes clear to you that you've found a hatchet.

It has a clip-on, as if to put on a belt. Even from where you stand, you can see that the handle is rounded, and rather wide. It strikes you as odd, since the handles on most hatchets belonging to ponies are thinner and squared to fit into ponies' mouths.

In fact, it looks a lot like a human axe.

You pick it up, and inspect a little closer. The blade looks like it was dipped in a bucket of blood, as well as part of the handle. You find a name burned in near the base of the blade. You recognize the burning. As you read the name, you begin to shake.

I. Walczyk

"Hey, Clay. Take this, will ya?"

You hand Clayton the old, but reliable hatchet. He looks at your outstretched hand for a moment, hesitant to take the axe.

Your little brother sighs. "Why should I carry it? It's your hatchet."

You roll your eyes, trying to recall how many times you've had to tell him this. "For one, Clayton, I'm a year older than you, making me in charge. Two, since I'm leading the way into the cave, I'm more likely to trip or fall, so I really shouldn't be holding an axe. Three, you have the utility belt. You'll still have two free hands if you just clip the axe on, while I have to hold the flashlight."

He groans. "Just put the axe in your damn backpack then..."

You point a convicting finger at him. "Hey! Watch your fucking language. You wanted to go into this cave, right? Well, this is the only way."

He takes the hatchet, but shakes his head. "I don't really want to go in anymore."

"Fine." You throw your hands up. "Don't, then. But now I want to, so stay right here 'til I come back, alright?"

He just glares at you. You take that as a silent agreement. Taking off your guitar in its case, which you brought with you for some inexplicable reason, you begin to make your way down into the hole. You flick on your flashlight. The rather large circle of light almost blinds you for a second in contrast to the pitch black of the cave, but it's all for the better, you think to yourself.

A few minutes in, and you feel wind. It's strange, because the wind is much stronger than it should be this deep into a cave. Also opposed to common knowledge, it seems to be leading away from the entrance you came through.

Maybe there's another entrance somewhere else?

You check to make sure you still have enough rope to continue the trail you're making. As it seems, you only have enough for another forty feet.

You walk about ten yards, turning a corner to follow the wind, when you think you see light that isn't your own. You turn off your flashlight, and sure as day, there's an easy exit not too far away. Hurriedly, and quite carelessly, you drop the rope and make your way down the steep slope towards your destination.

Apparently, the light streaming in from the cave entrance wasn't enough to illuminate everything in your path. Your shin hits a rock, causing you to curse out in pain as you trip and begin to slide on your belly down the hill. You swing your feet over out in front of you, putting the sliding friction on your backpack and desperately trying to stop with your boots.

The momentum becomes too much to handle, as the comparatively gradual slope steepens into a near-vertical drop. You roll head over heels, frantically clutching at the whatever you could at first until giving up and just tucking your head in.

Eyes closed, you're shocked by a body of cold, unforgiving water. You suck the liquid into your throat, panicking upon feeling the cold, yet somehow burning sensation of your lungs being filled with water.

When you open your eyes, you can't tell which way is up or down. You kick and flail about, frantically trying to undo the straps that hold your heavy backpack to you. You feel as if, maybe, if you can get your backpack off, you can swim back up to the surface of this swirling hell.

You don't have time to do that, however, as you feel yourself smash into something hard. You push against it with your hands, and find yourself above the water.

You gasp, simultaneously coughing up water and realizing that you've hit a sandy shore. You hear the beating of your heart in your chest, as well as the relentless crash and swirl of a fast river.

Weakly, you climb further onto shore. You feel sick; you must've swallowed at least a liter of water. You lurch, throwing up a diluted mixture of the aforementioned fluid and whatever you ate for lunch that day. You sit there on all fours, knuckles white, a burning sensation filling your nostrils as the nasty solution runs out of your nose. You wipe it off on your sleeve, and turn onto your back to rest your weary limbs.

You look up into the sky. It's still the same deep blue it was fifteen minutes ago. For some reason, it strikes you as odd. Nevertheless, you turn your head to look at your surroundings.

And that's when it strikes you. There's no cave in sight, and the river forks off two different ways upstream. You could've come from either way. You really have no idea where you are.

Since then, you haven't seen the river, nor the cave. Other than what you came with, and your guitar that somehow washed up farther downstream, you haven't seen anything even remotely relating to your world.

But now, you have your hatchet...

...which was in your younger brother's hand the last time you saw it.

"Clayton!" you scream at the top of your lungs. You begin to run; you don't know exactly where, but you feel like you're running towards Clayton.

"Clay! It's Ivan! Where are you?" After a minute of running, you stop. Panting and out of breath, you make one last measly attempt to call your brother.

"Please, Clay! Come out! I know you're out there!"

You drop to your knees. Letting go of the axe, you bring your hands to your face, and despair.

----------

You eventually find yourself near the train again. An agitated looking Rainbow looks up from her attempted fire with your flint and stone, and glares at you.

"Where have you been?" she asks in an accusing tone. "You said you would be back in fifteen minutes. It's been half an hour."

"It's not like the train's leaving anytime soon, is it?" you mutter. This makes her frown furrow deeper.

"Yeah, but I was starting get worried about- Hey! Don't ignore me!" She flies up to you, getting in your face, but you just give her an icy stare.

"Leave. Me. The fuck. Alone. Got that?"

She looks shocked. Her shock turns to anger again, but she does as you say.

The ride home is rather silent. All the ponies you're with sense your mood, and just keep to themselves.

When you finally get off the train, you say your goodbyes, and somberly walk home with Rainbow.

At this point, you're kind of wanting her to say something. Anything at all, really, just to break the tension. Unfortunately, your actions earlier hadn't put her in the most forgiving of moods.

You eventually make your way to the door. Sighing, you pull out your keys. As you turn the lock, you feel a soft nudging at your hand.

You look down. To your surprise, Rainbow is smiling at you. She says nothing, but her look says everything. I'm ready to forgive if you are.

A smile etches itself across your face as well. You scratch her behind the ear, and open the door for her. She steps in, a light trot to her step, and you follow after her.

----------

You're up bright and early the next morning. Shovel in hand, you look rather proudly, but somewhat sadly, at the large hole in your yard.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, it belongs to you, and it's one of the few things you still have from your home."

You smile at your concerned marefriend, nodding. You lean down, unzipping the backpack that's on the ground. You see the wood engraved with your name, the shine of the metallic blade, and pull the axe out of your backpack. You take one last look at it, and throw it into the hole.

With Rainbow's help, refilling the crater doesn't take long. With a pat of your foot, you look down at what looks like completely normal ground.

The two of you sit in silence for a moment. Then, Rainbow speaks. "Sorry for being a jerk to you the other day. I had no idea what was going on, and really should have been more concerned about you acting that way."

You kneel down, and give her a peck on the lips. "Don't worry about it. We both said things we shouldn't have."

You head back inside, taking off your hat and leaning the shovel on the wall next to the back door. Thoughts, deep and somber, come and go.

"Hey." You feel a tug on your pant leg. You look down at Rainbow, who looks you straight in the eye. "You gonna be okay?"

You take a deep breath, letting go all pangs of sadness with a final exhale. "Yeah, I think so. I mean, I have you, right?"

She smiles, fluttering up to kiss you on the cheek. After a close moment together, she flies back into the kitchen to make breakfast for the two of you.

You don't know what happened to your brother. You have no idea if he's dead, if that blood was his; or if he's alive, roaming about somewhere else in Equestria, or maybe even another nation. But you've been battling with yourself for far too long over this; for now, you bury the hatchet.

Close Bonds: Eleventh Chapter

This is how you like your Sundays to be. Relaxed, lazy, and absolutely nothing to do but sit on the couch reading a book with a pretty mare on your lap.

You flip a page, proceeding to the last set of words. Rainbow suggested this book from the Daring Do series. She seems to be a big fan.

You snap the book shut and set it on the table. Rainbow immediately awakens from her nap and looks up at you.

"Finished it," you announce.

Her eyes widen in excitement. "So? Was it as superly-awesome as I said it was?"

"Hm... Well, it was quite good, I have to admit."

She makes a victory hoof. "Yes!"

"...Not the best I've read, but I'd be willing to try the next in the series."

"Oh, believe me, you should." She's sitting up on your lap to talk face-to-face with you, "If you thought that was good, you should try the third book: Daring Do and the Crystal Hoof!" Her lips move a mile a minute, and her tail practically wags as she speaks to you.

You smile. Never change, Dash.

"Mayybe... that would be a nice birthday present. Hint hint."

You swear you see a lightbulb go up over Rainbow's head. Getting her coltfriend into her favorite book series seems to be a monumental event in her life. You also start to wonder if it's possible to kill a pony with excitement.

You may be getting close. "Ohmygosh! Your birthday's in two days right? I wonder how much money I can scrounge up in two days. Oh! Wait! Since it's your birthday doesn't that also mean-"

"Shh." You place a finger over Dash's lips. "Slow down before you have a heart attack."

She smacks your hand away. "I'm not gonna get a heart attack!"

You take your palm and place it on her chest. Thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump-

"I-I didn't even feel that before," Rainbow watches your hand on her chest with the same wide eyes.

"Isn't this your target heart range?" you ask, still feeling her.

"I think so. Wait, how would you know?" She raises an eyebrow at you.

"Remember that one barfight you got into that didn't turn out so well? When I had to carry you home?"

She rolls her eyes. "There were lots of times when you had to carry me home from the bar, Ivan..."

"Well, this time in particular. Your adrenaline was pretty high, so I was literally able to feel your heartbeat through my clothes."

At this, she gives you an inquisitive look. "Tell me you normally can't feel it through your clothes anyways."

You do as she says. "I normally can't feel it through my clothes anyways."

"I'll bet'cha can."

"Well, you can't actually bet with me since you have no bits..."

She chuckles. "Actually, I do. I did save some of what I had."

You frown. "I thought you spent it all on cider?"

"No. I spent your money on cider." She pokes you in the chest. You groan. "Big difference, Ivvy."

"Alright. So are we betting on this thing?"

"Twenty bits!" she says, then wraps you in a hug. You wait a second, then two.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

She breaks the hug. "I win! You owe me twenty!"

A devilish smirk comes across your face. "Good. That's twenty bits off the five-hundred that you owe me."

Her jaw, along with her expression, drops. "W-what..."

"Kidding. I'll get it to you next time I have my wallet. Hey, what's wrong?"

The way she hangs her head, she looks a bit sullen. "You just reminded me that I spent five-hundred of your bits."

You place a hand on her back, and begin rubbing up and down. "So?"

"So I spent your money, and I'm never gonna feel better 'bout it 'till I pay you back."

"Aw, come on. Twilight already did that for you, so it's fine." You pull her into a hug. "If it makes you feel better, and I've said this before, but she sent more than you spent, so I actually gained about fifteen-hundred from the whole thing."

"Great." She doesn't sound any better. "Now I feel like I'm mooching off Twilight."

"You're just grumpy today, aren't you?" You ease her off of you, holding her by the shoulders. She does not look amused. "I think you need a belly rub."

She looks away. "No, Ivan..."

"I think someone's hiding a smile..." a slight change in what you can see of her face confirms this. "Come on. Just a little? I really like your belly."

She giggles, then turns back to you, but not looking you straight in the face. "Alright."

"Good. Now, lie on your back for me." You let her shift atop your lap until she's in a position to lie down. "Let's lean back..."

She does so. You smile at her, and she does the same for you. "Okay, now let's get this hair out of your eyes," you brush away a stray bit of mane that's fallen over her face, and do the some for some that's found its way onto her neck. Your fingers gently brush the sides of her neck, and just to be thorough, you do the same around her collarbone. You can't prove it, but you know for a fact she's enjoying this.

"Alright, now I'm going to take your hoof with one hand," you grab the forehoof closet to you, "and I'm going to rub your beautiful belly with the other. Sound good?"

It's a question that needn't be answered. You take your right hand, and gently begin to rub circles around her navel.

"Ah," she sighs, little jolts of electricity running up and down her spine, "I-I can never get over this feeling..."

"And what feeling are you talking about?"

She bites her lip. "It feels good."

"Elaborate description," you joke while she sticks her tongue out at you.

Suddenly, you both hear a rather loud knock knock knock at the door. You move to stand, but feel a hoof on your chest pushing you back.

"Stay here," the hoof's owner pleas with you.

You're a bit hesitant about this. "The way they were knocking, it sounded kind of urgent."

She flips over on her stomach. "Come on, you haven't done my back yet."

You groan in mock annoyance, but crack your fingers and wiggle them in preparation for the back rub. Her mane, which has fallen across her neck, is brushed aside as you ready to begin your work.

Just as you're about to touch her shoulders, the infernal knocking returns, this time much louder.

"Dammit, who the hell..." you mutter, sliding out from underneath Rainbow and jumping to your feet. You open the door, which really isn't too far from the couch.

It's Applebloom. A stick with a red white-dotted bag is slung over her shoulder.

Aw, how cute.

"Hey, Applebloom. What're you doin' here?"

She smirks and tosses her head confidently. "Ah'm runnin' away. Can Ah stay here?"

Your voice catches in your throat, as you have no idea how to respond. You look back to Rainbow to see if she heard.

By the looks of it, she did.

----------

"Okay, so tell me, Applebloom. Why are you running away?"

Applebloom sits on one end of the couch, Rainbow sits on the other end, and you lean on the armrest next to the runaway apple farmer.

"Well," she begins, "me an' mah sister, we been arguin' a lot lately. She yells at me over the stupidest things. Like this mornin', when Ah was helpin' Granny Smith bake pies, Ah accidentally used salt instead a' sugar in the apple one."

"Oh?" you question, trying to hold back a smirk.

"Yeah. So when they were done, we put all the other pies on the shelves, and as is tradition, started on the apple one first."

As is tradition. Of course. "So what happened after that?"

Applebloom smiled. "Well, Granny Smith thought it was actually pretty funny. Big Mac did too, after he washed his mouth out in the sink. Applejack though... well, she started yellin' at me."

You frown. "What did she say?"

"Said, 'This family's already low enough on bits as it is!'" She imitates Applejack in a witchy-sounding voice. "'Ah can't have you goin' an' wastin' food and...' yada yada yada."

Rainbow pipes up. "So, you ran away because of that?"

Applebloom's face reddens slightly. "No! I wasn't finished! Ah was gonna say that she kept following me when I was tryin' ta get away from her, and yellin' at me! I went into mah room and shut the door, and she jus' barged in an' got in my face!"

You and Rainbow glance at each other. "Okay," Rainbow concedes, "but still, couldn't you have just talked to Appleja- oh wait, scratch that."

"Yeah," says Applebloom, "she doesn't listen very well."

You think about this. "Well, I know she's a bit hardheaded, but it doesn't seem like her to be... unreasonable."

"Psshh," Rainbow scoffs.

You ignore her. "Something I do know about her, though, is that she tends to take out her frustrations on others. 'Others' used to mean me, but since I'm gone... You think something's bothering her?"

"Hmm..." Applebloom puts her chin on her hoof, "Not that Ah know of. An' like Ah said, she don't like to talk about her problems."

You all sit in silence for a moment. Then, the most innocent yet direct question imaginable: "Can Ah stay with you guys for awhile?"

Again, you and Rainbow glance at each other. "Uh," you start, but Applebloom cuts you off.

"Don't worry, Ah'll make sure Applejack doesn't find out ye're harborin' me."

"I- I-" you stutter for a second. "Yeah, that's what I was gonna ask. I dunno, what do you think, Rainbow?"

She shrugs. "How long you stayin' here, shrimp?"

She seems slightly perturbed by the name. "Two nights, at most."

"Nights?" the pegasus questions.

"Ah'll probably be out an' about during the day. Ah just need somewhere to lodge, ya know. Even brought mah own bits fer food."

You point at the sack with the cliché design. "Is that what's in there?"

She opens it up, revealing a few books and a smaller brown sack. "That, and mah school books."

Rainbow puts an arm around Applebloom. "Well, meals come with the house here, squirt. I don't mind of you stay, long as it's okay with Ivan."

"I really don't care. Where are you going to sleep, though?"

Rainbow leans back, appearing completely sure of herself. "She can sleep in my bed. The only time I ever sleep in there is when you're gone-ohhh, snap."

Mentally, you facepalm. She blushes a bit and turns her head the other way, realizing what she just said. Applebloom sits there silently, the gears in her head turning as she processes the implications of Rainbow's words.

"Wait a minute... Why only if Ivan's not-" Her mouth hangs open as she comes to a conclusion.

You scuff your feet on the rug, looking around the room awkwardly. Rainbow Dash fiddles with her hooves, obviously quite flustered at letting the cat out of the bag in such a way.

Applebloom stutters for a moment, before smiling. "Wow! Ah really had no idea! This is so sweet!"

Both you and Rainbow whip your heads around to meet her. "Sweet?" Rainbow manages to say before you do.

"Well, yeah! Ah've always thought you two would make such a cute couple, and everypony else agrees!" She practically squeals with delight. "Ah can't wait to tell the girls!"

"Heheh, you see, that's the thing, Applebloom." You place a hand on her shoulder before she goes any further. "We're, uh... kind of keeping this secret for now."

"Just for two more days," Rainbow adds.

Applebloom looks at your hand, then up at you with a confused kind of look on her face. "But... why would'ja wanna keep it secret?"

Those cute, innocent eyes make it difficult for you to come up with an answer that doesn't involve incriminating Rainbow. "It's just... a private thing. I promise, I'll tell you everything once it's all over."

"'Once it's all over'?" Applebloom mulls over out loud. "How long have ya been keepin' this under wraps?"

Another glance between you and the blue pegasus. "Two..."

The apple farmer frowns. "Two what? Two days?"

Upon seeing the shaking of your head, she takes another guess. "Two weeks?"

You shake your head again. Her eyes widen. "Two... months?"

You give her the silent reply. This is enough for her.

"Two months? Ya mean to say that both of ya'll have been keepin' this secret for two months? Why, two months ago could'a been during the-"

Another jaw-drop. "-the beach trip. Of course, it all makes sense now!"

You rub the back of your neck. "Yeah, I suppose it does, with us 'bunking' in the same room and whatnot..." You notice Rainbow rubbing her foreleg nervously. You continue, "So, uh, since we're giving you a place to stay, you think you can make this our little secret for now?"

She finishes basking in her revelations to consider your request. "Well... Ah suppose Ah should, seein' as how you're doin' me a favor an' all..." She glares up at you, giving you a stern look that reminds you of her sister. "But you'd better explain yerself good once all this is over."

"I plan to," you nod. Rainbow exhales deeply, making you unsure of whether she's relieved or even more worried.

For a bit, you all sit in place, reviewing and taking in all of what just happened. Finally, something comes to mind.

"So, what are you gonna do now?"

Applebloom perks up in response to your question. "Whadd'ya mean?"

"Well, it's about noon on a Sunday. You have at least seven hours 'till nightfall, and right now you're incognito. What are you gonna do?"

"Same as any other Sunday, Ah suppose." She ponders this a moment before elaborating on her answer. "All Applejack saw was me stormin' off. Ah don't think she even knows Ah'm runnin' away right now, so if we did see each other, it's unlikely that she'd try to catch me or somethin'."

"True." One more question comes to mind. "So, this whole running away business. Why are you doing it in the first place?"

"Teachin' mah sister a lesson. She doesn't appreciate me like she should."

She sees your arched eyebrow and, realizing how that sounded, quickly tries to rephrase her words. "Ah didn't mean it that way. Ah just meant that, I feel as if she doesn't love me as much anymore. And Ah know how corny that sounds, but-"

"I know. I get it." You smile, "I always wanted to do the same thing when I was your age, younger even. I suppose it's never too late," you shoot Rainbow a quick smirk. Her lips curve up slightly, but not by much.

"Alright. Thanks fer understandin'." Applebloom shakes your formerly supplanted hand, then hops off the couch towards the front door. "Ah'm gonna go tell the other Crusaders about mah plan. Ah'll be back before it gets dark!"

With that, she slams the door behind her. As soon as Applebloom's out the door, Rainbow lets out a loud groan and sprawls out across the couch.

"Damn, that was tense," she mutters, burying her head in her hooves.

"No doubt about that." You plop down beside her. "Y'know, I think it would do us both some good if I gave you a massage right now."

----------

As you walk through the gate to Sweet Apple Acres, the familiar sights, sounds and smells put you through a fair amount of nostalgia.

You look off to the side at a marked-up oak tree. You chuckle as a certain memory comes back to you.

"Ah," you sigh, sitting down under the oak tree. You pull out an apple that you've been saving in your pocket, and take a good-sized bite.

This past week has possibly been the hardest you've ever worked in your life. But, you had to get a job eventually, and this is the only one available. You can't mooch off of Twilight forever; at least not without a guilty conscience.

You inhale, then exhale slowly. The smell of grass and dirt hits your nose, reminding you of the yard back home. When are you going to go back? Twilight said she's close to a solution, but that was weeks ago.

The poor unicorn's been working her butt off for you. You kind of feel bad, almost to the point of asking her to discontinue her work. But, it's either that, or be stuck here forever.

You take another whiff of the air. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad. It's nice here, really. But, home is home, and you're getting homesick.

A crunch sounds as you dig your teeth deep into the apple's crunchy flesh. Juice runs over your chin, but you're too tired to wipe it off.

Another crunch. But this one's noticeably different, and you weren't even chewing when you heard it.

As you set to wondering about the new sound, a blur of yellow falls out of the tree and hits the ground in front of you. You yelp and jump to your feet.

"Ow..." A little red-maned filly rubs her head.

As your heart rate drops back to normal, you begin to assess the situation.

This girl... Applebloom, if you remember correctly. Applejack's sister, right? Or cousin? The orange-coated farmer introduced the two of you, but you haven't really spoken after that.

You decide to make first contact. "Hey, uh... Applebloom?"

The little pony immediately stands and begins backing away. "Uh, s-sorry Ah was spyin' on you, mister..."

She's really kind of cute. Not that you would admit that to anybody.

"It's fine." You stick out a hand. "Name's Ivan."

She shrinks away from your greeting at first. You smile, making sure to keep your lips shut so as not to expose your canine teeth. After a few moments, the little girl steps forward to tepidly shake your hand.

"M-mah name's Applebloom," she musters up the courage to say. She draws her hoof back, seemingly amazed that it's still attached to her body.

You decide not to mention that you had just called her by her name before your hand-to-hoof shake. "That's a very pretty name."

The edges of her lips curve up slightly as she blushes. "If ya don't mind me sayin'..." She seems hesitant to continue. "You have a kinda... weird name. No offense," she quickly adds again.

"Hm," you raise an eyebrow, trying to hold back a smirk, "I suppose that all depends on perspective. I mean, your name's strange to me."

She frowns. "Ah thought you said mah name was pretty."

"Well, strange isn't always bad now, is it?" You pause a moment to let this sink in for her. "Just because something is different, doesn't mean you can't like it. Strange can be a good thing."

She puts a hoof to her chin in thought. "Alright. I think I get what ye're sayin'." Suddenly, something seems to dawn on her. "Y'know, Ah don't think we got off on the right hoof. What do you think?"

"Uh..."

"Ah wanna start over." She holds out her hoof for you. "Hi, mah name's Applebloom, and Ah think ye're really strange."

Applebloom... You wouldn't say she was your first friend, as 'friend' can be defined in many different ways, and at the time could include Twilight and most of the Elements. But, you do believe that she was the first pony that you truly bonded to in this world. You understood each other, for some reason.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't mah favorite twig-legged little alien!"

Oh, and Applebloom's grandma, AKA 'Granny Smith'. The first person, pony or otherwise, to make you piss yourself from laughing.

"Oh, hey Granny Smith. How goes the farm?"

She waves her hoof at you from her spot in the porch rocking chair. "Oh, hell, you know how it is! Come over here an' sit down, you handsome bastard!"

She's also quite vulgar and a bit weird, especially when not in the proximity of the acute eyes and ears of a younger pony.

You chuckle, sitting on the steps that lead up to the porch. "Handsome? You got somethin' on your mind, granny?"

"Well, Ah heard you got especially good with the mares since Ah last saw ya." She winks. "Ya have a marefriend? Two, maybe?"

It doesn't surprise you that she's asking this. Seeing as how none of her grandchildren have much of a romantic life, she compensates by digging into yours. "A lot less since I've been here last, actually. 'Course, I think you would know."

"Ah, come on," she jabs you with her cane, "Ah heard ya hooked up with that Rainbow gal. The Wonderbolt one?"

You shake your head. "Nah, not a Wonderbolt. She just lives with me."

She squints her eyes, rubbing her chin. "Hmm, Ah dunno about that. You ain't tellin' me that you, bein' a stallion, didn't take advantage of a situation like that, especially with such a cute little button like herself?"

Oh, the irony. "I'd love to tell you all about it, but I'm lookin' for Applejack right now. It's pretty important."

She sighs. "Ah know ye're avoidin' the question, but Ah'll bite. She's out somewhere, probably at the stand. Stormed off after she got inta a fight with her sister." The old green mare leans back, then adds, "Ah tell ya, she's been in a bad mood. Ah would say she's havin' her 'lady time', but that was a few weeks ago."

"Thanks, Granny. Needed to know that." You step off the porch, and begin your journey down the rows of apple trees.

"If ya find Applejack, tell 'er Winona shat in the house again!" she calls out after you. You shake your head, wondering how any of her offspring turned out as respectable as they are.

Close Bonds: Twelfth Chapter

You reach the apple stand in time to find not Applejack, but Applebloom behind the counter.

"Apples for sale!" she screeches, "Get yer apples- oh, hi, Ivan!"

"Hey, Applebloom," you chuckle, approaching the stall, "Thought you were with your friends?"

"Oh, they're right here!" Two little heads pop up from behind the counter. They wave, and simultaneously greet, "Hi Ivan!"

"Hey, girls. Didn't see ya there."

The three giggle, then turn back to you. "So, are ya here to buy some apples?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on it, but," you slap down fifteen bits, "I'll take a baker's dozen."

Applebloom studies the coins for a moment, then shakes her head. "Sorry, Ivan. Ya know Ah'm a hard bargainer."

You cock an eyebrow. "Hard bargain? This is the best you're gonna get for apples, silly filly."

"Mm-nope."

You sigh. "Alright. Name your price."

The three fillies glance at each other, then form a huddle. When they finally come out, Applebloom's face looks hard-set. "Three bits an apple."

Your eyes widen incredulously. "Three bits!? Applebloom, I'm not paying thirty-nine dollars for thirteen apples."

Applebloom cocks her head. "Doll-hairs?"

You facepalm. "Bits. Sorry."

"Well, either way, three bits each is mah final offer."

You scoop of your pile of money, and begin to turn away. "Sorry, Applebloom. I could get almost three times the apples with that amount of money."

"But they're Sweet Apple Acres apples!"

"At those prices, I think I'll manage." You place the bits in a sack in your pocket, then turn the direction of home.

As you begin to walk away, you hear a high voice call out to you. "Two bits!"

You turn. The apple merchant has a sly grin on her face.

"One–three," you say, re-approaching her.

"One–seven."

It's easy to see where this is going. "One–four."

"One–six"

"One–five."

"One-" she thinks for a moment. "Deal!"

You smile. "Good. Now, do you have the change?"

"Yeah, Ah think Ah have some 'eights 'round here somewhere." She digs through some drawers, then eventually comes up with a hoof full of small coins. "Alright. How much is that again?"

"With thirteen apples at one–five, I think that's... twenty-one bits and an eighth." You watch her go over the math, and see her smile upon confirming this.

"Alright. Gimme twenty-two bits, and Ah'll give ya back seven bits." The two other girls suddenly stare at her.

You know this is just a slip of the tongue, but decide to have fun with it. "Well, thanks, Applebloom. Seven whole bits? You should have Rarity's element."

She thinks over what you said, looking confused. You smile when her eyes widen, realizing her mistake. "Ah meant seven 'eights!"

"I know. Here." You place twenty-two bits on the counter. "Twenty-two bits. Check 'em."

She spreads out the pile, counts them, then scoops them into a drawer. "Thank ya kindly. Now, fer you," she pours seven small coins into your hand, "Seven pieces of eight."

You run your finger through them, mimicking Applebloom's earlier actions. "Alrighty. Thank ya kindly, young lady."

Before Applebloom can respond, a loud, hard voice cuts through the air. "Applebloom! The heck are ya doin'?!"

All heads turn to an angry-looking Applejack. By the angry snarl and bared front teeth, it wouldn't take a genius to tell she means business. "Ya ain't supposed ta be runnin' the stall! What in the name a' crabapples were ya thinkin'?!"

The tone in her voice has even you shrinking back into the nearest crack in the road, but Applebloom just marches right on up to her.

"Ah saw the stall was empty, so Ah took over, like a responsible mare! If ya didn't want me ta do yer duties for ya, then ya shouldn't've been slackin' off!"

Applejack literally blows steam into her sister's face. You and the fillies do your best to become invisible.

"How dare you talk to yer older sister like that! Didn't ya learn respect when you were younger?! Why, Ah oughtta take ya out back and straighten you like a piece a' wire!"

This does nothing to deter Applebloom. That surprises you, seeing as how the very trees seem to be leaning away from the argument. "You- Why don't you learn respect?! All ya ever do anymore is yell and nag at me, like Ah have no feelings! 'Applebloom, don't put salt in the pie! Applebloom, stop dragging pig shit inta the house!' 'But, Applejack, it's only mud!' 'No! Ah don't care what it is, just take it an' yerself outside!'"

All of Ponyville seems to be holding its breath. The spectacle had started to form a crowd, but you think everyone got scared off. Personally, you're too afraid to move.

The words barely seep out through Applejack's clenched teeth. "Applebloom. Follow me home."

"No!" the filly lashes out. "Ah'm stayin' with Ivan!"

Oh, shit.

No, Applebloom. Please no.

"Don't bring him inta this," Applejack glances at you for a moment before turning back to the object of her fury.

"He's already in it. He agreed ta let me stay fer a few days, ta get away from you!"

The blonde cowpony's eyes widen, then she looks at you. Her whole face twists into a look of disgust, pure anger in the form of heat radiating from the very whites of her eyes.

That's it. You expect to be dead in the next five seconds. Fortunately, instead of pounding your lights out, the apple farmer spits at your feet, then stomps off.

You watch her go into a trot, then an all-out sprint, leaving behind a trail of dust in her wake.

Applebloom turns, walking back to the three of you, who have kept silent during the whole exchange. She circles around the stand to you, then hugs your leg.

"Thanks fer bein' on my side," she says, rubbing her face on your shin.

A takes you a moment to find your voice. When you do, it comes out as little more than a whisper. "Y-yeah, sure."

----------

You sit on your couch, flipping through letters. Rainbow left a note while you were out, saying that she was going shopping, and that she had brought home the mail from the post office. Applebloom lies on the floor, tying the little spotted runaway bag into a neckerchief.

As you sift through envelopes, you come to a particular violet-colored one. You know exactly who it is. You find this strange, seeing as how you haven't gotten a letter from Twilight in... weeks? A month? Anyhow, you peel back the sticky flap and pull out the awaiting letter.

"Sorry fer throwin' ya under the carriage back there, Ivan," Applebloom says, watching you cautiously.

You look up. The little filly seems to have finally gotten the piece of cloth around her neck. You set Twilight's letter down, and lick your lips in thought.

"Well, I can't just tell you it's okay, since you promised me you wouldn't tell Applejack." Applebloom looks at the floor, twiddling her hooves. "Not only did I get uncomfortably close to a hospital visit, but I now have your sister on my back. And possibly your grandma, and older brother."

"Granny an' Big Mac'll understand, seein' how Applejack's been actin' lately. And Ah dunno, it's jus' that Ah've been pretty angry at Applejack fer awhile now... Ah couldn't help mahself at the opportunity ta get back at 'er. I really shouldn't've gotten her mad at you too, though."

"Well, I suppose what's done is done," you say, not looking at her directly. "But seriously, you two need to reconcile. The way you were arguing-"

"Ah know, Ah know," she interrupts. She lies down on her stomach, placing her chin on her forelegs. "But it ain't that easy. It's not like we can jus' say, 'Oh, well we're sisters, so we should forgive each other' and it'll all go back to normal. Like you said, something could be botherin' her, but I would have no idea. Jus' because she's bad at lyin' don't mean she can't hide things."

You roll your eyes, playing it off as static anger. "I highly doubt that, Applebloom."

She shakes her head. "If only you knew, Ivan..."

Wait, what? "What was that, Applebloom?"

Her eyes shoot wide open and her hooves fly to her mouth. "Uh, nothin'! Nothin' at all!" Her eyes quickly dart around the room.

This has you interested. "You're as bad a liar as your sister. Now, what are you talking about?"

She attempts to take back her words again, though with less vigor this time. "I-It was nuttin'. You shouldn't worry about it."

"Come on, AB."

She looks up at you, seeing your disappointed expression. Finally, she sighs.

"Alright. Applejack's been hidin' somethin' from you. An' Ah guess Ah can't expect you ta not confront her about this, but please, please don't go around town tellin' everypony."

"You know me. I wouldn't do that," you assure. You're really starting to wonder what this is all about.

"Thanks fer that. Alright." She takes a deep breath. "Y'know how Applejack apologized about accusin' you of takin' those tools from the barn?"

"Well, it wasn't an apology so much as it was a statement of trust. But go on."

"Heh heh, trust," Applebloom rubs her neck. "She ever tell you why she believed you?"

She told you that she trusts you, and why. But the explanation on her sudden change of heart was a bit foggy. "Uh, no, not really."

"It was because you weren't the one who took the tools. It was someone else."

Your eyes widen. "Who?"

"It's gonna sound stupid..." she bites her lip and looks around tentatively before her eyes settle back on yours. "Winona."

"What?"

"Yeah, Ah know. Big Mac caught 'er diggin' up a wrench an' a hammer somewhere out in the orchard. We don't know where she hid the rest of the tools, but it was kinda clear at that point that somepony had probably jus' left the toolbox open, and the dog decided ta have a field day with it."

Your head is abuzz with questions. The first and foremost is obvious. "Why didn't she tell me?"

Applebloom seems ready for the question. "She didn't wanna look stupid. Simple as that. She fired and unfriended you fer somethin' you never did, and if word got out that it was her own dog who did it..."

"I see."

For the ponies that know you, seeing you even remotely angry tends to make them uncomfortable. Applebloom is no different. "You ain't... mad, are you?"

You consider the question carefully before answering. "Maybe a little."

Applebloom shifts from hoof to hoof uncertainly. A long silence passes, before you finally sigh and lie back across the sofa. "Oh, well. I'll deal with it later. No need to get all riled up on a Sunday."

The red-maned pony wipes her forehead with a foreleg. "Y-yeah. No need." She sees you sit back up and begin writing on the backside of Rainbow's note. Eager to change the subject, she asks, "Hey, what's that?"

"I'm writing a reminder to myself," you answer, not looking up.

Applebloom trots over to your side of the coffee table, and scrunches up her face at your note. "That don't look like Equish."

"It isn't." You end the note with a flourish of your pen. "It's English."

"Eng... lish?"

"Yeah. Kinda like Equish, but from Earth."

"Ohh." She studies the lined yellow paper for a little longer. "What does it say?"

"It says, 'Make sure Rainbow brings home meat from the specialty store.'"

"Meat? Ewww!" Applebloom scrunches up her nose and sticks out her tongue.

"Yum, for me." You rub your belly. "It's hard for me to get everything I need from eating vegetables alone. I gotta have my steak once in awhile."

Because you're still a growing boy, aren't you?

"Ah can't imagine doin' that. Don't the blood an' guts get all messy an' stuff when you eat it?"

"Looks like you'll be finding out tonight," you say, grinning impishly. Applebloom sticks out her tongue again.

"If Ah do eat. Ah can't imagine seein' that an' still havin' an appetite."

"Rainbow seems to get by. I'm sure you will."

Applebloom studies the note for a little longer, before she slaps the tip of her hoof down on the paper.

"Is that a squiggly?"

You lean over, and see the tip of her hoof on the 'M'. You shake your head.

"No, that's the 'σ'. We don't have squigglies."

"Ohh. So you don't capitalize your letters?"

"No. We have uppercase and lowercase letters. See here," you write down an 'M' and an 'm' next to each other, "This is the capital, or uppercase letter. This is the lowercase."

She scratches her head. "That's weird."

"Now imagine having to learn a language that sounded different. Essentially, Equish and English are the same, just different letters, and a few words. When you learn a whole new language... Ooh boy."

"Hm..." She scrutinizes the note. "Ah don't think I would wanna go learn a new language, but maybe you could teach me English?"

You chuckle. "I don't think you could learn it all in one night. Written English is much more complicated than Equish."

"Oh, come on! Here, just write the note in Equish and Ah bet Ah can learn all those letters that way!"

"Alright then..." you say condescendingly. Below the English version, you jot down, "~σ'•}{ ß[]⌠ ~⌠'•σo()o₩ ()⌠••σo_ß []ooσ σ••τ ¥⌠≡σ τ[]∩ ßL•ß[]Γτ•• []τo⌠ <".

Applebloom looks at the Equish version, then back to the English, then back again.

"This doesn't make sense. The letters don't even match up!"

"That's because Equish is based more on sound than anything, while English," you stare at the note for a moment, "I'm really not even sure."

"Well, maybe Ah can't learn it all in two days, but maybe Ah can come over after school sometimes?" she suggests.

"Eh, depends on how well things go over with your sister. If worst comes to worst, you may not even be allowed to talk to me for a while."

Applebloom gets a sad look, letting her eyes and ears droop towards the ground. Seeing this, you decide to hoist her up onto the couch with you.

"Doesn't mean you can't learn as much as you can in two days," you say, hoping to raise her spirits. It seems to work well enough, so you grab a stray piece of scratch paper and begin to write down the alphabet of both languages. "Now, I'm going to go in order of the English alphabet, for one because I can't remember the order in which the Equish alphabet goes, and two-"

"It starts with 'o'."

You raise an eyebrow at her. She giggles back at you. "Right, then." You scratch out what you've written already and start afresh. "We'll start with 'o'. Quite convenient really, since it's written the same way as its English equivalent, 'O'." You write the uppercase and lowercase versions of the letter next to the Equish 'o'. "It makes the same sound as its Equish counterpart, but also other sounds. Provided these lessons go on, you'll eventually be learning those. Now, shall we continue?" Applebloom puts the information to mind, then quickly nods. "Alright. Now, what's the next letter in the Equish alphabet?"

"'∞'," she quickly informs you.

You bite your lip. "Okay, and I'm guessing the next one is 'oo'?"

She nods, confirming this.

You exhale. "Alright. This may be a bit confusing to you, but we don't have those letters. I'll teach you the rules on how the sounds of those letters are made later on, but let's finish our work on the alphabet first. What's the next letter?"

"'φ≡'," she says.

"Crap," you mutter under your breath. "Okay, another tricky one. 'Q' is the translation of this letter, and is written two ways, 'Q' and 'q'. Now, I want you to listen carefully, because this may confuse you..."

----------

"And this is?" you hold up a crudely made flashcard.

"It's uh... 'H'?" Applebloom watches you, unblinking, for confirmation on whether or not she was right.

You put on a disappointed face for a moment. Then, as soon as she begins to look downtrodden, your lips curve up into a grin. "That's right! Good job!"

Her face lights up almost immediately, glee making itself known on her features. Right then, the front door opens up, and a bag-toting rainbow-maned pegasus steps inside.

"Hey, Rainbow," you wave from the couch, as does Applebloom. She greets the two of you with a raised wing and smiles.

"Got the meat?" you ask, holding up the earlier note to Applebloom. The filly giggles, while Rainbow raises a suspicious eyebrow at the inside joke.

"Yeah, sure do. You said pig ribs, right?" The words seem to have no effect on the pegasus, but you think Applebloom just threw up in her mouth a little.

"Mm-hm. Thanks for getting it for me, Rainbow." You rise to kiss her, then promptly begin taking items out of her saddlebags. You'd learned your lesson long ago about taking a single saddlebag off the side of a pony, when Twilight literally tipped over onto her side when you had done so without warning.

Fortunately, Twilight's very forgiving, and just laughed it off. However, you don't think you would have gotten away with the same thing had it been Rainbow.

"It was no biggie," she says, kissing you on the cheek. "So, what's goin' on here?"

"Just teachin' Applebloom some English," you reply, setting a few cans of corn onto the kitchen counter. Rainbow peeks her head around the corner to get a look at the earth pony in question.

"And she gets it?" Rainbow asks incredulously.

"She's getting there." You give Applebloom an encouraging smile. "Recite the alphabet for me, will you please?"

"Oh! Okay!" Applebloom closes her eyes in deep concentration, then begins. "Ay, bee, see, gee, ee, eff... Wait a minute." She puts a hoof to her mouth, realizing her mistake. "Oh, tartar sauce!"

You chuckle. "It's fine, Applebloom. Don't get frustrated. Here, take a break for tonight. We can go through it again tomorrow, if you'd like."

"Alright. Mah brain hurts, anyways." She trots off into the hallway, and you hear the bathroom door shut.

Once Applebloom's out of earshot, Rainbow turns to you. "That's really cute."

"Who? Applebloom?" You start throwing groceries into the fridge.

You shut the door and turn to face her. As soon as you do, however, you're met by a warm kiss on the nose.

"No, you." The violet-eyed pegasus caresses your cheek. "The way you can talk to foals like that. It's really cute."

"Didn't think you were into that kind of stuff, Dashie," you joke.

"Well," she turns, flicking her tail as she looks back at you, "now you know."

Close Bonds: Thirteenth Chapter

"You do realize that learning a language that sounds the same but is written differently is completely pointless?"

As Rainbow tries to impress her views on Applebloom, you set a few pancakes onto a plate and carry it over to the table for yourself. The girls have already dug into their breakfast, and as you have observed, seem to have similar eating habits.

But, as of right now, they've paused their chow-down to have an intellectual debate. "Well," Applebloom says, "it can be kinda like a secret code that nopony else can understand."

Rainbow Dash holds her hoof out in front of herself. "But what's the point of that? Out loud, everyone understands what you're saying. It's not like you two are going to go around in public writing notes to each other and giggling like school fillies."

Ooh. This discussion just got a little bit heated.

Applebloom grabs a paper out of her little notebook, and begins to write on it. She soon passes it across the table to you.

In messy half English, half Equish, it reads, '~⌠enbow Daß[] τocs τ∞ σ≡{] !'

You squint your eyes. "...Rainbow Dash- Oh." You smile across the table at a giggling Applebloom. "Yeah, I agree."

"What? What's it say?" The mischievous way you and the earth filly glance at each other only serves to further annoy her.

"Nothing, Rainbow. Nothing you haven't already heard a million times."

"Let me see that!" she yells, swiping the note from your hands. She looks over it, her eyes squinting in the same way yours were.

"'...too much'? What 'too much'? What do I do too much?"

A snort escapes your lips as you try to hold in your laughter. "Nothing to worry about, Dash. Just drop it."

She sticks the note in your face. "This isn't funny! Stop being a puss and tell me what this says, or else-"

You shove a forkful of pancake into her mouth. "Seriously, you talk too much. And like I said, it's nothing I don't tell you every day."

Applebloom snickers.

Rainbow Dash glares at you both, then slowly takes her hooves off the table. After swallowing the bit of pancake you forced her to eat, she says, "I'll let this one go. But only because it's your birthday tomorrow."

Applebloom perks up, turning to you. "It's yer birthday? Oh, shoot, Ah forgot ta get you somethin'!"

Your eyebrow shoots up. "You don't have to. Really, I'm surprised you even knew it was my birthday."

"Well, we kinda got the invitation from Pinkie. She's got somethin' big planned at the Sugarcube Corner, Ah think."

"Was it a surprise party?"

"Ah think so..."

"Well," you smirk, "I'm sure I'll be very surprised."

"Tartarsauce!" She covers her face with her hooves, "Ah wasn't suppose ta say anything!"

"It's fine," you chuckle, "Her surprise parties scare the hell out of me anyways. I'm kind of glad you told me, so I don't run the risk of a heart attack."

"Heh heh. Yeah, Ah know what you mean." Applebloom slides off her chair. "Ah guess Ah should be gettin' ta school soon. See y'all later!"

"Wait a minute, squirt,"Rainbow says, grabbing Applebloom by her shoulder. "What do you mean you're going to school? It's the beginning of July."

"Oh, not that kind of school." The filly pulls out the three books that she brought with her, plopping them on the table. The first looks like it has to do with woodshop. The second has a picture of a hammer, clamp, and anvil. The third reads, The Craftpony's Guide to Safety, or '~τ]≡ ~}{⌠'§¥τLooσo••*ß•• ~_y•_ τ∞ ~ߧ¥τ••'.

Your face lights up. "Sweet! Crafting classes?"

"Wood-shop and metalworking," she declares proudly. "Ah've been takin' it fer a few weeks now. Mah instructor says Ah might be ready to move on to the next level!"

"That's awesome." You ruffle her mane, her little pink bow bouncing as you do so. "Well, I guess I shouldn't keep you any longer. Cya, Applebloom."

"Bye, Ivan." She hugs you around the waist, then trots out the door, a loud slam! accompanying her exit.

"Goodbye to you, too," Rainbow mutters, taking Applebloom's left-over dirty plate to the sink.

You smirk. "Aww, don't be upset, Rainbow. I'll remember to say goodbye to you when I leave today."

She doesn't even turn around. "Tsk. Screw you, I don't even care."

"Alllrighty then." You grab your name tag and Twilight's letter, then head out the door, making sure to slam it loud enough for the ungrateful pegasus to hear.

You walk around the side of the house and peer through a window. You catch sight of Rainbow, staring slack-jawed at the front door.

You chuckle silently to yourself, then walk back to the front porch again. You crack open the door wide enough to poke your head inside, and call, "Bye, Rainbow!"

"Fuck you! Get out of here!" A leftover pancake flies your way, and you duck out the door, quickly shutting it again. A few moments pass, however, and you hear a muffled giggling emanating through one of the open windows.

You smile, taking out Twilight's letters and begin heading on your way.

----------

My good friend Ivan,

I apologize for not being able to chat with you the past month. Things have been quite hectic around here, princess duties and all... Ugh, I wish I could come down to Ponyville for a day, just to see you all again. I miss you guys. I got the invitation from Pinkie about your party, happy birthday! How old are you turning? The card she sent seemed to have left out that little bit of information. In fact, I'm really not sure how the card got to me at all, since it wasn't marked as a 'priority' or personal letter or anything. Ah, well. I won't question it any further.

I said I would get back to you on the 'electricity and sunburns' subject, so here are your explanations.

Let's start with electricity. Now, the common assumption concerning microphones, medical equipment, and the occasional lightbulb, is that they're magic. While many devices have magical properties to help them function properly, that's not where they get their source of power. At least, not directly.

Now, though the 'magic' assumption is derived from simple ignorance, it's not completely false. Direct-current batteries are generally charged with magic. In fact, though this is definitely not how batteries are usually charged, some unicorns have learned to negatively charge, or electrify, the air around their horns; myself included. Fortunately, unless you're an extremely powerful unicorn, or an alicorn (like me), no harm can really be done using these spells. The most that ever really happens is that somepony receives a slight shock.

Also, we Equestrians have steam technology. While many engines run directly off the smoke from burning coal or the steam from boiling water, some houses are powered by alternating current steam plants. These steam plants are very inefficient however, and often leave behind pollutants. They're very rarely seen nowadays, as most have been either shut down or replaced by more efficient methods of power.

Now, sunburns. I actually had to ask Princess Celestia about this, as I had always assumed that the reason ponies almost never got sunburnt was because of their coats. I was half right.

According to the very ruler of the sun herself, our planet used to have a thick layer of gases to protect its inhabitants from the sun's harmful rays. This layer still exists today, just a bit thinner. While the ponies would definitely survive, the rate of sunburns (as you mentioned), as well as skin cancer, sight loss, and other health problems, would go through the roof. That's why Celestia redirects certain wavelengths of radiation in certain amounts, at certain times of the day. Being the most dangerous, the shorter wavelengths are normally redirected the most. Ultraviolet light, which causes sunburns and skin cancer, is very important to plant life; flowers contain ultraviolet markings that attract bees and other insects, so the amount that gets to us must be proportioned accordingly.

It's very interesting really, as alicorns can see ultraviolet, as well as infrared to some extent. So basically, the next time I see you, remember that to me, you're glowing.

And, that's about it. Sorry if that was a bit long, but I was hoping to write an as informative letter as I could in the five minutes I have left of my daily lunch break. Busy, busy, busy.

And now, back to my duties. I hope you have a happy birthday Ivan! Tell everypony I said 'hi'!

Your friend,
Twilight

How very informative. That really explained a lot.

And strangely, she didn't even mention the citizenship...

----------

Entering the hospital, you notice that the place doesn't seem to be too busy.

Which is good for two reasons: one, it means ponies aren't getting sick, and two, it means that you won't have to do as much work today.

"Psst! Ivy!"

You smile, seeing the pink-maned pony at the front desk. She's waving you over, and for some reason giving you more of a quiet greeting today.

"Hey, Cream," you say at normal volume, placing your elbows on the front desk, "What's up?"

"Shh!" She covers your mouth with a hoof. Looking around the room, she whispers, "I need you to be quiet. We're not supposed to have food in this part of the hospital."

After her hoof's been removed from your lips, "Food?" you whisper back. The receptionist grins from ear to ear, then pulls out a cupcake with a single unlit candle in the middle.

"Happy birthday!" she whisper-cheers. "I don't have any matches right now, but you can pretend to blow out the candle."

You look at the little frosted cupcake, then shake your head. "Oh, Cream..."

She looks confused. "What?"

"My birthday's tomorrow, not today."

She cocks her head, frowning. "No, your birthday's today. I have the date you wrote down when you applied for a job here." She opens up a drawer, looks through some files, and slaps a paper down in front of you. It's your employee info, and sure enough, it says July 1st.

"Oh. Wow. You were right." You study the paper for a second, wondering at how you could have messed up and written that. "My birthday's still tomorrow, though."

"Well, then, it's your fault that you wrote that down," she sticks her tongue out at you. You roll your eyes, and begin to walk down the hall.

"Wait," you hear from behind you. Curious, you turn to find that she's looking between you and the paper, disbelief painting her face. "Your birth date. I never noticed that before. How old are you?"

Oh. "I'm... eighteen, tomorrow."

Her face lights up, and she gets this huge grin. "Aww! You're still so young!"

You groan, turning back the way you should have continued going. Unfortunately for you, right as you do this, Lyra pops out the door. "Work monkey! You're late!"

She's taken a liking to calling you her 'work monkey'. It's funny, she often says, because you're actually a monkey,

"Lyra!" Cream calls. You facepalm, knowing what's next. "Ivy's still a baby!"

Lyra raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"Come here and look at his employee files!"

"Cream, you're not even supposed to be looking at his-"

"He's only seventeen!"

Lyra's eyes bug out. "What?" She quickly trots on over to the counter and looks at paper.

"He's eighteen."

"That's just a mistake. His birthday's tomorrow."

By this time, you're pretty far down the hall in an attempt to get away from them. But, escape from Lyra is futile.

"Ivan! Come here, little colt! Momma's got some chores for you!"

"Shut up, Lyra."

This... isn't going to be a fun day.

"Ooh, is widdle Ivy getting cranky now?"

Seriously.

----------

"See ya, Cream!"

"Bye Ivy! I'll give you your cupcake tomorrow!"

"Uh... Alright!" The thought of where she might be storing that cupcake is a little unsettling to you. In fact, didn't she pull it out of the same drawer she used to complain about cockroaches getting into?

You shudder at the thought, but shake it off. You have business to attend to today, and your mind is going to need to be clear of all cockroaches if you want everything to go alright.

You look down the gravel path that leads to Sweet Apple Acres. You really shouldn't be the one doing this. You and Applejack still haven't really talked much since the whole shitstorm went down. It's not like you were mad at each other, but still, whenever you two came face to face, the tension could be cut with a knife.

And now, she's mad at you... again. And you're a little angry with her, too. She's practically been lying to your face for two months. Element of Honesty your ass.

You take a deep breath, then slowly exhale. Your emotions are getting to you. Knowing that you can't deal with the situation rationally if you're angry, you attempt to calm yourself.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Oh, good. Rainbow's sweet voice to help calm your nerves.

Where did she come from anyway?

"This isn't the way home, you know," she says, flying up beside you. You take a deep breath.

"I know."

She frowns. "Where are you going, then?"

You continue to look straight ahead, only watching her through the corner of your eye. "I'm going to take care of some business."

She eyes you suspiciously. "That's it? Just 'taking care of business'?"

"Yup."

She watches you for a moment, then drops to the ground beside you as you walk. A minute passes, and you stop. She stops too.

"Why are you following me?"

She meets your downward glare. "What? Can't I come with you?"

You groan inwardly. "Dash, I-"

"I know what's going on," she says. You continue to watch her, so she continues.

"Applebloom told me about yesterday. About what happened at the stand."

"Oh, good," you groan.

"When I heard about it, I knew that you were going to confront her about it. So I waited for you outside the hospital."

Outside the hospital? "You mean you spied on me?"

She gives you a serious look. "I don't want you to get hurt."

You smirk facetiously. "What, you think Applejack's gonna attack me?"

A good way to state your own concerns.

"Ivan, this is a mare who I watched crack a changeling's head open with her hind legs. I don't know about you, but that's not something I wanna risk."

"Okay..." This really isn't helping. "But what do you expect me to do? Not go over there? I know Applebloom said she would only stay two days, but I can't just kick her out onto the street."

"Oh, no," Rainbow shakes her head, "You're going all right."

"Then why-"

"I'm coming with you," she states, as if it's a fact. "I'm gonna make sure you don't end up in the hospital with a concussion."

You chuckle. "So, my marefriend's protecting me from danger now..."

She tosses her head. "Take it from a pony who's pummeled more than a few changelings herself. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

You smile. "I'll take your word for it, then."

This girl has a well-known fighting reputation around Ponyville. You've seen her beat the living hell out of full-grown stallions; truthfully, you're not embarrassed in the least.

Pretty soon, the two of you come to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. Somehow, the place brings a feeling of dread to your gut.

"I haven't been here in... a long time," Rainbow murmurs. Even after you and Applejack had made up, Rainbow still held on to a bit of resentment against the farmer. The result? Very minimal contact between the two.

Arriving at the house, you find Big Mac loading up a wagon with crates. You and Rainbow approach him.

"Hey, Big Mac. Long time no see."

He looks up from his work, eyes half-lidded and bored. "Eeyup."

It's good to see he isn't mad at you for any of this.

You're about to ask him where Applejack is, but he easily reads your mind. "West field," he says, nodding off at a group of apple trees. "Follow the second dirt path. She'll be a little ways down."

"Thanks, 'Mac."

He nods, then returns to his work.

"Funny how he knew what you were gonna ask," Rainbow comments once the red pony's out of earshot.

"Well, the whole situation... It's probably kinda big here."

"I guess it would be. I mean, Applebloom literally ran away. That's something me and my brothers only tried to do."

"Oh?" you chuckle.

"Yeah... Me and my two older brothers plotted to sneak into the Cloudsdale Cloudosseum and live under the bleachers. In the daytime, we could watch the air shows and play in the arcade. At night we would sneak into the food stands and eat all the nachos and pizza. At least, that was the plan."

"Wow, sounds adventurous," you smirk. "What happened?"

She smiles as well. "We snuck out of the house in the middle of the night, and actually managed to get inside the Cloudosseum. Problem was, my 'spy suit' didn't cover up my rainbow mane, which isn't exactly the best for hiding. So we were caught, and after the security guards figured out where we lived, we were brought home to two very unhappy parents."

"Heheheh."

She scowls. "Yeah, you would think that's funny."

"I'm just imagining you getting paddled as filly. Your little butt squirming around as you try to get away... Hehe."

"Hardy-har har." She extends her wing and gives your butt a quick slap. "There. How do you like it?"

Despite it being a pretty hard smack, you put on a grin. "I think I kinda liked-"

"Hullo? Who's there?" a rough voice calls from the rows of apple trees. You and Rainbow glance at each other, before turning back to the voice.

"You!" Applejack growls, stepping out of the trees. She takes a step forward. "The hell are ya'll doin' here?!"

Rainbow tenses up. You hold your hands up as a sign of peace. "Applejack. We need to talk."

"Talk?! About what? The way you made me look like a fool in front of ma own kin!?"

Rainbow steps forward. "He barely said two words! If anyone made you look like a fool, it was yourself!"

Applejack's eyes shoot towards Rainbow, as if just noticing her. "You? Well, what hole did you jus' slither on out of?"

The pegasus squints her eyes. You run your hand through her mane. Easy, girl.

"Applejack," you say sternly. Once again, you're met by her icy gaze. "Just listen. Applebloom's pretty upset."

"Hah!" Applejack scoffs. "Good. That'll teach 'er ta disobey me."

"Will you listen to yourself? From what I saw, the two of you got along just fine a few weeks ago! What happened?"

She glares at you. "Ya wanna know what happened? Fine!" She snorts, nostrils flaring. "Applebloom's defiant. She don't listen ta what ah say, an' she thinks she can jus' go off and do whatever she wants without me sayin' she can!"

"What did she do, exactly?" you question.

Applejack stomps her hoof. "Ah tell her we need her ta help out with the farm, and what does she do? She signs up for a class where she plays around with hammers an' nails!"

Your eyes widen. "Oh, the crafting class?"

"Whatever the hell it's called. We need her here!"

"Can I get a word in?" You look down at Rainbow Dash, who nods to you. You step aside. "In all seriousness," she says, "Applebloom's pretty good at what she does. You really should see what the little squirt brought through the front door this morning."

You raise an eyebrow. "What did she bring in? I was at work all day."

"It's, uh... Kinda supposed to be your birthday present. Mind if I just tell Applejack?"

This makes you curious, but you concede. "I guess..."

She walks up to the apple farmer and cups a hoof over her ear. A few whispers, and Applejack's eyes widen.

"Really?" she asks. "Is it good?"

Rainbow nods. Now you're really starting to wonder what Applebloom made you.

Applejack scuffs the ground. "Well, I'll be. Makes one feel kinda bad for... belittlin' her."

"So, Applejack," you approach, now a bit less wary of being bucked in the face, "Is that all? You just didn't want her to be in that class?"

Applejack gives a drawn-out sigh. "Well, kinda. Ya see, when Ah found out that she'd done that without mah consent, Ah yelled at 'er. Only, she didn't just take the heat; she yelled right back at me."

"Kind of like at the stall," you comment.

"Yeah. Jus' like that. Only, she'd never done that before. It surprised me. Our little screaming match ended with me givin' her a good paddlin'." She looks at the ground regretfully. "Ah wish Ah hadn't 'a done that. She acts like she hates me now, and Ah guess for awhile there I kinda... reciprocated those feelin's. Things are messed up now."

You all sit in silence for a minute, mulling over everything that Applejack's said, and more. What you've gathered from this is that Applejack has a hard time expressing her feelings.

And that you've never seen a more stubborn pair of sisters in your life.

"Well, I guess you know now."

"What?" Applejack looks up, confused.

"You know what you've been doing wrong. You've been trying to control your sister. She's getting older and wants to make her own decisions, and the more you try to control her, the more she'll rebel."

"You sure?" she questions, looking skeptical.

"Seriously, AJ, are you so dense-" You quickly cover Rainbow's muzzle.

After shooting Rainbow a stern look, you remove your hand. You then turn back to the conflicted earth mare. "Applejack... Imagine Granny Smith were to constantly be ordering you around..."

The orange mare frowns. "She does."

"Oh, right. Well, you hate it, don't you?"

"Yeah... Ah guess Ah see yer point." She scuffs the ground with her hoof. "But what now? Ah can't just go up ta her and say, 'Oh, sorry fer bein' bossy. Ya forgive me now, right?'"

"That's exactly what you should do..." you hear Rainbow mutter under her breath.

"I know!" Pinkie Pie pops up out of nowhere, "Let's have a party!"

You and Rainbow both jump at the suddenly materializing earth pony between you. Applejack has a similar reaction, hurriedly backing away before realizing it's just Pinkie Pie.

"Shit, Pinkie, you scared the crap outta me!" Rainbow almost shouts. Pinkie cowers back slightly.

"Sorry. I just had a really good idea, and wanted to share it with you guys!"

"Well, now that you have our attention... What's your idea?" you ask, after making sure your heart is still beating normally.

She turns to Applejack. "Well, I was thinking that maybe you and Applebloom could 'accidentally' run into each other at Ivan's birthday party! There, you two could make up. And of course, Ivan and a few other ponies will be there to make sure things don't get out of hoof somehow."

"Hm..." you hum to yourself, "That actually sounds like a decent plan. I could bring Applebloom with me to the party, and you could just say that you're there for my birthday."

"Ah suppose that sounds reasonable..." Applejack sighs, "Ah'm a little nervous, Ah guess. Ah'm afraid Ah'll say somethin', or she'll decide she ain't ready to forgive me, or-"

"If she sees that you're nervous, she'll know you're genuine," Rainbow interjects, rolling her eyes. "Just don't sweat it, alright?"

"Whew. Alright." The farmer takes a deep sigh. "Thanks fer talkin' some sense inta me, guys. Ah guess Ah should head back to the house now. Think things through, ya know."

"Yeah, I know. Well, good luck Applejack. See ya at the party tomorrow!"

Pinkie and Rainbow say their goodbyes, and Applejack nods back in your respective direction. Just as she turns around, however, a thought comes to mind.

"Hey, Applejack?" She stops, turning back towards you. "Did you ever find out what happened to those... Tools?"

"Uh..." Her eyes dart around quickly. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I just heard that someone dug up a wrench and hammer somewhere out in the orchard a few months back, right? A certain someone named... Winona?"

A silence hangs about the air. Applejack looks up at you, looking quite guilty.

"Ooh, gossip!" whispers Pinkie.

Close Bonds: Chapter 14 [End of Third Arc]

The full moon shines bright tonight. You know, because it's shining right through your eyelids.

Dammit.

Your mind slowly stutters to a half-consciousness, your eyes wafting open then closing shut again at the glowing assault. You would just turn into your pillow and sleep on your chest to escape the glare, but the blinds are obviously open. Even your half-asleep mind knows what happens when the blinds open in the middle of the night.

Groaning slightly, you roll onto your stomach. You finally form a slit with your eyelids to find that Rainbow's awake, big magenta eyes looking straight at you.

"Mornin' Rainbow," you slur, glancing at the time. 3:17, says the little glowing analog clock.

"Hey, Ivan," she says, before turning back to the window. You gaze upon her for a moment. Her wings are tucked neatly against her slender figure, her mane done in a ponytail. Kind of funny when you think about it.

You crawl up alongside her and take to looking at the bright orb as she does. You focus on the outline of the mare in the moon for a bit, before finally turning to your pegasus.

"What'cha thinkin' about?" you ask, now awake enough for your words to be comprehensible.

She turns to you. "A lot of things," she replies, then waits for your next question.

"Good things or bad things?"

"Both." As she turns back to the window, you notice a kind of faraway look to her eye.

"I don't mean to probe, and you don't have to answer... but-"

"As of this moment, the Wonderbolts."

"Oh." You remain silent for a moment, opting to choose your words carefully. "Y'know, I thought for sure that you would make it."

She sighs. "So did I. But, I'm over that now."

"What's bothering you, then?"

She opens her mouth to speak, but shuts it again in favor of staring at the bed sheets.

A minute goes by before she finally answers you. "It's just... How could I let my life fall apart like that? I wasn't the first pony to ever be rejected from the Wonderbolts." She looks at you, lip quivering slightly. "W-what's wrong with me?"

You think long and hard before coming up with an answer. "Well, Dash... Something I've learned about you, is that you hate losing. Whether it be small races, card games, or... lifelong dreams." You pause for a moment. She listens attentively. "There was a saying back on Earth. 'Shoot for the moon; if you miss, you'll land in the stars.' Well, that's true; unfortunately, stars tend to crash and burn. When you came home, I saw it in you- you were crushed."

Her eye glistens for a moment, but she quickly wipes it away.

"Hey, though. Things aren't so bad now... right?" You place a hand on her hoof.

She watches your hand, as if using it as a sponge to soak up everything you've said. Finally, she smiles, and begins to nuzzle you. "I guess you're right."

The two of you lie there, your hand squeezing her hoof and your cheeks rubbing together. After a few minutes of this, a question comes to mind.

"So, Dash." She pulls away just enough to be able to look at you. "We talked about the 'bad' thoughts... So what were the 'good' ones?"

She blushes, shying away slightly. "We kind of already talked about those..."

"Wait, what?"

"Well, you know how you said that things aren't so bad now? That went through my head, at some point. I mean, if you hadn't taken me in, I don't think I would've realized my feelings for you until... until much later. And then, it might've been too late."

Your eyes widen. "I thought you started liking me after you moved in?"

She shakes her head. "No, that's only when I realized that I did. Something about you... you understand me. I liked you a lot, because when I picked on you, you stood up to me, but didn't threaten me. You challenged me, but all in good fun. And you knew- know when to be serious. That made me respect you... and more, I guess. I-it's hard to explain."

This makes you grin. You'd never thought of yourself as the virtuous type, but here's your marefriend naming off everything she likes about you.

You drape an arm around her back. "What if I told you... That I thought the same way about you?"

Her ears perk up.

"When we first met, I'll admit, we had our... differences. I didn't like the way you messed with me, but as with everything else in this world and the last, I learned to make the best of it. And as time went on, I also learned a lot about the pegasus named 'Rainbow Dash'; and I liked what I saw. I really enjoyed being around you, and was always open to the idea of, well, you know... just never thought I would get that lucky." You pull her in tight against your side.

You feel a wing drape itself around your back and do the same, pulling you tight into the warm spot where her wing was. You feel a distinct heartbeat rising in tempo, and before you know it, you're lip-to-lip with the most beautiful pegasus you know.
It's not long before the drowsiness begins to work its magic. Pretty soon, the two of you simply lie side-by-side, each of you sharing in the breath of the other.

It’s the night of the party.

You walk to Sugarcube Corner, a mare and a filly at your sides.

Applebloom fidgets nervously. “Now, Ivan… Please try ta act surprised when ya get in there. If Pinkie Pie found out that I told you she was throwin’ a surprise party-“

“Don’t worry,” you assure her, “Pinkie won’t ever know.”

Rainbow rolls her eyes. “Yeah, just like she never found out about our relationship, or just about everything else that happens.”

Applebloom gulps. You shoot Rainbow a glare, to which she just smirks back.

“Don’t listen to her, everything’s gonna be fine,” you assure the red-maned pony. The filly smirks somewhat smugly at your reassurance, giving you a nod. The way she does so strikes you as slightly odd, but you shrug it off. You ruffle her mane playfully, then continue your walk in silence, preferring to think over the task you’re about to take on.

Reconciling two of the most stubborn ponies you’ve ever met.

At your birthday party.

And one of them doesn’t even know it.

Why must you always be peacekeeper?

It’s not long before you arrive at your destination. The bell rings when you open the door, and you hold it open for the girls.

“Ladies first,” you say, earning a sneer from Rainbow. In contrast, Applebloom smiles at you, and then happily prances inside. At least someone appreciates chivalry.

Once inside, you prepare to act surprised. Only, the act is pushed aside as your jaw drops from true shock.

You literally can’t believe your eyes.

The whole bakery is absolutely barren.

Barren, except for Mr. Cake, who waves from behind the front counter. “Hello, you three! To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you here today?”

You take a step forward, still in disbelief. You’re sure that as soon as your foot hits the ground a thousand streamers will suddenly fly in from nowhere.

Your sole touches tile.

Nothing happens.

You place your whole foot down, then bring the next one forward to meet it. Again, you’re only met with silence.

“Uh, are you alright?” comes the questioning voice of Mr. Cake. You look up to find that he, along with Rainbow and Applebloom, are staring at you.

You chuckle nervously. “Heh, sorry. Today’s my birthday, and, well… past experiences with Pinkie, y’know.”

“Ah. I see.” A wide smile etches across his face. “Well, happy birthday, then! I would make you a cake, but we’re a bit low on ingredients as of now… And that’s usually Pinkie’s thing.”

You return the smile. “It’s fine. But, you know, there’s something that maybe you could do…”

He turns an ear your way. “And what’s that?”

“It would help if you have any idea where that crazy pony is. She told us that there was gonna be a party here, and-“

“Party?” The orange stallion rubs his chin. “I wasn’t aware of any parties she had planned, and she usually informs me of these things. And I really have no idea where she could be… No, sorry, can’t help ya there.”

“Ah, alright. Thanks anyways.” You make an about face and open the front door.

As you step out the front entrance, you think out loud, mumbling to yourself, “Where the hell could she be? I was putting a lot on that party, and if she’s just gonna cancel-”

“SURPRISE!!!”

Once again, you’re sure your heart has stopped.

“How you likin’ the party?” an over-exuberant Pinkie Pie nearly shouts into your ear.

You answer after the ringing in your inner ear dies down. “Aside from nearly getting a heart attack and all the ponies asking me about my only being eighteen…” You raise your can of soda, “Quite fun.”

This seems to fuel her inner fire. “That’s great! I thought an outdoor party would be a good idea, since sometimes it gets a little stuffy and hot inside with all the body heat and the amount of ponies present always going over the room capacity! And also, I wanted to surprise you since Applebloom already told me yesterday that she accidentally ruined the surprise and I already told you that I was throwing a surprise party, so I figured that if I did it outside I could lull you into a false sense of security and-“

“Yup,” you answer plainly, taking a sip of your orange soda and doing your best to tune out Pinkie. Curious, you look a little ways into the crowd to try to spot out a certain rainbow-maned pegasus. Sure enough, she’s downing a mug of cider next to a somewhat worried-looking butter yellow mare.

You chuckle, thinking about what Fluttershy might be mustering up the courage to say. Um, if you don’t mind me asking… Have you ever considered the risk of… liver failure?

Next, you scan the area for Applebloom. You find her with the other two Crusaders, happily chatting away about something you probably wouldn’t care to know.

Perfect.

Sensing that a source of gibberish that’s been attempting to assault your ears for a while now has stopped, you look up. Pinkie Pie’s stopped talking. She looks around the room carefully, as if someone were watching the two of you. Then, she somehow whispers above the music, “Okay, I think it’s time we proceed with the plan.”

You raise an eyebrow. “The ‘plan’?”

“Look, I had to call it something, okay? Just go distract Applebloom while I round up the girls.”

“Gotcha.” You get up from your chair and begin to walk towards the CMC, but a thought causes you to turn back around. “Hey, Pinkie, I was just wondering if you told Sweetie and Scoots about-”

The party pony is nowhere to be seen.

“Well, alrighty then.”

As you approach the fillies, all three faces light up.

“Milky!” Scootaloo cheers, flying up to your head height. You rustle her mane, to which she smacks your hand away. The other two walk up, all smiles.

“Happy birthday, Ivan!” Sweetie squeaks. “I didn’t even know you were only eighteen!”

“Yeah, I seem to be getting that a lot…” you groan, rubbing your neck.

Scootaloo raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, what’s with that?”

“What? I can’t be young?”

“Not that!” She slaps you on the back, quite hard for a girl her age. “You’re supposed to tell me these things! I thought we were close!”

“I thought it didn’t matter?”

“Didn’t matter? Ivan…” She shakes her head.

“Whatever. Hey Applebloom, you haven’t said anything since I got here. What’s up?”

Scootaloo jumps in. “Did you see the present she made you? It was pretty rad and-”

“I didn’t get to see it, because it’s a gift. Now, do you mind?” The little pegasus, looking a slightly dejected, drops to the ground and steps aside. “So, something on your mind, Applebloom?”

The earth pony sighs. “Jus’… everythin’.”

You kneel down beside her. “Hey, don’t worry. Just lighten up for now, alright? You’re at a party.”

She takes another deep breath of the outdoor party atmosphere, then smiles. “Alright. Say, ya think Applejack came?”

“Uh… Haven’t seen her here so far…” you say truthfully.

“Good. Ah don’t wanna see her.”

You frown. “Now, come on. Why wouldn’t you-”

“Hey, uh, Applebloom?”

The filly in question’s eyes widen, then narrow in hostility. You turn to the source of the voice, knowing full well who owns it and really wishing they hadn’t arrived at this precise moment.

Nice timing, Applejack.

“Oh. You.”

Those are the first words to come out of Applebloom’s mouth. And you can tell, they sting worse than a bee.

“Applebloom, I… Ah just wanted ta say Ah’m sorry.”

“Fer what?”

Applejack sighs. “Fer… Fer bein’ a jerk, alright?”

Applebloom stares at her. “And?”

“’And’? What you want me to do, drop down an’ beg?”

“It’d be a start.”

Damn…

Applejack steps forward. “Look, Ah know Ah wronged you. Ah treated you like a foal, which is something Ah shouldn’t’ve done. Ah hadn’t realized you were growin’ up. That’s kinda a hard thing to take in if you’re a pony’s sister, ya know?”

Sweetie Belle glances tepidly at her older sister, whose lip is quivering.

Applejack removes her hat, and holds it by her chest. “And Ah’m sorry it took so long… but Ah truly am sorry.”

Rarity suddenly swoops up Sweetie Belle in a hug. Sweetie rolls her eyes.

Applebloom just stands there for a moment, her eyes never leaving her sister. She no longer bears a stance of hostility, but still frowns.

“Alright.” She walks up to her sister, and holds out her hoof. “It’s a start.”

Applejack spits on her own hoof, then shakes the younger pony’s. “Thanks, sis.”

You set your cider on the log you’re sitting on, then look down the street at the flashing lights of the party. Somewhere in there, you think, the Apple sisters are having a good time. Maybe they’re dancing together, maybe Applebloom’s with her little friends and Applejack’s having a drinking contest with Rainbow, but either way…

Job well done, Ivan.

You take a sip of the cider, quickly downing it to prevent the strong alcohol from staying on your tongue too long. You stare at your cup for a moment. It’s strange how, months ago, you never drank on your own. It was always at the urging of Rainbow, or Applejack, or even a very long time ago, your dad…

You raise your glass. To change.

As you take a gulp, you hear a pair of wings approach. At first, you assume it’s Rainbow, but the barely perceptible unsteadiness of their beat tells you otherwise.

Not Scootaloo, either. The wings are much too big.

Fluttershy? She’s really all you can think of, but for some reason you don’t think-

CRUNCH!

You quickly jump to your feet, spinning on your heels to find Equestria’s newest princess face down in the dirt behind you.

“Twilight!” You practically sprint to her, helping lift her to her hooves.

“Whew, I suppose I’ll have to work on my landing a bit more,” she chuckles, brushing herself off. A big smile forms on her face, and she wraps you in a tight hug. “Happy birthday, Ivan! Oh, it’s so nice to see you again!”

You grin, returning the embrace. “You too, Twilight. I really didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Yeah, I know I said I would be busy, but friends come first. Anyway, I found a way to reorganize my schedule so I could have some free time.” She breaks the hug, stepping back with a confused look. “You’ve… been drinking?”

You breathe on your hand and try to sniff it. “Does my breath smell or something?”

“No, no,” she chuckles, “You’re giving off slightly more body heat, and- oh, you have a glass of cider over there. Or beer?”

“Yeah, cider.”

She grins. “Rainbow isn’t rubbing off on you now, is she?”

The both of you share a good laugh. You wipe a tear from your eye, finally calm enough to speak normally. “Maybe she is, maybe she isn’t.” You raise an eyebrow, noticing something different about your purple friend. “Hey, have you, uh… lost weight or something? You look… thinner.”

She blushes, putting a hoof to her mouth and giggling. “No, no, no… Well, see, you already know that after becoming an alicorn, I began to experience changes.”

“Spontaneously growing wings, uh-”

“And the widened visible spectrum, yes. But those are only the ones you know about.”

“Okay, so what now? You have a higher metabolism?”

“Actually, I do, as a result of the fact that I’m now growing again.”

Your eyes widen. You pace a full circle around her, before kneeling down in front of her.

Her eyes dart away and she blushes. But, aside from making her feel uncomfortable, you’ve seemed to have found merit in her claim. She’s definitely grown a few inches, in her body as well as her horn.

“Wow, you really are growing.”

“Yeah, I think we’ve been over this. Now, are you done looking at my body?”

You feel your face heat up and you quickly rise to your full height. “Sorry. You know, just… Physical changes and such…”

“Heh heh. It’s quite alright. Personally, I think the new body suits me.” She makes duck lips and throws her lower body around in a seductive pose.

You raise your eyebrow. Truthfully, it looks ridiculous. She picks up on this, and hangs her head in embarrassment. “Sorry. Luna’s been trying to teach me… certain things. I couldn’t help myself.”

“Well, Twi, let me tell you. Duck lips are not the way to go.” This just makes her turn her head away even further. “No, no. You’d do better with the ‘cute nerd’ or ‘sexy librarian’ look.”

She covers her face with her hooves. “Stop, stop! Please, it’s so embarrassing!”

You laugh, then walk past her and retake your seat on the log. “Fine, fine. This’ll just be our little secret.”

After a few moments, you hear her finally pick herself up off the ground and assume a sitting position next to you. Not quite looking at you yet, she attempts a conversation. “So… Nice night out tonight.”

“It is,” you agree. You take a sip of your cider.

“Just wondering… The party’s over there, isn’t it?”

You look over at the Sugarcube Corner’s front porch. “Yeah. You can go over there, if you’d like.”

“No, that’s not what I was leading up to. I was actually going to ask why you’re way out here, when the party’s over there.”

You sigh, taking in the cold night air. “Let me just say this; ever since you left, I’ve had to assume full peacekeeper duty.”

She lets out a hearty laugh. “My girls. What happened?”

“Applebloom and Applejack had a falling-out. I got my head bitten off by Applejack, and Applebloom stayed at my house for two nights.”

Her eyes show a hint of concern. “But all is good now, right?”

You smile. “Yep, thanks to your friendly neighborhood Ivan.”

She smiles as well. “I’m glad to hear that.” Her lips drop slightly as something else comes to mind. “So, how are you getting along with Rainbow? It didn’t sound too good the last time you mentioned her.”

Ooh. “Uh, Twilight… To be truthful, I- I haven’t been telling you everything.”

Her eyes widen. “What? What happened?”

Where to begin? “Uh… I guess it all started not too long after I sent you that angry letter about Rainbow…”

“Wait,” Twilight interrupts. “Who’s that?”

Twilight’s keen eyes and infrared vision see it long before you do, but you’re soon able to make out the form of a pegasus making a beeline towards you from the party.

“It’s her,” you mouth. Twilight suddenly stands up straight.

The pony with the unmistakable rainbow mane drops to the ground, tucking her wings in and doing an exaggerated flip of her mane. She walks straight up to you, not seeming to see Twilight sitting but a few feet away.

“Izzt time, fuck buddeh,” she slurs, obviously very drunk.

All you manage to get out is a “What?” before she grabs you and begins to practically slobber on your face.

Your mouth is assaulted with the small pony’s slithering tongue, working its way along and past your lips and attempting to pick up your own tongue in a dance of passion.

This would be very enjoyable, if only it weren’t for the purple alicorn staring at the two of you.

Rainbow separates, a strand of spit hanging between the two of you. “C’mon! Ah can’t juss’ do all the work heeyer.”

She sees your shocked look, and the way you stare past her at something else. She frowns, then whips her head around.

“Hey, you! Scram! I don’t want no watchin’- ohhh, Twilight.”

Twilight’s mouth hangs wide open. Rainbow blushes, sheepishly attempting to wipe the spit off of your mouth with her foreleg.

Twilight shakes herself back into focus. “W-what the heck is going on?”

You sigh, nudging Rainbow off of you. Rainbow stumbles down, landing on her back before righting herself and unsteadily sitting on the dirt.

“Ivan… I think we got some s’plainin’ ta do.”

You and Rainbow- well, mostly you- tell the tale of how the two of you came to be. You tell her about the fight, and how Fluttershy helped you understand why Rainbow was acting the way she was. You explain how, the next day, when your age difference was realized, both of you agreed on keeping the relationship a secret. Twilight manages to deduce that that’s why you kept avoiding becoming an Equestrian citizen.

As you talk, the rest of the girls, including Lyra, Cream, and the Crusaders, find the three of you and listen in. They manage to keep quiet, but you can always tell when something clicks for one of them, whether it be a time you said something funny or just acted strange in general.

You decide to keep it simple, by skipping everything else that happened and just telling them that, for the most part, you did in fact manage to keep your secret up until now.

And that’s when Twilight burst out laughing.

Everyone present just stood there, quite confused, until she finally settled down enough to talk.

“Oh, you guys.” She chuckles a bit more. “There’s been a very big mistake.”

You shift from foot to foot. “Uh… And what is it, exactly?”

She turns to the pony next to you. “Rainbow, you’re from Cloudsdale, right?”

Rainbow seems slightly nervous. “Yeah… So?”

“The laws regarding sexual and romantic relations vary from city to city. Yes, in Cloudsdale, Ivan would have to be eighteen, but we’re in Ponyville. Here, the rule is sixteen.”

“Aw, shit.” You facepalm.

Rainbow’s eyes widen incredulously. “You mean- this whole time-?”

“Wait. You guys didn’t know?”

All eyes turn to Pinkie.

“What?” you ask.

“I thought you knew that Ivan was legal this whole time!” She snorts with laughter. “Oh, this is so funny!”

“It-it’s not funny!” Rainbow stammers. “Seriously, how the hell could you not know that that was why we were hiding it?”

“Well,” she thinks back, “you never actually told me. Ivan just said, ‘Okay, and what’s the legal age for ponies to start… You know…?’ and then I started laughing!”

“What Ah’m concerned about is,” Applejack interjects, “How could y’all keep a secret like that for so long? Ah mean, don’t’cha have any trust, or respect fer yer friends?”

“Hey, I could ask you the same question, bucko,” Rainbow sneers.

“I-if it helps any,” Fluttershy steps forward, “I-I knew, too. Of course, you all know that already.”

“Ah did too!” Applebloom says. “Well, fer two days.”

“Well, it was rather obvious,” Rarity says with a sly smirk. “I mean, the way you two would hang off each other in public, constantly pestering one another? And if that wasn’t the telltale giveaway, you two shared a room at the beach, much less lived in the same house! Please, darlings, give a lady some credit.”

“Oh, Celestia,” you shake your head. “Here we were, thinking we were keeping such a good secret, and literally half of you already knew.”

“Half, plus one,” Cream says, smiling. “I remember that day at the hospital when Lyra said something about Rainbow, and you defended her so valiantly… It was sweet. Then it made me wonder, and I got to thinking. I realized that sometimes Rainbow would wait for you outside the hospital. And when she did, it would always brighten your mood so much… I kind of figured it out from there.”

Lyra’s jaw drops. “You knew about this, and didn’t tell me, Cream?”

“You talked about me behind my back?” Rainbow snarls at Lyra.

Cream sighs. “Truthfully, Lyra, you’re not the best pony to talk to about these things. And Rainbow, yours and Lyra’s personalities just aren’t compatible. I’m sure you’ve said things about Lyra before, right?”

“Uh…”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Well, I suppose we’ve all learned a valuable lesson from this,” Twilight sums it up. “Never keep secrets from your friends.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Yeah, but let’s suppose what we were doing was illegal, and we told you about it. Wouldn’t you tell on us?”

She almost looks hurt. “Ivan, we’ve been friends for over a year now. Doesn’t that mean anything?”

You raise your hands defensively. “No no no, that’s not what I meant. I mean, wouldn’t you have to report us, since it’d be your duty as a princess and all?”

She laughs. “Ivan, please. I can keep a secret, especially since a conversation between two friends is kept completely confidential and off the record.”

“Ah okay. Don’t take what I said the wrong way, because I completely trust you.”

She smiles. “No, no, I get it. You’re fine.”

“Ahem,” Cream says, hoping to divert attention elsewhere, “So, how’s about we get back to the party?”

Applebloom jumps up and down excitedly. “Yeah! Ivan needs to see the present I made for him!”

“Let’s go do that then. But first…” You kneel down in front of Rainbow. You lock eyes with her for a moment, then pull her into a kiss.

Your lips soon separate. “Just wanted to make it official.”

“Aww,” you hear from Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. Scootaloo makes no noise, but you can guess at what face she’s making.

((What happens next is NSFW. There‘s little more to the chapter than this sex scene, so if you don’t want to read this, just skip to the bottom of the page or scroll down until you see the SFW sign. Or notice. Or whatever you wanna call it.))

You open the door.

Walk through it.

Close it.

And are pinned up against it.

Rainbow Dash hovers just before you, her unfocused eyes staring into yours. She pants, the heat of her breath and the taste of alcohol making your tongue buzz as your lips brush together. You lean forward.

Rainbow Dash stops you with a hoof on your lips. She grins, then turns your head so you’re looking to the side.

What is she…?

You let out an “Ahh...” as she begins slurp on your ear, suckling sounds filling the air as she slips her tongue around your lobe and into your outer ear.

After a minute of blissful, carnal pleasure, you pull her off of you and carry her to the couch. She giggles as you plop her down, then frantically attempt to unzip your jeans. It’s a little difficult, as you’re feeling slightly inebriated. In the midst of your fumbling about, you find a hoof on your chest, and Rainbow in front of you again.

“Let me do that. You just sit down,” she says, lightly pushing you down towards the couch. You obey.

You watch from a sitting position as she grabs the zipper with her teeth, gently pulling it back. She then places a hoof on each thigh, and somehow manages to unbutton your jeans with her mouth. Practice, you suppose.

Your pants come undone and slide down your legs. Almost home free.

She stares at your boxers for a moment, lustfully watching the bump your boner makes. Then, with little restraint, she pulls down the waistband.

She gasps as it pops out, free and in the open air. She hangs over it, viewing it as if it were a jeweled sword. A strand of saliva drops from her mouth. The sight of her standing there, maw wide open, and her hot breath on your dick… it’s driving you crazy. “Come on, Dash. Are you just gonna sit there or- Ahh!”

You groan as she quickly slides the whole thing in. The tip reaches the back of her throat, and she begins to try to swallow it.

You buck your hips, somehow forcing yourself even deeper into her. Your response to the sudden wave of euphoria at the feeling of her throat clenching the tip of your penis is a bit much for her, and she begins to gag.

You quickly bring yourself back down, giving her a moment to catch her breath. She sputters, taking the time to wipe her mouth off with a hoof. You start to think she might be done.

Then, you’re reminded of why she’s known as ‘fastest pegasus in Ponyville’.

Your mind goes numb. All you can think about are the sensations going on at your loins as her head bobs up and down, tongue swirling around and moving in tandem with her head as it slides across your throbbing member.

It’s not long before you feel the pressure building up. You grip the cushions and grunt, “Dash… I-I’m gonna-”

You don’t have time to finish the thought. You thrust your hips, forcing your whole penis into her mouth. As her mouth fills with cum, she moans, desperately trying to swallow.

She milks you for every last drop as you continue to pump your seed into her stomach. Finally, with a loud slurp, she pulls off of you.

“That… was fucking great,” you say as she climbs up onto the couch next to you. She doesn’t say anything, just blushes deep red, and watches you with a hungry look.

“Take off your shirt.”

You immediately do so, knowing well enough not to question her. You fling your shirt halfway across the room, and wait to see what she wants next.

Suddenly, you’re shoved onto your back. Rainbow stands over you, smirking, like a predator who’s just tackled her prey, her snout touching your nose.

“What to do with you,” she says coyly, a drop of saliva falling onto your upper lip. Watching you lick it up, she giggles, then kisses you lovingly.

She sits on your stomach, and begins to slide back and forth on her marehood, leaving behind a wet trail of love juice. She moans as she does this, slowly bringing herself closer and closer to you until your chin is poking her swollen vagina.

Her mane cascades over her head and tickles your cheeks as she leans over you. “You know what comes next, don’t you?”

You nod, purposefully rubbing her wet spot with your chin.

She twitches, her carnal appetite seeming to grow at your teasing. She scoots herself upwards, bringing her lower body up and over your chin until she’s sitting on your face.

Mare juice dribbles down the side of your face. You kiss her second pair of lips, then set to work.

You begin by gliding your tongue around the rim. You can feel Rainbow on top of you, squirming as jolts begin to shoot up and down her spine. You grab her butt and begin to knead, to which she moans loudly.

“When you do that, it makes me think of claws digging into my skin,” she once said in response to you grabbing her flank.

“Do you like it?”

She shivers. “Yeah, in a weird way.”

You give your hands a break from squeezing her cutiemarks, and move them to her marehood. You penetrate her with your thumbs, then bring her wide open.

She yelps as your tongue slips into her. Hot, sweet juice runs surrounds your oral appendage and drips into your maw as you wriggle around inside of her.
Soon, you no longer have any need for your thumbs. You instead swap them out for a hand, starting with two fingers, then four, and pretty soon you have your whole hand inside of her. You curl and uncurl your fingers then begin to quickly wiggle them about, getting a brief satisfaction out of getting Rainbow to shout your name.

Meanwhile, you find her clitoris. You smile inwardly to yourself, then push her little love button with your tongue.

Immediately, she begins to convulse, muffle screams sounding just above you. Her legs wrap around your head and her inner walls clench shut as she comes, hot mare juice flowing into your mouth and spilling out in small bits along your cheeks.

After a few good moments of this, she relaxes. She lifts herself off of you, your cum-soaked hand coming out with a pop.

“Celestia… Those hands…” She pants, plopping down on top of you. The two of you lie there for a minute, taking a breather before going into round three.

It’s not long before you find yourself primed and ready. Rainbow Dash notices this, and flashes you a smirk.

“Looks like someone’s got their hard-on again… Let’s see what we have here…” she says, turning around to view your boner and giving you a great view of her ass cheeks. She sits down on your belly and lets her tail unravel itself upon your chest.

“Lookin’ good,” she comments, before lifting her rump into the air. She lines herself up, then quickly comes down and envelopes your cock in her marehood.

You both moan simultaneously. Waves of pleasure run through you as your penis is squeezed, over and over as her vaginal walls contract and release, again and again.

She soon releases enough to be able to rise up. Your mind clouds over at the feeling of your stick sliding through her slippery pussy, your member throbbing with every ripple of euphoria. It feels so good.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, she slams down hard on your dick. You clench your eyes and shout, and she screams to the high heavens. She takes a moment to breathe, then repeats the slamming.

You groan as she repeats this action over and over, picking up speed the longer she goes. This time, you have enough control to keep your eyes open. You swear, that view of her ass does it for you. Every time she brings herself down, it’s as if you can see every ripple, every jiggle off her buttocks in slow motion.

It drives you over the edge. You yank on her tail as you begin to cum, filling her uterus with your seed.

She goes for a few seconds longer before she comes too. Her vagina squeezes and attempts to pull you in, as Rainbow lefts her head to the ceiling and lets out a piercing scream. You continue to buck into her when she has the inability to continue, until you’re both spent and exhausted from your rigorous fucking. Again, she pulls herself off of you, your slippery dick smacking against your skin when it finally comes out.

((SFW now. Still some slight sexual themes, but nothing crazy.))

She turns herself around to face you, then immediately flops onto your chest.

“That… was awesome,” she pants.

“No,” you say, running a hand through her mane, “you’re awesome.”

She smiles, and begins to lick your neck. You sigh, closing your eyes, and clap twice.

The lights go out. In the darkness, you manage to make out your lover’s wide magenta eyes.

You kiss her between and above them. “Love ya, Dash.”

You don’t know if she says it back, because you’re out like a light.

Close Bonds: Chapter Fifteen

“Oh- Oh, fuck, that feels good…”

You slip into the shower, the steaming hot water rushing over your aching body. You wince as the heat first hits your cuts and bruises, but soon relax as the pain fades, giving way to a soothing feeling.

Reaching up, you search for a rather large gash above your eye. Your fingers graze it lightly.

“Ah! Dammit…”

A burning sensation flares up just under your brow, causing you to wince and jerk your hand away. The hot water continues to wash over you, alleviating the stinging enough to bring it down to a dull throb.

Damn, what did you get yourself into?

Faintly, the sound of the front door opening reaches your ears.

Let’s see if Rainbow has heard about what happened. The louder it slams-

WHAM!

Shit.

You sigh, letting your head hit the shower wall with a dull thud. You’re really not in the mood for this. Your whole body aches, you’re bleeding and sore in places that were never meant to be touched…

Locking the door probably would’ve been a good idea. Unless, of course, she decided to simply buck it down.

The bathroom door swings open, slamming against the wall. “Ivan?”

The shower curtains fly open. You roll your eyes in annoyance. “Can’t you see I’m taking a shower here, Dash?”

She flies up to head level. “What the hell happened? Is that a cut?”

You hiss when she touches the wound over your eye. “Yes, Dash, it is, and it hurts like hell when you poke it like that.”

She frowns. “Your whole eye’s swollen, too.”

“Are you gonna touch that, also? Besides, it’s my blind eye.”

Her face somehow twists into a mix of anger and concern as she asks, “What the fuck were you thinking?”

You try to avoid the question. “Let me ask a question first. How did you find me with such accuracy? You didn’t even bother to check any of the other rooms, just came straight here and-”

“You left blood on every doorknob you touched.”

“Oh.”

“Now, listen.” She leans in real close to your face, staring you in your one good eye interrogatively. “What. The fuck. Happened?”

You sigh, knowing that there’s no use lying to her. “I-”

“And don’t give me none of that ‘I tripped’ bullshit!”

“That’s- I wasn’t even gonna say that!” You cover your forehead with your palm, only to wince again when your fingers touch your cut. “Okay. I got into a fight.”

“A fight?” She asks sarcastically. “No shit. With who?
“Scootaloo’s dad. I think.”

This makes her jaw drop. She watches your face intently, searching for any hint that you’re lying, or maybe being sarcastic or something.

No bullshitting here, Dash.

“But- How do you know-”

“I was just on my way back from work, when I saw a stallion approaching Scootaloo and her friends,” you explain, “which included Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and two colts that I’ve never seen. Anyway, judging by the way he walked, I could tell something was wrong with him. The girls, Scootaloo in particular, looked a bit uncomfortable when they saw him. So, naturally, I walked on up, just to check and make sure everything was alright.” You shake your head, so engrossed in the memory that you almost forgot where you were.

“I’m guessing everything wasn’t alright,” Rainbow interjects.

You nod. “Yeah, because first thing that happened was I heard shouting. The stallion was saying something like, ‘You’re coming home with me, you have to do what I say because I’m your father’. Shit like that.

“When I got there, he was holding Scoots by the leg. I asked if everything was alright. He said, ‘Yeah, everything’s fine, the filly just needs to come home.’ When he turned to speak to me, I could tell he had spent more than one night on a park bench with a bong in his mouth, or what have you.

“I asked him what he was doing. He just repeated himself, saying ‘Just takin’ my daughter home. That a problem?’ When I looked at Scootaloo, she shook her head. She honestly looked scared to death.

“I said, ‘She doesn’t look too happy to be going home.’ He said, ‘Well, that’s none of your damn business now, is it?’ I asked him where he lived, and he tried to bullshit me by saying he lived in Ponyville. I asked him where in Ponyville, and he responded with, ‘Well, that ain’t none of your damn business, either.’

“I told him to let go. He tried to push past me, but I blocked him. ‘Fucking let go of her!’ I shouted. He hit me, and well, that’s when the fight broke out.”

“Damn.” Rainbow looks shocked. “What happened after that?”

“He… He was pretty strong for his size. And he knew how to fight. I probably would’ve gotten beaten to a pulp if I hadn’t had my knife on me.”

Her eyes widen. “You pulled a knife on him?”

“Yeah, didn’t stab him or nothin’ though. But it was enough to make him back off. Said I’d better watch my back, or something like that.” You spit at the running water below, not being surprised when blood comes out. “Fucker.”

Rainbow stares at the red in the bathtub, mixing with the clear water. “Celestia… Did you go to the hospital?”

You shake your head. “No, I had to walk all the foals home. Sweetie was the last stop, and she’s closer to our house than the hospital. I figured it would be better to clean my cuts as soon as possible.”

“You’re an idiot,” she mutters. “‘Clean your cuts’? You’re spitting blood!”

“I bit my cheek,” you say, reaching a finger into your mouth. When you pull it out, the tip of the appendage is a light red. “See?”

“How did you get that gash?” she asks, motioning to your eye.

“I got kicked in the face.”

“So you could have a concussion, then.”

You groan. “Stop worrying, Dash. Not everypony has as strong a kick as Applejack or Big Mac. Besides, both of us have gone through worse. Bar fights, remember?”

She frowns. “Still, though, that was pretty stupid.”

“Are you referring to then, or now?”

“Both.”

You can’t help but chuckle. “Alright, I’ll agree with you there. Still, I couldn’t have just stood back and let that happen to Scootaloo.”

“I know. You’re still stupid, though.” She smirks.

You roll your eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I’m stupid. Now let me get back to my shower.” You shut the curtains, half-expecting them not to stay closed.

As you predict, they open. Rainbow’s standing there, looking slightly miffed. “Ivan, you know I’m in heat.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.” The mentioning of her estrus always strikes a sour note in your head, probably from the memory of your first week with her. However, the very next month, her cycle passed without you even knowing. Something that you eventually learned, is that the most that really happens when she’s not being driven crazy by lust is she just gets extra frisky.

Like right now. She gets a little closer, placing her front hooves on the side of the tub. “You can’t expect me to stare at your naked body for fifteen minutes and not do something about it.”

You raise an eyebrow playfully. “Biologically, this shouldn’t be turning you on.”

She gets a smug look. “Then, biologically, this shouldn’t make you hard.” She turns around, so that her hindquarters are facing you. Then, she moves her tail slightly to the side.

Your eyes widen. “Touché.”

----------

You have a kind of giddy feeling as you slip on your clothes. You have no idea how or why, but making love to Rainbow somehow relieved most, if not all of your aches and pains from the fight, and left you feeling quite refreshed.

You chuckle inwardly. The healing power of hanky-panky.

As you’re buttoning up your pants, you see a little blue pegasus wrapped in a towel approaching you. You give her a friendly smile.

“Hey, uh, thanks for that, Ivan,” she says. Her voice has a somewhat soft and apologetic tone. “I know it was kind of out of the blue, and you really didn’t seem like you wanted to do it at the time, but it gets kind of hard to control myself…”

You lean down and kiss her on the nose. “No worries. I’m not feeling drained or anything, since you let me off with a ‘one-and-done’.” She blushes, turning her head away in embarrassment. This makes you grin; you rarely get to see this side of Rainbow.

So, naturally, you lean down and hug her towel-enwrapped body. “You want a massage?”

She nuzzles you, a silent ‘yes’. You stand and cross the room to your bed, then pat the space beside you.

She jumps up onto the mattress with you, stretching out before lying on her belly with her legs tucked under her. Gingerly, you unwrap the towel from around her midsection.

Her wings flare out once exposed, flap a few times, and then neatly fold themselves against her sides. After seeing this, you have to admit; even the shortest displays of her aviary appendages are often very impressive.

She rests her chin on her foreleg, and then awaits your touch. More than happy to do so, you begin.

She moans as your fingers work their way around her shoulders, kneading firmly but gently. After a minute or so, you bring your hands to the area just below her forelegs, making sure to rub the sides of her barrel figure as well as her back.

“So,” she says, trying to avoid moaning so she can speak, “How did Scootaloo seem?”

You hum thoughtfully, your hands switching to autopilot as your mind goes out to the young pegasus. “You mean after the whole thing went down? Truthfully, she didn’t look too good.”

Rainbow sighs. “Why did he have to come here? She was doing so well, finally getting over everything…”

You raise an eyebrow. “I’ve been curious for awhile now. What is ‘everything’? I mentioned her parents once, and she got upset. And then, I learn that she’s living in an orphanage. To add to it, I keep getting little snippets from ponies who know her, but not enough to really draw any conclusions. What happened to her that’s so horrible?”

Your rainbow-maned companion turns her head to look at you. “You mean, you don’t know?” Upon seeing your headshake, she cocks her head. “Huh, I’m surprised she hasn’t told you by now. I thought you two were pretty close.”

“That’s what I thought.”

She looks out the window, seeming to be contemplating on something. “Well, I suppose I could tell you… But if Scootaloo hasn’t said anything yet, she might be keeping it hidden for a reason.”

This raises questions in your mind. “And why would she do that? Doesn’t she trust me?”

She shakes her head. “I really don’t know. She could be ashamed of it. Or maybe she’s just trying to forget.”

“Well, so much for that…”
“Maybe it would be a good idea for you to go check on her. She’s probably not feeling too good about this, and you always seem to know what to say when it comes to things like this, so…

You look out the window. The sky is turning pink, the sun nearing its destination behind the horizon. But it’s still light out, and if you’re worried about going outside and getting beat up again, you could take along a bigger weapon. Traveling ponies and visitors from other countries are often seen around town with weapons strapped to their sides, anyway. You don’t see why it would apply differently to you.

“Alright, I’ll go,” you proclaim, sliding off the bed. “You seen my hitting stick anywhere, Dash?”

----------

You walk down Ponyville’s main road, armed with your ‘hitting stick’.

Basically, a metal leg you got off of one of the hospital beds being trashed. It certainly wasn’t an easy prize, and you’ve been proud to call it ‘yours’ ever since. Much to Dash’s dismay, it’s stored under the bed with all the other weapons.

Fortunately for you, you won’t need to use it today. You’ve arrived at the foals’ home in one piece.

You quickly toss the thing in the nearby bushes so that it’s hidden, but easy enough to find once you come back out. You step through the door, and then walk inside.

The place is not what most would imagine an orphanage to be like. In fact, the design is more reminiscent to a hospital, except for the multitude of hallways that you assume lead to different rooms.

“Oh! Hello, uh… Ma’am!” The pony at the front desk perks up as you approach.

You raise an eyebrow. “You mean sir.”
Upon hearing your voice and realizing her mistake, she blushes. “So, so, sorry, ma- sir! I just-”

“Don’t worry about it. It tends to happen. I’m gonna take a stab and guess you’re new here.” You hold out your hand. “Name’s Ivan.”

Hesitating at first, she places her hoof in your palm. When your fingers wrap around her blunt appendage, she tenses up, but manages to not pull away. “F-Flitter. And I’m actually from Cloudsdale, and come here often… But I’ve never seen you before.”

You release your grip and smile, being careful not to reveal your teeth. Realizing just how much you tower over the poor mare at full height, you kneel down and rest your elbows on the desk.

She genuinely returns your smile. “So, Mister Ivan… Is there any reason you stopped by today?”

You do your best to keep a cheerful composure. “Uh, yeah. Is Scootaloo still here?”

Her eyebrows rise at your question. “Yeah, she just came through here a little while ago... crying.” She gets a curious, slightly concerned, slightly suspicious look. “Why do you ask?”

“I just wanted to make sure she was okay. Can you check on her, please? And maybe ask if I can talk to her?”

The receptionist thinks over your request. “I’ll peek my head in the doorway,” she finally answers. “She had her face buried in her pillow thirty minutes ago though, so don’t expect any miracles.”

You suppose that’s the best you can ask for right now. “Alright. Thanks.”

The mare hops off of her chair, then crosses the portal into one of the aforementioned hallways. You wait a good two minutes before she returns.

She sits back down on her chair, sighs, and brushes some hair aside. “She doesn’t look too good. I don’t think she’ll want to see anyone.”

Dang. “Did you tell her Ivan was here?”

She gives you a look that has are-you-fucking-kidding-me written all over it.

“Right. Sorry.”

You rise to your feet, turn towards the door, and walk out, sticking your hand in the bushes to grab your hitting stick as you leave.

Halfway out the door, a familiar young voice hits your ears. “Wait.”

You turn, recognizing the small filly instantly. Scootaloo takes a firm stance in front of one of the hallway entrances.

“I want to talk to Ivan.”

Flitter takes on a worried look, but doesn’t interfere. “A-Alright then.” She takes note of Scootaloo’s decision to follow you out the door. “It’s past curfew, so stay on the premises.”

As the filly approaches, tear stains and dark rings under her eyes clearly mark what she’d been doing for the past hour. She draws nearer, soon stopping just in front of you. “Let’s go outside,” she says, her tone eerily flat. Discreetly, she nods back at the receptionist. “Where no one can hear us.”

You nod, holding the door open to let her through. She walks on ahead of you, a silent order for you to follow her.

She takes you around the yard, making precise twists and turns that lead you to believe that she’s either gone this route many times before, or just knows this place really well.

The two of you soon come to a tree in the middle of a grassy clearing. She sits down under it, and you do the same.

You sit in silence for a moment. The sun creates quite a glorious view as it sets, burning the sky pink and casting rays of lights through the clouds and into the heavens. It’s too bad neither of you can appreciate it.

Sighing, you turn to Scootaloo. “Listen, about earlier today…”

You stop. You really can’t think of what to say. Instead, you watch her stare at the ground, letting a liquid drop be absorbed by the grass.

“Why me?” she asks woefully, looking up at you. She wipes her eyes with a forehoof. “Why does everything bad happen to me? Why can’t I just be happy?”

The two of you share a long, meaningful look into each other’s eyes. She awaits an answer, her eyes glimmering as she tries to swallow back the lump in her throat.

You don’t reassure her, nor do you offer an answer you can’t give. Instead, you ask her the same. “Why can’t you be happy?”

Scootaloo blinks, somewhat surprised. “What?”

This time, your tone is a bit softer. “I can’t answer that. No one can really answer that question but you. So, tell me: why aren’t you happy?”

She thinks about it, as she herself doesn’t seem to know at first. But soon enough, you see her face contort in pain, as a ghost long left behind comes back to haunt her. Her mouth simply opens at first, no words able to form.

A lone tear runs down her cheek. You pat her on the back as she swallows a sob.

She continues to stare at the ground. “My mom died when I was seven. She got hit by a rolling cart.”

Damn.

Her voice chokes up as she tries her hardest to be strong. “It hurt me. It hurt all of us. But I think my dad took it the hardest. I- I really don’t know what happened to him.”

Tears once again flow freely from her eyes. You pull her into a hug, and she returns the embrace.

“What you saw… H-He never talked to me l-like that b-before,” she says shakily. “E-Even when he came home drunk… He was always n-nice to me. Tried to be. Even if he scared me sometimes.” A whimper escapes her throat. “I don’t know what happened. Earlier today… that wasn’t him. Not my dad.”

She pauses, trying to do her best to calm herself. She lets out a long, unsteady sigh, before continuing with her story.

“I got taken away from him. I was eight then. My sister tried to adopt me, but she wasn’t fit to raise me, either. So for months, maybe a year, I was switched from foal’s home to foal’s home, orphanage to orphanage… Nobody wanted me. And I didn’t want anyone either. Not unless they were my mom. Or my dad.” She chuckles darkly. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

You run a hand through her mane, thinking about all of this. She sniffles, still drying up a few wet marks that had come to be.

“I thought I could be happy… Thought I’d left all that behind. But the more I tried to ignore it, the more it ate away at me, until- until- I just can’t take it!”

She practically head-butts you as she buries her face in your chest. She sobs loudly, whimpering and trembling in irregular beats.

You caress the back of her neck lightly. “You’re a strong girl, Scoots.”

Her crying subsides, not completely but enough to acknowledge what you’re saying.

“You may think I can’t understand the pain you went through… Are going through. I do understand, though. I’m kind of in the same boat here.” You see her lift her head, eyes aglow with curiosity.

“I like to make it seem like finding my way here, to Equestria, was all milk and honey. I mean, I come from a war-torn, hate-filled, disease-infested world… But I still had to give up everything I had in that place; which included my family, friends… No one I really knew had died yet, at least not while I was there, but I still had to let go of everyone I loved.”

Your mind shoots back to the memory of the hatchet. You quickly brush that thought aside, in favor of returning to Scootaloo.

“Some say home is where the heart is. They’re absolutely right; but it may not be the way you, or anypony else interprets it. The heart, no matter where you go, is always with the ones who love you. Who you love.

“Not too long ago, I lost my home. As, apparently, did you. But sometimes you have to move on; start afresh. To build a new house, in the memories of your old one. For me, that took a little while to do; but over time, I learned the lesson I just taught you- Home is with the ones who love you.”

You smile. “So, welcome home, Scoots.”

She looks on the verge of crying again. You think your vision goes a little blurry as well. Or maybe it’s just your imagination.

The both of you hug it out, the cool evening air washing over you as the twilight fades and the stars begin to appear over the horizon.

Close Bonds: Chapter Sixteen

You’re having a dream. You’re sure of it. Unless this is the happiest family reunion you’ve ever had…

No, this is a dream. You recall this memory. A day you were so bored, you started shooting random things on Grandpa’s land, with your brother.

…Except, Rainbow’s here.

It’s your brother’s turn to shoot the 12-gauge. He takes his time aiming down the sights, then quickly pulls the trigger.

BLAM!

“Dammit, I missed it,” he says. He looks at you, remembering that you were taking turns on the gun. He takes his finger off the trigger, points the muzzle towards the ground, and holds it out to you.

You walk up to him, making sure to grab it somewhere on the wood and not the possibly hot barrel. Taking it, you remember a few things about the weapon; the gun in itself is pretty heavy, but the weight helps with the recoil a bit. It’s an old gun; you’re not sure how old, but it’s old enough to be your grandpa’s. Which is saying something.

“You just gonna stand there, or are you gonna shoot it?” Rainbow asks, sounding annoyed. You look back at her to give her a scowl, shaking your head. Your subconscious has her personality down.

You turn back to your target: a wild pumpkin. You raise the gun, getting the wooden stock nice and snug against your shoulder, then lean slightly forward. You pump; click-click goes the chamber, and the gun spits out a plastic shell.

Locked and loaded.

Something you realize, right now, is that you’re completely unsteady. The sights jump back in forth with every breath you take, as well as with the shakiness you fight in your hands.

Small, deliberate breaths. Calm yourself.

The shakiness in your hands soon tapers off a bit, but the barrel still rocks back and forth.

“When you’re aimin’ at a target far away, ya gotta hold your breath sometimes, ” your grandpa told you, when he and your dad were teaching you and your brother to shoot. “But remember: never hold your breath until you’ve found your target. ‘Cause when you’re done out of air, ya shake even worse. And that jus’ makes you look like a danged fool!”

He immediately burst into laughter after saying that. The rest of you just awkwardly watched him until he finally calmed down.

Damn, if you don’t miss him.

“What’s taking so long?” Rainbow yells again. “I wanna get my turn!”

You don’t answer, simply line up your sights with a pumpkin your brother threw out on the ‘range’. You take a deep breath, then hold it.

BLAM! The gun rocks you, but you manage to hold the stock tight enough against you to avoid getting kicked. You watch the pumpkin off in the distance blow to pieces, the sound of shattering glass ringing over the thunder of the shotgun.

Both of your companions cheer for you. You, however, are quite confused. You know you’re dreaming, but that’s not the sound a pumpkin is supposed to make. Even more peculiar is that you’re not even sure that sound came from your dream.

Slowly, the world around you fades as you feel a frantic tugging at your arm…

----------

“Ivan… Ivan, wake up. I think someone broke in.”

You open your eyes groggily. “Huh?”

“I heard glass breaking. Like a window or something. You didn’t hear that?”

You sit up, watching her curiously. Her eyes are wide, worried-looking. Her ears constantly perk up, and she keeps looking around.

“Yeah, maybe, I dunno… Are you sure it wasn’t somethin’ from outside, or somethin’?”

You hear a thud from somewhere within the house.

That’s all you need to wake you up. You reach under the bed, hands fumbling around for the nearest weapon.

You feel something cloth-like, and pull it out from under the bed. Smiling when you see it, you grasp the handle of Applebloom’s present and slip it out of its sheathe.

For your birthday, Applebloom gave you a sword. A hoof-crafted sword, forged with iron heated and reheated again; or so she told you. The design is similar to a katana, with special consideration for the rounded handle so it would fit comfortably in the hands of someone who, well, had hands. The thing is light, sharp, and has excellent balance; not too heavy in the front, but enough to make it dangerous.

Applejack didn’t quite agree with her younger sister’s choice in gifts, but you congratulated Applebloom on her expert crafts’mare’ship.

Coming back to the present, you look to Rainbow. She’s taken the hitting stick as her choice weapon, hovering in the air and wielding the metal pole in her hooves like a club.

Good girl.

You make your way forward, onwards to the door. With one hand, you signal to her to go left, while you plan on taking the right. She nods her head in understanding.

Slowly, you turn the knob. The door starts to open…

Creeeeeak…

That sound is akin to nails on a chalkboard, so you quickly swing the thing open. Both of you jump out into the hallway, poised and ready for an attack.

Nothing so far. You look at her, and she nods. Slowly, the two of you make your way down the hallway, eyes set on the passage that leads into the living room.

Further inspection shows that this room is clear. However, the cold air blasting in through the window and the moonlight reflecting off of the hundreds of shards of glass buried in the rug are clear evidence of a break-in.

Or, maybe somepony decided to throw something through your window. It’s really a bit far-fetched, but you approach the mess, just to make sure.

You feel a set of eyes burn into you as you bend over to inspect the glass. You signal to the mare behind you to stay on guard, then set down your blade and continue looking.

A little way into the inspection, your eyes detect something dark by the couch. A small lump, rigidly contrasting against the dirty white of your rug. Being careful to avoid the glass, you pick it up.

A rock. Of course.

You raise the blunt object into the air for Rainbow to see. She notices you in her peripheral vision, and moves to turn her head.

She squints, trying to distinguish what it is you’re holding. You see her eyes widen in realization.

And suddenly they disappear.

A loud whump! sounds off as another, larger figure hops on top of her and pins her down. The blue mare cries out and swears, her voice followed by the sounds of struggling on the ground.

Your heart jumps in your chest. You run towards the two, intent on prying the intruder off of Rainbow…

…and beating the shit out of whoever this is. As the shock subsides, you begin to realize that you don’t care if it was Twilight that broke into your house. The only thing on your mind is one universal law…

Nobody. Touches. Rainbow. Whether it be you, or the pony in question who enforces it.

A flare of pain slices into the sole of your foot, sending a jolt up your leg and causing you to fall. You manage to catch yourself on the edge of couch, realizing that you’re barefoot amidst a sea of broken glass.

You can feel something stuck in your foot, and consider trying to pull it out first. But that thought quickly shrivels up when you hear Rainbow cry out.

You snap your head up. The two silhouettes are on the ground, mostly one amorphous blob to you, except for a wing sticking out, and a hoof on top of it.

A loud crack pierces the air.

Rainbow cries out again, much louder this time. To your horror, the wing is now bent at an odd angle.

As the implications of what just happened set in, you cease to think. You no longer care about the burning in your foot; you can literally feel the shard of glass wedging itself further in, but it’s nothing more than a distraction at this point. The glint of Applebloom’s present catches your eye, and in your rage-induced frenzy, you snatch it up.

It’s a miracle that you don’t step on any more glass, but it never crosses your mind. As you come closer, the blob gains features, becoming two more recognizable figures. One frantically squirms underneath and tries hitting the other slightly bigger one, which you can tell at this point has to be a stallion. This sick guy has his hoof on Rainbow’s chest, pinning her down and continuing to bend the disfigured wing even further. At this point, your brain is running on pure adrenaline. You step forward, and take a swing with the sword.

The pegasus on top immediately drops to the ground, screaming at the top of his lungs. You bring your sword up over your head, not paying attention to the blood dripping off the blade. You fully intend on finishing the job, but realize that there’s something more important.

Rainbow drags herself across the rug, whimpering like an injured puppy. Her wing sticks up haphazardly, erect until a point near the tip where it bends abnormally.

Your stomach twists at the sight. You set down your weapon, then immediately rush over to where your marefriend is lying.

“Don’t touch it!” she half hisses, half shrieks. You slow your approach, kneeling down in front of her.

She backs away at first. “I said, don’t touch me!”

You ignore her, instead reaching out for her wing with your hands. She doesn’t try to escape, but stays still as you run your fingers through her matted, blood-soaked inner feathers.

“It hurts. A lot,” she laments, holding back tears. You’re about to say something, but see her eyes shoot towards something behind you. You turn around to see the burglar struggling to pick himself up.

Your anger returns. You get up, walking over to stand over him. He sees your feet, then lifts his head until he’s looking at you in the face. From his eyes alone, you can detect fear; and a mutual sense of hate for one another.

You pick your foot up, then slam your heel into his head. He lets out a groan, and you do it again, and again, and again, until your foot starts to hurt and he’s completely still. A thought crossing your head, you clap two times.

The lights come on, initially blinding you. But it’s not long before you’re able to see again, finally getting the satisfaction of getting to know just who the hell broke into your house.

Holy shit. Your eyes go wide, and your jaw drops. Rainbow’s recovered from the brightness as well, and notices your expression. “What? Who is it?” she asks, her voice cracking midsentence.

Half a severed limb lays limp on the rug. The other half, now a stub leaking blood, is attached to the body of a face you know all too well these days.

“This… This is Scootaloo’s dad.”

Close Bonds: Chapter Seventeen

“Rainbow… I can’t even begin to express how sorry I am.”

You hold her hoof, gently caressing it with your thumb. She’s out cold, her wing splayed out in a cast hanging just a little above and to the side of her head.

“I just stood there, while that stallion… while he beat you. While he injured you.” You place your forehead in your palm, letting it wipe down your face until it comes to rest just under your chin, leaving you in a reflective pose.

“What’s wrong with me?” you ask the sleeping pegasus. She, of course, doesn’t answer, just continues her rhythmic breathing.

You take a quick glance at your foot. It’s covered in gauze, and still throbs a bit from the cut. Unlike with Rainbow, they didn’t give you any drugs to put you to sleep, or at least dull the pain while they worked on you. Sweetheart just talked with you, distracting you while they prepared to pull the shard of glass out of your foot.

Apparently, it was safe enough to yank out. Wasn’t that fun?

Your injury seems miniscule, however, when you look back at the near-motionless figure beside you.

You pinch the bridge of your nose, watching her chest steadily rise and fall. How’s she going to handle this? Flying… it’s basically her life. She’s renowned, aside from her role as an Element of Harmony, for being the fastest flier in Equestria. Not to mention her lifelong dream of becoming a Wonderbolt.

Even when that was stripped away, she’s always still had her wings. Up until last night, at least.

You can’t resist another stress-palm. You yawn; you’ve been up since three o’ clock this morning, sorting things out.

It had to have been frightening to the hospital staff who didn’t know you, or even the graveyard shift workers who did, to see the blood-soaked you standing in the doorway holding the equally disheveled pegasus in your arms. Combine that with the trail of red you left from walking half a mile with a piece of broken glass in your foot, and the near-dead stallion the guards found in your house when they eventually went to investigate…

You glance at the door, fully aware of the guard behind it. His job is to keep you inside this room, blocking any attempts at exiting you might try to make. You nearly got arrested this morning; had it not been for the fact that the incident took place in your own house, you could have been sleeping, to an extent at least, in a jail cell.

Not that you aren’t being imprisoned in this room. Still, though, you at least have the benefit of being able to watch over Rainbow, to protect her.

Like you should’ve done a long time ago.

The sound of a doorknob rattling grabs your attention. You look up, expecting a nurse, or maybe another guard come to interrogate you.

Lyra steps through the door.

Close enough, on both accounts.

“Hey, Ivan,” she says, her voice having an unusually sympathetic tone that you’ve only rarely heard from her.

“Ugh, hey Lyra,” you sluggishly greet back, doing your best to not sound annoyed at her presence. You fail at doing so.

She sits down on the chair next to you, leaning back on her haunches as she sighs. “Rough night, huh?”

You shake your head, not in disagreement but to express how you feel in a single gesture. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

The two of you sit in silence for a moment, neither of you sure of what you could say in an instance like this.

Lyra finally speaks up, addressing a rather touchy subject. “So, you really cut off his leg?”

You’re a bit taken off guard by her bluntness. It annoys you, but you know that she means well, so you try not to get mad about it. “Yeah. I was actually gonna aim for his neck, but I guess there was still a part of me that could still think, if only partially… Good thing, right?”

She shakes her head. “No, actually. Since he’s still alive, he could attempt a lawsuit. I’m not sure how far he would get in that way, considering he broke into your house and what you did was in defense of a national hero… But there’s always the species bias.”

Ah, yes. The species bias. Ponies are normally pretty accepting of all races, as their country in general has some amount of immigration, but there’s always been some amount of fear of the predators.

Chopping off a pony’s leg and then stomping on his head can’t be too good for your image, where fear is involved.

“Thanks for letting me know, Lyra,” you groan, half-sarcastically and half-sincerely. It really is a good thing that you’re aware of this, but it’s just another spoonful of spinach to add to your plate.

No retort comes from her. “Sorry. I’ll just see myself out.” She hops off the chair, and stands to leave, before you grab her by the shoulder.

“Wait,” you say. She turns to you, and you ask what’s on your mind. “Aren’t you gonna check Rainbow?”

Her face takes on a troubled look. “I- sorry, that’s supposed to be Redheart’s job…” She sees your disappointed expression, then sighs. “…but I guess I could. I don’t have any meetings until later.”

“Thanks, Lyra,” you say, watching her lean over Rainbow. She puts an ear to her chest, listens for a moment, then stands back and lights Rainbow up for a moment in a golden glow.

“She’s fine,” Lyra sums it up, heading back for the door. “The drugs are starting to wear off, so she might wake up soon.”

You nod, this small reassurance somehow making you just a tad bit more comfortable. “Thanks again, Lyra.”

The doctor only grunts in response, letting the guard shut the door behind her as she walks out. You sigh, deciding to lean back and find a comfortable spot in your chair.

As if on cue, Rainbow starts to rustle under the covers. Her movement is restricted a bit in order to keep her from damaging her wing even worse, so she stays mostly in the same spot.

You watch closely, just wanting so desperately for her eyes to open. Celestia, how much you want to see her awake.

They don’t open, but her mouth does, letting out a loud snore. You groan.

“I’m gonna see if I can get a bathroom break,” you mutter to yourself. You walk to the door, then knock a few times.

It opens, revealing a stoic guard. He stares at you blankly.

“I need’a piss,” you tell him. He raises an eyebrow, then steps to the side, allowing you to walk past.

Since you work here you already know where everything is, so you turn down the hall without directions. A few feet down and you hear hoofsteps behind you. You sigh, knowing that it’s probably the guard.

The walk to the bathroom is full of stares from everypony who’d been there a few hours ago. As you pass by the receptionist desk, you glance to see who’s behind it.

The mare at the desk, not Cream, looks up and smiles when she sees you. Not wanting to be rude, you meekly smile back at her.

It seems to take a long time, but you finally make it to the bathroom. You push open the door. Before stepping inside, you check behind you.

The guard stands behind you, quietly watching. You roll your eyes, then step inside.

After releasing the floodgates, which included everything you’d been holding in since the previous day, you wordlessly step past the guard. Ever-attendant, he follows again.

As you walk down the halls once again, you notice something out of the corner of your eye. You turn your head, and see Scootaloo coming out of one of the rooms.

Your lips curve up in a genuine smile, the first in what feels like a long time. Your voice comes out softly, almost in an appreciative way for her being there for you. “Hey, Sc-”

“You…” she hisses. You flinch, startled by her hostility.

She stares at you, the already-apparent dark rings under her eyes deepening. You say nothing, sensing an oncoming verbal beating.

“H-How could you do that to a pony?” she suddenly cries, her voice breaking. Tears immediately stream from her eyes. “How c-could you be s-so violent? I- I thought you w-were nice.”

Her voice isn’t heated with rage, rather spills over with hurt. Betrayal.

You stutter, your thoughts in a jumble. “I- I was protecting Rainbow. He hurt Rainbow.”

She shakes her head. “You stomped on his head. You stomped on his head, Ivan!” she yells, her voice echoing around the halls. “T-They told me everything. Everything that happened; including what you told them.” She wipes a large amount of salty fluid from her eyes. “Self-defense? Bullshit! You almost killed my dad!”

Her shouting attracts the attention of various medical staff and guardsponies around the area. A few nurses come to restrain Scootaloo, pulling her back into the waiting room as she continues to glare back at you angrily.

“And to think, I used to trust you,” she mutters bitterly, before complying with the nurses and letting them lead her to the front of the hospital.

Her last words stick in your head, as you stare blankly at the ongoing hospital scenery. She doesn’t trust you anymore? What did you possibly do to break her trust?

You did the right thing in defending Rainbow, right? You admit, stomping on his head was a bit excessive, but it was in the heat of the moment… You weren’t thinking, and you were just so angry…

You groan, deciding on going back to Rainbow’s room to sulk while she snores. As you turn, you see that the guard is still standing there, staring at you as emotionlessly as ever.

“Enjoy the show?” you ask irritably. You feel like punching him in the face.

He, of course, does nothing.

Close Bonds: Chapter Eighteen

Your name is Scootaloo.

You sit in one of the hospital lobby chairs, depressed, and quite worn-out despite the fact that you woke up not an hour ago.

An hour ago, you were sleeping peacefully in your bed. You were interrupted from quite a pleasant dream with the words, “Your dad is in the hospital.”

It was confusing. At first, you didn’t remember that your dad was even in Ponyville. But after some recollection, a panicked trot across town, and seeing your dad unconscious and missing half a leg…

…it led to this. Where you are now.

You just yelled and cussed at one of the best friends you’ve ever had…

Did he deserve it? Something you said yourself was that that stallion is no longer your father.

That’s hard to believe now. He’s still your dad, he just needs help.

So, what about Ivan now?

Your rub your temples, frustrated and confused. On one hoof, you’ve known him for quite some time. He obviously cares about you; that’s a given. On the other hoof… he hurt your dad.

Your dad broke into his house. He allegedly injured Rainbow, but you’re still having a hard time believing that she could be hurt by anypony, even your dad. You would see her yourself, but you know that if she’s awake, she’ll obviously come to Ivan’s defense…

And why not? If what everypony says is true, then Ivan was defending Rainbow.

But was it really defending if he stomped on your dad’s head long after he’d been disabled?

So confusing…

You watch a pink mare enter the building, smiling at everything in sight. She smiles at you, but you don’t return it.

Unperturbed, she turns to the pony at the front desk. They talk for a moment, the chipper mare suddenly taking on a shocked look.

A light-green unicorn emerges from one of the doors, quickly saying something before disappearing again through the doorway while the pink earth pony follows her.

You wonder what’s going on.

It couldn’t be something to do with your dad, could it? Neither of those mares were his doctor, at least you don’t think.

You rest your head against one of the leg-rests, sighing. When did life become so difficult?

Oh, yeah. Five years ago.

----------

“…After that, she looked back at me and said, ‘And to think I used to trust you,’ and walked off.”

Cream nods, doing her best to recall and absorb every last detail of your story. She’d rushed into the room a little earlier with Lyra after learning about what had happened, and listened to your side of the story.

She has a contemplative look, as if thinking it all over before she says what’s on her mind. “Well, I really don’t know a lot about Scootaloo…” she begins. “I know I’ve seen you two talking, and it was kind of cute to be honest, but you need to know your priorities.” She points to the sleeping Rainbow. “Right now, she comes first, above all else. Focus on your mare; as soon as she wakes up, she’s going to need you.”

She’s not suggesting that you would even think of leaving Rainbow’s side at this point in time, is she?

The pegasus in question begins to stir, showing signs that she may be awakening soon. Cream pats you on the leg, before hopping off the chair and whispering, “My shift’s in two minutes. Good luck.”

She quietly closes the door behind her. As Rainbow awakens, you take her hoof.

“Hey, Rainbow,” you softly coo. “How you feeling?”

She brings her other hoof to her forehead, then waves it in front of her eyes. “Sto-o-oned…”

There’s silence for a moment, then the two of you burst out laughing. It’s not really that the joke is funny, more the fact that it was so… unexpected.

“…but seriously, I’m really thirsty,” she croaks hoarsely. There’s a glass of water on the nightstand, and you hand it to her. She takes it, bringing it to her lips and gulping it down greedily.

She sets the cup back on the nightstand, and sighs. “So…” She glances over at the cast on her wing. “Snapped?”

“Yeah.”

“How long ‘til it heals? Do you know?”

You gulp. “Uh… Sweetheart said this wasn’t for sure, but…”

Rainbow stares at you, wide-eyed.

Good job man, keep her in suspense.

“…six to eight weeks.”

She looks down at the sheets. “Damn.”

“I know.” You take her hoof again. “I’m sorry.”

The two of you just sit there for a moment, weighing up the situation and all that it implies.

“So… How’s your back hoof?” she asks, breaking the silence.

You look down at your gauze-covered appendage. “Oh, my foot? It still hurts. Walking a half mile kinda got that glass wedged in further, and when I got here, they just ripped that shit right out. No painkillers or nothing.”

“Ooh,” she winces. “Sorry about that. It didn’t look too good when we got here. Carrying me probably didn’t help all that much, huh?”

You wave your hand, brushing it off and trying to make light of the situation. “Nah, it’s fine, seeing as how I let your wing get broken. We’ll call it even.”

She picks up on your joking, and comes back with her own. “Uh, huh. Keep telling yourself that, but we both know you pussied out during that fight.”

Your breath catches in your throat. You try to smile, letting out a few chuckles that end up sounding more like whimpers.

She senses your discomfort, doing her best to slap you on the back from her position. “Calm down, Ivan. It was just a joke.”

You laugh just a tad bit more believably this time, but don’t turn all the way towards her. “Yeah, yeah. Back at ya…”

She frowns, not convinced. “There something wrong? Did I go too far?”

“Just a little.”

She rests her hoof on your hand, and holds it there. “You’re not blaming this on yourself, are you?”

You turn your head towards her. She looks intently into your eyes, prying for an answer.

“Urgh,” is all you manage. She sighs.

“I knew it. I knew it as soon as I woke up. You looked guilty, and I could tell.”

You roll your eyes. “Good job, Dash. I really wouldn’t think it’s such a big surprise, but now that you have it figured out, why not gloat about it?”

She scowls at you, biting back her tongue. “Look. Why are you beating yourself up over this? I’d really like to know.”

You groan. “Would you, now?”

“No shit, I just- Is there any reason you should be blaming this yourself? A good one?”

You sigh, then shake your head. “No, I’m just tired. It’s been a long night; I’ve been up since the break-in, and there’s been a shit-ton of paperwork, and... Let’s just forget I said anything, alright?”

She eyes you, squinting slightly. “It’s kind of hard to forget something like this. Especially when I know that it’s not nothing.”

“Oh, really? How could you tell?”

“I know you pretty well by now, Ivan. Besides, didn’t we agree not to keep secrets from each other?”

You scowl at her. “We never even talked about that.”

“It’s an unsaid agreement.”

You chuckle, shaking your head. “Unsaid agreement…” You throw your hands up in the air. “Fine. You want to know why? Because what you said was true. I did pussy out on that fight. I stood by while that damn bastard beat the fuck out of you. Happy now?”

She smirks. “Yeah, actually. Now I know just how much of an idiot you are.”

You glare angrily at her. “How is that-”

“You weren’t just standing by. You were picking glass out of your foot. I’ve flown into enough thorn bushes and splintered wood to know that that shit hurts.” She pauses, waiting to see if you have any argument. You say nothing, so she continues. “You ran with that hoof to come help me, saved my ass, then stomped on his head with- was it the same foot?”

“No.”

“Still, though. It was pretty badass. Not to mention you carried me half a mile, dripping blood and all.”

You raise an eyebrow. “…And this is supposed to make me a hero, or something?”

“To anyone else who isn’t a complete idiot, yes.” She smirks.

“Isn’t your goal to make me feel better? You just called me an idiot twice.”

“This ain’t no pity party, Ives,” she shakes her head. “I’m just telling the truth here.”

You sigh, rubbing your temple. “You have the weirdest way of reassuring people.”

“But did it work?”

You pause for a moment. “No…” you lie, trying to hide a smile.

She notices this, and smiles herself. “Good. Now, Ivan, could you do me a favor?”

You ready yourself to stand from your seat, happy to carry out any task for her right now. “What’s that?”

She pats the spot next to her on the small hospital bed, a small glimmer to her eye.

“Ohh…” you grin. “That kind of favor.”

She sticks out her tongue. “No, not ‘that kind of favor’. I just want you to get some sleep.”

You get a shit-eating grin.

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. But seriously, have you been up this whole time?”

You think back to some fuzzy memories. “Well, there was the whole deal with not getting arrested, signing hospital papers… I think so.”

She rubs the bed impatiently. “Then come on.”

You walk on up to the side of the bed. The space she’s indicating to you is quite narrow, and the bed itself may be too short. You give her a questioning look.

“Yeah, I know,” she mutters. “I would scoot aside, but this damn thing is keeping me in one spot,” she indicates to the contraption fastening her wing cast to the bed.

“Nah, it’s fine,” you assure her, lifting the covers. “I think I can squeeze in here…”

Slipping off your shoes, you slide under the sheets. Because of your close proximity, you find yourself smushed up against your little blue companion.

“You’re really warm,” you compliment, words nearly coming out as a sleepy slur. You can already feel your eyelids starting to droop, the events of the night having taken their toll on your body.

You feel a pair of lips touch and go on your nose. You move to return the favor, finding that you’ve unconsciously wrapped your arms around Rainbow’s small pegasus body.

“Night, Dash…”

…

“Hey, Ivan?”

You groan. “Dash, you told me to get some sleep. I haven’t closed my eyes for ten seconds…”

“What are you talking about? You’ve been sleeping for like five hours.”

You open your eyes, confused. Of course, the first thing you see is Rainbow’s face. She’s giving you a look, her eyes partially squinted over the top of a Daring Do book.

You’re starting to feel as if that’s all she ever reads.

You crank your neck towards the clock. Sure enough, from what you can see with your bleary eyes, it’s about noon.

“Oh…” is all you can think to say. Realizing that you’d been resting your head on her, you roll to the side and lay on your back.

For a minute, you stare at the ceiling panels- a ritual invented at and for school. This activity most often has one of two effects in the mind: either interesting or sometimes unsolvable questions will assault the thoughts of the ceiling-gazer, or, the person or pony in question will instantly fall asleep.

Using lecture time as a prime example, the former usually occurs. However, today it brings about the latter.“So, why did you wake me up?”

“You were drooling on my shirt,” Rainbow answers simply.

You look to where you’d buried your face earlier. There, on her green hospital shirt, was a large wet spot positioned just under the ribs.

That figures. For an athlete, she has such a soft tummy. “Sorry about that,” is your response.

She pinches a dry area just above the dark patch, looking at it with a slight repulsion. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind too much, but I hate how cold it is when it touches my fur.” She lets go, the damp fabric slapping against her stomach causing her to shiver. She then looks to her cast, frowning. “And it sucks, ‘cause I can’t even take it off by myself.”

You follow her eyes to the cast, where you’re mildly surprised to find her no longer bound to the bed. “You got your thingy off?”

The appendage twitches slightly. “Yeah, Sweetheart came in here earlier. I was awake by then, but you were still out, so we decided not to disturb you… So yeah.”

Explains how you had the extra room to roll over.

“Just wondering, you still going to work today?”

You turn your head towards her, eyebrow raised. “I was planning on staying here with you. Why?”

“Well, if you think about it, you’re kind of already at work.”

Her point clicks. You work at the hospital; you’re technically at work, even though you’re not really performing your job.

You hadn’t even thought of that.

“Huh.”

“You know, Ivan, if you worked, we would still be pretty near each other. You’re a janitor, right?”

You snap your gaze to her. “Orderly,” you correct with a frown.

She rolls her eyes. “You still have keys to the janitor’s closet, so same thing. But anyways, what if you spent all your time taking care of me?”

“Oh, you mean like at home?” you tease.

“Shut the fuck up, jobs don’t rain from the clouds. But don’t you usually go around cleaning things up and helping cripples fit into their clothes and stuff?”

The way she phrases it... It’s somehow very degrading. “Yeah, I guess. But I don’t know if I’ll be allowed to just take care of one specific pony. Usually I’m all over the hospital.”

You hear a loud squeak. The both of you turn towards the noise, finding Doctor Sweetheart standing in the doorway.

“Oh, good, you’re both awake,” she chirps. Trotting up to the side of the bed with a clipboard, she asks you, “Sleep well?”

You bring your hands behind your head, yawning. “Oh, yes.”

She turns to Rainbow. “And how are you doing, Rainbow Dash?”

She holds her novel up. “Just been readin’.”

“Good, good.” She writes something down on her clipboard. “Have either of you been experiencing any injury-related pains?”

You and Rainbow both glance at each other before simultaneously answering, “Yes.”

“I see,” she mutters, scribbling down something else before looking up at the two of you again. “Alright, well, Ivan. Unfortunately, your injury doesn’t warrant painkillers…”

You wonder why she even asked.

“…and Rainbow, we don’t want to be putting too much magic or drugs into your system. It’s not too unbearable, is it?”

She twitches her broken wing. “Kind of an aching feeling… But no.”

“Alright. I’ll be sure to have some painkillers and sleeping pills ready in a few hours in case you need them.” She writes one last thing down, then sets her pen and clipboard in her saddlebag. She turns to leave, but perks up and turns back around. “Oh! Almost forgot. You’re free to go, Ivan.”

You cock your head as much as you can do while prone. “Free to go? Wait…” Your eyes widen. “You mean I can leave this room?”

“Hey!” Rainbow shouts.

“I’m not actually going to leave,” you shoot back at her, somewhat annoyed at the way she practically yelled in your ear. You bring your attention back to Sweetheart. “But if I can go, that means the charges against me have dropped, right?”

Sweetheart shakes her head. “I have no idea, Ivan. I’m a medical doctor, not a lawyer.” She points to the door. “Some ponies came in here and told Cream that you’re free to go, and that guard by the door left. But you’re going to have to look into it yourself.”

You thank her for her help. “It’s no trouble,” she answers, all smiles. “Is there anything else I can do for you two?”

Rainbow takes her chance to speak up. “Yeah. I just wanted to know if Ivan will be able to work today.”

Sweetheart gets a curious look. “Why? You don’t want him to be in here with you?”

“Yeah, I didn’t think you’d even let me leave the bed with the way you reacted earlier,” you joke.

She ignores you. “Well, he does work here, at the hospital. He wouldn’t be far away. And from what Ivan’s been telling me”

The doctor thinks about this. “I suppose that’s true, although the work day is probably about halfway over for him, and medical leave does provide a certain amount of pay anyway.” She glances at your foot. “He can probably work tomorrow if he wants to, but it depends on how his cuts are doing then…”

There’s a silence for a moment, likely because Rainbow’s trying to think of something else to say. Before she can, Sweetheart decides to make her escape. “Well, it’s always nice talking to you, Ivan; and you too, Rainbow. I’m going to leave right now, since I usually work the night shift anyways, and I’m running on overtime right now. Plus,” a small tug at the corners of her lips, “I have a stallion to go home to.”

“Ah, I see things work the other way around in your household,” you allude, receiving a sock from Rainbow. “I’ll talk to you later, then.”

As the door shuts behind her, the room is left in silence once more. “So,” Rainbow says, attempting to break the silence, “what now?”

You glance over at her. “I dunno. We just… hang out now? I think Fluttershy’s my emergency contact, so we should be expecting visitors soon…”

A knock sounds at the door. You smirk. “And there we go.”

Close Bonds: Chapter Nineteen

“Ivan? Can you come here a moment?”

You yawn, stretching your arms over your head before you rise from Lyra’s office chair and approach Sweetheart.

“Yeah?” you ask a little groggily.

She motions for you to lean in close, and you do so. She whispers into your ear, “Can you give Rainbow a bath today? She hasn’t taken one in days, and she’s starting to stink.”

Lately, ever since you were up and working again, Sweetheart, or whichever nurse is taking care of Rainbow, always asks you to do any task that requires touching Rainbow in any way that may seem intimate. You’re really not sure if they’re just uncomfortable with doing it, as it is part of their job, or if they’re conspiring to tease either of you in a strange way.

Upon hearing Sweetheart’s request, you smirk, choking back a laugh. “Alright. So which shower do I use?”

“The one you usually use for yourself. And also, make sure to get a covering for Rainbow’s cast. They’re in the supply cabinet next to my office, in case you didn’t know.”

“Mm-kay, gotcha,” you say, tucking that little piece of information away in your brain for later use. “You headin’ out now?”

“Yeah, in a few minutes,” she answers, glancing at the wall clock. “Gonna see if I can catch my kids before they go off to school today. We’re supposed to be doing a little family trip this weekend, just wanted to make sure they’d remember to come straight home.”

You shuffle your feet idly. “Ah, alright. Don’t wanna keep you any longer, so have fun this weekend.”

“Thank you, and you too.” She smiles, before trotting off towards the main office.

You watch her leave, then look around. Lyra isn’t here yet, which is surprising, as she’s usually about fifteen minutes early, even though you two have the same hours. You were never exactly an early riser, so the only reason you’re even up right now is because you’re used to having to account for the time it takes to walk here. Which is a problem that, as of recently, you haven’t had to face.

Yeah. You’ve been sleeping in the hospital bed with Rainbow for the whole week; apparently, your house is still an ‘evidence zone’ in the case against Scootaloo’s dad. As if they couldn’t, and haven’t already taken photo evidence of the whole damn place.

Which brings you back to the strange tale of your own case.

“And by doing so, I managed to prove that your actions fit the criteria of Ponyville’s Stand-Your-Ground law, saving you what could’ve been weeks of unneeded hassle that most likely would have produced the same results. The only thing you’re going to have to watch out for are civil suits, as the law here doesn’t specify on that. Though I think that if Mister I-Attacked-an-Element-of-Harmony-in-an-Alcohol-Induced-Rage did try to sue you, he wouldn’t have much luck getting the jury on his side.”

Your eyebrows remained raised in an unchanging expression of being impressed. “Wow, Derpy. I never realized that my mailmare was such an… intelligent lawyer.”

Rarity gives you a look that suggests you should’ve gone with a different choice of words, but Derpy doesn’t seem to mind. “Well, thanks. Yeah, I studied to be a private defense attorney, but I suppose that this,” she points at her lazy eye, “doesn’t exactly give off an aura of intelligence. Aside from Rarity, not many ponies wanted to hire me.” Immediately after saying this, her business-like gaze becomes a wide grin. “But hey, I’m happy with what I’m doing now, and that’s all that matters, right?”

Her optimism is infectious. “Heh, I would think so,” you chuckle, then turn to Rarity. “Thanks for hooking me up here, Rarity. I owe you one.”

She brushes it off with a wave of her hoof. “Don’t mention it, Ivan. It should only be expected from the Element of Generosity herself; besides, what are friends for? I’m just glad that I ran into Fluttershy on her way to see you at the hospital.” Her lips curve up slightly. “I’d know that worried look anywhere.”

You smirk. “Heh, Fluttershy. In spite of all that’s happened, she still took at least five pens and a towel from the hospital. Don’t even ask me how.”

You earn some chuckles for your joke. You finish your cup of tea, then rise to your feet. “I should probably go now. I want to get back to the hospital before the painkillers wear off, and I’ve been meaning to check the mail today.”

“I thought they wouldn’t give you painkillers?” Rarity questions.

“I bought my own. Pinkie seems to keep them around, for whatever reason.”

You shake your head, clearing your mind of the daydream. You remember that you were supposed to be doing something, but you can’t remember exactly what.

Oh, yeah. Rainbow needs a bath.

You open your brain’s file cabinets, shuffling around a bit before coming to the little bit of information that tells you what you need about bathing a little blue pegasus with a broken wing.

“Make sure to get a covering for Rainbow’s cast. They’re in the supply cabinet next to my office, in case you didn’t know.”

Right.

You’re off to the supply cabinet lickety-split. You pull out your key, using it to unlock the wooden double doors. Lo and behold, your prize, a box of plastic cast wraps, is just under eye level. You take it, then close the cabinet back up and lock it. A faint click sounds, leaving you satisfied that the door is shut and inaccessible to anyone but medical staff.

You meander back to Rainbow’s room, glancing at a certain door that’s seemed to have caused a lot of conflict over the past few days. You brush past it, soon coming upon your destination.

つશૂપ, or 405 as it translates to you.

You knock three times lightly, pushing open the door without even bothering to wait for a response. As you step inside, you’re (not) greeted by Rainbow Dash, who’s wearing a pair of earbuds and seems fixated on your iPod.

Of course.

You walk up and sit on the side of the bed. The pony notices you, as her eyes dart in your direction for a split second, but other than that she pays you no heed.

You set the box of plastic wrappings on the nightstand, before pulling one of the loosely-placed earbuds out of her ear and placing it in your own.

A familiar, soft tune plays itself out.

My girl, my girl, don’t lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night?

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

“Didn’t think you’d enjoy Nirvana,” you state plainly, nodding to the beat as the semi-scratchy, but nevertheless amazing voice of Kurt Cobain fills your head.

“Eh, I’m starting to get used to Earth music,” she says, swiping her hoof across the iPod screen. You look over her shoulder to see what she’s doing, and get the behind view of what looks like Indiana Jones jumping off the side of a platform.

“Temple Run? Really?” You shake your head.

“Dammit, Ivan, you made me die!” she socks you in the arm before turning back to the game. “You humans run weird.”

“A cheap flash animation isn’t exactly the best representation, but okay.”

“Whatever. I don’t even know what you just said.” She sets the iPod down to look at you. “Hey, you think you could help me find a song? I don’t know what it’s called, and I can’t really read any of these words.”

“Too bad you’re not smart like Applebloom,” you jab at Rainbow. “She knows English. She can probably read most of this.” You receive another light punch, and then pick up the small device.

“What song are you looking for?” you ask, scrolling through the music library.

“Uh,” she puts a hoof to her chin, “I think it goes something like…” It takes her a moment to recall. “‘…something unpredictable, but in the end is-’”

“Ah. Time of Your Life. Gotcha.” You quickly come to the T’s, and tap the screen. The song begins, the familiar finger-picking at the beginning with the not-sure-if-intentional ‘Fuck.’

“Just wondering,” you say as the intro nears its end, “how did you know that song?”

“You used to play it all the time before you had your little mental breakdown.” She gives you a look. “Don’t you remember me singing it with you? You know…”

You simply acknowledge it with an “Oh, yeah.” As the melody plays, you take a walk down memory lane; this song really has a lot of history with you.

You have to take a deep breath when it ends. You take out your earbud, and Rainbow’s as well, right as the next song starts. “Alright. We should probably be getting you ready.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Ready?”

Oh, that’s right. You forgot to tell her. “Oh, yeah. Sweetheart wanted you to take a bath today.”

She frowns. “How does she expect me to do that with my wing like this? It would get in the way when I’m trying to clean myself.” The realization dawns on her when she sees your grin. “No… You’re gonna give me a bath?”

“Yep. Why, is there a problem?”

Her frown deepens into a scowl. “Yeah. I don’t want you giving me a bath.”

You raise an eyebrow, smiling. “And why not? We take showers together all the time at home, what’s the difference?”

“Ivan,” she folds her forelegs across her chest, “there’s a fine line between giving somepony a bath, and taking it with them.”

“Okay. And can you tell me why you don’t want to cross that line?”

She turns her head away, and a low mutter comes from her. “You know why…”

You shake your head. “Sorry, don’t think I do.”

“Stop being an idiot,” she growls.

“No, seriously, I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

“It’s because of all the jokes you play on me, alright!?”

You flinch back at her outburst. “Woah, woah, woah. Since when have I been playing jokes on you?”

“You want me to give an example?”

“It has to be recent.”

“Alright,” she says, a somewhat victorious tone in her voice, “How about yesterday, when you were helping me put on my shirt?”

“What happened then?” you question, honestly trying to remember.

“You kept making me put my head through the foreleg holes.”

You attempt to hide your face as you chuckle, recalling the memory. Rainbow was kind of cranky yesterday, so you decided that if you were going to have to put up with her attitude, you were going to deserve it.

Rainbow is unamused. You shake your head. “Sorry, Dashie. Won’t happen again.”

She looks at you skeptically. “How can I be sure of that?”

“I promise.”

“Pinkie promise.”

“Um,” you glance around the room, nervously. “Look, I don’t want Pinkie to suddenly pop up out of nowhere and try to sell me drugs, alright?”

“What?”

“Just- Never mind.” You dismiss it with a wave of your hand. “Okay, I promise I won’t play any pranks on you.”

“Still, how can I be sure?”

You sigh. “Because, when you’re not injured you’re pretty scary.”

She thinks about this for a moment. “Hmm… Alright.”

You turn the other way. “Otherwise, when you’re crippled you’re helpless and it’s cute in a funny kind of way.”

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing.” You turn back to her. “Here, we should probably go do it now. You need any help getting off the bed?”

“No, I’m fine,” she refuses stubbornly. A few grunts, curses, a thud and a whimper later, and you ask again.

“Alright,” she groans, rubbing the exposed part of her wing. You grab her by the waist, hoisting her off the bed and setting her on her hooves on the tiled hospital floor.

You smile down on her. “See? Much easier, right?”

You get another bruise on your leg to add to your collection.

----------

“Damn. How did you ever even get your cast in the wing slit?”

Rainbow grunts as you tug on her shirt, jolting her whole body slightly. “I don’t know. You’re the one who put it on, you tell me.”

A bit more pulling and the sliding of her hooves on the tiles, and the Chinese pegasus trap slips off. “There!”

“Finally,” Dash mutters. “Now, what about my cast? Sweetheart said not to get it wet.”

“That’s why the very same pony told me to bring these,” you proclaim, introducing the box of cast wraps. “We just cover your wing with one of these, and you’ll be all ready to take your bath.”

She sighs. “Alright. No point in waiting. Put it on.”

You pull one out, opening the mouth and bringing it over her cast. Once it’s all the way on, you gently tug on the string, tightening it until it’s snug on her wing.

While Rainbow tries out the new wrapping, waving it around in the air, you run the bath. “Okay,” you say after a few minutes, swishing your hand around in the warm water. “Bath’s ready.”

She trots up, again attempting to do the task of climbing into the slippery ceramic bowl by herself. Before she ends up breaking her teeth, however, you grab hold of her from behind and lift her over the rim.

She squirms a bit, scowling at you once she’s settled down on her flank. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know I didn’t. But I’ll let you run the water, since I don’t know how you like it.”

A minute passes while Rainbow tries to adjust the water temperature to her liking and you look at various types of shampoos. You really can’t tell the difference between Neightrogena and Alfalfaparf, aside from the fact that one smells like cherries and the other supposedly smells like cucumbers; but hey, you’re not a woman. Or mare.

You settle on just getting an armful and setting them down one-by-one on the side of the tub. Rainbow stops the water and leans forward in a prone position, watching you do this until you get to the last bottle. You pull up a small stool. “Here. I don’t know what you like, so just pick one.”

She brushes a stray lock of wet mane out of her eyes, then leans forward to scrutinize the small print on each bottle. “There’s no conditioner here. And they’re all mane shampoos.”

Celestia dammit… “Look, it’s just a bath. We’re not at a beauty salon.”

“I know that. But I can’t wash my coat with mane shampoo.”

You groan audibly. “You know, earlier you seemed perfectly fine with not even taking a bath.”

She shakes her head. “Not really; I actually felt kinda gross. I just never mentioned it because I didn’t think I’d get to clean myself.”

“Dammit, Rainbow, do you have to argue over every little thing?”

“Do you have to argue over every little thing?” She jabs a hoof at you. “Just get off your ass and grab a bottle of conditioner and coat soap. It’s not that hard.”

You roll your eyes, muttering to yourself under your breath. You open up the cabinet of soaps, and upon realizing there are various brands of each type, you call out, “What brands do you want? Will certain types burn your mane off?”

“Just pick any. I’m not that picky.”

“‘Not that picky…’ Good Lord…” You grab two bottles and a bar of soap, then walk back over to the tub. You set all three on the edge. “Good?”

She glances at them, then nods. “Good.”

You sigh, happy to finally have the complications out of the way. Rainbow seems to get by now that, like everything else, you’re going to do this for her. She dunks her head under the water, getting her mane all nice and wet, then lets you slather on the shampoo.

You run your hands through her polychrome mane, untangling every strand of hair you can until her whole head is nice and sudsy.

“Rinse,” you order. Again, she submerges herself, waiting some moments before breaking the surface of the water and tilting her head back so as to not let the droplets into her eyes.

The small display honestly reminds you of a dolphin, especially with the way her back is arched. You pour a glob of the conditioner onto your open palm, then repeat what you did with the shampoo. All the while, Rainbow quietly sits in her dolphin pose.

In short time, you move on to her body. Mixing the coat shampoo and bar soap together in your hands, you start with her neck and shoulders, gently rubbing the area and doing the same as you come down to the little matted tuft of fur on her chest. You smile when you feel her leaning into your touch, her lips curving up into a pleasured smile of her own.

You continue down, tracing your right hand down the curve of her spine while your left rubs her belly. She gives a happy moan, apparently quite pleased with the job you’re doing. You take both hands and place them on her hips as a warning, but more so in asking permission for what you’re about to do. She doesn’t move, so you take that as her consent and begin caressing her haunches.

She doesn’t moan this time, simply flicking her tail a little at first as you move down from her cutie marks to her lower legs, making sure to clean out every nook and cranny. After finishing everything down to her hooves, you realize there’s something you forgot.

“Hey, Dash? Could you, um, spread your wing for me?” A pomf sounds as her wing stiffens out, fully erect. The combined speed of her wing opening and the wetness of her feathers makes it sound almost like a crack, and a spray of liquid is sent in every direction.

You’re a little questioning about it, but decide not to comment. Instead, you run your fingers gently through the delicate appendage, paying careful attention to her quills so as not to snap any of them.

You very lightly touch the base of her wing, letting her brace herself before cleaning that area. You massage it very tenderly, as the base of the wings and the wing pits themselves are the most sensitive parts of a pegasus’s aviary limbs, and are usually only touched by his or her most trusted relations.

You’re soon finished with cleaning her wings. You splash some bath water onto the undersides of her feathers, then tell her, “Alright, done. You can fold your wing back.”

She just sits there, unmoving. You roll your eyes. “Uh, Dash? I can’t rinse you off with your wing stuck out like that. Pull it back in.” She still does nothing, her eyes closed and unresponsive to your actions.

It’s then that you notice something off. Hot, heavy breaths escape her nostrils, and her cheeks are tinted a shade of pink. Hesitantly, you reach out to her. “Dash…? Are you alright…?”

Her head snaps to you as soon as you make a connection with her shoulder. You nearly jump, almost afraid of what she might be thinking of doing, wondering if you did something.

Her eyes, slightly slitted, stare straight into yours. As her gaze burns into you you try to read it, finding nothing except the radiating heat of…

…lust?

Oh, shit. She’s still in her estrus period.

((Starts to get NSFW around here. As usual, skip to the break if you don’t wanna read this.))

She whips around and bites on your hand, not hard, but enough to draw forth a yelp. You yank your hand back, and she giggles.

She hasn’t had sex in three days. As you recall, the last estrus that happened, she almost went insane.

You gulp. She’s panting now, her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth as she leans ever closer. You’re confused, not sure whether to feel aroused or afraid.

Your lips connect, and she pulls you into a deep kiss. When she’s finally done, she pulls back, hoof on your chin, staring at you with the sexiest bedroom eyes you’ve ever seen.

Yep, definitely aroused.

But this really isn’t the place to be doing this.

“H-hey, um, Rainbow,” you stutter, trying to form your jumbled thoughts into coherent speech. She giggles as you do so. “We really can’t be-”

She puts a hoof to your lips, silencing you. “Oh, come on, Ivan. Who’s gonna know?”

In your state of mind, her argument is very compelling. However, the thought of being fired for such activities also finds audience in your head. Before you can voice your response, however, she follows up with more seductions. “Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy touching me all over like that. I felt you rubbing my teats, and grabbing my cutiemarks. Don’t deny it, Ivan.” She smirks coyly. “I know I enjoyed it.”

You open your mouth silently, completely forgetting what your retort was. She takes the chance to continue her advances. “And that wing massage you gave,” she crosses her forelegs on the edge of the bath and rests her head on them, looking wistfully into the air, “that was so-”

“Dash. As much as I’d love to rut the living fuck out of you right now, I can’t,” you finally get in. “If anyone finds out, more than likely I’ll get fired.” You sigh, honestly wishing you weren’t at work.

She stops for a moment, genuinely thinking over your dilemma. Suddenly, her eyes light up, a smile taking over her face. “Well, Sweetheart told you to clean me…” She turns around as much as possible, moving her tail to the side and revealing her swollen marehood. “Missed a spot.”

Somehow, this little loophole manages to fly in your head. You use your left hand to grab her flank and widen her slit, then stick two fingers into her open hole. She cries out for a second, before quickly covering her mouth upon remembering that it’s only supposed to be a ‘cleaning.’

It’s not hard to slip three, four, and then your whole hand into her pussy due to all the soap. You pump your fist back and forth inside her, while she lets out muffled moans of delight into her forehoof. She lowers her upper body close to the water, leaving her rump stuck into the air as you fist her. You immediately grab her ass, eliciting a borderline yelp from the rainbow pony as you dig your fingers into her toned flesh.

You can tell she’s on the edge. You bring your hand almost all the way out of her hot pussy and stop for a moment, teasing her right on the brink of her orgasm.

She looks back at you, an exasperated scowl on her face. “W-what are y-you doing? Come on!”

You relish the moment, tracing small circles around her puffy lips as she continues to writhe. Just as she opens her mouth to say something again, you plunge all the way back into her, making sure to include a good portion of your wrist in this one.

She silently screams, her marehood tightening around your hand as she rides out her orgasm. You wiggle your fingers around a bit, making sure to add a little bit to the bliss she’s experiencing.

Finally, she loosens from around your hand, releasing you. As you pull it out, your fist exits her vagina with an audible sucking sound, thin strands of mare juice still connecting the two of you. You stroke her mane with your ‘clean’ hand, also making sure she doesn’t somehow fall over and drown in the bathtub. “Feeling better, Dash?”

She nods, looking quite content. Her eyes light up in concern. “What about you?”

You look down. “Uh…” There’s a visible bump on your jeans, a result of your earlier erotic actions. It doesn’t look to be quelled anytime soon, and feels real tight inside the confines of your undergarments.

Automatically, Rainbow lifts herself up and props her body over the edge of the tub, beginning already to unzip your pants. You chuckle to yourself, shaking your head. “Does this even count as cleaning anymore?”

She stops her work on freeing your lower area to offer you a smirk. “I’m cleaning your dick. It counts.” She moves back down, starting on the button now. “Besthides,” she says through gritted teeth, “I can’th justh leth you go like thisth. Need to return tha favor.”

It’s not long before your boner pops out, standing proud and tall over the wild plains. Your little pegasus leans over it, placing a hoof on each thigh, and gives it a nice long lick from bottom to top.

Your mind buzzes with activity as an electric feeling travels up and down your dick and continues around your crotch area. She does this again, starting from the middle instead this time before opening her maw wide and engulfing your penis in her mouth.

You nearly buck your hips straight into her throat from the feeling. Luckily, she does this for you, managing to slowly go lower and lower until she has your whole schlong inside of her. You feel your tip touch the back of her throat, and wonder how she doesn’t choke. She starts to swallow, causing you to groan with pleasure at the feeling of her throat constricting the tip of your dick.

She’s talented at this shit, that’s for sure.

Ever so painstakingly slow, she draws her head up, making sure to drag her tongue all the way up just before her lips, drawing a circle around your urethra before repeating the same motion downwards.

She does this for some time. Eventually, you feel the pressure begin to build up, and decide to warn her before you release your load. “D-Dash… I’m about to come…”

She takes this as a signal to begin bobbing her head up and down incredibly fast. You grunt, unable to hold it in any longer as a warmth explodes from the tip of your dick, emptying your load into her cheeks.

She stops, holding still and sucking as you continue to pump more and more sperm into her mouth. Finally, the wave of ecstasy ends, and Rainbow pulls herself off of your not-as-hard-anymore member, tilting her head back to swallow.

You sigh, basking in the content feeling of just being sucked off, and watch as your seed slides down her throat. She lets out a satisfied “Ahh,” cum dripping off the edge of her mouth as she does so. She smiles slyly. “You like?”

You nod, waiting for your boner to subside completely before you pull your pants back up. “I like.”

----------

((It is now SFW from here on out. Enjoy!))

At three o’ clock, your shift ended. At three fifteen, you and Lyra walked to the post office together, talking about things as you went.

“So, Ivan, I noticed you were ten minutes late today-”

“Oh, Lyra, don’t even fucking start.”

After the post office, you went to Sugarcube Corner to pick up some doughnuts and pills, then to the market to see if you could find something good to drink. There was a snack vendor selling beverages, so you ended up with a six-pack of grape soda in your right hand, a box of donuts in your left, and some letters and a bottle of pills in your pocket.

It is now about a quarter ‘till four. Lyra went on her way home a ways back, leaving you to return to the hospital alone. You step through the front door, noting that Cream’s position at the counter has been filled by a new receptionist. You flash her a grin, and she nods her head.

Walking down the halls, you manage to get a passing glance at Scootaloo. She often comes here to visit her father at around this time, since she gets out of school at about the same time you get off work. It’s not unusual that the two of you will pass by each other, doing the awkward eye-avoidance routine. Every time, you’ve wanted to stop her in her tracks and make her listen to you; yet, you’re well-aware of how fresh the whole situation still is, and know that even acknowledging her could hinder the process of gaining back the bond the two of you shared.

Right now, it takes willpower not to just walk on up to her and say, “Hey, Scoots. Party in Rainbow’s room, donuts and grape soda. You in?” But with the thought of pissing her off on your mind, you manage.

You make it to the door with the number 405 printed in black Equish on the front of it, and with some difficulty due to your full hands, turn the brass knob and push it open.

“Ivy!” you hear as you step inside. Two mares, one blue and one pink, sit on opposite ends of the bed, positioned as if they had been in conversation before you got here.

“Hey, you two,” you greet, sitting down between them and putting the snacks on the bed beside you. “Dinner is served.”

Both ponies lean over the junk food, taking their picks before going back to their spots and snacking. Pulling the tab of the soda can with a fizz! you sip some of your drink, then take a mid-sized bite out of your glazed donut.

All three of you just sit there, munching on your donuts and simply enjoying each other’s company. You’re glad that Rainbow and Cream hit it off so well; it’s nice to have a third person to balance out the levels of crazy in the room.

You feel a soft nuzzling on your neck. This prompts you to turn and give Rainbow a quick kiss on the lips. It’s little more than a peck, but you still taste a hint of chocolate, and can’t help but smile. Your little pegasus has been rather affectionate today; likely her little way of showing thanks for helping her this morning.

“These donuts are good, Ivan! Where’d you get them?”

You and Rainbow both snap your heads around to Cream, startled out of your starry-eyed reverie. She’s finishing her first donut, about to move on to her second.

You blink. “Oh, uh, you know. Faithful Sugarcube Corner customer.”

She licks the bottoms of her hooves, then takes a swig of grape juice and starts on the sprinkled pastry.

A glance passes between you and the multi-chromed pony. “Someone’s hungry,” you mumble just loud enough for Cream to hear.

She scowls at you, setting down her donut and licking a few stray sprinkles off her snout. “If you don’t want me to eat, then don’t get such good food.”

“Well then, it’s a good thing you’re going for the next food run, when we run out,” you say, gesturing to the nearly-empty husk of a donut box. Out of the ten donuts you originally bought, three remain.

“To be fair, I took out four,” Rainbow says through a full mouth. You look at her, then back and forth between the two mares, and shake your head.

Cream grins devilishly. “I think you’re just a light eater, Ivan. You’ve barely touched your first donut.”

Rainbow rolls her eyes. “Tell me about it. I keep telling this kid he needs to gain weight.”

You groan, the two mares laughing at your expense. “We’re just kidding, Ivan, come on,” she says, giving you a hug. Cream does the same, and soon you’re trapped between the two of them with your arms pressed against your sides.

“Hey, what’s this?” you hear from Rainbow. You feel a hoof grope your butt, and it isn’t until after you jokingly sit on her hoof that you realize there are actually letters in your back pocket.

“Oh, yeah, I stopped by the post office today,” you say, sitting up and grabbing the letters. The little pegasus takes this chance to quickly yank her hoof away.

“You dumbass,” she growls, “you nearly crushed my hoof.”

“And you said I needed to gain weight.” You start sifting through the mail, tossing the already obviously unimportant things to the side as you go.

“Ivan, wait,” Cream insists. You stop, and grabs the corner of a purple envelope with her teeth.

Your eyes widen. “Twilight sent a letter back already?” You take it, noting that it’s addressed more formally to you as a ‘Mr. Ivan Walczyk.’

You rip it open, and pull out the letter, beginning to read as the two mares watch you earnestly.

Dear Ivan,

Urgent news. We (Princess Celestia, and myself) request that you come to Canterlot as soon as it is physically possible. All costs will be covered, and a room has been booked in the Canterlot castle for your arrival.

Your dear friend,
Twilight

Wat.

Rainbow can sense your uneasiness, as she swipes the letter out of your hand. A few seconds later, she has a look of complete and utter confusion.

You take the letter in your hand, rereading it to make sure it’s real. You look to the bottom of the parchment, and realize that there was something you missed before Rainbow snatched the paper away from you.

P.S. I know this seems a bit sudden, and you’re undoubtedly confused, but all will be explained. It’s just much better that you hear this face-to-face.

Tell Rainbow I’m sorry for what happened to her wing, and that I can’t wait to see her. Come only when you feel that she’s ready for travel, as I wouldn’t want anything to aggravate her injuries any further.

You look up, turning to Rainbow. She looks just the same as you feel: completely lost.

“What?” Cream asks. Both of you turn to her, and she shrinks back slightly. “What does it say?”

Close Bonds: Prelude to Twentieth Chapter

“What?” Cream stares at you incredulously, setting the letter back down. “Twilight wants you to come to Canterlot? And you’re going to meet Princess Celestia?”

You raise an eyebrow at the cream-colored pony. “You do realize that Twilight’s a princess too now, right?”

She waves her hoof dismissively. “She used to be my neighbor. I've said 'hi' to her every time I've gone to the library, so it's nothing spectacular.”

Rainbow gives her a funny look, then turns to you. “She said she wants me to come too?”

You pick up the paper and take another glance at it. “Yeah, I think. She didn’t exactly invite you, but the way she wrote it, it looks like she assumed you were coming anyway, or something.”

An awkward silence fills the room. Rainbow takes to scrutinizing the letter closer, while you twiddle your fingers and count the ceiling panels.

You only notice that the pink-maned pony has left the room when you hear the door swing shut. You look on curiously, and it’s only a minute before she returns again, the handle of a leather bag in her muzzle.

Rainbow and you watch silently as she sets the bag down and pulls out two glass bottles full of a golden-brown liquid. She smirks devilishly, looking up at the two of you from the tops her eyes. “Beer, anyone?”

“What?” You step off the bed, picking up one of the bottles and turning the label towards yourself. ~_o Γ•_• σo § Γ, or ‘Golden Ale,’ it reads. “You snuck alcohol into the hospital?”

She nods, looking quite proud of herself. “I’ve had it in my desk for a few days now.”

“You realize you could get fired, right?”

“Well, who-o-o’s gonna tell, hmm, Ivan?” She inches closer to you with a playfully threatening demeanor. “None of the other receptionists will. Besides, there’s already alcohol in this hospital, has been for years.”

“Rubbing alcohol…”

“Same difference.”

“What’s your take on this, Rainbow?”

Rainbow still has a kind of shocked expression, most likely due to the letter, but does her best to shake it off. “I, uhm… That was really kind of random, Cream. Have you been saving that just for tonight?”

She nods enthusiastically. “Yup.”

The pegasus shrugs. “Can’t see why we can’t lighten the mood with a little drinking.”

She walks up to you and is about to take the bottle, but you pull your hand back. “Woah, woah, woah.”

Cream groans. “Don’t shit on our party, Ivan.”

“Yeah, what’s the big idea?” Rainbow looks up at you crossly, folding her forelegs over her chest.

You frown right back. “The big idea is that if you have drugs in your system and you drink this, you get sick and die.”

“Ivan, please,” she rolls her eyes, “I haven’t had painkillers in days.”

“Really?” You start to feel a little self-conscious about the pills for your foot. “What about sleeping drugs?”

She looks hesitant to speak. “I… I had some Nightquill-”

“See? There you go.”

“But that was last night!” she argues with you. “I’ve peed twice since then. I should be fine!”

“I don’t think that’s how it works…”

She suddenly changes tactics, giving you a threatening glare. “One way or another, I’m gonna have some.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Oh, really, now?”

----------

You trot down the hospital hallways, hoofs clopping against the ground, rainbow tail swishing back and forth. You’re a little tipsy; you had some. Ivan is only letting you drink a little bit for now though, “In case you start to die,” he says.

You and Cream are planning a revolt to take back the beer.

Power abuse, alcohol, and uprisings aside, nature calls. It’s the reason you’re out here, and not in your room taking back what’s rightfully yours. Ivan was a little hesitant to let you to leave the room in your slight inebriation for fear of somepony seeing you (even though you aren’t nearly drunk), but you argued valiantly for your freedom to piss as you please.

“What if someone sees you out there, Dash? Then everybody’ll know that Cream brought beer into the hospital.”

“Well,” you say, turning to Cream, “Hoof me one of those empty soda cans. I gotta pee, and if I can’t leave, it looks like this is the only way.”

“Here ya go,” she slurs, tossing a grape soda can in your general direction, “Ya sure you ‘an make that?”

You slide off the bed, landing on your hooves and setting the can up straight. “I dunno. If I miss then Ivan can clean it up anyways. It’s what he does.”

“No, no, no,” he says, shaking his head, “Look. I’ll take you to the bathroom.”

You squat over it. “I might need another one after this, so get it ready, Cream.”

You chuckle to yourself. That was definitely enough to convince him. Not that he would’ve been able to stop you from coming and going as you please.

You suddenly feel yourself crash into another warm body. The both of you fall to the ground with an oomph, you swearing under your breath for the slice of pain sent down your broken wing.

You pick yourself up, prepared to give a verbal beating to whomever the hell hit an injured pegasus, and consequently sobered her up.

“R-Rainbow Dash!”

Any words of disdain quickly catch themselves in your throat as you realize you’ve just run into a rather familiar orange filly.

“Oh-oh, hey Scoots,” you greet in return. You’re quite aware of the situation between her and Ivan.

She picks herself up, and the two of you stand there awkwardly for a moment. “So… How’s your wing?” she asks.

You look to your side. As usual, your wing juts out at an awkward angle, but you’ve managed to keep it in closer to you as of late. You think of what Sweetheart told you: The cast? It should be removed sometime next week. As for flying… you’re going to want to hold off on that. Another month, at least; and you’ll need to wear bandages most of the time before then, too.

“It’s getting better,” you answer Scootaloo, flicking your working wing idly. “So, what about you? I mean, how are you holding up?”

She shuffles her hoof. “Better. I’ve been hanging out with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom a lot.” She smiles. “They’re good friends. And my dad’s been awake for a few days now, so I'm not as worried for him anymore. He’s probably going to jail, though…”

You simply nod, and a pause ensues. You begin to recall something, something you promised yourself you would do after a chat you had with Ivan regarding Scootaloo.

“Hey, Scoots.” At the sound of your voice, she looks up. “I need to ask you about something.”

A look of dread spreads across her face. “What?”

Her nervous bearing tells you that she already knows what. You place a hoof on her shoulder. She flinches back slightly, but remains in one spot nevertheless.

You take a deep breath before you begin. “I notice you haven’t talked to Ivan lately.”

She looks away, her eyes darting back and forth from the wall to you, as she seems afraid to meet your gaze. “Yeah…?”

“Why haven’t you?”

She still avoids eye contact, preferring to count the spots on the ground. “He… He betrayed me.”

“How?”

She stops for a moment, seeming to catch hold of her bearing. She raises her voice and looks straight into your eyes. “He hurt my dad.”

You’re taken aback, not necessarily by her claim but the sincerity and confidence behind it. “Your dad broke my wing. You realize this, right?”

All it takes is that little comment to push her back into a state of uneasiness. “Th-that doesn’t change the fact. He didn’t need to cut off his whole leg.”

You sigh, shaking your head. “Scootaloo, you know Ivan almost as well as I do. Let me ask you; how often does he resort to fighting?”

A pause. When you get no answer from the small pegasus, who merely hangs her head, you continue. “Right. He almost never fights. I can name another time he did, though; when he was defending you.

“I have almost never seen him freak out the way he did that night. I’ll be frank here; anypony who gets that response from Ivan, probably deserves it.”

You walk past Scootaloo. “I’ll see you later, Scoots. Just think about it.”

It is left at that.

Close Bonds: Twentieth Chapter

You wait outside room 405, idly tapping your foot and leaning on the wall across from the door. Just as you’re about to leave to go steal some candy from Cream, the door opens.

“Hey, Rainbow!” you greet as a happy-looking pegasus steps out of the room. You kneel down and hug her, and she wraps a hoof around your neck as well. When you break the hug, you remain kneeling for the purpose of speaking face-to-face. “So, how’d the cast removal go?” you ask, looking past her to see her now liberated wing.

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe how amazing this feels!” she exclaims, displaying both her wings with a whoosh of air, before quickly pulling them back in and wincing. “Ow…”

“Rainbow! Don’t. Do. That!” Sweetheart hisses, standing behind her. “I just got your cast off, I don’t want to put it back on again.” She shakes her head, taking a deep breath. “Okay, Rainbow. Like I said, it’ll take some time before you can actually fly again. For now, though, you’re going to need to wrap your wing.”

“Uh, like, just once? Or do I have to do it over and over again?”

“Once a day. And it’s easier if you have help.” Sweetheart turns her head in your direction.

You nod. “Ah, okay. I see where this is going.”

“Right. Now, come along you two,” she says, turning down the hall, “I need to show you how to wash the wing, and apply the gauze correctly.”

Dash raises an eyebrow. “I think we both know how to wash a wing already…”

“An injured one. There’s a big difference,” the doctor explains. “And it’s mostly for Ivan anyway, no matter how good he may be at ‘cleaning’ you.”

You take a questioning glance at Rainbow, but she just shrugs, and follows the other mare. You decide to leave it alone, choosing instead to follow in the pegasus’s lead.

----------

“Yuck,” you comment, wiping off all the excess feathers and skin that got trapped on her wing when the cast was on. The moistness gives it a kind of sweaty stench, making you pour some more water on.

“Be careful around the fracture,” Doctor Sweetheart instructs. “If it smells too bad, you can add some soap.”

“Finally,” you say exasperatedly, grabbing a bottle of shampoo.

“Wrong soap.”

You stop for a moment, and stare at Sweetheart. Then, slowly, you place down whatever bottle you picked up, and look at the row of shampoos lined up on the side of the bathtub.

“I think it’s this one,” Rainbow says, holding up a tan container. She’s not actually in the bath; just her wing hangs over the edge. You take the bottle from her, and read the label: ¥o⌠ ~ß•σoß⌂τ⌂∩ ~₩••σo_ß••, or for Sensitive Wings.

You say thanks, and she smiles, most likely recalling the last ordeal you had concerning varieties of shampoos. You pour some on her feathers and rub it in, making sure to be extra gentle where you feel a swollen knob close to the end of her wing.

It’s a little while before you finish. Once you’ve toweled her off, her feathers are a dull blue, and unlike her other wing, lacking luster. Sweetheart trots up, running her hoof through Rainbow’s feathers, as if inspecting your work. “Alright, good. Now, the tape.” She turns around, grabbing a roll of white gauze and placing it on the stool in front of her. “Putting this on is pretty simple. Just watch me do it, and you’ll be fine for the next time.”

As she goes along, she explains to you little things that you might not be able to notice by simply watching. Luckily, the spot where the wing was fractured isn’t too near a joint, she mentions, so you’re able to wrap the tape tightly, if not too tight as to hurt Rainbow.

“Try to change it at least once every two days; once a day is best, but if you can’t get around to it, then every other day is fine,” she says, handing you two rolls of gauze. “This should be enough to last you until the next check-up. Come back to me in, say… three weeks, and I’ll tell you how you’re doing.”

“Alright, cool.” You glance at your watch. “Well, thanks for everything, Sweetheart. We have to go home and get ready. Twilight’s expecting us tonight, and I don’t want to have to take the late train in.”

“Aren’t you riding first class? You get a whole cabin to yourself, with room service. And those heavenly beds…” The thought of sleep obviously appeals to her, as early in the morning as it is.

“Yeah, but ordering food and drink will probably cost money, I’m staying in the Canterlot castle where there’s even better beds, and I’ll most likely end up falling asleep on the train anyway, regardless of the time. And,” you add, flashing a smile at Rainbow, “we’re probably gonna do some sightseeing. I know for a fact that this little pegasus here has been itching to get out of this hospital and go do something.”

Rainbow Dash kicks each one of her hind legs outwards, as if stretching. “Hell, yeah. I’ve been locked up in this damn place for over a week. Can’t wait to get some fresh air.”

Sweetheart chuckles. “Touché to you, Ivan. And you lucky ducks! Funny how this all falls on a Monday,” she alludes, a jokingly suspicious tone to her voice.

“Hey, you’re the one who planned to take Rainbow’s cast off today, not me,” you say, putting your hands up defensively.

She shakes her head, smiling. “I know. Well, you two have a good time, and good luck!”

“Thanks, Sweetheart. I’ll see you when we get back,” you say, turning to leave, but not before waving at her.

You stop by Rainbow’s room, grabbing your bag of clothes and toiletries, and throwing in your new rolls of tape as well. As the both of you near the exit, Cream makes sure to send you off with a warm goodbye.

“Alright, Cream, I’ll see you later,” you wave. You open the door, holding it open for Rainbow before you step out yourself.

“Ahh! It’s bright!” Rainbow gasps, shielding her eyes.

“It’s fine by me if you hiss like a vampony. You can turn into a bat and fly ahead to the shadows,” you tease. “Oh, wait, forgot. Can’t fly.”

You receive a good punch for that. You’ll admit, you definitely deserved that one. The rest of the walk goes quietly, only the occasional stop to say hello to a pony and ask how they’re doing. You assume that Rainbow’s simply savoring her new freedom.

When you get to your house, as expected, there’s yellow tape all around the front yard. You approach the guard in front of it, pulling out a letter from Twilight and showing it to him.

He takes it, inspecting it for a moment before handing it back. “We were informed of your arrival beforehoof. Enter the premises through the back door, stay out of the living room.”

You frown, tucking the letter back into your pocket. Being told what to do in your own house doesn’t exactly sit too well with you.

You enter through the back, stepping into the kitchen. You glance at the fridge, knowing better than to open it and see just how much of your food has spoiled.

As the two of you walk down the hall, you both stop to look out into the living room. The place where it all went down. Something that astounds you, yet doesn’t surprise you, is the sheer amount of collective blood. It’s all in the rug, the majority of it mixed in with the shattered glass, and around the spot where Scootaloo’s dad lost his leg.

For a split second, you begin to feel a hint of regret over your actions; perhaps you’d been a bit hasty in your decision-making. However, upon recalling Rainbow’s shuddering, pained form huddled close to the ground that night, any remorse is gone in an instant.

Rainbow opens the door to her room, and you continue walking until you’ve come to yours. You step inside, sighing once you’ve realized that the sheets on your bed still haven’t been changed.

It was an exciting night, in more ways than one.

As you sift through your closet, looking for suits suitable for rendezvous with a princess, you hear the thud of a semi-soft material hitting the rug. “Ready.”

You turn your head around. Rainbow sits on the ground, a suitcase in front of her, looking up at you. Her expression reminds you of a faithful dog, waiting for its master. “Alright,” you say, turning back to the closet, “Just gotta find something nice to wear, and then we’ll go.”

She says nothing, just trots over to the bed. You hear the bed squeak when she places her hooves on the edge of the mattress, but then quickly withdraws them. You chuckle to yourself.

The soft plodding of hoofsteps makes its way towards you. Then, unexpectedly, you feel two forelegs wrap around your upper leg. You look down to find that Rainbow is hugging you.

You raise an eyebrow. “So, what’s this for?”

She doesn’t answer immediately, taking the time to squeeze you harder for a moment, and then reluctantly let go. “I- I don’t know. I just needed it.”

You pull out a plastic bag, placing inside three suits with the hanger heads poking out. “And why’s that?”

She looks around. “I feel kind of… uncomfortable. For as long as I’ve lived here, this has kind of become my home. And home is… a place where you’re supposed to be safe.” She shivers. “Just think. What if neither of us had woken up? What was he planning to do? Was he just gonna steal things, or did he plan on doing something to us?”

This really does cause you to reflect. What would’ve happened? Would one, or both of you be seriously injured? Kidnapped? Or worse, dead?

You kneel down, wrapping your lover in a tight hug. “I guess we thank our lucky stars that nothing truly terrible did happen, and use this as a lesson to not take what we have for granted. And also to put security spells on the doors and windows.”

She chuckles. “Speaking of not taking things for granted… You know I love you, right?”

Your cheeks burn. How often does she say that? She sounded so sincere, like she meant it. “Yeah.” You pause. “I… love you too, Dash.”

----------

“Fuck… Shouldn’t the train be here already?”

Rainbow glances towards the clock on the outside wall of the train station. “It’s still ten twenty-nine. There’s a minute left.”

You roll your eyes. “Not like they’re literally going to arrive right at ten-thirty…”

In the distance, you hear the shrill cry of a steam engine. You crane your head to the left, and sure enough, a tiny train can be made out on the horizon. When it finally stops in front of you, you pick up both your bags and Rainbow’s, intent on entering as soon as the doors open and the crowd disperses.

You’re about to take a step forward when you feel a tug on your leg. You look down to find that Rainbow is pointing back towards the train office. You follow her hoof to exactly where she directs you, your eyes landing back on the analog clock.

Ten-thirty. Well.

After going inside, the two of you take the stairs up to the top level and pass through car after crowded car, walking by all the third-class riders. You take pity on them, being scrunched into their small, poorly-spaced seats. You eventually come to the car you believe is yours, descending the steps downwards and opening the door to your first-class ride.

The first thing you do? Bump your head on the doorframe.

Rainbow laughs, trotting past you and jumping onto the bed. “Wow, Sweetheart was right. This is nice.”

You duck under the doorway. “Yeah, I’ll bet it is,” you grunt, dropping the suitcases to hold your forehead. You’re a bit more careful about standing to your full height with this next attempt, rising slowly until you’ve straightened out all of the way. Fortunately for you, you get a few inches of head room.

You walk over to the bed, sitting down slowly in case the quality of its craftsmanship can be compared to that of the room’s. To your surprise, the bed is comfortably soft.

This, however, doesn’t alleviate the pain in your head. Rainbow notices you rubbing your forehead, and asks, “What, does it still hurt?”

“No, I’m just holding my head because I feel like it,” you respond sarcastically.

She leans over closer. “Here, let me help,” she says, moving your hand out of the way. Before you can question her actions, she props herself up on your shoulder and kisses the spot where you hit yourself.

After a beat, she lets herself down and smiles. You trace your fingers along the newly-formed, but now painless bump. “I think it worked.”

She chuckles, then drops her head in a bashful manner. “Sorry for laughing. That was kind of mean, wasn’t it?”

You wrap your arms around the pegasus’ back, hugging her. “Nonsense. All in good fun. And, it gives me an excuse to laugh at you without you getting mad.”

She groans, playfully shoving you while still in your embrace. In response, you pull tighter, making her squeak like a little stuffed animal. She tries to escape your squeezing, but only succeeds in falling into your lap, where you quickly pin her down.

“Hey! What gi- Ahh…” She squirms at first, trying to break free of your hold, but melts like butter once you begin kneading her shoulders.

“You ponies… This is your biggest weakness, I know it,” you say, scratching her behind the ears. Her only response is to flip over onto her back, meaning to show you her rubbable belly but also unintentionally showing you her more… private parts. At least, you think it’s unintentional.

You run your hand through her pliable belly, her soft moans eventually drifting into snores. You rub circles into her chest as well, feeling the rise and fall of her chest and the beating of her heart. As you do this, however, something strikes you as peculiar.

You slide your hand over her chest, spreading your fingers. Soft fur sticks up from the spaces between your three middlemost fingers. You realize that, although you’ve rather enjoyed stroking this little tuft of fur lately, you don’t remember it originally being there.

Interesting.

You would ask the little pegasus pony in question about it, but she’s out like a lamp. You hover above her for a moment, reveling in the sensation of her warm breath on your cheeks, before leaning down and planting a quick kiss on her nose.

You step off the bed and walk over to your luggage. You unzip your only bag, opening it up and digging through one of the pockets.

You hear a crumbling sound and touch something papery. You grab it, pulling out what seems to be a note with a list on it, or something. You begin reading the contents of the paper.

To take back what is rightfully ours, we must:
1. Secure the beer
2. Ascend From Below
3. Rain Soda
4. Unleash the herd
5. Skewer the tall beast
6. Wield a Hoof of iron
7. Raise Hell
8. Drink
The hell is this? And more importantly, how did it find its way into your bag?

You set the eerily familiar chant aside. Just one more thing to ask Rainbow when she wakes up.

The second time around, you manage to find what you’re looking for. You pull your iPod out of your suitcase, unwrapping the earphones around it and turning it on as you walk back to the bed.

You sit down, then stick the earbuds in your ears. As you’re scrolling through your music selection, you feel a tug on your shirt. You take the earbud out of one ear and turn to look at Rainbow, who now seems to be awake.

“Can I hear?” she asks. You hand her the earbud, and she sticks it in the best she can without getting it stuck in her ear. You pick a random song and lean back, lying next to your little pony.

Of all the songs in your library, the one to come on is Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

We’ll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don’t need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me, and just forget the world?

A warm body snuggles up close to your own, and rests her head in the crook of your neck. The both of you stare up at the ceiling, just letting yourselves become in tune with each other’s breathing.

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes
They’re all I can see

I don’t know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things
Will never change for us at all.

Suddenly, a loud rapping at the door. “Room service!”

The both of you groan. “No thanks!”

“I’m here to check your tickets!”

Fucking dammit…

----------

You sit by the window, watching the scenery go by. Rainbow’s on the bed, sipping at some lemonade and munching happily on some hay fries. You would have gotten something, maybe some potato fries, but you hold off on nourishment, saving your appetite for later.

You’re watching something akin to a pine tree go by, when suddenly, darkness engulfs the train. It takes a few moments for you to realize that you’re in a tunnel. The lights come on in the car, admittedly rather dimly, but it’s just a few minutes before you’ve come back out into the open light.

You look out the window again, and your jaw drops. “So this is Canterlot… Wow.”

Rainbow Dash sees your expression and walks up beside you, a smirk on her face. “Awesome, isn’t it? I’ve been here a few times, so the effect has kinda worn off. But go ahead, look at it.”

You don’t respond, more intent on the colossal castles. You’ve never actually seen a castle before, as you’d never gone outside the continental U.S., but you’re pretty convinced that there can’t be anything this magnificent back on Earth.

You finally decide to bring your eyes downward, focusing more on the inhabitants of this marvelous city. What surprises you is the diversity of the population here: minotaurs, buffalo, zebras, horses, griffons, and to an extent, diamond dogs… Ponies still make up the majority of the population, but there are still a large number of non-native species, most of which you’ve only heard or read about until today. And so many of them are wearing clothes…

You feel right at home.

Soon, the train begins to slow. You stand, you taking your suitcase in one hand, Rainbow grabbing hers in her muzzle. The both of you leave the room, searching for the nearest exit.

Once outside, you can’t help but gawk again. Without the window as a handicap to your sight, you’re able to appreciate the city’s full beauty.

“Well, I see that you’ve taken a liking to this place.”

You immediately snap your eyes to the voice. Twilight stands before you, an eyebrow raised.

Your lips curve up into a smile. “Well, well, well,” you say, taking slow, deliberate steps towards her. “Equestria’s youngest, newest princess, in the flesh.”

She sticks her tongue out at you. “I think I prefer to be called Twilight. But thank you, anyway.” She stays silent after this, trying hard not to smile. In only a few moments she gives in, a grin cracking wide across her face. She nearly lurches forward, hugging you tightly around the waist. “It’s so nice to see you again,” she says into your belly button.

You do your best to hug her as well. “You too, Twilight.”

She lets go of the hug, brushing some of her mane out of her eyes once she’s back on all fours. She turns to face Rainbow.

The two watch each other for a moment, studying each other’s expressions. Then, simultaneously, each mare raises their right forehoof. They bump them together head-on, then bring them out to the sides and bump them sideways. Left, right, and then each forehoof goes around the other’s neck, the two of them pulling together into a tight hug.

Something that honestly surprises you is the difference in Twilight since you last saw her. Any alicorn growth a few months ago could have been easily overlooked and gone unnoticed, but now it looks as if she’s had something akin to a growth spurt. She’s a full head’s height above Rainbow, and when thinking back, you realize that she was able to hug you around the waist without even standing on her hind legs.

The two of them giggle mirthfully. Rainbow doesn’t seem to notice Twilight’s change in height; if she does, she doesn’t mention it.

“So, how do you like our hoofshake, Ivan?” Twilight asks. You refocus yourself, realizing that you’d almost been caught staring at the two.

“Oh, uh… Kinda reminds me of a handshake we used to have back on Earth, actually.”

“Hand- Oh, yeah. Really? Hmm…” Twilight begins to ponder this, perhaps for a bit longer than you’d think is normal. “Well, Rainbow Dash made it up. So the credit goes to her.”

You nod. “That’s cool. Just an observation.”

“So, are we walking to the castle, or do you have some sweet princess ride or something?”Rainbow Dash asks.

Twilight shrugs. “I teleported most of the way here. I could teleport us back, but we should probably walk at least halfway there, unless you’re fine with having slight burns and dusting a small layer of ash off yourselves.”

You study her face, trying to find out if she’s kidding. She’s completely serious, you realize, so you look to Rainbow. She shrugs.

You turn back to Twilight. “We’ll walk.”

----------

“And right over there… Do you see that?” Twilight points to the right of you. You and Rainbow look, following her hoof to the front gate of a park. “When the weather patrol receives an order of clouds, they often find that too many have been shipped to use. Instead of discarding them, they like to place them in this park here.”

Rainbow’s eyes widen. “So, wait a second here… You’re saying that there are clouds in that park?”

Twilight nods. “Yep. It’s really nice, since it gives more ground-dwelling ponies the chance to experience what clouds are like.”

“That’s awesome… I haven’t even touched a cloud for weeks…” Rainbow murmurs. You take note of this.

Twilight continues to point out other notable places as you walk along. As time passes by, however, a certain itch festers in the back of your mind. You need to ask Twilight something.

“So, Twilight,” you begin as soon as there’s a break in conversation. Twilight looks at you. You continue, “I noticed you don’t seem to have any bodyguards. I saw guards at the train station, and there are a good number of them milling about the town, but none protecting you.”

Twilight chuckles. “What did you expect, a squadron of guards following me around in formation?”

You’re taken aback. “Well, kind of… This town is full of people who I think could pose a threat to you. I was actually surprised when I didn’t find you smothered in protection.”

“Well,” she smiles, “it seems they’re rather competent in their duties, then.” At the confused look you give her, she points a hoof straight ahead. “Look closely.” You watch, straining to see what she sees.

“Twilight, it’s just a carriage-”

“Not that. Just keep watching.”

You sigh, resigning to continue staring at the carriage. Just as you’re about to question Twilight’s motives again, you suddenly see what looks like the edge of the carriage bend and snap back into place like a rubber band.

Your eyes widen in surprise. Rainbow’s reaction is the same, and the both of you look to your purple friend for answers. She chuckles. “It’s a light bending, or invisibility spell. There’s actually a stallion a few feet ahead of us right now, and the reason that carriage just past him distorted is because the spell faltered for a moment.”

You nod in understanding, though still amazed by the brief magic show. “So, I’m guessing that by ‘light bending,’ you mean that he redirects the light around himself so that we can’t see him.”

She nods. You hum for a second, another problem coming to mind. “But if he redirects all the light around himself, doesn’t that mean that no light enters his eyes either, rendering him blind?”

A broad smile grows across the mage’s face and she claps her hooves together excitedly. “Yes! You’re the first pony outside of the science community to ask that!” Both you and Rainbow give her questionable looks at her outburst, and she blushes. “Sorry for that. Ahem.” After regaining her composure, “Yes, by all means, it does; but with a horn, there are many different ways to detect matter. Usually, increased sensitivity to sound is enough.”

The thought of ponies having their own form of sonar amuses you, for some reason.

Rainbow raises an inquiry. “How come nopony runs into them when they’re invisible like that?”

“It actually happens, sometimes. Ironically, I have the guards do this so that my guests feel comfortable, but when they see a pony run up and just suddenly blunder into nothing…” Twilight chuckles.

This brings a smirk to your face as well. “I’ll bet that doesn’t go too well.”

She gives a so-so nod of her head. “It depends. Usually, everypony around just reasons that the pony in question tripped.”

Rainbow Dash snorts. “Yeah, and the pony who just ran into an invisible guard?”

“Not so much.”

The three of you continue walking. You know for a fact that you’re not the only one staring ahead at the occasional flicker of the invisibility spell.

You notice from the corner of your eye Twilight looking at you, and you in turn look at her. She averts her gaze, looking instead to Rainbow this time.

“What’s up, Twilight?” you hear from beside you. You look, and see Rainbow looking at Twilight questioningly. Apparently, she’s been caught staring at your pegasus as well.

Twilight, however, doesn’t make any hints at embarrassment. “I’m just wondering if it’s now possible to safely teleport us all back to the castle. I think we might be close enough.” She lowers her head, and begins to charge her horn. “Hold on a second.”

Your eyes widen. “Wait. Didn’t you say that there’s a good chance all three of us’ll get-”

----------

“-burnt?”

You blink. You’re up high, very high. Stone towers line the bottom of your vision, and extending out towards the setting sun are rows of buildings.

“Ivan, you might want to step back. I don’t know if the guardrails are proportioned to your center of gravity.”

You suddenly realize that you’re overlooking Canterlot, and that the only thing keeping you from tumbling to your untimely death is a stone rail that rests just under your waist.

“Shit,” you rasp as your heart lurches in your chest, falling over backwards onto the balcony behind you. Your butt and tailbone start to ache upon impact, as you really don’t have a lot back there for shock absorbance, but you’re more worried about keeping as low to the ground and as far from the edges as you can.

Two ponies look back at you, one with amusement and the other seeming disappointed in your reaction. “Um, Ivan? Are you okay?” Twilight asks, bemusement evident in her tone.

“He’s just scared of heights.” Rainbow rolls her eyes, trying to hold back a chuckle. “He acted like this once when I let him ride on my back while I was flying.”

“That’s not why- well, kind of. But in my defense, you said you wouldn’t do barrel rolls and shit like that!” You shake your head, trying to breathe normally and restore yourself some rational thought. “Sorry,” you say once the pounding in your chest has subsided to a steady tempo, “I was just kind of surprised.”

Twilight puts a hoof to her chin, lifting you to your feet with her magic. “By what? The teleportation or our current elevation?”

“Both,” you say, dusting yourself off.

“I thought I performed the spell quite well...”

“I think he’s saying you did too good of a job, Twi,” Rainbow says, throwing a foreleg around the princess’s shoulders.

You nod. “Yeah. It took me a second to realize we even teleported. And why are we…” You look around.

“…On my balcony?” The purple pony shrugs. “It’s the one place I can teleport without freaking out the guards or setting off security spells.”

“Hm… Well, alright. Still, it was a bit scary to suddenly find myself on the edge of a metaphorical cliff, no real warning or anything.”

The alicorn stands there for a moment, then shrugs. “I suppose that’s reasonable enough.” She looks to her side. “And Rainbow, you don’t have to strain yourself doing that, especially with your wing.” Twilight gestures towards Rainbow, or more specifically the awkward position she’s in. Even more awkward is the effort it takes to actually remove her foreleg from over Twilight’s shoulders, leaving her blushing and avoiding eye contact with you while you smirk at her.

“Having a little trouble there, Dash?”

She sticks out her tongue, leading Twilight to cough into her hoof. “Okay, so I suppose I should show you two to your room… You’ll get the grand tour later. You two are fine sharing a room, right?”

You and Dash share a shit-eating grin. Twilight sees this, and blushes. “Forget I asked. Just… come with me.”

----------

“Ah… This is sooo nice…”

Rainbow stretches out on the bed, a few pops sounding off as she does so. You walk over to the window and open the blinds.

The window of the guest room you’re currently in offers a magnificent view of the city. Architecturally, the place is composed of old mixed in with new, with stone, brick and wood structures standing side-by-side with the newer concrete buildings. They, of course, look nothing like the ones on Earth, having a more rustic design as opposed to the squared-off highrises of your home town. Or, former home town. Nevertheless, it looks good.

“Hey Ivan, come here. You need to try out this bed,” Dash calls from across the room. When you turn around, she’s on her back, forehooves behind her head and one leg crossed over the other.

You decide to sit down on the couch set in place to the side of the window, seeing how the pegasus will react. She looks at you, seeming slightly irritated. “What are you doing?”

“Sitting on the couch.”

She gives you a look. “Why would you sit on the couch when there’s a perfectly good bed over here?”

You point to the small couch-side table with the stack of tabloids on it. “Magazines.”

“Whatever. Suit yourself.” She closes her eyes, sinking back further into her pillow.

You pick a magazine off the top of the pile, and begin to sift through it. It’s a lot of models, celebrities, and things of that nature, but you actually find some useful information, such as local restaurant reviews, scenic and historical spots.

When you look up from your browsing, you find Rainbow still in the same spot, idly brushing her hooves together. You decide to finally join her. You set the magazine down beside you, and walk on up to the bed.

She watches you approach, a bored look in her eye. Apparently, the novelty of the bed has worn off on her. “So, are we gonna do anything?”

“I was thinking about- Ooh, this is nice,” you comment, feeling your posterior sink into the mattress as you sit down. “I was thinking about going out for dinner, then just doing something afterwards.”

“Can we go to that one park with the clouds?” the pegasus asks, a twinkle coming to her eye.

You grin. “Sure, why not?”

The twinkle dies away as she asks another question. “Wait. Aren’t the only places around here fancy frou-frou restaurants?”

You give a so-so nod of your head. “Yeah, in the immediate area. There are some cafes and stuff, but they’re not really dinner places… We can go to one of those, if you’d like.”

She waves it off. “Nah, it’s cool. Guess I should be getting ready, then?”

You look out the window. “If you wanna leave before dark, then yeah. And you don’t have to wear anything special, it’s not like they’ll kick us out of a restaurant for-”

The space beside you where Rainbow sat is just that: an empty space. You look to the side, and get a glimpse of a rainbow tail trailing off into the next room.

Hm. Well, guess you’d better start getting ready then.

Close Bonds: Chapter Twenty-One

You adjust your tie. A real tie, not one of those clip-on ones you used back home; because in Equestria, they don’t have those. It makes sense; you reasoned long ago that it would be quite difficult for a pony to put on a clip-on tie. Still, you believe that it was even harder for you to learn how to tie a tie.

It’s a good thing you’re the only one who can hear your thoughts.

You look at yourself in the mirror, flattening down your suit. A frown crosses your face when you notice your collar’s uneven. You straighten it, making sure both sides are parallel before you smile and observe how perfectly ironed your tuxedo is.

Your collar’s still bothering you.

Again, you adjust it. You stare at the mirror some more, wondering why it is that when both sides of your collar look perfectly symmetrical, you feel as if something’s off.

You hear a door open, and the distinct clopping of horseshoes on the tile of the bathroom behind you. You take in a light breath, not because you’re nervous, but…

Okay, maybe you are slightly. This is the first date with Rainbow Dash that you’ve ever dressed so formally. Nearly six months into a relationship, and you’re worried what she’ll think of what you’re wearing, where you’re taking her…

Freshman year all over again, man.

You mess with your collar once more. Third time’s the charm. You make an about face, taking in a deep breath-

-and immediately let it all back out.

Rainbow Dash rubs her foreleg. “Is it, uhm… Is it okay?”

Your voice catches in your throat, cracking at your first syllable. “Yeah- Yeah.” You clear your throat. “It’s… It’s really…”

Dayum.

You realize that you’ve trailed off midsentence, and also notice Rainbow blushing furiously. Before things get awkward, you close the distance between you. “So, uh, are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” she replies, with a bashful turn of her head. Her bangs partially hide her face, and her flowing mane swishes and ripples behind her with every movement.

You turn, gesturing for her to come up alongside you. She does so, and the two of you walk to the door. You hold it open for her, and after a brief moment of hesitation at your unusual bout of chivalry, passes through.

At the same time that you close the door, you lose your gentlemanly streak. You look towards your date; she’s facing the other way, bringing you to the realization that her dress is completely transparent.

You wonder why that’s so eye-catching to you. After all, she’s naked most of the time anyway…

You take a few long steps to catch up with her, simultaneously checking your pockets for the essentials: castle clearance cards, and a shitload of cash.

The castle is like a labyrinth, but before long, you’re outside. The cold air immediately begins to nip at your cheeks, reminding you that it’s winter. The weather team in Ponyville must still be fucked up by the loss of their best captain, as it’s nowhere near this cold down there.

“So, where are we going?” Rainbow asks, her breath coming off in fog.

You think for a moment. “Well, I did see this one restaurant on the traveler’s guide. It’s close by to the castle… Fish Filet, I believe it was called.”

You hear the pegasus snort at this. You look at her, and see that she’s trying to cover up some giggling with a hoof. “What?” you ask, a smile coming to your face as well.

She uncovers her mouth, smirking at you. “Really, Ivan? Fish Filet?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, for one, the place is for meat-eaters. Hence the name Fish Filet.”

“And two?” you ask, eyebrow raised. She points to the side of the road, and you look.

There sits the restaurant in question, its sign a bright, glaring red and yellow. And, it’s obviously a fast-food place.

“Fuck,” you mutter under your breath. Rainbow giggles.

“It’s alright,” she says, patting you on the calf. “You get a second chance. We’ll go find another place.”

A bit more walking, and you find yourself before what looks like a suitable restaurant. Rainbow tugs on your pant leg with her hoof, nodding towards it. The two of you turn towards The Steppes, your shoes and hooves clacking on the brick entrance as you approach.

A line of rosebushes surrounds the outside wall of the restaurant, nicely complimenting the stone-and-brick design of the building. As you’re about to walk inside, you see Rainbow bite some petals off of one of the roses and begin eating them.

“Rainbow!” you whisper urgently. She looks up at you, her jaw slowing down in its chewing when she sees your expression.

“What?” she asks. Her tongue flicks out to catch a piece of rose petal.

“Don’t eat the bushes!”

“But they’re complimentary.”

It’s hard to describe the things that run through your mind at that statement, but Rainbow pushes past you and into the restaurant before you can say anything. With a sigh, you decide to let it go, and follow the mare inside.

The atmosphere within the building is rather welcoming, you find; it’s very well-lit, and both the colors and the air itself give you a warm feeling. While you can tell that the place is reserved mostly for the upper-middle to upper class, it’s not deathly quiet or chokingly snobby. The sound of casual conversation floats about, and you’re mildly impressed to see that the hostess doesn’t even flinch upon seeing you, rather giving you what looks like a genuine smile.

“Hello, and welcome to The Steppes. Do you have a reservation?” she asks, never once breaking from her practiced expression of hospitality. You step forward, trying not to get too close as to tower over her.

“I’d like a table for two, please,” you say, trying to match her in her manner.

Her smile shrinks. “I’m sorry, do you have a reservation?”

So does yours. “Uh, no, but I was hoping we could have a table-”

“I’m sorry, sir. The Steppes is rather busy tonight.” She looks around for a moment, pretending to be searching for something, then turns back to you. “I don’t think we could fit you in, as there’s a large list of ponies waiting already… With reservations…”

Knew it was too good to be true.

“Are you sure there isn’t a space somewhere that we could sit? I mean, it’s just the two of us…”

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, sir.”

You and Rainbow share a look. She shrugs.

You sigh, and the both of you turn back to the doors. Just as you’re about to leave, you hear a voice call out from behind.

“Well, well, who is it we have here? It couldn’t be the renowned Rainbow Dash, could it?”

Yours, as well as a few other heads turn. A blue-maned, white stallion sporting a monocle and tuxedo approaches the two of you.

Rainbow’s eyes widen. “Oh, hey, you’re uh… Fancy Pants! Yeah, Rarity’s cool friend!”

He chuckles. “Cool? Well, I don’t know. But I daresay you look quite ‘cool’ yourself.” Rainbow Dash turns her head to the side, blushing at the compliment. “And who is your friend here?” Fancy Pants asks, looking curiously at you.

“Oh, yeah, this is Ivan,” she says, gesturing towards you.

You hold out your hand, and the unicorn takes it. “Ivan,” you tell him, grasping his hoof.

“Fancy Pants. Charmed,” he replies, looking you right in the eye with his single monocle. After the hand-to-hoof shake is over, he looks between the two of you. “I take it you two are…?”

“He’s my coltfriend,” Rainbow says, hugging your leg. This draws a few more stares from around the restaurant, but as for Fancy Pants, he’s able to keep his shock to a minimum.

“Well,” he says to himself, putting a hoof to his chin. “I do say you’re a very lucky stallion, Ivan.” He shares a mutual smile with you, before suddenly raising an eyebrow. “…It looks as if you two are about to leave. I ask, has something about my restaurant displeased you?”

Your eyes widen. “Your restaurant?”

He nods. “But of course. Why else would I be milling around here by myself?”

“Well, to answer your earlier question, it wasn’t that anything was necessarily wrong; I just hadn’t known about the whole ‘reservation’ thing.”

“’Reservation thing?’”

“Apparently, there’s no open tables.”

He turns, looking towards the hostess suspiciously. “Really? I could’ve sworn I saw one open in section ‘}{ ’…”

At this, the mare immediately perks up. She gulps and promptly trots out of the room, coming back moments later from the section you presume as ‘c’ with an apology. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Yes, there is an open spot in the corner. Follow me, please.”

Fancy Pants gives you a wink. “You two enjoy yourselves.”

You’re stunned. The stallion trots off, leaving you no chance to thank him. You feel a tugging on your pant leg, and look down to see Rainbow pulling you in the direction of where the hostess means to lead you. Slightly reluctantly at first, you turn to follow.

You and Rainbow are led to a booth seat in the corner of the room. Two menus are placed on the table, and the hostess tells you the waiter will be back to take your drinks, before leaving. When Rainbow sits down you don’t help her climb into her seat, as doing so would probably only annoy her; however, you still wait for her to sit down before doing so yourself.

Once you’re all settled down, you open up your menu and begin to skim through it. As the case usually is, you’re a little disappointed to find no meat on the list of meals, but you suppose you can’t expect any different from a restaurant in an herbivore-dominated city. Besides, maybe tomorrow you can stop by Fish Filet or another place of that sort; there are plenty of carnivores and omnivores in Canterlot, there’s bound to be someone investing in that business.

You’re quite happy to come across the words mushroom & potato soup, alleviating your craving for meat with something familiar. You put that to mind for when the waiter comes, then browse the drinks for something you’ll actually like.

Water? Nah… Tomato and grass puree? Fuck no… Cactus cooler? It’s okay, kinda salty, but not tonight… Seems kinda like there’s nothing- oh wait, here we go!

Right at this moment, a unicorn stallion dressed in a suit and tie approaches. “Hello, my name is Cobalt Charmer, and I’ll be your waiter tonight. Would you like something to drink?”

The kid’s obviously pretty young, probably no older than you are. You nod at his question. “Yes, please. I’ll have an egg soda.”

You’re slightly surprised to see him not write anything down, but he seems confident enough when he looks at Rainbow. “And for you?”

“I’ll, uh… lemonade.”

“And are you two ready to order?” the waiter asks, not missing a beat.

The speed at which he memorizes this stuff takes you off guard every time. “I think so…” You look at Rainbow Dash.

She immediately perks up. “Yeah. I’ll have the lentil curry.”

“And you?”

You’re going to be honestly surprised if he doesn’t mess up your order. “Uh, I’ll have the mushroom and potato soup.”

“Alrighty, then,” he says with a smile, then quickly turns and trots off. This leaves you and your date in silence; or to talk.

“So, pretty nice restaurant, hm?” you say, referencing your earlier try.

She smiles when she gets it. “We haven’t even tasted the food yet, Ivan.”

“But so far?”

She looks around for a moment. “So far? Not too bad. It’s not all stuck-up and snooty like most of the restaurants around here, so I’ll give you points for that.”

You glance at a pony couple exchanging conversation over dinner. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

The waiter steps up to the table, floating one glass of egg soda to you and one of lemonade in front of Rainbow. “Here are your drinks. Your food will be ready in a little bit.”

“Thank you,” you say, taking the white concoction. Rainbow immediately starts to sip on her drink when she gets it.

You nearly laugh the way she scrunches up her face. “Bleh! This is fricken sour!”

“Well, it is lemonade, Dash.” You raise your own glass, letting the sweet liquid run down your throat. When you set it down, you see Rainbow eyeing it.

If she wants any, she’s going to have to ask.

She licks her lips, obviously waiting for you to offer. She looks back and forth between you and the glass. “Looks pretty good.”

“It is,” you agree, taking another sip.

“Can I have some?”

“Sure. Knock yourself out.”

She leans across the table as you hand the egg soda to her. She takes a large gulp of it, then wipes her mouth with her foreleg as she sets down your cup. “This is good, but you know what would be even better?”

“What?” You think you have an idea what.

“Alcohol.”

You cock your head, raising both eyebrows. “You want to drink tonight?”

She nods enthusiastically.

You rub your chin, as if thinking about this. “I don’t know if you should, Dash.”

Her jaw drops. “Why not?”

“Well, I mean, I know you’re not an alcoholic or pregnant or anything like that…”

She waits inquisitively. “Right…”

“…but speaking of alcohol, first answer me this.” You take out the little note you’d found earlier, and toss it across the table. “The hell is this?”

With an impatient look, Rainbow takes the paper and unfolds it. When it’s open, she immediately recognizes it, and a redness comes to her cheeks.

“Oh, yeah,” she says, chuckling embarrassedly. “It… It’s stupid, really.”

“I still want to know.”

She groans, pulling at her features with her hoof. “Come on, Ivan, please…?”

You chuckle at her expense. “No, talky, no drinky.”

She stares at the paper for a moment. “How’d you even get this?”

“I found it in my bag when we were on the train, so your guess is as good as mine.” You flag down the waiter, asking for some sparkling wine, with two glasses.

A pair of blue ears perks up. “Two glasses?” Rainbow asks, seeming a little excited now.
You smile. “That’s right. I’m not going to let you have all the fun, now. But you still have to tell me what’s up with that note.”

She gives you a chesire grin. “Alright. This makes it a bit easier.” She sighs. “Okay, well, me and Cream were kinda mad about you taking away the beer, so this was kind of… a plan to get it back.”

“’Spear the tall beast?’”

“It was more of a joke than anything, Ivan!” she quickly defends herself, right as the waiter comes back with two wine glasses and a bottle of sparkling wine.

“You didn’t specify on a variety, so I made a suggestion,” he whispers into your ear. He pops the cork and pours a small amount into each glass, then promptly leaves.

“Thank Celestia,” Rainbow mutters, then picks up her glass and takes a healthy sip.

The two of you begin having light conversation, drinking small amounts of wine even as your food arrives. Near the end of your meal you’re feeling a bit cloudy, like a blissful fog has settled over your mind.

The same goes for Rainbow Dash, it seems. Her cheeks, already a rosy red from inebriation, turn a near crimson hue as she contemplates your latest question:

“In your opinion, what is your weirdest fetish?

This would be a rather strange question in any normal circumstance, but really, it was all your marefriend’s idea.

“I have a game,” she said, wearing a goofy grin.

“Oh really, now? Is it a good one?” you asked.

“Yeah. I dun’ think it has a name, but… I think I’ll call it ‘embarrassing questions.’”

This leads you to where you are now.

Rainbow tries to take a gulp from her glass, only to find it empty, and sets it back down. “Um, oka-ay, it’s kinda embarrassing… You’re gonna think I’m weird…”

“I’d be really surprised if that sediment- sed- sentiment din’t go both ways by the end of tonight…” You chuckle, recalling the ‘weirdest place you’ve ever jacked off in’ question she asked. “So come on, tell me.”

“I… I like bondage.” She giggles upon seeing your surprised expression. “Shocking, huh?”

“Well, yeah,” you admit. The amount of red in her face deepens at this statement. “I mean, you always seem to act really dominant… Didn’t you try to pin me down a few weeks ago?”

“I like it both ways,” she says, smirking. You shake your head.

“Okay, I really hope no one’s been listening…” At that moment, you and Rainbow both look around. Much to your dismay, you find that more than a few ponies avert their gazes from the two of you.

You suddenly feel very uncomfortable. “Ivan…” Rainbow shifts in her seat.

“We should probably go…”

----------

“You think we had too much to drink?”

You never thought you would ever hear those words from the pegasus’ mouth. “Nah, Dash. Tonight’s about having a good time, right? Besides,” you exhale, your breath fogging up before you, “it’s fucking cold out here. Sobering cold.”

You hear her grunt, a visible fog cloud dissipating when you look. “I know. This dress really doesn’t do anything to help, either.”

“Well, it looks nice on you.”

“Yeah?” A brief smile tugs at the corners of her lips. “Apparently you think so. Weren’t you stuttering when you first saw me with this on?”

If there’s any part of you that’s become warm at this moment, it’s your cheeks. “Well- I, uh…”

“Aww, you’re doing it again!” She seems to be getting some kind of sick satisfaction out of this. You feel like hiding your face.

“Hey, Ivan! Don’t look away. Lookie here.” You look. Rainbow Dash trots ever so slightly ahead of you, then begins putting an extra sway to her hips. She looks back to see your reaction. You avert your eyes from hers, but this just seems to encourage her more.

She falls back in place next to you, getting up real close beside your leg. “Hey.”

You’re tempted to ignore her and keep walking, but again submit to Dash’s will and turn to her. “What is it-”

A pair of purple horseshoes presses against your chest. You feel Rainbow Dash’s full weight leaning against you, and her partially bang-covered face is inches below yours. She grins, then wraps her forelegs around your neck and pulls you down into a deep kiss. You’re surprised, but return the embrace.

This lasts for about a minute. When she finally breaks contact, she looks into your eyes. Her face breaks out into a grin, and she giggles. “I’m just messing with you, Ivan. You’re cute when you’re flustered, you know that?”

Albeit the circumstances, the little pony’s smile is quite contagious. “I’m really not sure how to take that.”

“It’s a compliment,” she says, returning to all fours. Her eyes suddenly light up when she sees something behind you. “Hey, look!”

You follow her eyes, finding that you’re near the park that Twilight had pointed out earlier. “Oh, yeah, isn’t that the park where they have clouds on the ground, or something?”

“Yeah! We should go!” She looks from you to the gates of the park, filled to the brim with anticipation.

“Yeah, we should. Come on, let’s go.” You begin walking toward it, your date following alongside you.

When you get there, the first thing you notice is that, at least initially, it looks like a normal park; trees, grass, the whole shebang. The second thing you find strange is the amount of ponies present. It’s freezing cold and in the middle of winter; you expected yourself and Rainbow to be the only ones here.

You look to your companion. She shrugs, and the two of you venture onwards.

As you walk the dirt path, you find that there are less and less ponies as you get deeper into the park. Twilight was true to her word; there are small pieces of cloud littered about.

“This is awesome!” Rainbow laughs, picking up a small cloud in her hoof. You try to do the same, only for it to slip through your fingers and dissipate. The feeling is strange, to say the least; it’s comparable to the way cotton candy shrinks in your mouth, except instead of shrinking it runs off your hand like a fluid.

“Think fast!” you hear, and suddenly feel the same strange sensation slide across your face. You look to the source of the voice, and find Dash, who’s wearing a mischievous grin. You grin as well, and attempt to pick up another small chunk of cloud, only for it to die in your hand again.

“You can’t squeeze it, Ivan. Ya gotta just kinda pick it up, like this.” Rainbow picks up another piece of white fluffiness, and chucks it at you. You dodge this one, and scoop up another, this time not gripping it but letting it rest on the palm of your hand. You rear your arm back, and throw.

The cloud vaporizes with the force.

“I don’t think you’re doing it right!” Rainbow calls from across the dirt path.

“Or maybe I just don’t have cloud-manipulating magic!” you call back.

“I’ve seen unicorns do it, you’re just- hey, what the hell?!” she yelps when a hard object whizzes by her head. “No rocks!”

“They’re not rocks, they’re dirt clods,” you retort, throwing another one at her. She dodges it, bending over to pick one up for herself when a chunk of dirt explodes right next to her head. She sees this, and upon realizing her zero percent chance at retaliation, speeds off into the trees.

She’s not slow, and is a rather nimble pony in all respects, but Rainbow Dash is a much faster flyer than she is a runner. You keep pace with her with your much longer legs, hot on her trail until she turns a corner somewhere and you lose sight.

“Damn,” you mutter under your breath. You take a moment to rest, trying to keep your breathing to a minimum in case she’s hiding in wait somewhere.

You listen carefully for a noise, a rustling of grass, anything. Crickets chirp loudly, making you uneasy.

“Ivan! Come look at this!” you hear from off in the distance. You run to where you heard her voice, surprised at how far it away it sounds. How’d she cover so much distance?

You soon spot her figure, and run towards it. Her ear perks up upon your approach, but she continues to stare at something.

“What is it, Da- holy shit.”

Before you is an amassed collection of white, fluffy cloud, standing at least twenty feet high and, from your position, fifty feet across.

You want to jump in it.

“Woohoo!” Dash has the same idea, running and leaping at the giant cloud. Her mane and dress flap like flags in the wind as she soars through the air, one wing even extending out and causing her to corkscrew into the great expanse.

She plummets through the surface, creating a pony-sized hole in the fluffiness. You follow suit, gaining speed and springing off the balls of your feet, although instead of diving into it you form yourself into a cannonball.

As you find yourself travelling through the fluid-like texture of the cloud, you realize that the cloud offers no shock absorbance or resistance to your body. You land flat on your ass on the grass beneath the cloud, then tumble head-over-heels for a second before coming to rest on your back.

Luckily for you, the movement from your little stunt cleared a good-sized hole around you, as you’ve found that the stuff can certainly get caught in your lungs. As you lie face-up, not sure whether you’re groaning for your butt, head, or back, a face pops out of the cloud.

“You’re so stupid,” Rainbow laughs, tunneling back into the matter. She soon comes back out of another spot a few feet away from you, then trots over to where you lie. “Are you alright?”

“No,” you say, wincing. “I think I broke my tailbone.”

She stands over you. “You don’t have a tail, Ivan.”

“Tailbone, numbnut. I still have one of those.”

“Geez, you don’t have to go and call names.” She walks around you until her face is over yours. “Want me to kiss it?”

You give her a look, starting to forget about all the aches you now have. “You want to kiss my ass?”

She smirks. “You do mine all the time.”

The two of you stay like that for a moment, looking at one another in the dim light able to penetrate the fog.

A smile comes to your face. “Hey, I thought I saw some ponies walking around with beer here, there might be a snack bar or something… If not, we can go get a drink somewhere.”

“Aw, and leave the clouds?” she whines playfully.

“We can always come back…”

----------

As it turns out, you did not see ponies walking around with cups of beer. You’re not even sure if beer is allowed in the park.

However, down the road a ways is this bar. It’s rather old-looking, but seems to attract a lot of attention, especially from tourists. You and Rainbow saw this, and decided to go check it out.

It definitely wasn’t a bad decision. On the inside, the place is like a club mixed with a saloon— the bar counter is made out of wood and smells like it’d been left out in the rain. In contrast, loud music booms from all around and disco lights fly back and forth.

In the middle is a space cleared out for a dance floor. You and Rainbow watch from your stools as ponies and a few gryphons do dance moves that you know you’ll never be able to replicate in your entire life.

“Can you do that?” Rainbow asks you upon seeing a pony spinning on his head.

You take a sip of your beer. “I wish.” You set your glass down on the bar counter.

Rainbow looks at your beer glass, then at you. “You still got dirt on your back…”

You raise an eyebrow. “Oh? I can’t see it.”

“Here, I’ll take care of it,” she announces drunkly. She places a hoof on your shoulder and turns you on your swivel chair so that your back is facing her. Then, she proceeds to fall off her stool.

“Holy shit Rainbow, are you alright?” you ask when you hear a loud whump. The blue pegasus just lies on her back, giggling.

“I’m sooo drunk…”

“You’re so drunk,” you repeat, shaking your head. You notice a few nearby ponies starting to look away from the scene and returning to whatever they’d been doing previously. You crouch down beside the giggling pony, taking her hooves and lifting her up to a standing position.

She’s fine on all fours, just needs to lean against you every once in a while for support. The two of you slowly make your way for the exit, when the music abruptly stops and a voice comes over the speakers.

“We’re going to let these skilled gentlepeople take a break now, as we switch the mood from erratic to romantic. Can I please have any couples step onto the dance floor?”

“Are we gonna do that?” Rainbow looks at you expectantly. “I wanna do that.”

You frown. “What? Rainbow, you’re drunk as a skunk, how are you even gonna dance?”

“I can *hic* stand just fine…”

You shake your head. “No, come on. We’re going back to the castle.”

“Pleeeease?” Your drunk date wraps her forelegs around your leg and falls to her stomach. “We’ll *hic* go right back after thisss. I promise.”

You look at Rainbow, then to the dance floor. There are a surprising amount of people there, and as the lights begin to dim it looks as if they’re about to start.

You roll your eyes. “Fine, we’ll do it.”

Her eyes light up. She smiles, and hugs your leg tighter. “I loves you, Ivan.”

“You’re drunk. Come on, they’re starting without us.”

The music has already begun playing by the time the two of you step into the middle. Looking down at the little pony in front of you, you suddenly realize that there’s a rather large problem.

Dash seems to be thinking the same thing you are. “Uh, Ivan? How we gonna do this?”

You glance around at all the equine couples. They dance by simply crossing necks, sometimes with one or both partners putting a forehoof on the other’s shoulder. You’re not sure that’s feasible in your situation, but it does, however, give you an idea. You kneel down in front of the pegasus until you’ve come to eye level with her. She watches you curiously.

You take one of her forehooves. Her cheeks start to redden at this, and you ask her for her other hoof. “Why?” she asks.

“Just watch,” you say. Hesitantly, she does as you request, and both forehooves are in your hands. She wobbles slightly at first, until she gets used to being on two legs. “Ready?” you ask.

She’s figured out what you’re doing by now, and nods. Together, the two of you rise, you directing her with your hands and her doing her best just trying not to fall down.

“Woah, woah!” Dash dances around on her hind legs, trying to get her balance. She flails her forelegs around and ends up stumbling into you, her face embedded in your chest. She blushes, putting her hooves on your lower ribcage to put some distance between you. “Sorry. Almost fell down…”

“Well, in any case, I think this’ll work,” you refer to the way she’s still using you for support. You place your hands just above her hips, and she squeaks.

“You alright?” you ask, hiding a small smile.

She nods, the redness on her cheeks deepening. “Yeah, just didn’t expect that. Is this how all humans dance?”

You nod. “Except, if you move your hooves up here, to my shoulder…” You place the two forelegs to rest on either side of your head, drawing Rainbow closer to you. “…there we go.”

You step to one side. She stumbles over herself, but soon adjusts so that she’s standing straight once more. You make the same movement again, and she gets it this time, following along with you. A few more steps, and the two of you are getting the swing of it; quite well for a drunk pegasus on two hooves clinging to a man who’s barely ever danced before in his life.

“This’s weird,” Rainbow remarks at some point.

You query her on that. “What’s so weird?”

“Standing on two legs, and dancing… like this.” She looks at you then casts her gaze downwards, avoiding any looks you might give her. You chuckle.

“If you don’t like this, I suppose we could try something else.” She seems to like this idea, and nods. Like you’ve seen in the movies, you wrap your right arm around her waist and pull her body tight against yours. “Better?”

She lets out a gasp in surprise. You feel her chest expand and contract with every breath, soft but warm gusts of wind washing over your neck each time. She stares up at you for a moment, her eyes dulled from the beer, yet managing to retain an intrigued glint of sorts.

Suddenly, her forelegs move from your shoulders and wrap around your neck, pulling you down into a drunken smooch. She closes her eyes, hanging off you and melting into your embrace at the same time. The two of you stay like that until you hear the music begin to slow down, Rainbow being the one to break the kiss.

The two of you continue to swim in each other’s eyes for a little while longer. She’s only about a foot shorter than you standing upright, so you still feel her panting on your cheeks, a welcome contrast to the stinging cold you’d felt not too long ago.

“Thanks for letting me dance,” she says.

You chuckle. “No problem here.”

She giggles as well, then drops back down to all fours.

“I guess we should go back to the castle now. I don’t know if they have a curfew-”

You stop when you realize that Rainbow is once again on her back, giggling almost hysterically. You shake your head, then scoop her up in your arms and begin the trek back.

----------

As she seems to do on all your walks, Rainbow proves to be a rather generous source of entertainment.

“We… We should go to that place with the clouds again…” she says, kicking her legs and craning her neck to get a good look at the gate of the park while you pass it.

“No.”

She turns around to face you, wearing a cross frown. “Why not?”

“You said we’d go as soon as we got done dancing.”

“I said we’d go, not back,” she tries to argue. Immediately after this, it seems as if she’s suddenly forgotten what the two of you are talking about when her eyelids begin to droop in a half-lidded fashion, and she bites her lip. “What are we gonna do when we get back to the castle, hmm?”

You’re rather amused by this behavior. “What do you think we’re gonna do when we get back?”

She bops you lightly on the nose. “What do you think we’re gonna do when we get back?”

“Belly rubs,” you reply. You notice that a small part of her chest peeks out of the dress she’s wearing. Included in this portion of her body is the small patch of extra fur you’d noticed. Recalling your earlier curiosity, you have to ask: “Rainbow, what’s that?”

She looks as if she’s trying to make her neck longer. “Hmm?”

“Your chest. Why is it fluffy in the middle like that?” You reach your hand through the space between her foreleg and her body and indicate to her by running your fingers through the extra soft fur.

“Ohh, that.” She smiles. “I did that for you.”

“You did, huh?” You have a feeling you’re going to need to ask again when she’s sober.

“Yeah… Yeah. It means… It means I love you, Ivan.” She gives you a look meant to confirm this, then passes out immediately afterward.

The rest of the walk back is considerably quiet. You show the guards your clearance cards, they open the gates, and you eventually find your way back to your room.

After trying to juggle the task of unlocking the door while holding a sleeping pegasus, you walk inside, and place Rainbow down on the princess-sized mattress.

For a few moments, you stand there at the side of the bed, looking upon your sleeping beauty, splayed out on her side. Despite knowing how rambunctious she can be at times, right now she looks so fragile. Her chest rises and falls with every shallow breath, that little fluff of fur that’s been bugging you going along with it. You run your hand through it, enjoying the warmth of her small pony body, and kiss her on the forehead.

((NSFW))

You walk into the other room and look at the mirror. You sigh. Your suit is a mess. You’re a mess. There are grass stains all over your ass, mud on your elbows and thighs, dirt on your face, and it’s all complete with a rats’ nest atop your head.

You start to undress, beginning with your slacks. You’re hoping they’re not damaged too badly, and that maybe you can take them to Rarity-

You feel a tap on your lower back. You turn around, and suddenly find yourself locking lips with the only rainbow-maned pony you know. Her forelegs are wrapped tightly around your neck, and she vigorously attacks the entrance of your mouth with her tongue. You allow her access, and the two of you begin the bliss exploration of each other’s maws. Again, she’s the one to break the kiss, but quickly bites on to your tie and drags you back into the bedroom.

Well, it looks like she can walk now.

She gets you past the door, but not all the way to the bed because her reckless yanking on the tie undoes it. Even so, physics dictates that there’s no possible way for you to be standing straight up while the little pony pulls you around by your tie…

…so when she sees you on your hands and knees in front of her, she gets ideas.

“Ivan,” she coos, dropping the tie and walking sultry-like towards you, “Do you know what the ‘twist’ is?”

“The ‘twist?’” Oh, boy…

“Yes,” she confirms. “It’s where I get under you, you lick the inside of my vagina,” she gets real close to you, close enough to taste the alcohol in her breath, “and I swallow your dick.”

The pony version of the ’69,’ you realize. Rainbow Dash closes the gap between you, going for the long, drawn-out tongue dance.

When she lets go, a small strand of saliva connecting the two of you falls to the ground. She smiles half-liddedly, turns around, and lies on her back on front of you.

“Come on Ivan,” she mewls. Her legs open up, revealing her little pink slit. “Climb on.”

How convenient it is that the dress doesn’t cover that up, is all you can think about. You crawl over to her on your hands and knees, letting your covered crotch hang over her face. You look down at your winking prize below, making the bulge in your pants become tighter.

You feel Rainbow start to fumble with your pants, cursing at the unfamiliar belt buckle. Simultaneously you lean down, giving the outside edge of her vagina a quick lap of your tongue.

You feel her shudder, making her lose her grip. You slide your tongue on the outer part of her mound again, but this time she’s ready. She continues to steadily work at your buckle, finally getting it off by the time her slit has received a full once-over and is glistening on the outside.

For her, the rest of your clothes are just muscle memory. Once you feel your boxers slip down, and your dick slap her in the face, you begin to dig in.

Her legs tense up, her slit tightening around your tongue as you lick her sweet inner walls. You drop to your elbows and begin to lovingly knead her inner thighs, the combined workings on her body causing her to moan a bit.

Despite how many times you’ve done this dance with her, you can never get over how good she tastes. She’s so sweet, not like honey, but more like candy, with just that tiniest bitter aftertaste that adds to the flavour.

You begin to wonder when she’s going to start, when you finally feel her hot, moist breath on the tip of your penis. First a tongue, and then a mouth envelope the top half of your pride, sending waves of pleasure up and down your spine.

She sucks vigorously, trying to make up for lost time. She actually almost catches up with you; you feel a bit of precum spurt out, making your urethra slightly more sensitive than before. Yet, no matter how fast she goes to live up to her reputation, neither of you can deny the way she sporadically tenses, how her marehood sucks at and tries to engulf your tongue. Even through deep-throating and swallowing at your rod, you can hear her muffled moans. Her chests convulses with the excitement and tension building up within her.

You release it all with one small press of her nub.

She pulls herself off of your rod, wailing to the high heavens as hot streams of sweet juice stream forth from her love canal. Her hips buck upwards and her legs wrap around your head, pressing your face into her puffy lips, the sweet jets of sex juice squirting into your open mouth. You feel her warmth flow across your tongue, lapping her generous offering up greedily. And you show your love for the mare by drinking it all.

She’s left with her legs wrapped around the back of your head, riding out the last of her orgasm. Her legs start to quiver, and soon release you. Her back end hits the ground with the thud, leaving her to just lie on the ground beneath you, panting.

Something that bugs you, however, is that you’re still hard enough to cut diamonds, and feeling quite unsatisfied. You look beneath you to see her with her eyes closed, resting. Her mouth hangs wide open, and above it, your penis looms over her head like an awaiting piledriver.

It’s mean, but…

You plunge your trunk straight into her maw. Her eyes shoot open and she starts to gag, so you remove yourself from her. Strands of saliva hang off your dick as she sputters and coughs, wiping her mouth with a forehoof.

You feel kind of bad now. “Sorry Dash, I thought you were ready-”

“No,” she gasps, coughing a little again, “I want it. Do it again. Please.”

You question it little; she wants to suck you off, why argue? So, once more, you insert yourself into the nearest open hole. This time, she’s ready for it, and as soon as your tip reaches her supple mouth she immediately begins swirling her tongue around it, the almost unbearable pleasure causing you to groan and arch your back.

You slide your whole penis deeper and deeper into her mouth, and she takes it without the slightest hint of trouble. The base of your dick is soon the only thing exposed, and when you feel yourself hit the back of her throat, she begins to swallow, tightening her gullet around you. You groan, feeling a familiar pressure building up.

You decide to see how far you can push it, and begin rocking your hips back and forth. She realizes what you’re doing, and at one point while you’re pulling back, she tightens her lips hard around your rod and sucks as hard as she can.

It feels like a hot suction pulling at your dick, and as your penis slides out up to the tip, you feel yourself about to come.

Right then, Rainbow decides to let go, and slips out from underneath you. You groan, the feeling of an orgasm interrupted making itself known as the unspent pressure resting on the tip of your dick. You glare at the pegasus, who’s just gotten to all fours and is turned the other way.

“Rainbow, what are you-” You stop when you see her turn her head back towards you, flicking her tail underneath the dress she’s wearing.

She fixes you with a sultry gaze. “I need help with my dress.”

As if compelled by some invisible force, you immediately clamber towards her, throwing off your loosened tie and kicking off the final clinging remnants of your pants as you go. You kneel down beside her, and begin trying to tug on the sides of the dress.

She shakes her head. “No, no, Ivan, you’ll rip it that way. You have to undo it in the front.” She touches the zigzag jewel on the front of her dress. “Right here.”

You try to undo it, but have little success from the side of her body. You reach over and around her neck, your chest touching her back through your shirt and your blood-filled phallus twitching against her thigh.

With a click, the front becomes undone. You remove yourself from her, and begin to slowly undrape the gown from around her body. Your fingers brush along her cutiemark on one side, causing both of you a small shiver.

You get the view from behind. She looks so nice without her clothes on.

Her tail flicks to the side, fully revealing her dripping marehood. She looks back at you, smiling.

“Stick it in.”

You almost come a little from those words alone. You rise to your feet, taking a good look at the beautiful mare before you. She still does her best to display her neck, which is one of the funniest places to draw attention to at the moment. Still, it’s cute. Her slender, maybe slightly-softer-than-a-few-months-ago body leads down to her firm but squeezable ass and gorgeous marehood.

You stoop down a little, placing your hands, along with your weight, on her back. The extra pressure causes her to arch her back a little, and in turn spreads her ass cheeks.

On complete primal instinct, you start to work your dick up her butthole. She moans loudly, her legs quivering from the excitement and dropping slightly. As you begin to fuck her tight insides, you lay yourself over her back and begin to suck on the base of that neck she oh-so likes to show off.

Her cheeks are a deep red, squeaks and moans and all manners of noises coming from her. Since you were already close when you went in, you can feel the immense pressure build up, and then quickly gush forth in hot spurts of cum. As you ride out the orgasm, the sperm provides a good source of lubricant, allowing you to pound faster and harder at her tight asshole. A slapping noise echoes around the room from your crotch area smacking into her ass cheeks, and you begin to wonder how Rainbow’s saliva even worked well enough to let you enter.

You keep going for a few more moments, gripping her chest area with your hands as she continues to gasp and pant. Somehow, you notice, your jacket came off in all the action, leaving you only your white undershirt. When you finally pull out, she collapses with you on top of her, earning groans from the both of you. She chuckles.

“You’re not sticking that thing in my mouth again… not tonight,” she says, drawing forth a humorous snort from you. You roll off of her and gaze into her eyes. The both you stay there like that, having an unsaid agreement not to kiss at the moment due to the circumstance. Your eyelids begin to droop, and with the dimness that follows you drift off to sleep…

You awaken not too long later to the feeling of your shirt being yanked off. You feel it drag on your ears, creating a quite unpleasant sensation when coupled with the slight chill you get from being completely naked.

You groan and turn over onto your stomach. A pair of herbivore teeth begins nipping on your ear, disallowing you to fall back into unconsciousness. You lift your head and open your eyes, expecting a glaring assault from the lights.

Instead, you find that the room is dimly lit. With candles. You groggily look to where you know the pegasus is, giving her a sleepy smile. “Scented candles. Smells good.”

She smirks. “I know. Get up.”

You look around for a moment, waiting for yourself to become a little more alert. Rainbow jumpstarts this by biting your nose.

Pain flares in your poor face and you quickly swipe at the pony. She jumps backwards, safely out of your reach, and giggles. “Come on, Ivan. Get up.”

“Kinky ass bitch,” you mutter, rubbing your nose. Now fully awake, you obey, getting up to your knees and then sitting back on your naked ass. Rubbing your eyes, you ask, “How long was I out?”

She shrugs. “About an hour. I fell asleep too, so don’t worry.” At this, she lightly taps you on the nose. “I don’t think we were finished…”

You suddenly find yourself pert and ready for another round. The little pegasus places a hoof on your chest, slowly pushing you down to your back.

You suddenly remember a few things from earlier in the night. Before she has you down, you grab her by her sides. She squeaks out of surprise, and you quickly flip her onto her back. A dull thump sounds, and she begins kicking her legs.

“Ivan! The hell are you doing?!” she demands as you keep her on the ground. You pin a hind leg down with your knee so it doesn’t buck you, and place your finger on her lips.

“Face it, Rainbow. You know you want this. You’ve been wanting this for a long time.” You lean in close, whispering into her ear. “You told me yourself. Remember?”

She suddenly ceases to fight, then just lies there, as if frozen. She suddenly shivers, which makes you smile.

“Good, my little pet.” You put your knee on her other hind leg and hold down both of her forelegs, effectively trapping her down. You look down at your prey; her chest heaves up and down, and she stares up at you anxiously, impatiently.

You find her navel. Starting there, you lick all the way up her belly, her chest, and up the curvature of her neck to her chin. “Heh heh, heh,” she breathes, shuddering. You look south a bit, and can actually feel the heat radiating off of her wet pussy. It feels good on your rock-hard dick. Slowly and deliberately, you begin rubbing your penis on the outer lips of her slit, eliciting moans from your horny lover.

Her tongue lolls out, and she begins to whimper. You feel her legs tensing up from the arousal, pushing against yours in an attempt to break free. Boy, if she got out right now…

Her panting becomes erratic. She begins to pull her legs around and kick them, then arches her back and cries, “Put it in me, please!”

You continue your motions. You’re actually starting to enjoy this. “What was that?”

“Please, do it,” she begs. “I can’t take this anymore.”

You lean down close to her. “What do you want me to do, again?”

“Fuck me,” she says, a frantic, pleading look in her eye. “Rut me until I can’t stand anymore. Please, I’m begging you.”

You smile. “Good.”

Your rod nice and soaked from her arousal, you stick it in her, hard and fast. She cries out in ecstasy, biting her lip as you penetrate further, deeper, until your hips collide with an audible slap. You pull it out almost all the way, then ram it in again, causing her to scream.

You repeat this over and over again, many times before you start to feel that familiar pressure. You speed up, and with one final thrust shoot your hot seed into her womb.

It’s soon after that her walls clench around your stick. Her hips buck up into the air, and juice spills over and begins to run down both of your legs.

The two of you collapse, with you still on top of her. You don’t pull out, simply enjoy the feeling of being inside your mare, feeling her inner walls continuing to expand and contract.

((SFW NOW))

You run your hand through the little tuft of fur on her chest, playing with the soft feeling between your fingers. When she sees this she looks up at you, and smiles.

“Didn’t you ask what that was earlier?”

You hadn’t expected her to say anything. In response to her question, you nod. “Yeah, though your answer last time left me with only a vague idea…”

She giggles. “Yeah. I remember. Did you still want to know?”

You shrug. “Sure.”

She sighs. “Alright. So, I guess the best way to explain this is that it’s sort of like a… a mark.”

“A mark?”

“Yeah. A mark that shows that I’m taken, I guess.”

You smirk. “So, kind of like a ‘stay the fuck away’ to other stallions?”

“You could say that.” She smirks at your analogy.

You feel the little ‘mark’ again. “I like it. How come I only just noticed it recently?”

She raises an eyebrow. “Well, I’ve had it for months, but I couldn’t really grow it out at first because of the whole ‘situation.’”

You chuckle. “Right. Celestia, that was so stupid.”

“Two whole months.” She shakes her head. “It’s what I get for dating little foals.”

“Yeah, well, you’re a little pony,” you retort playfully.

She grunts. “This ‘little pony’ is getting squashed by your skinny ass. Let’s move to the bed.”

You place your hands on the ground, moving your hips so you’re off and out of her. You stand, and wait for her to do the same.

She rolls over to her belly, and gets into position to stand. Only, when she tries, her legs quiver, and she’s barely able to get halfway up before her hind legs collapse under her.

“Shouldn’t’ve asked for that,” she mutters. You laugh, then scoop her up by her rump and chest and start to carry her back to the bed.

“Wait,” she stops you. You wonder what she’s doing when she grabs your shirt off the floor and scrunches it up against her face. She smiles at you. “Okay, now you can go.”

“What was that?” you ask as you place her on the mattress. She takes a deep whiff the shirt again.

“It smells good. It reminds me of you,” she says, crawling over to the head of the bed to get under the covers.

“…when I’m right here,” you remind her. She giggles, and hugs you.

You hug her back. Together, the two of you fall asleep in each other’s embrace.

----------

You stare out the window, the moon shining full and bright amidst the dark night, and casting a glint off the forbidden object you hold. The lighting causes the hoof that grips it to become a sickly, pale orange.

Were you to be caught with a bottle of beer, the consequences would be dire. You could be kicked out; moved to another orphanage just like you’ve been your whole life, the only difference being that this time you might end up somewhere meant for ponies your age. Older.

Would you really drink it? No. You’ve seen what alcohol does to ponies. You never want to go down that route. No, you hold this cold bottle for another reason altogether. A question that irks at you.

You briskly trot down the halls, fighting back tears. Of all the ponies to betray you…

…Rainbow Dash…

You stand before one of the hospital rooms. You shake your head, clearing your face of all signs of distress, and then push open the door to your father’s room. Once inside, you notice a distinct smell lingers in the air, something familiar. To you, at least, it smells like… fear.

Your eyes widen. What you see shakes you to your very core.

“Hey there, Scootaloo,” your dad says, lowering a bottle of beer from his lips.

“W-What’s t-that?” you stammer.

He looks at you, then what you’re looking at. “Oh, this? A lady dropped by, gave this to me. That pretty little receptionist. I intend to ‘give her my thanks’ at some point, if you know what I mean.” He suddenly seems concerned. “Say, is somethin’ wrong, little girl?”

You wipe your eyes and swallow a lump in your throat. “Nothin’s wrong.”

He watches you for a moment. “Hm.” He puts the bottle up to his eyes, then holds it out to you. “Here. Have some of this.”

You jump back a little. “W-What?”

“Here. Take some.” He swirls it around a bit. “It’ll make you feel better.”

You stare at the menacing being. You stare, long and hard, unmoving.

You took it. You didn’t drink any, but it seemed to satisfy him.

Suddenly, the door to your room opens. A silhouette amidst the burning hall lights casts a long shadow, but the shadow doesn’t manage to block the glint that reflects off of the bottle in your hooves.

Before you start, let me just mention that this chapter is nearly 15,000 words long. That's a very long chapter. Don't feel obligated to read it all at once; take a break if you start to get tired. The chapter will always be here when you return.

Oh, and speaking of returning- it's good to be back.

Close Bonds: Chapter Twenty-Two

“Let’s suppose you had the chance to go back… That Twilight somehow did find a way to get you home…”

You continue to fill out the job application you’d been given, propping the clipboard against your knee. “Well, I told her to give up on it awhile ago. I’m fine here, Lyra.” You turn to her, flashing her a quick smile of gratitude. “Thanks to ponies like you.”

She punches you lightly in the shoulder. “Don’t be such a sappy-sap. As soon as you get that job, I’m kicking your deadbeat ass out of my house.”

This hits a bit closer to the heart than you think she intended, but you just chuckle quietly. “That seems to be a bit of a pattern with me.”

The unicorn looks at you with genuine concern. “What do you mean?”

You sigh, holding your knee as you lean back a little. “I’m sure you remember how I used to live with Twilight at the library... Well, she didn’t show it, but I could tell I was starting to grate on her nerves a bit… Not to mention- that job I had at Sweet Apple Acres? I don’t really think Applejack wanted to hire me in the first place. It was more of a favor, not even to me, but to Twilight.”

Lyra frowns. “Well, she fired you anyway. And that’s the whole reason I’m getting you this job- so you don’t have to mooch off ponies anymore.” Aside from the joke, she shakes her head. “But in all honesty, I really enjoyed having you here. Things… aren’t going to be the same without you around.” She quickly corrects herself: “Won’t be as fun, I mean.”

Her of all ponies, making you feel welcome here… “I’ll be seeing you every day if I get this job. And I’ll be seeing you every day even if I don’t get this job,” you say, poking out your tongue.

She smirks. “Oh, don’t worry. You will get it, and you will enjoy the privilege of being my personal work monkey.”

“The position I’m applying for isn’t directly below you,” you remind her, “and it’s not like I’m not your work monkey anyway. Just one of the aspects of living with you.”

She nods, still smiling. “True, on all accounts.” She gives you a semi-serious look. “Still, work is work. We need to keep hanging out, y’know?”

“Agreed.”

“Why not tonight?” she offers suddenly. “You know that new place that opened up recently? We should eat there before it goes out of business.”

“’Before it goes out of business?’ Grim.” You smirk. “Sorry, though. I’m meeting up with Rainbow for a drink tonight. You can come if you’d like.”

Her cheery expression seems to drop, and she sighs. “No, thanks though.”

You notice her sullen look, and drape an arm around her. You honestly didn’t know she’d be so upset by this. “Listen, I’m sorry we couldn’t do anything tonight. It’s just that Rainbow’s not going to be able to come back to Ponyville from her training in Cloudsdale like she usually has, since they’re keeping her and the other trainees for a few weeks at the Wonderbolt academy.”

Lyra starts to look up. You’re relieved by this; you’re glad she’s not taking your decline to her offer personally. “That little pegasus is going to be gone for awhile, and I just wanted to spend some time with her before she goes. You understand, right?”

She seems to brighten up at this. “Yeah, okay. Still, it’d be nice if we did end up doing things together more often. I don’t want to end up seeing less and less of you once you move out, you hear?”

“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”

Seeming satisfied by this, Lyra lies across your lap, and you begin petting her head with your free hand. Her ear twitches, then slowly relaxes as your hand moves down her neck. You look at the application, then you look at her. You place the clipboard down, then lean back, propping yourself up with one hand while the other attends to the unicorn.

She suddenly pops an eye open. “Why are we on my roof?”

You shrug. “I like the view from up here.” You proceed to watch that view.

“Do you do this a lot?” she asks, curiously.

You wonder what response the truthful answer will draw. “Yeah. Why, is it weird or something?”

She shakes her head, her chin making light movements on your thighs. “Nah. Just wish you would’ve told me sooner.”

---------

Something beside you stirs, rousing you from your half-conscious musings. You open your eyes, finding yourself under the ceiling of what you recall to be one of the castle guest rooms, and not the hospital.

When’s the last time you woke up in your own house?

You turn your head to your right. There lies Rainbow Dash, curled up in a little ball on top of the covers. She seems to be wearing your shirt from last night, and is using your right arm as a pillow. Also, you seem to have lost all circulation in that limb.

“Hey, Dashie?” You roll onto your side, and begin to try to rouse her by lightly shaking her awake.

“Hm? Whaa…”

“Hey. We need to get up. I don’t know what time it is, but I know we’re supposed to meet with Princess Celestia today.” You look at the rays of light coming in through the blinds. “She’s obviously up.”

“No… Jus’ five more minutes…” she mumbles into your arm.

“Well, I’m gonna go take a shower right now. I don’t know when you’re going to wash the cum out of your butt,” you say, sitting up and tugging at your limp appendage. She just clutches tighter.

“Dun’t go. You’re comfortable.” She climbs a little higher up your arm.

You sigh.

----------

A little while later, the two of you are at a café. You sip coffee and wait for your breakfast, while Rainbow does the same except her coffee hasn’t been touched, and she’s getting over a hangover. She has her head down on the table with the hood of the jacket she’s wearing over her head.

It’s really your jacket. But, according to her, ‘It’s comfortable and warm like the bed.’ She seemed pretty adamant about sleeping in this morning.

“Hello, you two. May I join you?”

A familiar voice chimes from your side. Princess Twilight Sparkle pulls up a stool, not waiting for an answer as she already knows what your response will be.

“Hey, Twilight,” you say, taking another sip of your coffee. Upon seeing that Rainbow still has her head down and afraid that she may be asleep, you lightly shake her. “Dash, you awake? Twilight’s here.”

“I know.”

You flinch slightly at the response, even though she makes absolutely no movements. Twilight chuckles.

“Seems things haven’t changed as much as I thought they had,” she comments good-naturedly. A waiter comes with a cup of coffee, and Twilight thanks him.

“Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that… After all, we’re here,” you respond to her. “I know that you wouldn’t just call us here, suddenly and abruptly like that, for no reason.”

Twilight leaves your sentence hanging for a moment, taking the time to pour some sugar into her coffee and taste it before finally replying. “I was hoping to have a more informal conversation here… Not only that, but I can’t really talk about it in public.”

This leaves you quite curious, but you accept her request all the same, and nod. “Alright. Still, I have a few questions about the whole thing. Maybe you can answer them for me, and then we can talk casually?”

She eyes you. “That depends on the questions in… question.”

“They’re about general things. Nothing that you can’t talk about here, I don’t think.”

She nods. “Alright. Shoot.”

“Okay, first question. In the letter you sent a little while back, while Rainbow was still in the hospital… it sounded like you wanted me.”

Twilight raises an eyebrow. You realize how that sounded, and smile embarrassedly. “Let me rephrase that… Okay, something I noticed in the letter was that you barely even mentioned Rainbow. She was only invited to come along at the very end, and truthfully, it gave me the impression that this was only because you knew I wouldn’t come if she didn’t come with me.”

Rainbow, you realize, has been listening the whole time. After hearing your revelation, she frowns at Twilight, to which the poor princess chuckles nervously.

“Just so you know, I very much enjoy the company of all my friends. No one of you girls is any less important to me than the rest of you.”

“…Which is why I realized how pressing this must be,” you cut in. “You yourself stated that it was urgent. The thing is, the whole situation concerns me. You’ve been so cryptic so far that I honestly have no idea what to expect, and it worries me.”

A long silence ensues. You, and Rainbow, patiently await an answer.

“I was hoping for a decent conversation,” you hear the alicorn mutter under her breath. Twilight takes a deep breath, then sighs. “I suppose I could go page Celestia, and see if she’s ready to speak with you... But really, you need to hear this straight from the princess herself.”

----------

As you’ve found yourself doing many a time on your trip so far, you walk down the castle halls, this time with a pony on either side of you.

“Now, Ivan, I understand that you once told me that your world did not have royalty,” Twilight says, “but I would appreciate if you addressed Princess Celestia with the utmost respect.”

You give her a look. “There are a few flaws in your theory. One, there was royalty in my world, just not in my country. Two, I’ve been living here long enough to gain the common respect that all ponies gain for her. And three,” you wait a moment, almost afraid to admit it, “I’m actually kind of nervous.”

“Don’t be, it’s alright,” Twilight reassures you, in a way that screams condescension. This earns an eye-roll from Dash.

“Celestia’s cool, Ivan,” Rainbow says, giving you a rather hard pat on the leg. “I’ve talked to her plenty of times. It’ll be a breeze for you.”

Again, a bit condescending, but it helps a little. You ruffle up her mane, to which she swats at your hand. The two of you share a smile.

Your group turns a corner, and you find yourselves approaching a large double door that you remember Twilight telling you was the throne room, also the daily site of the day court. Five guards bar access to the rather large entrance.

“Guards,” Twilight addresses them. All five snap to attention, then quickly step aside to create a pathway. A purple aura surrounds both the doors and the princess’s horn, and a crack just wide enough for you to walk through is revealed.

“Good luck,” she says, turning the other way and taking Rainbow with her. Rainbow cranes her neck to look back around at you, and wears a worried expression. You immediately start sweating bullets.

Rainbow protests, her voice coming out in a suspicious tone. “Ho-o-old on. What’s going on? Why are we leaving?”

You point at the room. “Am I seriously going in there alone?”

Twilight stops, and looks back at you as well. “Well, yeah… I mean, like I said, it’s pretty important. The whole day court was canceled today, just for this meeting.”

You gulp. Well, that sure helps.

“Besides,” Twilight says, turning to Rainbow and draping a wing over her back, “We have our own things we need to talk about…”

The pegasus’ eyes widen. “W-we do?”

“Yes… Now come on.”

----------

You stand before the great double door, a bit tentative about going in. The guards haven’t said a word this whole time, they just stay in their spots, barely even blinking. They wear deadpan looks, making you wonder if they’re even getting impatient. Would they do anything if you stood here all day?

Focus, Ivan. You’re meeting with Princess Celestia over a very urgent matter that you have no idea about. Grow some balls, and walk through that door.

Okay.

You adjust your tie, then take forced steps through the opening in the two doors.

You made it. You’re still ali-

SLAM!

You nearly jump out of your skin when the great doors shut behind you. You spin around, and hear something click into place with the oaken wood, sealing your fate.

Well, then.

You turn back around. As you do, your footsteps make clacking noises on the floor, which echo around the spacious room. It’s a very large room, designed kind of like a wide hallway.

Hallways. You tend to run into them a lot nowadays.

“Well, I see that you admire the architecture of my throne room.”

Your heart jumps in your chest, but the voice that beckons you has a kind of calming quality to it. You reason that it is Celestia’s.

“Ivan, is it? Come here. I can’t see you very well all the way down there.”

You turn, and spot Celestia sitting on her throne, both of which are merely small objects from where you stand. However, you know that Celestia is lying about not being able to see you; Twilight recently proved just how sharp an alicorn’s eyesight is.

You begin to walk towards her, the sharp clacking of your footsteps becoming muffled pit-pats as you transition from stone floor to rug. You’re torn between the nervousness that runs up your spine as you approach the literal deity, and the fact that she just seems so… friendly. Countless tales have been told about the power of the mighty Celestia; how she and her sister Luna defeated Discord, and the battle she had with Nightmare Moon, to name a few. Yet, here she sits, all that alleged power contained in a creature that looks mostly harmless.

You stop a respectful distance from her throne. You wonder if you should bow, or make some movement in reverence to your princess, but something tells you to stay how you are.

The pure white alicorn steps down from her throne, and draws near. She stops just before you, close enough for you to feel her presence. From this distance, you can see every detail of her, not only everything physical, but… Though her fur is pure white and her physical features flawless, her face is wrinkled with age. Her lilac eyes study you curiously, and seem rather amused when you look straight into one of them.

“Most of my subjects bow before me when they walk into my throne room,” she quips, the corners of her lips coming up into a light smile.

You smile as well, though still feel a bit intimidated. “Well, I’m honestly just glad I didn’t inadvertently disrespect you, or something.”

She shakes her head. “No worries, you’re new here. Though I must have you know that normally, a subject who fails to show the proper respect for their princess is to be tried in court. The most common punishments are either an unspecified amount in time or jail, or to have their teeth pulled out.” She gives you a polite smile. “Just a heads-up for next time.”

Now, you’re quite uncomfortable. Celestia sees this and visibly drops her act, chuckling.

“I’m kidding, Ivan. Is it wrong for a princess to play a small joke every now and again?”

You breathe a sigh of relief, wiping your brow of the sweat that’s begun to form in little beads. “It’s not wrong, um…” It feels strange, talking to the great ruler so casually, and about jokes of all things. “Just… unexpected. And, excuse me for saying so, but especially such dark humor.”

She harrumphs loudly. “I’m guessing Twilight gave you her little speech about ‘proper etiquette’ with a princess?”

It almost sounds like a statement rather than a question, but you nod in response.

The princess blows air through her nostrils. “Twilight has grown quite pompous over the years concerning the fact that she knows me so personally… quite ironically at this point, I might add.” Celestia shakes her head. “She makes it sound like a great accomplishment to know me, as if it were something difficult or challenging. While I enjoy the reverence I receive from my ponies, it rather vexes me to see a subject standing before me in a puddle of sweat, and Twilight does nothing to help this.”

You think about what she said. You come to a conclusion, but you’re not quite sure it’s right.

“So what you’re saying is that you want me to just speak normally to you?”

Celestia smiles. “Well, only if you’re comfortable with that. It would surely make this process go by much more easily.”

Again, you ponder her words. She wants you to just… talk to her? You look at the princess, searching for some kind of reassurance. Her eyes, just below your chin, blink genially. The manner in which she holds herself is similar to Twilight’s, in a way...

“Come on,” she teases, “the Element of Loyalty had no trouble addressing me. I’m sure she should have rubbed off on you by now.” An evil smirk cracks on her lips, “…in more ways than one, considering.”

You catch your jaw before it drops. Did she really just…?

“T’was just another joke, my dear.”

“How did you know…?”

“I’ve heard much about you,” she informs, “mostly through my former student. Still, there’s much I don’t know, and would be interested to hear it straight from the-” she pauses. “-human’s mouth.” She turns to the window, looking out at something you can’t see.

“Tell me: what is it like, being the only human in Equestria?”

----------

“So, how have things been in Ponyville? I haven’t seen any of you in a long time.”

You brush a lock of polychrome mane out of your face. “Well, Pinkie and Fluttershy are fine, nothing really new with them. Rarity’s been cooped up inside her house working on something, so I haven’t seen much of her, but since the Apples got done bucking apples a few months back I’ve been hanging with Applejack a lot.”

Twilight smiles in a pleased way. “That’s great news. I’m glad to hear that you two have been getting along recently.”

You smile as well. “Yeah. She visited me in the hospital a few times, usually brought candy or something. She brought me a caramel apple once, and I got it stuck on my cast. Ivan had to clean it off. The little prick threw it away afterwards, but it was still funny to see his face.” You giggle at the memory.

Twilight glances back at your wing, noting that there is no longer a cast, but simple gauze tape. “I see. And how are you and Ivan doing? Despite all the things I’ve been hearing, the two of you seem to be alright.”

You tip your head to either side, as if to say so-so. “It’s been pretty rough recently, with all that’s happened, but we’ve managed. He really has a way of dealing with things.” You think about the manner in which he handled your unexpected estrus surprise not too long ago.

Twilight nods. “It would make sense, considering his rather calm demeanor…”

You and Twilight walk in silence for a moment.

“Twilight,” you say to grab her attention.

The purple alicorn looks at you. “Yeah, Dash?”

“Didn’t you say that there was something we needed to talk about?”

Her gaze falters for a moment. “Oh. Yes, there was.”

You raise an eyebrow, watching her expectantly. She coughs into her hoof, and then clears her throat. “Okay, well, I can’t really think of a soft way to introduce this new fact. But…” She clears her throat again. “I’m guessing that you and Ivan have now realized your inability to produce offspring between the two of you at this point, correct?”

You roll your eyes. “Equish, please.”

“You two can’t have babies.”

It’s your turn to choke. “Sorry,” you say, after recovering from a coughing fit. “Yeah, we can’t. But why are you asking this?”

She suddenly smiles, which creeps you out a little. “Well, you see, Rainbow Dash…” She unfolds her wing opposite you, and a small vial floating by a purple aura reveals itself. “…I thought you might want to see this.”

You curiously inspect the small glass object. A strange, clear liquid is visible through the aura of Twilight’s magic. “What is it?”

She sticks her nose up into the air and smiles, emanating pride. “Just a little something I’ve been working on. You see, the idea of cross-species relationships, such as the one you’re currently in, got me interested in the dilemma of the two partners wanting foals. Adoption, surrogacy… sure, they’re options, but really only alternatives to what most couples really want.”

“Right…” You’re not sure you like where this is going.

“An understanding of basic biology is all it takes to know that the major barrier for most species is simply one correlating with relatively vast differences in base sequences within DNA.” She stops for a moment, thinking over what she just said. “So, basically, your DNA is too different to have foals.”

This is all it takes for you to make the connection. “So what you’re saying, is that potion you made-”

“-has the ability to temporarily alter reproductive genes to allow procreation between a pony and another species.” A wide grin spreads across her face. “Rainbow Dash, you and Ivan can have foals!”

As you can still taste the coffee you had earlier, you try to spit it out. This only ends in a small drop of spittle hanging off your lip, which you wipe off with a foreleg. Twilight watches, seeming crestfallen by your reaction.

“Twilight,” you start slowly, putting meaning behind every word as you fix your eyes on the princess, “thanks for the offer, but… I don’t think it will be needed.”

Twilight’s mouth hangs open, as if she were about to say something but stopped. She closes it, instead fixing you with an irritated glare. “Y’know, Dash, I thought for sure that this would be something that you would be more than happy to receive. After all, I started working on this after receiving a certain letter from a certain pegasus who-”

“Yeah, yeah, the letter, I know I know! Don’t be so… loud.” Your ears stand tall as you swivel your head about, looking for anypony who might be listening. You turn back to Twilight when you’re sure the coast is clear. “I know what I said- or wrote, whatever. But I’m happy with what I’m in right now, and don’t want to mess anything up. Besides, I still need to think about the other pony in this relationship.”

She cocks her head. “The other- ohh, Ivan…” She thinks about this for a moment. “Well, he’s pretty understanding. I’m sure he would go along with it if you showed him how much this really means to you.”

“But that’s just it.” You shake your head. “I know he would go along with it. But it just doesn’t feel right to go and force him to do something he doesn’t wanna do, especially something he doesn’t even know is possible.” You sigh, another thought weighing heavily on your mind. “Besides that, he’s still pretty young. He turned eighteen like, a few months ago.”

Twilight chuckles. “Oh, Rainbow. I wouldn’t worry about that. He was thirty years old before his eighteenth birthday, remember?”

“Oh, Celestia, don’t remind me.” You hear Twilight stifling a laugh, and wait for her to finish before you continue. “Still, I don’t wanna force him into this. I mean, we’re not even committed yet.”

She raises an eyebrow. “’Yet?’”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s just wishful thinking,” you say as you watch the patterns on the rug go by.

She pauses. “So, you want him to…?”

“I…” You find it rather difficult to make eye contact with her. “I sent you that letter awhile back… talking about the thing… so yeah, I guess.”

“I see,” she says thoughtfully. Then, after a pause, “So do you think he will? Commit, I mean.”

You groan, as this question has been a major weight on your mind. A month in the hospital with only your thoughts and thirty minutes of iPod a day hadn’t helped much. “I don’t know… He has this weird idea in his head that everypony is supposed to marry, or something.” The Cakes may have been a factor in this misleading, as they’re rather well-off. “Even if he didn’t, I’m not so sure.”

Twilight seems confused for a moment, but then puts her hoof to her chin in thought. “I wonder if it’s a cultural difference…”

“Seems like it always is with him…”

“So are you going to tell him?”

You give the purple mare a questioning look. “Tell him what?”

“About the whole committal thing. I mean, if you really mean everything you just told me… well, he deserves to know.”

For some reason, this angers you. Your mouth silently opens as you try to come up with a retort, but can find none. In the end, you just sit down in one spot and hang your head in defeat. “…I wish it were that easy.”

It takes a second for Twilight to notice that you are no longer with her. When she does, she turns around, coming back to you and placing a reassuring hoof on your shoulder. You hear the faint jingle of magic, and look up.

Your jaw lowers itself slightly at the sight before you. There, floating in a purple aura, is the vial containing the potion that Twilight made for you. You look up at her; she smiles, and shakes the glass bottle, gesturing for you to take it.

You turn your head sideways to grip it in your teeth, and then gingerly tuck it into the space between your wing and your body. You ruffle your good wing, getting used to the extra object pressed firmly against your body.

Twilight leans forward, wrapping her forelegs around you comfortingly. You hug her back, nuzzling her neck with your snout and enjoying the warm feeling of your friend.

----------

The clock’s long hand makes a full revolution by the time you finish explaining the less fine details of your time in Equestria.

Throughout your story, Celestia had been very inquisitive, asking questions as you went. However, she had started to become quiet, and eventually silenced herself as you moved past the fiasco with Scootaloo, her dad, and whatever his intentions may have been when he broke into yours and Rainbow Dash’s house. When you finish, you think you see a slight glimmer in the immortal pony’s eye. This disappears as soon as you see it, and the alicorn lets out a long, drawn-out sigh.

“I suppose I should let you know what I brought you here for…” she begins. “…though, now, I hardly think it should affect you so greatly as I had previously assumed. But, it is still very relevant to you, and is definitely something that Twilight, Luna, and I all agreed that you should at least be aware of.”

The sound of a clock ticking echoes about the room. Celestia lets out another deep breath.

“While Twilight was still in Ponyville as my student, I had her keep tabs on you. Not spying, or anything of that matter, but to simply update me on how you were getting along, and for her to inform me on anything you said or did that may have seemed important. In that, she did her job well.

"Not too long after the discovery of you had been made, I received a letter from Twilight. She was excited, that much I could tell from the random splotches of ink on the paper and the shaky penmanship. She said that you had finally told them how you had gotten here, and wrote to me on the alleged details on how you arrived in Equestria. She said that, as a scientist, she had to be reasonably skeptical; but as for me, I believed every last word of that letter.”

You cock your head. Celestia, seeming to anticipate your puzzlement, explains.

“Try to believe me when I say this, Ivan. You’re not the first human this world has seen, nor will you likely be the last. Your being here is truly a rare phenomenon, sure, but there have been at least a dozen before you. Their stories are always similar: went into a cave, got lost in a sandstorm, fallen into a hole, couldn’t find their way out of a mineshaft… Even just over fifty years ago, a sunken ship was found at the bottom of our eastern ocean. A human ship.”

Are you really hearing this? You feel the urge to bombard the princess with questions, but as you sense that there’s more explaining to be done, you decide to keep silent and listen.

“I could go into greater detail about how this all works- oh, maybe I will, later. But, the fact of the matter is, the way in which one enters this world can also be used to exit. In the case of, say, a sunken ship or a sandstorm, it can be rather difficult for one to retrace their steps; but a cave can be relatively easily crossed through.”

Your eyes are wide as you anxiously watch the white alicorn. “Does this mean…?”

She nods. “For the past year and a half, various experts who can identify portals have been accompanied by royal guards on expeditions into the Everfree Forest. Recently, a cave emitting tremendous amounts of magical energy was discovered. Some of the party members of one group went to investigate, and concluded that there is, indeed, an active portal in the south-eastern portion of the forest.”

There’s a portal in the Everfree Forest. An active portal in the Everfree Forest.

Holy shit.

You find yourself becoming dizzy, and catch yourself on Celestia’s outstretched wing before you fall. You thank her, then begin to pace back and forth, still coming to terms with this reality.

You stop. When you look at her, you can only assume that you’re not looking so good, because she gives a kind of worried grimace. “So, I can go home…” you state more than ask.

The white mare’s eyes widen, as she seems caught off guard. She starts cautiously, speaking slowly at first as to not be too sudden. “Yes, I suppose you can.” Surprise is evident in her voice, careful and controlled as she is with it. “But if you wish to leave, you have a little less than a few weeks to do so, at most. As much magic is it contains, it has been determined that the portal is dying. Another two weeks or so, and it may be too unsafe or risky to attempt to cross through.”

Two weeks… Two weeks to make the biggest decision of your life. A year ago, you told yourself that if you ever had the chance to go back, to leave this technicolored world and return to your old life, you would. It would be sad at first, because of the friends you’d made here, but it isn’t as if you’ve never had to leave friends behind before. But, at this point in time, there are more than simple friendships to hold you back…

“…Is it wrong that, even after everything I just told you, that I still sometimes wish I could go back and see my old friends and family? Just to say goodbye, at least.”

Celestia gives you a look of empathy. “I suppose that if we were quick enough, you could be sent through and back in that window of time. Although, there is always the risk that the portal could become unstable while you’re still in the other universe.” She shakes her head. “It is quite unfortunate that we discovered this so late…”

You close your eyes, thinking. Could you go through, see your family and maybe friends, and exit the portal back into Equestria? From the way Celestia makes it sound, it seems as if it’s either here or there; all or nothing. Even if you did go back to Earth with the full intent of returning to Ponyville, would your old acquaintances even allow you to? What would your mom think if you said, “I love you guys, but I gotta go. I prefer the world with talking horses.” What if you went through that portal, and then decided you didn’t want to come back?

No matter what choice you make, you feel as if it can never be a win-win situation. Every choice has consequences, and it seems like regret is a sure cost of all of these decisions. You feel a wing drape around your shoulders, and look to see Celestia’s face next to yours. She wears a solemn expression, one used when sharing in another’s inner turmoil.

“You have the said amount of time to make your decision. I’m sure you already understand the impact this will have on the rest of your life, so all I hope is for you to make the right decision.” She begins to walk towards the great double doors, her ethereal mane trailing behind her. “I’ll leave you to yourself to think, now.”

----------

You and Rainbow both sit on the bed of the guest room, the silence loud enough to hear a pin drop. When the two of you met in the hallway, little more was said than, “How’d it go?” and “Fine.” After that, both of you walked quietly back to your room.

“So…” you say, finally breaking the silence.

“So…” the rainbow-maned pegasus, still wearing your sweater, repeats.

A pause.

“There’s something I need to tell y-” you both say at once, but then stop once you realize you’re talking over each other.

“You first,” she quickly says. You can’t help but find that a little strange, but put it out of your mind in favor of the bigger problem.

“Okay, uhm,” you start, not quite sure how to begin, “I don’t really know how to put this lightly… You know that- thing- I had to talk with Celestia about?”

“Yeah?”

You gulp. “Well, apparently, they- they found the cave.”

She raises an eyebrow. “What cave?”

“You know, the cave that I-” You don’t even have to finish your sentence. Your throat tightens, and the silence is all you need to know that she gets it.

Her face has turned a pale shade of her normal blue. She chuckles weakly, and gives a sick-looking smile. “Oh. Th-that’s nice. What did th-they n-need you for?”

You gulp. Why is this so hard to say? “Celestia offered- she offered me to, uh… go home. My Earth home.”

You notice that one of her hooves is shaking. She quickly places her other hoof over it to stop it. She’s having a hard time holding her smile.

“Heh, heh. It’s a good thing you’re not going then, right?”

You rub your arm and look downward. The pattern on the blanket suddenly looks so interesting…

“Ivan, answer me,” she orders, her voice rising in volume. You don’t answer. The bed shakes slightly as she jumps up to all fours. “Don’t ignore me, Ivan. Answer me right fucking now.”

You look up. She’s taken an offensive stance, her one wing forming a bump underneath the sweater and her legs look ready to rocket her forward at a moment’s notice. You just shake your head. “I… really don’t know what I’m going to do, Dash.”

For a second, it looks as if she might pounce on you. Her eyes form narrow slits, and her teeth clamp together in rage. Her chests heaves, a shudder following behind every breath. Then, a tear rolls off her snout and down her cheek.

“So, that’s it, then.” Her voice is quiet, nearly a whisper. As she chokes back sobs, her breathing becomes unsteady. “Just. Like. That. Everything we had together… It never really mattered to you, did it?”

Your jaw drops, and your own brow furrows. “I never said that!”

“But you meant it.” Her voice is a sharp blade. “You say you care, but what does it mean if you’re just gonna throw me away in the end?”

…you’re just gonna throw me away… “I’m not ‘throwing you away!’ I just… this is a really tough decision for me, alright?! And you’re not making it any easier!”

Tears stream freely down her face. “Alright, I’ll make it easier for you, then. Go back to your ‘home.’ Go back to the people who think you’re dead by now, and probably stopped looking for you months ago. Don’t worry about us; you can leave with a clear conscience, because nobody here is going to miss you. Nopony here is going to be sad, or lonely, or cry their fucking eyes out when you’re gone!”

She jumps off the bed and trots to the exit of the master bedroom. When she gets to the door, however, she stops. “You know, sometimes you act like you’re so smart. You put on this act, like you’re all high and mighty and above everyone else. Well, you don’t fool me, Ivan! You make stupid, stupid choices, just like everypony else!”

She stomps through the next room, and opens the door out of the suite. “And I’m keeping this sweater!” she calls out, before slamming the door behind her.

You sit on the bed by yourself, feeling dazed. Depressed. Tired.

You need some sleep.

----------

The whole scene plays itself over in your mind. Over and over again, you see Rainbow’s horrified expression when you first mention the cave. Her stinging words bounce around and echo about your head, like some broken record player repeating the ending to a sad song.

“You know, sometimes you act like you’re so smart. You put on this act, like you’re all high and mighty and above everyone else. Well, you don’t fool me, Ivan! You make stupid, stupid choices, just like everypony else!”

“You say you care, but what does it mean if you’re just gonna throw me away in the end?”

“Everything we had together… It never really mattered to you, did it?”

You went to sleep to get away from all this…

“It’s just not fair, is it?”

You’re nearly jolted awake when a voice sounds from within your head. However, you feel yourself unable to open your eyes, as if something is forcibly keeping you unconscious.

“Are you almost done struggling? It’s rather taxing to have to do this…”

The voice is female, that much you can tell, and sounds strained, as if she were physically exerting herself. You realize that by ‘struggling,’ she is referring to how you constantly try to pry your eyes open, and so you do your best to relax.

“Much better.” The voice, formerly making its owner seem omnipresent, suddenly sounds as if it were coming from a certain direction. Your ears pinpoint this location, and you quickly turn to your right.

Your eyes widen at the sight before you. “Surprised?” the midnight blue alicorn asks, beginning to approach you. You want to back away, and feel your body- dream body, maybe- begin to fade in a vain attempt to hide. However, as the mare draws closer, your fear leaves you. Luna makes no attempts to mask her emotions, and from what you can see, the night princess seems… sad? Maybe empathetic?

“I… yeah, I guess. I wasn’t really expecting to see another princess. Truthfully, I never expected to even meet a princess, much less both you and Celestia in one day…”

She snorts. “And why not? You’re currently the only human in Equestria. You should expect to receive a considerable amount of special attention.” A frown forms on her face. “And you seem to be forgetting about our newest addition to the crown...”

Upon realizing your mistake, you nearly facepalm. “Oh, yeah, Twilight. I don’t know, I still can’t really wrap my head around her being Princess Twilight Sparkle. Maybe it’s because I’m too familiar with her or something, but she’s just Twilight to me.”

The princess of the night nods thoughtfully. “Well, you may not know it, but the two of us are a bit more familiar than you think.” Upon seeing your confusion, she smiles. “As I said before, being the only member of your species that currently exists in Equestria has attracted special attention to yourself. Coincidentally, I also have a practice of visiting troubled subjects’ dreams in order to aid them in their struggles. I’m sure you can put two and two together.”

“So, you’re saying that you’ve… been in my dreams?” you ask. “I don’t remember that.”

She chuckles this time. “You wouldn’t; I’ve never blatantly exposed myself to you in the fashion that I currently am now. But, ‘to be frank,’ if it weren’t for me, you would be quite dead.”

This only serves to confuse you even further. Luna seems to expect this, and continues her explanation. “Let us go back to the beginning: when you first arrived in the Everfree Forest. Now, what would you say makes that forest different from every other one you’ve encountered?”

Your answer is immediate. “The monsters.”

She nods. “Good. Now, even with your somewhat impressive knowledge of the wilderness, do you really believe that you could have survived out there on your own? I was watching, Ivan.”

You cock your head. “But how? I mean, I don’t remember you being there, and the only dreams I had were these recurring nightmares that wouldn’t let me sleep. That wasn’t very useful, because all that did was make me really tired and jumpy.”

“But, you’re missing the point,” she says, a bit of enthusiasm building in her voice. “The nightmares. What were they about, and when did they start?”

“They were about the monsters that I saw in the Everfree,” you answer the first question. The second, you have to think about for a moment. “And it started… the very first night.”

She nods again. “Correct. Now, when did you first encounter one of these monsters?”

“The second day, I think.”

She stays silent and just smiles at you. You ponder over your own words, something not fitting quite right in your own story.

“Oh, wow.”

“Oh, wow, indeed,” she says triumphantly. “You had nightmares of creatures that you never even knew existed. As some ponies theorize, the purpose of nightmares is to prepare oneself for dangerous events that they may encounter in the future. A kind of training, you could say.”

This is all rather astounding to you. “When else were you there?” you ask, trying to wrack your brain for any possible dreams that Luna may have influenced. “I don’t remember you in any of my other dreams.”

“I wouldn’t think so,” she responds. “After the first time, I rarely meddled in your affairs. I kept an eye on you, just to see how things were getting along, but only intervened when I thought it was truly necessary.”

“And… you’re here now.”

“Indeed,” she answers, nodding. “You see, my sister believes that she can understand what you are going through. But she can’t. She has lost many friends over the years, but something that she has never once done is taken for herself a lover; and that, I assure you, is quite different.” She gains a devious smile. “Ivan, Celestia has informed you that there have been other humans in Equestria, correct?”

You nod. “And other portals as well…?”

“Indeed,” she confirms. “Has she told you about the ponies once residing on earth?”

Your eyes widen, and you shake your head. “No, if you don’t include the mindless, non-talking animals.”

“They weren’t what I was referring to, no…” she chuckles. “In case you haven’t figured it out by now, there’s a bit of explaining to be done here. So, my bipedal subject, make yourself comfortable, for you are about to hear the lengthy tale of the equine race, and how Celestia and I became the rulers of it.”

----------

“Now, our story begins a very, very long time ago; let us say, about three and a half millennia. Our setting: Crete.”

Crete? It sounds familiar…

Your eyes shoot wide open. “Isn’t that near Greece?”

She raises an eyebrow, before realization dawns on her face. “Oh, yes. I believe that’s what it is being called now, yes. Now, please, let me explain.”

You sit back, wondering just where the heck this story is going.

“Now, during this time, there were powerful beings who learned the ways of magic. The most powerful of these beings often later became known through history as ‘gods.’ The legends tailored around them often greatly exaggerated their power, and oftentimes characters were even made up by storytellers. From the last time one of your kind visited Equestria, it was rather difficult to separate fact from fiction.”

You nod dumbly, your whole view on the world suddenly changed the instant she mentioned magic on Earth.

“Here, we go back to the mages. At some point, the question had arisen among them: what was life? And, could life be created? Contrary to popular belief, all of the gods had once been or still were mortal, and still had many questions about the universe. So, as the inquisitive human race does, they began to experiment.”

At this point, Luna seems to become a little uneasy. She rubs her foreleg, then says, “I suppose that you could say they were successful… to an extent. Many of their first experiments consisted of sewing together animals, and even including other humans in this rather disgusting form of tailoring. Necromancy and the transfer of a conscious from one body to another were thrown into the mix, used in different combinations, or on their own, and soon a rather large variety of different creatures had been created.

“As one of the few created races with the ability to survive for more than a few weeks, sapient ponies quickly multiplied and became widespread throughout Greece. Since we were originally derived mostly from magic, with just a few samples of genetic material, we were very in touch with the magic of the universe- so much, in fact, that the ability to use magic in some form came naturally to all ponies: whether they be unicorns, pegasi, or earth ponies.”

You start to wonder about alicorns. How did they come to be? Luna, seemingly knowing, nods, and continues her story.

“Now, something that the mages, which at that point included unicorns themselves, found was that they couldn’t create a pony that had both a horn and wings. The spells they used would often cause unicorns to receive pegasus genes or vice versa, but both limbs could never be placed on one pony at the same time. Actually, I will rephrase that; creating a living pony with both limbs was impossible, as the magic required to ensure both pieces spawned correctly often killed the subject before it was even brought to life. So, for quite a long time, the mere idea of the elusive alicorn became fantasy, and was thought impossible to ever achieve.

“Then, a young unicorn mare from Crete came along. She later became known as Celestia. As a young woman, she was very smart, very ambitious; not nearly the wise ruler of Equestria that she is today, but still quite clever. She proposed to the magic community a bold claim: that she knew how to create an alicorn. She said that winged unicorn could be created not from an embryo or a mish-mash of animal parts, but by magically sewing a pair of wings to a unicorn. She theorized that an adult pony had more resistance to magic than a foal did, so therefore could better handle the magic required in creating an alicorn, and that if the whole process was done slowly, a unicorn could channel out any excess magic through their horn. When asked who would be the subject of this experiment, Celestia enthusiastically volunteered.

“‘Secretly,’ she told me, ‘I know this will work. I will gain immense power as the world’s first alicorn, and in time, sister, I will pass on that power to you.’

“I’ll admit, there were a few things that I had my doubts about; one of them being her promise of bestowing me alicorn status. Her hypothesis nearly depended on the fact that the subject in question was a unicorn, and contrary to popular belief, I was originally a pegasus. But, as always, Celestia had a plan.

“Something she was well aware of was the fact that there were those who would want to prevent the rise of an alicorn. They knew, too, that if the subject survived, the immense amount of power required to create an alicorn would cause that pony to obtain power of that level, or possibly greater. So, on the day that she was to be transformed, she wore a special purple amulet around her neck. This amulet- a gift from a close friend- was made of a certain kind of crystal, which had the ability to retain large amounts of magical energy. It also captured the specific spells of the magic it absorbed, which could be released for use at a later time.

“When the experiment was conducted, there were those in the group of supposedly trustable mages that meant to cause my sister harm by channeling far more energy into her than was safe, which would have hurt or even killed her had she not worn the necklace. In the end, to the astonishment of everyone present, she was left unchanged in the slightest; as a result, it was concluded that the test had been a failure. And so, with the would-be assassins thrown off our trail, we were safe for the time being.

“This was our chance. We would perform the experiment on our own. Celestia had a hidden laboratory- one that the two of us would spend hours, sometimes days in. I always acted as her assistant, and this time was no different. I stood by as she very cautiously began releasing the spells from her gem, making sure to only release as much as she could absorb at a time. All the while, I would be there in case something happened to her.

“I was very fortunate that I was present. Apparently, the gem had absorbed more magic than it should have been able to take. Celestia was taking extreme caution, as much as you can while taking a risk, as energy was being released in erratic bursts. Unfortunately, one can still set off a trap while treading lightly- the gem cracked, and nearly a quarter of the total magic flowed out all at once. The rest followed in the moments after, nearly blinding me and causing my sister to convulse crazily. It was… quite frightening.

“Being around Celestia as often as I was, I understood how magic worked. Excess magic can be transferred from one pony to another by contact with certain magic-sensitive parts of the body. So, on a jerk reaction, I immediately did the only action I could think to take: I grabbed her horn.”

She starts to chuckle, lightly shaking her head. “Stupid, stupid, stupid. That was not only the perfect way to literally snap her horn in half, but a very large amount of that magic rushed through her horn and into me. I suppose that that is what I was going for, but in all likelihood, I should have died then and there. That day, we were both very, very lucky fillies.

“When I awoke, the pain was excruciating. My whole body felt as if I had been charred by lightning, inside and out, and I had such a dreadful headache. Reaching up, I went to touch my forehead. My hoof flared up in pain when it hit something hard, but that was just it. My hoof touched something hard.”

She smiles, a fond memory passing through her mind. “When the pain subsided enough so that we both could actually move, Celestia was ecstatic. She had proven that the mythical alicorn was no mere myth, and we were the living proof of this! It all went over quite well with Crete, who boasted of the first living alicorns. Our reputation of power became known around the Mediterranean basin, as well as the eastern empires, and I suppose you could say that we even achieved ‘god’ status. I believe Celestia even said that the last human visitor we had here in Equestria mentioned our place in Greek mythology, so I am quite pleased to hear that we are still very much alive in our native land.”

“Yes,” you say, smiling impishly despite your utter awe in hearing Luna’s tale, “the myths of the winged stallion named Pegasus are basic literature where I am from.”

The dark princess snorts, rolling her eyes. “As I said earlier, much becomes distorted in the great vastness of time.”

“So, um, princess?” you start to start to ask, “Sorry if this sounds rude, how does this help me with my problem?” The way she eyes you sends shivers down your spine. You’re not sure if she’s even meaning to come off on you the way she is, but… “This is all very interesting- no, mind-blowing, to be honest- but I still have a bit of a problem…”

She holds a forehoof up, signaling for you to be silent. “I know, I know. I realized I’ve rambled on a bit. But, more than likely, you would be rather lost had you not heard the first part of this story. After all, you must wait for the fruit to ripen for it to be good for eating. Am I correct in saying so?”

You nod, although the analogy seems a little out of the blue. Seeming satisfied with your response, the ages-old princess continues with her tale.

“Now, where was I-? Oh,yes. So, all was well for the ponies. The same could also be said of most of the other species- gryphons had existed long before us, but alongside the minotaurs, we were integrating quite well into the human society. As for me and my sister, we began to be looked up to in our community. We both had immense magical power, and even our outward appearances gained striking differences from normal ponies as a result of this energy. My natural growth was literally stunted, yet I still grew to be taller, and though I may not look it, stronger than the finest pony stallions in the land. My sister, being full-grown when the ‘incident’ occurred, well… you’ve seen her. I am simply going to assume that there is no need to elaborate.”

Again, you nod. A few questions arise and a few questions are solved, but you save mentioning any of them for a later time. Right now, you sense a hidden tone creeping up in Luna’s voice; something that was there the whole time, yet seems to have been building up to this moment.

“The change was gradual. And, before I confuse you, no, I am not talking about me and my sister’s change in physiology, although that was a gradual occurrence. I am talking about the mentality of the era. You see, what people define as ‘normal’ is what they are comfortable with; what they are comfortable with is usually within their control. Anything that is outside their control, they will react negatively, and try to justify some way to bring it within their control. If they can’t, well… if history is any indicator, humans have tended to eliminate things that they don’t like.”

You cringe. Princess Luna’s sharp eyes don’t miss a thing, and she quickly clears her throat. “Now, don’t feel as if I discriminate against you or your race,” she says, “ponies are quite guilty of this fault as well. I could name some examples, but I’m sure we would both rather I continue with the story in- uh, Greece.”

You outwardly agree, but silently, her words bug you. The way she talked about humans… it sounded like she got a bad taste in her mouth. Honestly, if she does hold something against your kind, you can see where she’s coming from; humans do have a relatively high tendency for violence…

Not that all people are bad. Really, it seems like a few twisted individuals tend to corrupt a whole society. Upon thinking back to an incident that happened mere weeks ago, you recall the ponies having these individuals as well… maybe they’ve just learned to control them better than the residents of Earth did?

Your mind comes back to reality- or, whatever you might call it, as Luna continues. “As time went on, segregation became more and more common. Communities of ponies were formed separate from our human counterparts, partly due to them shunning us, and partly because of an effort by ponies to protect themselves. Ourselves. Everything that had any magical powers or was deemed ‘unnatural’- or, I could just say any living being that wasn’t directly controlled by the humans- was either quarantined, or treated extremely unfairly.

“As ponies, we felt extremely oppressed; though truthfully, I felt most for the human mages. As magic users, they were deemed untouchable by their own people, often labeled as ‘witches’ and persecuted relentlessly; as humans, they were not very welcome in the communities of the ‘created,’ not with the way their relatives repressed those beings. They were the smallest minority of all, and nobody wanted anything to do with them.

“In the loose communities that Celestia and I ‘governed,’ we decided that allowance of entry into our small villages would not be based on race. It would be extremely hypocritical and adverse to the message of love and acceptance we were trying to send. As a result of our racial tolerance, our towns were very culturally diverse; ponies still made up the majority of the population, but gryphons, minotaurs, and even humans dotted the lands. This integration actually allowed us to prosper due to the spread of culture, ideas, and technology, and a new and powerful society was on the rise.

“While acceptance is what made us prosper, there was still a major bias against the humans within our society. Most of them were mages: outcasts of the human society, who wished for a better life within our boundaries. Unfortunately, not a lot changed for them: they were still being shunned, lynched, and killed, the only difference between us and the outside world being that these actions were illegal. But, seeing as how our means of enforcement consisted of a rather small Guard centered mostly in our capital province, the law often made little difference.

“So, as a means of encouraging acceptance, Celestia and I ourselves began associating with the humans. Of course, there were some rotten ones- humans who had likely adopted the common thought process of their race, and had only come to our villages to escape persecution- but the majority of the mages among us were well-mannered, very sharp and interesting characters. The elders among them often advised us, as we were still very young rulers overseeing the birth of a fast-growing state, and humans whom we trusted even gained positions of power. One such human was a rather close friend of ours, and, well… I suppose he’s what makes you and I so alike.”

Luna pauses, staring off into space for a moment. She closes her eyes. “It appears that we have gone from a history lesson to an anecdote. A tale, forgotten by most but burnt into the minds of those who hold it dear. So since it is, in fact, a story, I shall recite it like one.

“There were once three friends. Close friends. Two were sisters, and the third you could call a brother, though he shared no blood with the two. In fact, he wasn’t even of the same species: the sisters, as you have probably deduced by now, are Celestia and I. The brother, we will call him-” Luna puts her hoof to her chin in thought. “-Faithful. He had a name, but I believe that Faithful fits him better, so that is what he shall be called.

“Now, the three were very close- they had known each other nearly from birth. Their friendship was an odd one, but their parents allowed it, so it continued to thrive. The boy named Faithful was curious about the two sisters- one could walk on clouds, while the other had a horn which allowed her to cast spells and alter magic in almost any way imaginable. Faithful became inspired, and sought to learn how this worked.

“In the years to come, with the help of his friends, Faithful learned to cast spells. As it turned out, he was very in tune with the magic of the earth, and could harness great amounts of raw energy. He was noticed by a renowned master wizard, and taken under this mage’s wing to study as his apprentice.

“It was an unsaid fact between the trio of friends that Celestia had a higher skill in magic than Faithful did; at least in every area but earth magic. But, sadly, females did not receive the same opportunities as their male counterparts at the time. Aware of this, Faithful left Celestia an enchanted purple gem as a parting gift, and wished her luck in her own private studies.

“Years later, he reappeared during the ‘magic purge.’ He had heard of our ventures, and decided to come see for himself the famed princesses of the pony state. Aside from that, he was growing uneasy of his peoples’ actions, and knew that we would accept him into our towns. He was right, of course, and upon becoming aware of his presence we arranged for a meeting between the three of us.

“T’was rather interesting; pleasantly so, to be honest. He was surprised to see the physical changes the alicorn form had done us, and said it suited us. He noticed Celestia wearing the gem he had given her all those years ago, and was pleased to see that she kept it; and even moreso to know that it had been a crucial factor in our ascension to alicornhood.

“What we soon came to learn about him was that he, too, had gained a fair amount of renown. He was quite well-known as a magic user in his region, owing a partial bit of his fame to a few spells he invented to improve farming and agriculture. He mentioned his distaste in enchanting gems like he had once done with his gift to Celestia, as a corrupt mind could easily exploit such power and misuse it. We agreed that it was a legitimate concern.

“And so, as time went on, he built a house for himself and resided in a farming village, not too far from the capital. His skill in earth magic allowed us to support a growing population, and even prosper through exporting surplus yields. Due to that, and partially due to his interest in a co-matriarchy and how our government worked, we endowed him with certain political powers over the land in which he resided. With Faithful’s honest concern for our country’s well-being, we found that it was a decision we would not regret.”

Luna looks down, and begins to paw the ground. “I suppose that this is where my tale becomes relevant to your situation. When I think about it, it’s rather uncanny how similar my past dilemma is to your current one. I just hope that your story ends with a bit less… regret.”

She sighs, taking a wistful breath of air. “I suppose what happened blindsided us. I mean, at the time, cross-species relationships were unheard of… quite taboo, really. Even with our capability for intelligent thought, we were still considered by most humans, and sometimes even by members of our own species, to be animals. Yet, Faithful had known us longer than he could remember, and thought differently. It was unnatural, but what we had transgressed what was normal and extended past our physical exteriors, to what was inside. It took some time for us to realize, and even cope with our feelings, but we soon professed our love to one another… and were honestly completely unsure of where to go from there.

“Celestia, if you don’t know, is quite the romantic fantisizer. She was absolutely ecstatic; likely, she had been hoping this would happen for a long time, and was happy that we had gone to her first on this. While her first suggestion- a rather brash and poorly thought out one, at that- was to go public with our love, for the sake of our well-beings we decided to keep it secret for the time being. Her reasoning was that it may have been used to help unite the humans and the ponies, but Faithful and I were more convinced it would cause riots. So, for a few blissful months, he courted me in secret, and we continued to pursue our feelings for one another.

“It was not long later when the trouble began. The rulers began sending their ‘heros,’ oftentimes sons of mages themselves, to go about and slaughter ‘monsters’ for rewards. At the same time, human commanders began mounting raids into various camps of the created beings. However, it was only when a group of minotaurs retaliated by storming a market in Minos and massacring everything in sight, that full-scale wars broke out.

“The society that Celestia and I presided over was unlucky enough to have been attacked by the normally-peaceful state of Corinth. The first invasion they launched, they marched right over us. We stood absolutely no chance, and the residents of our villages knew it as well as Celestia and I. As a result, some fled; to the woods, to the sea, wherever they believed they could escape to. Many stayed, though as time went on and the Corinthians got closer to the capital, it became quite clear that we were fighting a losing battle.

“Then, a strange but wonderful opportunity was presented to us. A griffon mage claimed that he had ‘caught’ a rip in the universe, and that we may be able to use it to our advantage. Nobody took him seriously, but Celestia, being a bit curious and admittedly desperate as well, went with him to see what he meant.

“A day after the appearance of the strange griffon in our court, Celestia came back to me saying that she had wonderful news. The griffon had discovered a portal to another dimension, and that if Celestia and I were to pump energy into it, it may be able to stay open long enough for at least most of our nation to cross through. And so, that is what we did. For a whole month, we powered the portal while ponies, minotaurs, griffons, and others passed through, only temporarily closing the portal at times to rest.

“Finally, it was time for us to cross through. Faithful had stayed with us the whole way, offering support in any way he could and waiting with us. When the time came, we decided that he should be the first of the three of us to go. We watched as he stepped through that portal…”

Luna’s ears droop at this moment, and she looks downcast. “…and fell right through the back of it. All of the other humans who even had the opportunity to cross through wished to remain on Earth, so he was the first of his kind to try it.”

----------

Your cock your head, confused. “So, this portal… Was it the same kind that I came through?”

The mare of the night nods. “You are correct. You see, these portals have been appearing between our two dimensions since- well, not even I know that. It just so happens that the griffon mage was able to force one open; and the fact that you happened to find yourself here by means of portal-jumping was pure coincidence.”

“Okay, so I’m going to take that as a yes,” you say. “What I’m wondering, though, is how I was able to cross if- uh, Faithful couldn’t?”

“We later found out that his inability to use the portal was not due to his heritage itself, but rather a combination of his magic and species.” She shakes her head. “Human magic isn’t compatible with the portal’s, it seems.”

The forlorn way in which she acts makes you hesitant to ask the question that’s on your mind. With Luna, however, what you think never seems to be confined to the walls of your head, as she quickly perks up and recomposes herself. “You want to know what happened to Faithful.”

She says this as a statement, a fact, rather than a question, as if the answer is obvious. You nod your head in response.

“I don’t know,” is all she says. She stares at her hooves for some time, letting silence take hold for a minute. “There was no time to try to figure this out. The Corinthians were getting closer and closer, and I only had two options: go with my sister through the portal, and continue to rule over the ponies by her side; or flee to the ends of the earth with my lover.”

She promptly wipes her eyes, making you wonder if the pain of it all has really lasted this long. “I gave him one last kiss, and a feather to remember me by, and then walked through. I know not whether he escaped, or if he was captured and let Celestia-knows-what be done to him. But, over these millennia, the memory of him lasts to this day, clear as the stars at midnight.” She sighs, then shakes her head. “What was even worse, is that the ponies that I had given up my lover for had just been decimated by a racial dispute, just barely recovering from the disaster that is now celebrated as ‘Hearth’s Warming Eve.’ Apparently, when we got there, Celestia and I had been gone for well-near a century.”

You sit there for a moment, deep in thought. You rub your chin, then skeptically ask, “So, you’re saying that I should… leave?”

“I’m saying that you should make what you think is the right choice.” She trots on up to you, sitting on her haunches beside you and draping a wing over your back. “I did what I believed was right. Although it looked like my choice was ill-founded at first, because of my decision, Equestria is what it is today.” She looks up at the constellations. You follow her gaze, and realize that the stars bring you a slightly… familiar, possibly nostalgic feeling.

“Still,” she says, breaking the silence, “at the time, Celestia and I didn’t know that we would be so long-lived. I had hoped to someday see Faithful in the afterlife, but…” she trails off.

You nod, not needing an explanation. The two of you sit there, the mutual respect of two people who can relate to one another floating between you. The princess gasps upon feeling an arm drape around her back, but as her muscles ease up that shock quickly transitions to a smile.

“Thanks, Princess Luna.”

----------

You wake up. Looking around, you notice that the room has become a bit darker, but other than that looks untouched since you fell asleep. You yawn, wondering where Rainbow might be; you need to talk to her.

Maybe she’s back?

“Hey, Rainbow?” you call out as you step off of your bed. You look down for a moment when your feet, shoes on, hit the rug. You tug at your collar, realizing that you must have fallen asleep with your clothes on: suit, tie, and all.

You should probably change.

Minutes later, you’ve changed into some sweat pants, a t-shirt, and some comfortable moccasin-type shoes. Knowing that it may be a bit chilly out, you don your sweater. Pulling the hood over your head, and with one final glance around, you turn the brass doorknob and exit the room.

Upon passing through the doorway, you’re greeted by the sight of another door, all the way across the distance of what appears to be another fucking room.

Holy shit, this place has to be bigger than your actual house…

----------

It’s dark, it’s cold, it’s snowing. It’s been like this for at least an hour now.

And you still haven’t found her.

Taking off one of your moccasins, you swear under your breath. You turn it upside down, and some snow and wet dirt tumble out. You hop on one leg over to a bench on the side of the road, gaining some looks as you do so, and slip your shoe back on. You sigh.

Off on the horizon, the sun is lowered by a princess now familiar to you. As you watch, the bright orb gradually dips lower and lower, washing the already-pink sky of all blue with the beginnings of a dark, speckled blanket.

Again, you sigh. For a multi-colored pegasus, she’s pretty damn hard to find.

You know that not finding her tonight doesn’t mean you’ll never see her again. Not only is she currently living with you, but all her stuff is in your house, not to mention you have all the same friends and are sharing the same room at the castle… But seeing her after the fact, long after the storm has blown over, just isn’t going to do. You need to talk to her soon.

The thought occurs to you that she may be with Twilight right now, but you let that idea disperse. You know her; she’s the kind of mare that runs off to be by herself when she’s upset. Usually, she goes and finds a cloud to be on, but as of late, there aren’t exactly many clouds she can reach…

…oh, yeah.

You know you’d already checked that certain park, but the whole place is enormous. Aside from that, you hadn’t paid any special attention to any specific spots; she could be there, you may have just missed her.

It’s worth a shot. There aren’t many other options.

----------

Your guess was correct.

You went down the path the two of you had taken the other night, ducking and dodging and flinging projectiles at each other. You arrived at the mass of cloud, circling it, hoping for a glimpse of the blue pegasus.

You found her. Not in the cloud, but sitting on a bench nearby, wearing your dark blue sweater. The hood is draped over her head, concealing all but the tip of a snout and a poly-chrome mane. The blue coat of the lower half of her body, mane and tail all take on a slight luminescent tinge from the hanging lamp above, and the beginnings of a snowfall pepper her and sprinkle white spots in the circle of yellowish light.

You find yourself approaching her, slightly hesitant to step into the circle. You feel a nervous drop in your stomach when you do, walking up to the bench and then slowly turning about and taking your seat a comfortable distance from the pegasus.

A slight, subtle turn of her head reveals her acknowledgement of you. She sits on her rump, her legs sticking out in front of her as she positions her forehooves on the bench. She stares straight ahead. You do likewise, keeping your hood off but looking off into the distance as you rest your elbows on your knees. The snow continues to fall; you feel it land on your skin, a cold bite for a moment before it melts from your warmth. You fold your hands, and sigh.

“That thing you said earlier, about me not caring… It’s not true, you know.” You pause for a moment. “I do care about you. A lot.”

Nothing else is said for the time being. When you look, she’s still sitting quietly, unmoving.

She’s waiting.

“I suppose that might sound a little redundant,” you continue, “I mean, I’ve told you that many times before- and it’s true, no matter how badly I wear it out. But in light of everything, those words just seem so… cheap. Don’t they?”

You let the question hang in the air, before continuing.

“I’ve always felt like you and I, despite our differences, really got along well. Even when we were just good friends, I always enjoyed being around you. I remember hanging out at the different Ponyville pubs, just chatting as you drank your cider and I took sips of my… orange juice…” You smile, as a wave of nostalgia washes over you. “…what a pussy.”

You notice Rainbow, whose snout is the only exposed part of her face, allow herself a small smile as well.

A light chuckle escapes you. “I guess I kind of forgot all that, when given the opportunity to be able to go back to my family. I really miss them, you know. My parents, my grandpa, my… brother.” You unknowingly go silent for a moment, shaking your head once you realize what you’re doing.

“Honestly, though, until now, I don’t think I’ve ever found someone that I connect so well with. Sure, I’ve had less rocky relationships- we get angry, we fight, and I’ve even been left with a red hoofmark on my face- but we always make up in the end. And frankly, I think all the shit we’ve had to face in the last couple of months has just made us stronger.

“And so, I’m not leaving,” you say. You turn to her, and you can see her resist the urge to look at you in kind. You continue, “I’m not going to leave behind the pony I love, the one I care for and trust the most. Even if you don’t trust me so much anymore…”

Another long, dreadful silence. It seems to stretch far into the vast eternity, your heart and hope dropping with every minute.

“I think so, too.”

Her voice is a simple whisper, one that you can barely hear. But, it’s enough.

“This past year… has been awesome. I won’t lie- before now, I don’t think that I’ve ever had a relationship that lasted more than a month. All the colts and stallions I’ve met either just didn’t work out, or… I don’t know, I guess there aren’t a lot of guys who can handle me for long.” She hangs her head. “I gave up on all that. I just assumed I would never find somepony who was right for me. I mean, if it meant being used, getting hurt, and subjecting myself to that kind of pain over and over again until I maybe someday found a stallion who would accept me for who I am, and not for what I can do for them in bed… Why keep trying? It just didn’t seem worth it to me.” She chuckles. A dark, sad chuckle. “It’s not like anypony thought that Rainbow Dash, biggest tomboy in Equestria, actually cared about that kind of thing anyway, right?

“And then you come along. You show up, and for six months make me the happiest mare I’ve ever been. I mean, I feel comfortable around you, because you’re the one stallion who I can be myself with. It’s made me stop doubting myself. Do you know how it is, going through relationships like- like socks- and having each one tear apart before your eyes? You start to wonder: is it my fault? Is there something wrong with me?

“Hah! I don’t even care anymore. I have a stallion who loves me, and I love him. He makes me feel safe and happy; he holds my hoof at night, and kisses me on the cheek before he goes to sleep. Finally, someone who can accept me for who I am, and who will take the good with the bad. A mare’s dream.”

By now her hood has come off. Her bangs hang over, casting a shadow across her face. “And then, just like every time before. Time and time again. Right when I think I’m happy, you tell me it’s over, and I’m back to where I began. Alone.”

She looks up at you, tears threatening to spill over. She wipes her eyes, then asks, “Do you kn-now how that f-feels, Ivan? D-Do you understand, now?”

You place a hand on her hoof. “Dash.” She looks at the two crossed appendages, yours wrapped gently around hers. She looks back up at you, her lower lip trembling.

You choke back a lump and clear your throat before speaking. “It really hurts me to see you like this. I couldn’t stand to know that the mare I love is unhappy; and while I know that I can’t always protect you and keep you from ever being hurt, I can still try my best. I’ll always stick by you, and I’ll be just as loyal to you as you are to me,” you smile at your quip, “Element of Loyalty.”

Her lip begins to quiver violently. Her face scrunches up, and tears begin to flow freely as she wraps her forelegs around you and buries her face into your side. “Don’t ever leave me,” she cries, somewhere between a plea and a command, “not even for a little while. I always want you to be here, with me.”

You hug her in return, softly running your hands along the back of the jacket. “There’s no place I’d rather be,” you whisper, nuzzling her head. “Not even for a little while.”

----------

The coexisting feelings of déjà vu and nostalgia make their presence known to you as you stare up at the moon, big and bright, between the curtains.

You’re on the couch, a sleeping Rainbow Dash lying atop your chest. She rocks slightly up and down with each of your breaths, which by now work in rhythm with one another. She’ll occasionally sniffle in her sleep, reminding you again of the turmoil that’s managed to inject itself into this single day.

You yourself would be out like rock right now, if only the dreams plaguing you tonight would cease their constant reminders about the choice you’d just made hours ago.

It was inevitable, the choice you had to make; there was no good choice. The only thing you could do was try to pick the best of two bad options, and hope that your decision would leave you alright in the end.

You suppose you’ll get over it with time, but… damn. And to think, you used to fantasize about running away into the woods to escape your mom and dad, siblings, because you loathed them so much…

The irony in that is almost overwhelming.

You’re snapped from your thoughts when the blue pegasus atop you begins to stir. She lets out a shuddering breath, then sniffles a bit before lifting her head, eclipsing your view of the moon. After the few seconds that it takes for your eyes to adjust, you find two white globes with a faint trace of reflective liquid, gazing down at you.

“You look sad,” is the first statement to come out of the mare’s mouth. Her voice is made slightly edgy by her drowsiness, with a hint of concern adding a bit of padding to her tone.

“I look sad?” you whisper back, incredulous. “You look like you’ve been crying.”

She uses her hoof to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Just a… bad dream, is all. But it’s okay now. I’m awake.”

“Care to talk about it?” you ask. She shakes her head in response.

“Not really,” she says. She turns her head to look out the window behind her, staring into the moonlight as the soft rays of the reappearing white marble turn her fur a paler blue. Her mane- the unruly tangle of silk that it is- is comparable to fireworks, its array of colors glowing in contrast with the nighttime sky.

“What do you see when you stare at the moon like that?”

One ear perks up, and she swivels her head to face you, effectively blocking out the great satellite in question. “What?”

You run your hand through her mane, letting the strands of hair slide between your fingers. “I don’t think you know, but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and see you just lying there, looking out the window. I usually just fall back asleep and don’t say anything, but it tends to stick with me the next day, because you just look kind of… unhappy. I mean, I can never really tell if you’re sad, or if you’re just thinking or what, but it still makes me worried.”

A simper creeps up onto her face, and she begins to chuckle. “You watch me at night? Weirdo.”

A few silent moments pass. She sees the look you give her, and her forced smile quickly drops into a discomfited frown. “Sorry. You know me, I’m not too good at talking about this stuff…”

You begin to softly scratch her behind the ears, giving a reassuring smile. This time, the grin she wears is genuine. She rests her chin on your chest and nuzzles you on the neck. Her warm breath brushes past your shoulder, and she gives your cheek an affectionate lick.

“I’m not unhappy,” she says, after long last. “It’s really something I’ve always done. When it’s quiet, and I’m all by myself, with just the moon to keep me company… it helps me think. That’s what you see me doing. I’m thinking.” A pause of two heartbeats. “I do think about sad things; there’s a lot that I wish would’ve turned out differently for me in life, I’m sure you know. But, there’s a lot that I’m grateful for, too.”

At this, she lifts her head again, rising to a point so that she can look down at you. You’re expecting a kiss, but are rather surprised to see Dash’s doleful, apologetic smile.

“Sorry about your family.” She caresses your cheek comfortingly with her hoof, as you look back into her concerned eyes with wonder. “Before today, something I hadn’t realized was how bad it really must hurt. I almost lost someone I cared for today-” she lightly bops you on the nose, “-you, and all I could do was think about how empty I would feel, and how long it would take just to move on. It didn’t even cross my mind that… that, well…”

She looks down, shame-faced. “I’m sorry. For being so selfish. You’ve had to fight through so much, and I had no idea…” She chuckles quietly. “At least I know why you looked so sad. That’s a start, right?”

At this, you can’t help but grin. You pull her close to you, and give her a quick peck on the snout. “You’ve already done enough as it is. Just keep being my Dash.”

You hug her tightly, one arm draped around her midsection and the other around her shoulders. She sighs contentedly, snuggling up to you and positioning herself so that her head rests just under your chin.

As the rhythms of your breathing begin to symphonize, you once again look out the window into the night sky. Your eyes wander to the faint outline of the mare in the moon, reminding you of a certain princess whom you have to thank. Suddenly, you fight the urge to rub your eyes.

Did it just wink at you?

Close Bonds: Chapter 23

The hills and trees roll lazily on by, the constant rumbling of the train in sync with the vibrations on the back of your head. A sleeping pegasus lies with her upper body across your lap, snoring lightly while you rub her back.

The two of you decided to leave early. After everything that had happened, you just felt like you needed to get away from Canterlot. The feeling seemed to be mutual. It was then agreed upon that the rest of your vacation days would be spent at home, together.

Sounds like a plan to you.

Twilight was a bit disappointed, but wished the both of you a farewell nonetheless. She got you a train ride back to Ponyville, but unlike the first time, was unable to score a first-class ticket due to your departure being so sudden.

That was fine by you, and Rainbow seems comfortable enough. You haven’t heard a word out of her the whole ride.

Again, you find yourself staring blankly out through the window. Something that irks at you is the strange out-of-the-blue thing Twilight said this morning.

“Hey, Ivan, are you informed on the cultural customs of marriage in Equestria?”

So apparently, only rich ponies marry. People like you merely present a token of offering, such as a necklace or hoofband, as a sign of your ‘commitment’ to the other partner.

That’s all fine and good, but you’re wondering why the hell you needed to learn that on the way to the train station.

…

You look down at your marefriend, and begin running your hand through her silken mane. The contented way in which she sighs puts you at ease, for a moment. You lean down and kiss her atop the nose. Slowly, her eyelids waft open, and she lets out a drowsy yawn.

“Afternoon, sunshine,” you greet, scratching her behind the ears. She leans into your hand, smiling.

“Mmm… We almost there?” She gets up off of your lap and sits next to you, rubbing her eyes.

“It’s been a few hours. We should be there soon.”

“Great.” She looks out the window, watching the blurry objects go by. You wonder if she can see her reflection. She arches her back, a few pops sounding off as she does so, and then lies down on her back, once again resting her head on your lap. You think she’s going back to sleep, but she never closes her eyes any longer than to blink.

“Hey, Ivan,” she starts, twiddling her hooves, “so, um, I’ve been thinking about this…” A pause, as you wait for her to continue. “You think Scootaloo’s still mad?”

This, of course, catches you quite off guard. “I- I really don’t know. Why?”

“It’s just- kinda been on my mind, I guess.” She sighs, turning herself so that she faces the other way. “Nevermind. Don’t worry about it.”

You take your hand, and gradually run it along her neck and shoulders. You feel her tense up for a split second. “Does it bother you?”

She shrugs.

You know her too well for that. You start your ministrations, rubbing the area until she begins to loosen up. “Dash, I’m pretty sure I’m the one she’s pissed off at. Not you.”

She rolls over so that she’s facing you again, and shakes her head. “I’m not so sure. I kinda told her off in the hospital not too long before we left, remember?”

You remember, all right. You were just hoping that little tidbit wouldn’t pop up in this conversation. “You’ve known her for a long time, though; she can’t just burn that bridge and never look back, right?”

The pegasus gives a half-resigned, half-irritated sigh. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She looks off to the side again.

“…You know, you can always talk to her.”

She turns back to you again. “Huh?”

You shrug. “It’s been awhile since this whole thing started, I’m sure she’s cooled off a bit by now. Why not go talk to her when we get back?”

Rainbow’s eyes dart anxiously about the room. “I… Well…”

At this, you raise an eyebrow. “What? What’s wrong?”

She looks down, and her ears flatten against her head. “I’m not too good at ‘talking things out…’” Suddenly, a light bulb goes off in her head, and her whole face lights up.

“Hey! Do you think you can talk to her for me?” she asks excitedly.

A silence passes by. Upon seeing the expression on your face, she cringes. “It’s just that… I’m not too good with words. I’m afraid I’ll say something stupid and screw everything up. It’s happened before, you know!”

“Dash…”

“Not only that, but if you somehow get her to forgive you, then maybe she won’t be angry at me anymore for defending you!” She crosses her forelegs over her chest. Foolproof argument.

As to what extent she may be right, you know she’s just trying to avoid confronting Scootaloo. “How about this,” you suggest while manually unfolding her forelegs, to which she scowls. “We’ll both go.”

The scowl dissipates, and again that anxious, nervous look returns. Fortunately, this time it seems to come at a lesser degree. “Oh- okay…” she mumbles, unable to argue.

“Alright, then. As soon as we get off the train, we’ll take our stuff home, and then go straight to the orphanage. Sound good?”

She reluctantly nods in resignation.

----------

Somehow, some way, whenever you’ve fallen asleep in a car, you’ve always had the innate sense of knowing when you’ve arrived at your destination.

It seems to be no different for a train. Your eyes pop open as you feel the train slowly begin to decelerate. Your head was leaned back the entire time, and so you feel sore in your neck when you finally straighten it out. You pop it a few different ways, which doesn’t help at all but does succeed in giving yourself a headache.

Oh, well. You’re sure you still have some of those magic Pinkie drugs at home.

You stretch a little, then bring your hand down to your lap and begin stroking. “Hey, Dash,” you say.

Only, you realize too late that Dash isn’t there. And what you had been stroking is far from appropriate in a public setting.

“Wow, Ivan. Can’t you at least wait until we get home?”

Rainbow Dash stands in front of you, one eyebrow raised. You blush and quickly pull your hand away from that spot.

“Dash! Where were you?”

“I went to the bathroom for like, five minutes,” she deadpans. “By the way, we’re almost in Ponyville.”

You fold your hands on your lap, subconsciously concealing little Ivan. “Yeah, I know. I can feel the train slowing down.” You begin to search around you, noticing that something’s missing.

“Hey, Dash?”

“Hm?”

“Where’s our bags?”

She proceeds to do the same thing you did and checks under the seats, before making a silent ‘o’ with her mouth and standing on her hind legs to reach the compartment above you.

Lewd.

“They’re still up here, I think.” She begins to undo the latch. “Here, I’ll just open it and check-”

“Dash! Not right above me!” You cover your head with your hands and cower down.

You hear a click.

…Nothing happens.

“You big pussy. Nothing even fell-”

Your vision erupts into white as something hard smacks you in the back of the head. You clench your teeth, bearing the searing pain that pounds throughout your skull, and give Rainbow Dash a dirty look.

She sheepishly shrugs. “Sorry. I- Watch out!”

You brace for impact as another suitcase tumbles forth. Fortunately, this time, the mare is quick enough to catch it with an extended hoof.

She gives you a triumphant smile. “Hey! I caught that one! Pretty good, right?”

“No.”

At once, you feel the train come to a stop. You get up, pick up your bag, and walk past Rainbow. From behind you, you hear a thump and an oof, and then the clip-clop of hooves coming up beside you. You look to your right, and see the little pegasus trotting alongside, holding the suitcase in her mouth.

As the two of you approach the exit to the train, you notice one of the attendants staring at you. You face him, and he immediately rights himself.

“Have a safe trip, sir!” he says, wearing a well-practiced smile.

You nod, smiling in return. “Thank you. Although, I believe that I’m leaving the train right now.”

Rainbow snorts loudly, suppressing all-out laughter as the two of you continue on your way past the attendant, who continues to fumble for words long after the two of you are gone.

“Looks like some ponies still aren’t used to you, huh?”

You shake your head. “It surprises me, honestly. I can’t be the weirdest thing Equestria has seen before, right?”

She shrugs. “Eh.”

You take a moment to ponder the implications, but a familiar voice disrupts your thoughts before you can think too much on it.

“Rainbow Dash! Ivan!” An elegant-sounding voice calls out from the crowd. The two of you snap your heads in the direction that you hear it from, and look to see that a white unicorn is waving you down.

“Rarity! Boy, is it good to see you!” Rainbow cheers mirthfully, rushing forth to hug Rarity. The pristine white unicorn looks a little startled at the gesture.

“Yes, yes, it is good to see you, too,” Rarity replies after the pegasus lets go, quickly brushing herself off. She looks back and forth between the two of you, smiling. “I take it the trip went well?”

You and Rainbow exchange looks. “Stuff happened, I guess…” she says.

“It was rather… eventful,” you follow up.

“Well, you can fill me in on all the details later- or not,” she adds, giving Rainbow a wink. She blushes, avoiding eye contact for a moment. “An-n-nyway,” Rarity follows up, “I’m sure the two of you are quite tired, and would prefer not to be kept for too long.”

“Yeah, we should really be getting going soon,” you say, taking another look at Rainbow. She sees you and looks to the ground, drawing circles with her hoof. “Still, though, before we go; why are you here, Rarity?”

Her eyes light up, as if to say, ’I thought you’d never ask!’ “Weeell… I have another rather large fashion show I’ve been given the opportunity to attend in Canterlot. The big leagues, you could say.” Her expression then deflates into an irritated frown. “However, the outgoing trains have all been delayed since early this morning. It’s not as if I’ll be late for the fashion show; I booked my hotel for two days prior to the event. But, I have become very impatient with the Ponyville Express, and if I’m not on this train, relaxing in my first-class room with a glass of iced tea in my hoof within the next thirty minutes…”

She opens her mouth wide, ready to verbalize a threat that could rock the very foundations of the Ponyville Express Train Company. Then, the designer simply slumps her shoulders, looking defeated. “I suppose there’s not much I can do but write a complaint to the management, considering the company has a monopoly on this little town.” She then curses under her breath. “Why must this be the only train station in Ponyville…?”

You wish Rarity the best of luck on her industrial battle, and set off towards home. Rainbow follows in your lead shortly, carrying her suitcase in her mouth as the two of you walk together.

As you trek across the dirt path, off in the distance you see two fillies playing together. Though they look happy, for some reason, the sight of just the two of them seems… off. Empty? You’re not sure.

A third then joins them. The first two immediately spring up to their hooves, and the whole group begins to play together, the trio squealing and laughing as they chase each other around in circles.

You squint your eyes, wondering if it might be the Cutie Mark Crusaders. A quick examination shows that they’re much too young to be, even though their position against the sun silhouettes their forms and makes most of their characteristics indistinguishable.

Oh, well. It would have been quicker if it had been, but as with all things, nothing comes that easily.

----------

“What makes you think she’ll be at the orphanage?”

You shrug, continuing to walk at a brisk pace while the pony beside you canters to keep up. “I don’t really expect her to be there. I just thought that they might have the best idea of where she might be.”

Rainbow deadpans. “Ivan. It’s afternoon. All the colts and fillies just got out of school. Most likely, she’s with her little friends at Rarity’s house, or they all went to Sweet Apple Acres to do whatever the hell those three do in their little clubhouse. So, unless she checks in with the orphanage right after they get out of school, I doubt anyone there will know where she’s at, and we’re just wasting our time.”

You frown. “Rainbow, there’s just a few things I’d like to point out. One, there’s no way they’re all at Carousel Boutique- we just saw Rarity at the train station, so unless they smashed one of the windows open and broke in, we can rule that out.” You stop for a moment. Perhaps it’s not all that unlikely…

You shake your head, clearing your mind of that thought. “Two,” you continue, “I’m wondering why you didn’t mention this as soon as we left. You literally waited for the worst time to tell me that they’re probably at Sweet Apple Acres. And three, we’re basically already there, so we might as well go check.”

The pegasus harrumphs unhappily at this, but stays silent.

Soon, the orphanage looms in sight. A suddenly noticeable feeling of dread begins to rise in the pit of your stomach, and you become uneasy.

Something… Something’s off.

Rainbow seems to feel it, too. You notice the trepidation in her step, the way her ears suddenly pin themselves to the sides of her head.

Or, maybe the both of you are a bit worked up at the thought having to talk to her after all that’s happened. You saw how reluctant Rainbow was about agreeing to talk to the filly; maybe you’re just nervous, too?

“Hey, Ivan?”

You look down at her. “Yeah, Dash?”

She stops walking. You stop next to her.

“What do we say when we finally do see her?”

You think about this for a moment. “I guess we just… tell her we’re sorry? I mean, we can’t really make a plan or anything when we don’t even know how she’ll react.”

Rainbow stares off past you. “I really don’t want to screw this up.”

You kneel down and give her a kiss on the cheek, scratching her behind the ears. “Just… try to relax. It’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.”

The sad look she gives you says she doesn’t believe you. However, she leans forward and gives you a soft peck anyway. “’Kay.”

You smile, then rise to your full height. The two of you continue towards the building, on a mission to make amends and to repair the bonds between you, and somepony close to you.

----------

You enter the orphanage, Rainbow following close behind and sticking right beside you once you’re inside. As you look around, you’re nearly nostalgic; your memory tells you that the last time you were here was years ago, but your mental record of the weekends passed lets you know otherwise.

As you approach the counter, the similarities between today and those weeks ago are uncanny. The same mare sits at the desk, recognition immediately coming to her eyes when she sees you.

“Oh, uhh, hello, Ivan! …and Rainbow,” she says, seeming somewhat conflicted with herself. She forces a smile onto her face.

“Flitter?” Rainbow asks, puzzled. “You work here?”

“Well… Yeah.”

“And you never told me?!”

The mare behind the counter frowns. “Why would I tell you? We hardly know each other.”

Rainbow’s jaw drops. “Hardly know each other? I was your coach the last time Ponyville hosted rainy season!”

“That hardly counts as-”

“Also, Scootaloo lives here! I mean, if that wasn’t enough!” She quickly scans the room, as if Scootaloo might be hidden somewhere close by. “Where is she, anyway?”

That’s when the expression from earlier comes back. She looks at you, almost guiltily.

“What happened?” you ask, fearing the worst.

“She… got into some trouble. A lot of trouble.” She averts her eyes for a second, shifting nervously in her seat. “She was caught in her room with alcohol, the other night.”

You immediately get a sinking feeling in your stomach. “Oh, Scootaloo.”

Rainbow stares incredulously at Flitter.

“That’s a rather large offense here… especially since there are so many young foals around.” She looks up at you, then at Rainbow, making eye contact with each of you in turn. “She’s being sent to another home; where, I’m really not sure. She left earlier this morning, I’m sorry to say.”

Your head spins as you try to process all this information. Rainbow’s gone pale, and stares blankly into space.

And all you can say is… “Damn.”

Close Bonds: Chapter 23- part two

“I’m sorry,” Flitter says, seeing how distraught the two of you are. “I tried to fight it. I told them that Scootaloo’s just going through a tough time right now- she’s never done something like this before. Just- just give her a second chance…”

You place a hand on the desk to steady yourself.

So. That’s it.

The girl’s dad shows up, and now everything’s gone to hell.

Rainbow, you notice, hasn’t said a word this whole time. She’s staring at the ground, looking rather sick.

You crouch down beside her, and begin to smooth out her mane. You put on your most comforting voice. “Hey, girl. You okay?”

She shakes her head. “No. No. She’s not gone. She can’t be.”

“Dash…”

“No! I’m her sister, I can’t let her leave!” She whips her head up and stares at Flitter. “She left on the train, right? You said she left on the train?!”

The shocked pegasus fumbles for words. “Well- I, uh, yeah.”

“I’m faster than a train! Hell, I did a sonic rainboom, I can catch any old-ass train!” She turns around and starts to sprint for the door.

Before she gets anywhere, however, you snatch hold of her tail and pull her back. With a loud thump, she falls flat on her stomach. She immediately jumps back up to her hooves, yanking her tail out of your grip and fixing you with an angry glare.

“There’s no way you’re gonna catch up to her, Dash!” you say before she has a chance to yell at you. “If anything, all you’ll end up doing is getting hurt. And I can’t let that happen again.”

A low growl emanates from her. “I’ve done it before, Ivan! I’m not gonna-”

“You can’t even fly right now! And you might as well forget about running; you’ve been dormant for a month. At this point, you probably couldn’t even outrun me.”

“She may very well already be at her destination by now,” Flitter adds sadly. “Like I said, she left sometime this morning.”

The words run through you, only compounding how hopeless the situation is. You turn to Rainbow, expecting the pony to be even more downtrodden by the information.

Much to your surprise, however, her eyes are wide… with hope. “This- This morning!” she suddenly shouts out.

“What?” you and Flitter both ask at the same time.

“Ivan,” she grabs you by the shoulders, “she left this morning! Don’t you remember what Rarity said at the train station?”

You comb through your mind, trying to recall anything important you might have missed. What’s Rainbow talking about? What could Rarity have said that is so-

And then it hits you.

“Weeell… I have another rather large fashion show I’ve been given the opportunity to attend in Canterlot. The big leagues, you could say.” Her expression then deflates into an irritated frown. “However, the outgoing trains have all been delayed since early this morning.”

Now, you’re the one who sprints out the door.

----------

It takes but a few seconds for the beating of hooves hitting earth to overtake you.

Rainbow Dash runs right ahead of you, slowing down enough to keep in time with you. She turns her head to look behind her; nothing needs to be said. You both understand the urgency of the situation.

A mile and a half later, the two of you arrive at the train station, tired and out of breath. Ponies take quick glances of the odd sight, but you take no heed.

You need to find her.

“Ugh… I haven’t run in… forever,” Rainbow gasps in between breaths. Beads of sweat form on her forehead, and she hangs her tongue. She doesn’t, however, cease to constantly keep an alert eye on the lookout.

“Come on,” you say, as you begin to push through the crowd. Rainbow follows.

Being that the all the ponies here are no higher than your waistline, you have a good over-the-top view of everything. You survey the multi-colored sea, searching for a distinct matching of orange and purple.

“Ivan,” Dash tugs at your waistline. You look in the direction that she gestures with her hoof.

Ah.

Silently, the two of you begin to wade through the crowd. It’s not long before you come upon a small opening, where three tearful fillies have gathered. The first to notice you is Scootaloo.

You make eye contact. Her eyes then flicker, coming to Rainbow Dash. The rainbow-maned pegasus smiles uneasily, and takes an unconscious step back.

The other two girls notice their friend’s odd disposition, and follow her gaze back to you.

A long, awkward staring match ensues.

“L-Listen, Scoots,” you say, stepping forward. “I-”

“Can I help you with something?”

An old, gray mare blocks your path, although it’s quite easy for you to see right over her.

“Um…” You look down. She dons a uniform and a nametag, similar to what Flitter was wearing. The offensive stance she takes is comical, considering you could literally step on her. “Can I talk to Scootaloo?”

She gives you what she likely thinks is a threatening look, then trots back over to the bench she was sitting on earlier, but not without keeping a close and suspicious eye on you. You try your best to ignore it.

“So, um, listen.” You take a few steps forward, kneeling down so that you’re more eye-to-eye. All three watch you, silently. “I’m really, really sorry about all that’s happened. I never wanted to hurt you. I would never hurt you on purpose. Things just… happen. Not always in the way we want them to, either.”

At your last sentence, Scootaloo looks downcast.

“What you told me a long time ago, when this whole mess first started, about your family and everything… It stuck with me, I guess because it was something I could relate to. I mean, I was fortunate enough to know my family for the full sixteen years I was still on Earth; and, mind you, I cherish every moment and wouldn’t trade it for anything.” She continues to stare at the ground, contemplatively. “For you to just lose everything you have: your friends, your home; and for it to happen again, after you’ve come so far… Absolutely terrible.”

Sweetie Belle sniffles this time. You take a deep breath. “So, that’s why… That’s why I’m going to make you an offer.”

Scootaloo looks up at you, seeming hopeful, but conflicted at the same time. “I don’t want to see that happen again,” you say. “Not this time.”

Either way, she obviously knows what’s going on.

“…I’m going to need to know that you’re in on it. And, you too.” You gesture back to the pegasus behind you. Rainbow blushes, and then takes a few tentative steps forward the group. She stops next to you, trying but failing to make eye contact with Scootaloo.

“H-Hey, Scootaloo,” she says timidly.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash.”

“Scoots, I’m giving you a choice.” You take a breath. “I know you’re probably still mad at me, and maybe at Rainbow, too. But I’m not doing this so we can all have a big, happy family. Once we’re there, I promise you’ll barely even have to talk to us. Just know that… All I want is for you to be happy.”

“Hey! What’s going on over there?” Ms. Stick-Up-Her-Ass agitatedly trots over.

“Oh, good, you’re here,” you say as she approaches. “Miss, maybe you could help us out with something.”

Her formerly-unbreakable appearance of annoyance briefly shifts into one of confusion. “Hm?”

----------

At about midnight, the door to your house opens. A human holds it open, allowing two ponies, one holding a small brown bag, to trot inside.

“Watch out for the-” you start, but then remember that there’s no more glass.

In fact, there’s no more rug. The window’s been boarded up, as well.

“-Oh, yeah.”

Rainbow stands in the middle of the room, stretching out her good wing, and yawns. “That was a lot of paperwork.”

“It was really supposed to be a three-day process,” you remind her, yawning yourself. “But, we did it.”

You notice a third yawn in the room as well. Contagious, as they say. You turn to the little pegasus. “I guess you’re wanting to know where your room is?”

She nods.

“Alright, come with me.” You begin walking towards the hall, and the filly follows, although slightly hesitantly. She looks around at her surroundings wondrously, as if this were the first time she’s ever been in your home.

Actually, is it?

You open the door to the originally-designated guest room. “This is where Rainbow used to sleep. It’s yours, now.”

She steps inside, dropping her little bag beside the door. She curiously inspects the room, before nodding to you. “Okay.”

“’Night, Scoots.”

The two of you stand there for some time, you outside of the room, while she watches you from the inside.

“Ivan?”

That feels like the first word she’s spoken to you all day. “Yeah?”

She walks a little closer to you, looking you straight in the eye. Her wings seem to tense up for a moment; then, she wraps them, and her hooves, around your legs.

It’s a little awkward, seeing as how the stance you’re in is equivalent to that of a bowling pin’s, and her head’s like, right there. However, it doesn’t detract from the giddiness you’re feeling inside.

“Thanks,” she says. She looks up at you again. “Thanks for doing this for me. I’ll admit, I’m still kinda mad at you. But, I dunno… Just…” She lets you go, sitting on her haunches and giving a serious look to the rug. “Just gimme some time to think about it.”

You nod, straining to keep your smile from completing a full circle. “Of course.”

And with that, you shut the door.

Close Bonds: Chapter 24

Wind. Rushing, howling wind. It swirls about, haunting your sleep with the way it hollers in your ear, the screams rushing past you like a child caught in a river.

Your eyes snap open, taking in the view of the ceiling above. Dim light streams in through the blinds, casting rays and shadows against the wall and ceiling.

SNRXX--

You immediately snap your head to the left. Beside you, a certain cyan pegasus sleeps, her mouth hanging wide open. You clamp her muzzle shut with your hand mid-snore, and listen quietly.

At first, all you get is silence. But as a few seconds pass, the familiar sound of wind rustling the leaves on the trees becomes present. It begins to pick up, slowly gaining speed until the very fabric of the air itself starts to rip and tear along the corners of the houses and the edges of the leaves, like new jeans caught on a chain-link fence.

Hm. Looks like the pegasi have finally done something with the weather other than year-round summer… I don’t think that extreme wind is what everyone had in mind for December, but it’s a step in the right direction at least.

You look down at the little pegasus next to you. She lies on her back, warm air streaming out through her nose, still completely unaware of the fact that you’re holding her mouth closed.

I’d bet any amount of bits that it has to do with her not being there.

You smile and let go of Rainbow’s maw, which returns to its former open state and continues with the snoring. She unconsciously licks her lips, and a speck of drool hangs off the corner of her mouth. You wipe it off with the bedsheets and pull her closer to you, your two bodies brushing contact before molding together.

You can feel her soft, warm fur against your chest and belly, her body giving slight resistance to yours as her barrel expands and contracts. She faces away from you now, so your hand comes to rest on her supple belly. You kiss the base of her neck, and hear a sigh of contentment arise from your little rainbow-maned pony. You feel a hoof close around your hand, prompting you to hold her a little tighter. You smell the sweet scent of her mane-- a specific conditioner, you’re sure-- and her fur, which has a kind of earthy musk to it, slightly masked by the remnants of whatever she washed herself with last night.

You find yourself drifting off again, the thumping of your companion’s heartbeat lulling you back to sleep.

----------

You walk through the hallway in your boxers, simultaneously scratching your ass and yawning for the fifth time since you woke up.

Eight-fifteen. You really slept in today. Not surprising, though, considering everything that happened the previous day.

And the day before that. And probably for the last couple of weeks. In fact, at this point you’re pretty sure that whoever’s in charge of the world put a marker on ‘December of Ivan’s Life,’ tore the page right out of the calendar and wiped their ass on it as much as they possibly could before clogging the toilet with the discolored piece of paper and causing the toilet to back up, producing a soggy, shitty mess. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and have a great Hearth’s Warming Eve.

No, wait. Hearth’s Warming falls on January here. If December really is your shit month, maybe you’ll have a good Hearth’s Warming after all.

Did you just really accept that theory?

You stop your little stroll through the hall. Looking down at your feet, just before your toes, a thin strand of light streams in diagonally from the left. You look up, noticing that the door to your left is cracked open.

Scootaloo’s room.

You widen the crack a bit, just enough for you to poke your head through and peer inside.

It seems… very empty, for some reason.

“Scoots?”

“Yeah?”

You jump at the sound behind you, nearly smacking your face on the doorframe as you pull your head out of the crack and whip around to face the small pegasus, who seems unsure whether to be frightened or disturbed.

“Uh…” You stand there awkwardly, realizing you were just caught peeping into her room. “Just making sure you were alright.”

She says nothing, only stares at your mostly-naked form. It’s now that another revelation is made: you’re standing in front of a young teenage girl, one who you don’t quite know beyond what Rainbow’s told you, in your boxers.

It somehow hadn’t occurred to you that you now have a young filly living in your house, and that being in your underwear nearly counts as being naked. At least, not at the same time.

She eyes your pale, embarrassingly skinny legs wearily. It makes you a bit self-conscious, and you hope to Celestia she isn’t offended- okay, too offended by your nudity. Maybe you can make a clothes run back to your room…

“Are your legs on backwards?”

Your eyes widen, trying to comprehend exactly what it is she’s asking. “What?”

“Your knees,” she says, pointing with a forehoof, “Are they supposed to bend like that?”

You look down towards the joints in question. You raise a concerned eyebrow, wondering if there might be something wrong with your knees. You lift one leg, bending and then extending it a few times before planting your foot back on the floor, much to the apparent amazement of the little orange pegasus. You see her put her forehoof back down as well, bending as it takes a portion of her weight. And that’s when it clicks.

“Ohh,” you say in your newfound revelation, instinctively bending your knee again. “Yeah, human legs bend forward, not backwards like ponies. Haven’t you ever noticed that before?”

She shakes her head. “You usually wear long pants. I usually can’t see your knees.”

You furrow your brow. “Shouldn’t you still be able to tell which way they’re bending? And what about that one time we all went to the beach? I was wearing shorts then.”

She just shrugs, leaving you slightly mystified. Not only for the fact that, after well over a year of knowing her, she just now realizes your kneecaps are in the front, but also because she just seems to dismiss the fact that only one article of clothing separates her from your naked body.

“So…” you begin, looking around, “What are you doing up right now?”

Again, she shrugs. “I fell asleep on the couch. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to go to school today, so I came out here and just kinda… waited.”

Hm.

“Well,” you say as you begin to make your way through the hallway, purple-maned companion close behind, “it’s kinda late at this point. I think we can just take today off, don’t you think?”

More than likely, they don’t even have her registered in that school anymore, anyway.

The filly nods, though not as enthusiastically as one might expect from a foal being told they can skip school. Nonetheless, the two of you troop on over to the kitchen.

“Let’s see what we have here,” you say as you begin searching through your pantry. Your favorite cereal, Chocolate Frosted Sugar Cubes, is the first thing to catch your eye.

“Ah, nice!” you say, pulling it out. As soon as you do, however, the weight of it in your hand tells you that there really isnt much left. You pull out a bowl and empty out the cereal box, only to realize that mere crumbs remain.

“Dammit,” you mutter under your breath, knowing that there’s only one other pegasus in the house that could’ve done that. Upon further inspection, the rest of the dry morning delights strike you as unappetizing, mostly things that Rainbow and, admittedly, you, usually add a bunch of sugar to.

“Let’s see what we have in the fridge.” You open the fridge door and scan the interior, the sight of all your perishables giving you a sense of deja vu.

“Milk… Alright.” You screw open the cap, ready for some fresh juice squeezed from the udders of a semi-sapient farm inhabitant. Instead, the receptors in your nostrils quickly warn you of imminent death upon mere contact with skin, and possible acidic burning of the lungs.

Your eyes water up, clouding your vision with tears that you try to blink out. You move to dump out the spoiled and likely curdled milk in the sink, but soon think better of it as you imagine the strength of the stench out in the open. “Okay, umm…” You screw the cap back on, glancing to the open fridge. “I think it’s safe to assume that everything in there is probably bad.”

Even from where she is, Scootaloo seems to have gotten a whiff of the horrendous stench. “Yeah…”

“You wanna go to Sugarcube Corner?”

The little filly’s eyes widen. “Really? I haven’t gone there in like, forever!”

“Yeah. I mean, until we either clean it out or throw it out, that fridge is a biohazard. We might be going out to eat for a little while.” You look back to the food storage space turned mortuary, shuddering at the thought of having to remove everything in there.

A whole month… Most of this house hadn’t been touched for an entire month…

----------

What the hell is with this wind?

You trek onwards on your journey, eyes clamping shut as a cloud of sand collides with your face and irritates the sensitive surface of your cornea. You raise your sweater-covered arm to shield yourself from the onslaught, silently cursing whoever brought this foul situation upon you.

Which is funny, because you can literally blame someone for the bad weather now.

From what you can see, Scootaloo isn’t doing much better. Pony eyes are significantly larger, making it that much easier for her to catch dirt in them. She squints, occasionally scrunching her snout under the wet rag tied around her head and over her mouth. You have one as well, although at this point, ‘wet’ probably wouldn’t describe the shriveled up piece of towel that serves as the boundary between you and millions of tiny projectiles in the air.

Soon, through the storm, a rather welcome sight appears before the two of you. Despite your bleary eyes, Sugarcube Corner sticks out like a beacon in the night, guiding you towards sanctuary from the chaotic elements.

As you reach your destination, you hold open the door for Scootaloo, a ringing sounding out as you both stagger inside.

The first thing you notice is that the small bakery is completely empty. Sliding off your pseudo-bandana, you take a look around at the oddly calm scenery. Tables and booths lie empty, except for the strange occasional untouched pastry at a few of them, and light, cheery music plays at a low volume in contrast with the dead silence.

“Hi there, welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie Pie waves from the counter.

“Pinkie!” Accompanied by loud hoofsteps, a middle-aged voice calls from the back, “For the fifth time, I told you to stop pretending we have customers! It lets in the dust, and it’s a waste of food to be serving empty-” She stops mid-sentence when she sees you with Scootaloo.

“But I’m not pretending!” Pinkie rebuts her, “Ivan and Scootaloo are here! Look!”

Mrs. Cake clears her throat, smiling embarrassedly. “Sorry, you two. And, Pinkie,” she adds, receiving a dirty look from the pink pony. “We just haven’t had any real customers all day. I didn’t expect anypony with that dreadful storm going on outside.”

You wave it off. “It’s fine, Mrs. Cake. Really, I’m surprised that you didn’t just close down for the day.”

“We just might, soon. But feel welcome to stay and eat as long as you’d like. Pinkie will be eager to serve you, I’m sure.” That last part is punctuated and accompanied by an eyeroll.

“I sure as sugar am!” Pinkie exclaims excitedly, hopping over to a booth and pulling out a notepad and quill before you can even sit down. “What would you two like to have?”

“Um…” you murmur, trying to get past the energizer bunny so you can take your seat, “I’ve never been here for breakfast before. Can I have a-”

The pink pony pulls two menus out of the same place she got the notepad, and plops them down in front of you.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” you say, opening up the menu you never knew this place had, and beginning to browse through.

“You’re welcome!” she replies, and proceeds to stand there with that overly wide, somehow-unscathed-by-sugar smile as you attempt to decide what you want.

Your eyes dart her way a few times as you shift in your seat. A minute passes before you decide you’re ready to order. You make eye contact with Scootaloo, and it seems she’s ready as well.

“Alright, I’ll have the-”

“Yes?!”

You raise an eyebrow at the overexcited waitress. “I’ll have the cheese and dandelion croissant, please.”

“Croissant with dandelion and melted cheese, coming right up!” She quickly scribbles something down on her notepad, and turns to Scootaloo. “And for you?”

“I think I want-”

“Yes!?”

Scootaloo gives Pinkie Pie a disturbed look, pulling away slightly. “I uh… Can I have the daisy soup? It looks pretty good.”

“Oh, believe me, it is,” the baker mare says while slurping her tongue around her face Scooby-Doo style. “Okey-dokey, your orders should be ready in just a few minutes!”

“Thanks, Pinkie.”

“Yup!”

You watch the crazy pony leave, waiting until she’s gone before turning to Scootaloo. “Wow,” you chuckle, smiling at the small filly, “you like daisies? Those are gross.”

“I get to pick what I want, don’t I?”

You take a moment to try to figure out her intent with that statement. “Yeah…”

“Okay then. Don’t bash on what I like.”

A retort hangs off the tip of your tongue, but you hold back. “Sorry. It was just a joke…”

The two of you sit in silence for awhile, neither making eye contact. For Pinkie’s normally-quick service, it feels like an age before she finally arrives with your meals.

“Here ya go!” she says, chipper as ever. She slides a plate and bowl onto the table, each meal going to its respective owner.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” you say as you take your plate. Scootaloo says nothing, just silently inspects her meal.

“Yup! Just call me back if you need anything!” The pink pony gives you a broad, blindingly white smile, and then turns to the opposite side of the table, where her grin seems to linger on the filly for an uncomfortably long time. Surprisingly, the pegasus just continues to stare at her food.

You begin to eat, and Pinkie Pie eventually leaves. Midway through your croissant, you take a discreet glance at Scootaloo; she rests her elbow on the table with her head resting in her hoof, idly swirling her spoon around in the broth.

“Uh…” The small pegasus looks up as you begin, but you look the other way. “Hey, Pinkie?”

“Right here- Ow!” There’s a loud bang, accompanied by the table shuddering and a scream from Scootaloo. Pinkie appears from under the table, crawling to her hooves with an embarrassed smile. “Sorry about that. Nothing spilled, right?”

Why does this even surprise you anymore?

You clutch your heart, your breathing taking a little longer than normal to return to its normal rate. “N-no…” You look down at your crotch. “At least, I don’t think.”

“Alrighty then! What can I getcha?” This time, no notepad.

“Well…” You look across the table at the filly, who seems to be slowly returning to her sullen state. “Scoots?”

Her head pops up at the mention of her name. “Huh?”

“How ‘bout a milkshake?”

Complete confusion twists the face of the little orange pegasus. “What?”

“Don’t tell Rainbow about this, she might get mad at me… But I’ll buy you a milkshake if you want.” You smile. “You want one?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Okey-dokey-lokey! One milkshake-”

“Make that two.”

“Two milkshakes, comin’ right on up!”

The party pony exits the scene, leaving the two of you in silence once again. This time, however, you find that you’re not the only one sneaking hidden glances.

The milkshakes come quicker than the first food items. You and Scootaloo each thank Pinkie, who promptly salutes, and leaves you with a few rather puzzling parting words.

“You guys didn’t tell me what kind of shakes you wanted, so I brought the flavors that I always drink in the morning!”

You pull your shake close to you, adjusting the straw for maximum efficiency in liquidized frozen dairy product transportation. You suck on the straw, filling your mouth with the cold, sweet taste of-

What?

“My milkshake tastes like a damn bagel.”

Scootaloo looks just as befuddled, staring intently at her glass, though more out of curiosity rather than boredom this time. “Mine tastes like blueberry pancakes.”

The two of you make eye contact, sharing the moment of confusion at your breakfast milkshakes.

“I mean, it’s not exactly bad-”

“No, it isn’t.”

A pause. With a shrug, you continue slurping your bagel-flavored milkshake, and Scootaloo does the same.

----------

“You should feel lucky, Scoots. All the other colts and fillies are in school right now, and you get to hang out with me and Rainbow.”

You take a bite of your croissant, and rip off another piece for the filly at your side. The daisy soup got left behind, seeing as how Scootaloo “wasn’t hungry” just long enough for the two of you to leave the restaurant.

“Eh, school’s okay… sometimes. The whole ‘school’ part sucks, but I get to see my friends there all the time. It’s especially good if one of us gets grounded, because we all still have to go to school, so either way we get to hang out.”

You nod. “That’s true. School was pretty fun for me, I guess. That’s where I met most of my friends.”

By now, the wind has nearly completely died down, making it possible for the two of you to converse while you walk back to your house. Rays of sun poke through the clouds of dust hanging around, casting a dim light over the small town.

“You know what’s weird?” Scootaloo asks.

You look down at her. “What’s that?”

“You’re only four and a half years older than me.”

You nod. “Yep.”

She ponders this for a moment. “It’s just funny because… well, you have a house, and a job and stuff… and you’re not even much older than me.”

You nod. “Yeah. And I never got to finish school, either. Heck, I would still be in school right now, probably still being the same dumb kid I was.” Smiling, you add, “Those were the days.”

“Do you miss that? Your old life?”

You walk in silence for a few beats. “Maybe I do. But things are fine the way they are now, and I don’t like to dwell on the bad for too long. I’m fortunate, really; most people who fall down caves don’t tend have as good experiences as I did.”

She scrunches her nose up, giving you a look. “‘Most people?’ Who falls down caves?”

“People like me, I guess.”

At this, she starts laughing. You join in for a chuckle, asking, “What? You asked.”

The rest of the walk goes by quickly fairly quickly, as the two of you continue to talk about anything from school to where not to keep pet spiders.

“Really? In your mom’s shower?!”

You grin. “Well, I don’t suppose you could say I ‘kept’ it there, since it already lived there, but I did feed it flies and stuff… And really, I shouldn’t even be telling you this stuff, since you’re going to be living with me now.”

“Aw, come on, dude. It’s not like I’m not gonna actually do it.”

“Uh huh, sure.” You turn the corner, and your house comes into view. “Anyway, we’re almost home now and I have some things to do. So once we get back you just run along and do… whatever Scootaloos do. Just be home before dark.”

“Alright… At least tell me what happened at the end.”

You pull out your keys as you approach the door. “Oh, the spider? Well, my mom eventually caught me feeding it one day. This made her really angry, because she’d been trying to kill it for months: bug spray, hairspray, cutting off its food supply, lighters, all the works. So, as punishment, she made me kill it.”

“How’d you do it?” the filly asks, the excitement in her voice rising.

You fumble with your keys for a moment, trying to select the correct one. “It was pretty easy, actually. See, the reason she couldn’t kill it was because there was a little crack in the wall that the spider would always hide until it came out for food. So what I did, was I threw a grasshopper into its web, and when it started eating I took a stick and swirled the stick around in the web.”

Picturing the old memory in your mind, you laugh. “If you’ve ever tried this, you know that everything on that web gets stuck to the stick like flies on a horse’s--” Scootaloo is giving you a curious look; you decide to rephrase that: “Like flies on honey. So, with the spider completely vulnerable and likely to die anyway, I poked it open with some scissors and looked at its insides.”

The door unlocks and you swing it open, all the while internally laughing at Scootaloo’s disgusted expression. “And that, my friend, is the story of Charlotte the black wid--”

You take one step through the door, and stop. Behind you, Scootaloo looks around your leg, curious as to what could be going on.

On your couch is Cream; and beside her, Rainbow, hugging her. Neither look as if they’re in the best of moods.

As you make eye contact with each of them in turn, all you can do is stare. “Uh…”

Something’s definitely happened.

You can see it. Cream, normally wearing makeup and having done her mane just to her liking, has bags under her eyes and her hair is in tangles. Rainbow is giving you that look, that look that tells you shit’s hit the fan somewhere in the wide wide land of Equestria.

“Hey, Scootaloo,” you say, looking down at your little orange companion. She looks up at you, sensing the tension in the air as much as you do. “Not to kick you out or anything, but… could you leave us alone for a little bit?”

Close Bonds: Chapter Twenty-Five

After attempting a few curious peeks from outside the door, Scootaloo gives you an inquisitive look. “What’s going on?”

You take a glance back at the disheveled mares sitting on your couch. “I really don’t know, and honestly, I don’t think I want to find out.” You sigh, turning back to the filly and kneeling down to her level. “Looks like I’m gonna have to kick you out for awhile, alright?”

“Alright.”

“I would say come back if you get hungry or thirsty or something, but seeing as how we don’t really know what’s safe to consume here…” You reach into your pocket, producing a small brown bag that jingles as you hold it out to her. “There should be maybe twenty, twenty-five bits in there. Bring me back whatever’s leftover, okay?”

She takes the bag, tucking the small sack of bits under her wing. “‘Kay.”

“Alright. See you back here before dark.”

You step all the way inside the house, giving a last parting smile as you close the door behind you.

“So, I see you’ve patched things up with Scootaloo?”

You turn around and see Cream. She smiles, the slightly upturned shape of her lips a deep contrast with the rest of her face. Low, dark bags hang under her bloodshot eyes, indicating to you either a pattern of sleeplessness or crying; or, both. Her mane, normally kept just the way she likes it, is all frazzled and messy, and even her coat seems to have some knots in places.

This is the same pony who used to pull stacks of containers of makeup from the receptionists’ drawers and begin applying it during work hours.

You suddenly realize that Cream asked you a question. You shake your head, trying to come out of your thoughts. “Scootaloo? I guess. I mean, we did adopt her.”

She nods. “Yeah, Rainbow told me.” Sighing, she adds, “I guess that means you’ll be pretty tied up for awhile, huh?”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Rainbow assures her, giving her another hug, “we’re here for you, Cream. If you ever need anything, just knock, alright?”

“So, uh…” You scratch the back of your head, looking awkwardly to the side. “What’s going on?”

Again, all heads turn to you. The unicorn sighs, lightly pushing Rainbow Dash off of her.

“I should have listened to you. You were right.”

You’re not sure whether to be annoyed by her vagueness, or concerned by how downtrodden she seems about it. “Right about what?”

She shakes her head, taking a moment before continuing. “You remember that little ‘party’ we had in Rainbow’s room, right before you guys left?”

It isn’t difficult to recall. “Yeah, I remember… You and Rainbow ate all the damn donuts. How couldn’t I?”

You get somewhat of a glare from Rainbow Dash, but Cream picks up on your joke, chuckling lightly. “Yeah, well… That’s the least of our problems. You really don’t remember what you said, do you?”

“I said a lot of things that night. It was kind of a crazy-”

“You told me not to bring alcohol into the hospital. You said it might get me fired.”

It takes just a moment to remember saying those words, and another to figure out what it means.

“Fuck, Cream. Just… damn.”

She averts her eyes, staring off at something out the window, anything to avoid looking at you.

----------

Perfect time to adopt a filly, wasn’t it?

If they know about Cream, they probably know about you.

Worst-case scenario, you were fired you while you were away. In that case, you no longer have a means to pay for your house, or even feed its three inhabitants. You may not even get a severance check, considering you violated work policy…

If that happened, you’re screwed. If word gets out, the only employer you can think of that would take you would be Applejack. What she payed you was about a third of the chicken scratch you receive now; not nearly enough to--

“Are you okay, Ivan?”

You snap out of your thoughts, looking up to see both mares staring at you with concerned looks.

You pinch the bridge of your nose, clamping your eyes shut. You force down a sick, nauseous feeling in your stomach, shaking your head. “I really don’t know, Cream.”

“Ivan?” you hear Rainbow call out. When you open your eyes, you see her patting the spot beside her on the couch. As there seems to be no better option, you oblige to sit down.

As you let yourself sink into the cushions, your thoughts turn to the blue mare snuggling up to you. You drape an arm around her, softly scratching behind her ear, causing it to flicker for a second.

Would she be able to support herself if you couldn’t? She hasn’t been able to find a job the whole time she’s been with you…

...although, you’ve suspected for awhile now that it may not be quite as out of her control as she attempts to make you believe.

“They don’t know about you.” Two heads turn to the pink pony. Calmly, she says, “I didn’t tell them about you. No one even has a clue.”

You frown, the gears in your head turning aimlessly as you try to make sense of this. “Wait a minute… How could they have possibly known about the party, and not know that I was involved?”

“More than likely, nopony, besides the three of us,” she gestures to your little circle, “even knows that our little get-together ever happened. They have no idea that I snuck beer into Rainbow’s room, or that any of their patients even ingested any alcohol. Well, at least not Rainbow.”

“What happened, then?” You’re really not sure whether to be relieved that you still have your job, or guilty, because your friend took the full heat for what was both of yours’ trip-up.

Rainbow suddenly pipes up. “Yeah, I’m kind of wondering, too… I knew you didn’t rat on Ivan, but how could they have known if they didn’t find out about the party?”

The light pink pony seems unable to meet either of your gazes. “Well… this whole thing with bringing alcohol into the hospital… i-it’s been going on a lot longer than you think.”

“Oh…” the two of you mutter simultaneously.

“You see, I don’t know how well you know them, but I know you’ve at least met the two other receptionists at the hospital: Blue Bonnet and Cherry Punch. We each switch off every eight hours to do our shifts during the week, and we all see each other pretty much every day. Well, sometimes one of us will bring something in and store it in a little drawer that nopony else seems to know about- a bottle of wine here, some tequila there- and it’s just our little secret.

“As part of our code, whatever’s in there is supposed to be shared between the three of us. I had an extra pack of beer I left in there, and Cherry decides she wants to go give some to-- guess who?”

“Uh…”

“Scootaloo’s motherfucking dad.”

“What?!” you and Rainbow both cry out in unison.

“That’s right. I mean, I’d always questioned her choice in stallions, but what the fuck?! The dumb little whorse has to go pucker up her loose-ass vagina for a criminal; which, I would give neither a feather nor fuck about, but it had to be a hospital patient.

“Long story short, he apparently wasn’t too good at hiding evidence-- or just didn’t care. The alcohol was traced back to Cherry, and not only are the three of us fired, but the part-time weekend receptionists lose their jobs as well, even though they had no idea what was going on.”

Rainbows hooves hug you just a little tighter, and her breath seems to hitch for a moment. “That’s a little harsh…”

“Yeah,” Cream sighs, leaning her head back and sitting human-style on the couch. “I genuinely feel bad for the part-timers, but…” She sighs, looking towards the two of you with sorrowful eyes. “Is it selfish of me to not really think about them? I mean, I totally just screwed myself over here…”

“Hey, Cream, come on. It can’t be that bad.” You give the unconvinced pony a reassuring smile. “You’re a young, single mare, with tons of potential. You could easily find another job somewhere else. A better job.”

It’s not like ponies would reject her for being a giant hairless monkey.

She sniffles, letting you know that there’s going to be something negative to counter your encouragement. “That’s the thing, though. You know how I finished art school like, a little while before I met you?”

“Yeah...?” You rolled your eyes when she first mentioned it, acting like a jerk and giving her shit about her life choices. You then later learned that artists were actually in high demand in Equestria, and that art students were often well-to-do later in life.

Compounded with her reminder that you never even finished high school, you felt kind of stupid afterwards.

“Well,” the now-troubled artist continues, “I didn’t tell you, because I wanted it to be a surprise, but a few weeks ago I got accepted to go work with an interior design company based in Canterlot. My starting pay would have been over a hundred fifty thousand bits annually.”

The gears in your brain lock up for a moment as they attempt to process that amount of money. One hundred fifty thousand? Starting pay?! She’d better start buying Rainbow’s full intake of apple cider pretty damn soon.

Okay, you don’t want Cream to go bankrupt. But you expect at least half to be taken care of.

“Really, Cream? That’s great! Why the hell are you so worried? You’re gonna be makin’ it rain by the time--”

“I got a letter from the company saying they’d rescinded the offer.” Her face is stone cold and stoic as she says this. “Word must’ve gotten out to them. I don’t know how, but they know.”

The room is silent, with you, once again, feeling very stupid.

“G-Guys?” A tear leaves a wet trail down her face, slipping down and past her trembling snout. “What do I do?”

----------

What.

With every word spoken, every sentence uttered, the guilt piles up, compounding the one simple, painfully obvious fact.

You ruined somepony’s life.

Voices continue to flow out the window, but you can no longer bring yourself to listen. Ivan told you to go outside, not eavesdrop on his conversation.

You should’ve listened. You would have been perfectly happy-- maybe oblivious, but still happy-- without ever knowing just how badly you screwed Cream over.

“For the last time, Scootaloo, where did you get that?!”

The older mare refers to the beer you were caught with earlier. She paces back and forth, glaring at you intently. “Do you realize just how much trouble you’re in, young lady?!”

“Why don’t you tell me, huh?!” Old bitch, you want to say, but decide to hold it in.

Her wrinkled head rises to its full height as she walks up and stands over you, casting a shadow across you and your chair. “You,” she says, spitting venom against your face, “will be sent off to another orphanage, made especially for delinquents like you!”

“Daisy!” Flitter shouts. Daisy, the bitchy one, whips around on her younger counterpart, staring her down as the two exchange heated glares. After a minute passes, the gray mare turns her nose up, giving a ‘hmph’ as she trots away.

“I’ll arrange things with the adolescent facility in manehatten,” she says as her voice fades out. Flitter frowns at the older mare as she disappears down the hall, shaking her head.

“I hate her too,” you say, expecting Flitter to concur. Instead, however, she shoots you the same angry glare that Daisy received.

“Scootaloo.” The way she states your name makes you cringe. Her voice, although barely above a whisper, has a force to it that makes you wish you could shrivel up into a ball and disappear.

“What have you done?” she asks, her voice unwavering and cold. You hate yourself now. You don’t know what she’s doing, but it feels like your heart is being slowly pierced, sliced open, and shoved into your throat.

“I- I-” You try to speak, but your heart seems to be blocking your vocal chords.

“This… This is serious, Scootaloo.” You’re really not sure whether she’s angry, or sad. Either way, it reminds you a lot of your mom.

“I- I know.”

Her voice suddenly rises in volume. “Why did you do it then, Scoots?! You know better than this!”

You shrink back into your chair, afraid to even move. Her eyes bore into yours, and you wait in a terrifying silence for what happens next.

Celestia, please… just kill me now!

She watches you for a few moments longer, and then turns away, shaking her head. You shake as well.

“I don’t think I can get you out of this one, Scoots.” She sighs. “Just think about that. There are no other homes for fillies your age in Ponyville. That means that you’re gonna have to start over. Again.” The face of horrible truth turns to you again. “I won’t be there to constantly be bailing you out of trouble. You’re gonna have to grow up, yourself. You probably won’t be able to see your friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, very often. If ever again, in your foalhood.

“I don’t think that there’s any punishment I could give you that would be worse than what you’ve done to yourself. I’m… disappointed, Scootaloo.” She looks the other way, her eyes becoming noticeably red and puffy.

Please… Don’t look away.

Your wish is granted. “Who gave it to you?!” she suddenly demands, turning on you. “You couldn’t have just made it appear out of thin air. Somepony, somepony, gave it to you, and I intend to see them punished!

“So, where did you get it, Scootaloo? Who gave it to you?”

You told her everything. You knew some ponies would get in trouble-- namely, you, and your dad-- but you had no idea that it would go any further than that.

Five ponies lost their jobs, all because you couldn’t keep your trap shut. You were going to be shipped off anyway, why did you say anything?

Why did Flitter have to ask? She took advantage of your trust in her, and forced it out of you… You shouldn’t have trusted her.

Why did your dad even give you beer in the first place? What kind of father does that? If he hadn’t done that, none of this would have happened in the first place.

None of this would have happened in the first place.

Your dad. He’s the reason Cream, and all those ponies lost their jobs.

He’s the reason you almost had to leave Ponyville.

He’s the reason Ivan feels like he has to take care of you. You know he feels some kind of debt for hurting your dad; he would’ve never taken you in in the first place if he didn’t.

If your fucking dad never showed up in the first place, everything would’ve been exactly the same way as it was before. The way you liked it.

Why did he have to show his fucking face?

You hate him. He’s been ruining your life since you were eight.

You hate him.

You hate him.

Your head feels hot, and you begin to experience tunnel vision as your mind is clouded with these thoughts. Anger driving you forward, you drop the sack of bits in your wing, take them back up in your mouth, and begin flying toward the hospital.

----------

Wham!

A head pops up from the hospital bed, wide eyes looking rather surprised.

“Hey there, little missy,” he says, as if too shocked to say anything else.

“You.”

“What are you--”

“I fucking hate you, you bastard.”

His jaw drops open at the words. You’re scared for a moment, recalling the time he tried to abduct you off the street while you were playing with your friends.

And then, you see his cast. The gauze around his head, and various other spots. The hospital bed under him.

He looks so weak now. Like you could take his own bottle of beer and shove it down his throat until he drowns.

“What the hell is this?” He shouts back at you, though his voice starts to waver a bit at the end.

“I want you to get out of my life.” You squint your eyes at him. “You ruined my life. You’re a weak, weak pony, who lets things take control of him. Things like that beer you gave me.”

“You got caught, didn’t you?” he asks. “You were supposed to hide it. It’s your own fault you got into trouble-- hell, they even gave me shit about it. Did you know there’s a restraining order on me now? I’m not even supposed to be near you right now.”

“That’s what you’re mad about?” You grit your teeth, feeling them nearly rip out of your gums. “I probably would have never seen you again if Ivan and Rainbow didn’t adopt me!”

He’s silent for a moment. “And you-- you let that happen?” His breathing quickens, and his nostrils flare. “That fucking ape that almost killed me?! You let him adopt you?!”

“I did!” You feel like grinning triumphantly at your little victory over him. “And you know what? It’s too bad he didn’t finish off the job!”

His face twists into numerous expressions, the first and foremost seeming to be… horror.

Good...

“I brought something for you,” you say, opening up one of your wings. Onto the floor drops a half-full beer bottle.

“This is the little present you gave me. To calm me down, you said.” You smile, picking it up. The thought of bashing him in the head with it, mercilessly beating him until he dies, seems appealing to you.

And at first, you move forward to do it. But as you see his face, the face of the stallion you once called ‘dad’... Your will begins to falter.

Instead, you hatch another plan. “Take it back. I don’t want it.” You hold it out for him to take, but he doesn’t move to do so. So, you place it on the bed, by his side.

“In the end, it’ll kill you anyway. So drink it. Do this whole world a favor, and-- and drink it.”

There’s a moment of stillness that follows. He keeps looking between you and the bottle, back and forth, grimacing.

“Scootaloo!” you hear from behind you. You turn around to see a mint green unicorn behind you, and instantly recognise her as your dad’s doctor.

Though, how she knows your name, you don’t know.

“You’re not supposed to be in here!” she says, surrounding you in her green aura and dragging you out of the room. She turns back to the bed with her patient on it, and gasps.

“What the hell is this?!” she half-shouts, half-whispers as she picks up the beer bottle in her magic. She quickly looks around for a moment, as if somepony were watching, before the object disappears in a flash of light.

“I’ll spare both of you the trouble. This time.” Her gaze lingers on your father for just a little while longer, before she walks out, shuts the door, and ushers you down the hall. “Not a word will be said about this, understood?”

You say nothing at first, until the unicorn pulls you around by the ear until you face her. “I said, understood?”

You quickly nod. The pressure on your ear relieves itself, but the doctor’s horn continues to glow.

With a flash, you suddenly find yourself outside the hospital, a little bit above the ground. Before you’re able to catch yourself, you hit the ground, landing with your legs all splayed out in different directions.

You bring yourself to your hooves, dusting yourself off with a lack of satisfaction. You did what you wanted to do: you told off your dad, ending whatever was left of that relationship then and there.

You feel a little better. It felt good to release that bit of pent-up anger. Yet, you still feel somewhat… dissatisfied. As if something’s missing.

----------

“She’s out like a lamp.”

Rainbow shakes her head. “I’m not surprised. She’s been through a lot of shit lately.”

Both of you look down at the pink unicorn. Her barrel rhythmically expands and contracts, the air flowing softly back and forth through her nostrils. Her mane is in shambles, the bags under her eyes indicating her recent lack of sleep. She looks so peaceful, temporarily gone from this world as she sleeps.

“How are we gonna take care of her?” you ask, speaking of the easily foreseeable, yet unfortunately unavoidable, future. “We have a good amount of bits right now, but with Scootaloo around, money’s gonna be tight. Can we even afford to have her--” you indicate to your new money leech-- “hanging around?”

Rainbow is silent for a moment. She seems to be contemplating something, something you’re unaware of. “Well,” she begins, looking at the floor, “I thought about that. And even though I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this…”

“What?” Is there really something you overlooked? Something that could be your salvation in this situation?

Rainbow sighs. “...I guess there’s really no other choice.”

Close Bonds: Chapter Twenty-Six

“So... your mom?”

“Shut up, Ivan!”

“I mean, it's not necessarily a bad plan. It's just that I thought you might have had something else in mind, like getting a job, or – ”

“You don't think I thought of that?” Rainbow snaps at you. “This is a temporary solution, Ivan. I'm probably not going to find a job right away, especially with my reputation, so I'm getting help from the old hag for the time being.”

Old hag? “I'm guessing you're not on the best terms with your mother...”

Rainbow rolls her eyes. “I wonder what gave you that idea.” She signs the letter she's drafting, then prepares to tuck it away into an envelope.

“Woah, woah, wait,” you say, watching her fold the letter up.

She puts her hoof down on the paper rather forcefully. “What?”

“Let me see what you wrote.”

She furrows her brows. “Why do you need to see it? You think I can't write a letter?”

You tug on the corner of the letter, but her hoof remains planted where it is. “Just making sure what you're asking for is what we want. What if you didn't ask for enough bits?”

“I didn't even specify an amount. You don't just demand bits from somepony in the first few letters, Ivan.”

“Really? Because you can do it in the first one if you talk to them frequently.”

“Yeah, well, I haven't talked to either of my parents in years. So where does that put us?”

“Look,” you deadpan, tugging on the letter again, “can I just see what you wrote?”

She doesn't budge, instead opting to glare at you.

“Please, Dash?”

She just continues to stare, never breaking eye contact with you. Finally, ever so slightly, she lifts her hoof.

You gently slide the letter out. You pick it up, unfold it, and turn it over to see what's been written.

Dear Mom,

Hey. How have you and Dad been? Can you say hi to him for me? That would be nice. Anyway, it's just like you said. I'm nearly broke, I have no job, and I'm kind of a loser now. You win. And now, just like you said, I've come crawling back. Do you think you could help me out here? Thanks.

Your daughter,
Rainbow Dash

“Yeah. Um...” You read over it again. “Maybe you could start by, uh, toning down on the hostility a bit? Because usually, getting ponies mad and then asking for money isn't the best way to go.”

She swipes the letter out of your hand. “What are you, my critic?”

“Fuck!” you shout at the feeling of a sharp pain in your palm, and look down to see a red sliver along your skin just at the base of your thumb. A small blood droplet seeps from it, leaving behind a little red trail.

Rainbow's mouth hangs open slightly as she looks at your hand. You just give her an annoyed glare as you wipe the blood off on a nearby rag. “Well, then...”

----------

You wrap your hand with some bandage tape you found in the bathroom. Ponies don't have band-aids, so this has been the norm for awhile.

You hear hoofsteps in the hallway. They go from the muffled shuffling you hear on the rug to the clip-clop of hooves on tile as they enter the bathroom.

“Hey, Ivan.” The hoofsteps stop beside you. Out of the corner of your eye, you see the little blue pony sit down, her big violet eyes gazing up at you. “Sorry about doing that. I just... I'm a little stressed right now.”

“And you think I'm not?” You find that you wrapped it a bit too tightly, and so begin the process of unwrapping and re-wrapping the entire thing over again.

“I know you are. And I should have kept that in mind.” She sees you fumbling with the tape. She lifts her hoof and rests it on your hand, stopping you from wrapping the tape.

You secede to her, letting your hand fall to your side. She pulls your injured hand down to her height, and, using her teeth, begins to apply the bandage to your cut.

As she does this, you start to chuckle, drawing Rainbow's attention. Unable to say anything, she instead voices herself with a questioning look.

You smile good-naturedly. “I feel like some we've reversed roles here. I usually do this for you, whenever I change the bandages on your wing; but now, you're taking care of me.”

She just smiles back at you, and finishes with the tape. After it's done, she rears up on her hind legs, placing her forehooves on your chest. The two of you look into each other's eyes for a moment; then, you curl your hand around the back of her neck and pull her into you.

You feel her lips press against yours, and the two of you share in a warm, light kiss. After a bit, she pulls back, again looking into your eyes. She presses against you, resting her head on your shoulder, and the two of you stay there for awhile, basking in each other's presence.

Shuffle shuffle shuffle shuffle...

Both of you immediately look up, turning your heads toward the source of the noise. You're just in time to see a pink tail disappear around the corner, and make out the words, “Curiosity killed the cat...”

Well, at least you weren't cock-blocked this time.

----------

“Here. How does this look?”

She holds out the newly-drafted letter to you. You take it, and proceed to read through it.

After a second skimming, you hand it back. “That's good. So, you're telling her about us?”

The rainbow pony nods. “Yeah. I guess it's time I started being friendly with her again, and what better way to break the ice than by giving her a rundown of my life, right?” She puts her hoof to her chin for a second, as if in thought, then shakes her head. “Shit, I literally haven't talked to her in almost a decade...”

“So, if I may ask... What happened between you and your parents that caused such a rift?” you ask, checking behind you to make sure nobody else is in hearing range. Cream left after accidentally walking in on your smooch fest, which leaves you alone with your little snuggle buddy.

“It's not both my parents, just my mom. I usually send my dad a card every year for his birthday, and he does the same for me. Sometimes we start writing each other for periods of time, until one of us gets busy or something. I've always really liked my dad.”

You nod. “Okay, so what transpired between you and your mom?”

“Well, the thing is... my mom and I are very alike, I guess you could say. We're both kind of hot-tempered. And two ponies like that tend to not get along so well.”

“Ahh...”

“Yeah. We had a big argument when I was nineteen. You see, she was always supportive of my dream to join the Wonderbolts; in fact, she was always pushing me to work, to achieve great things. And really, I'm appreciative of that. As a kid though, it just seemed like she was being mean to me. Anyway, I'm chasing rabbits here.

“So, the point is, she was fully behind me in this. My dream was to go join the Wonderbolts, and make everyone, including her, proud. The only problem was, that she suddenly seemed to back off the whole idea.”

“Wait, what?” You raise an eyebrow. “So, I'm guessing you two had a big argument over whether or not you'd go, you ended up leaving, et cetera...?”

“Kind of. You see, she hadn't discarded the whole idea entirely; no, she wanted me to keep chasing after my dreams. She just wanted me to go to college first. I'd literally been out of school for two years, and the window for sports scholarships was closing fast...”

“Wait,” you interrupt. “You'd been out of school for two years at nineteen? What, did you drop out?”

Rainbow looks confused for a moment, before seeming to come to a realization. “Oh, yeah! I forgot, your guys' primary schools last for a year longer than ours, huh?”

“Well, we call the last four years 'high school,' but yeah.”

“Yeah, I remember you mentioning that. No, here in Equestria, you start school when you're around seven, and then continue until you're seventeen.”

“Okay, that’s more like two less years… Three, in most cases.”

“Alright, alright. Now, where was I? Fuck, I forgot what I was… Oh yeah!” She clears her throat before continuing. “Okay, so basically, my mom wanted me to go through college before I tried out for the Wonderbolts. In retrospect, that would’ve been the smart thing to do, considering…” She scratches the back of her head, waiting for a response in the hopes that she doesn’t have to say it. You nod, signalling your comprehension. “But, at the time, it just seemed like she suddenly lost faith in my abilities. We got into a huge fight over it, and that, combined with all the years I felt like she was ‘mean,’ just made me decide that I hated her. So, I said goodbye to my dad and my brothers, and left the house.”

This trails off into silence. You’re not sure what she’s thinking about, but in your head, you try to imagine what it would be like to have a family– or, just a single parent like that.

Your parents never seemed to expect much out of you. You were often nagged at to get a job, but you always thought that your career as a guitarist in your little garage band would take off, and you wouldn’t have to worry about that.

You wonder if your parents would have eventually done the same to you as they did to Rainbow Dash. They were always supportive of your dreams, of course, but they never seemed all that satisfied with what you were doing. And if they weren’t, you don’t blame them; after all –

“It was pretty childish,” Rainbow suddenly states. She sighs, shaking her head. “In the end, my mom was right; I should’ve had a backup plan. What was funny was that I actually had a very well-paying job at the time, but was so bent on that dream that I also lost my job, and ended up with nothing.

“And you want to know the worst part? It took me this long to finally admit all that. I’m so damn stubborn, so prideful, that I haven’t even talked to my mother for seven years over something completely stupid. Because I acted– no, still act like a foal.”

She just sits there on her stool, staring at the countertop. She looks miserable, just giving a thousand-yard stare at nothing in particular. You reach over, and begin to scratch her behind the ear.

“You know, Dash, you tend to put yourself down a lot nowadays. Sure, you may be a bit emotional at times, but I know you’re not stupid, and you definitely don’t act like a foal.”

She sticks her snout up into the air, visibly enjoying the scratching you’re giving her. “Oh? And this is coming from Mister Just-Turned-Eighteen, who happens to be the same one who basically takes care of me. I mean, you’ve even had to give me baths before…”

You can’t help but suppress a chuckle. Rainbow opens one eye, somehow giving the same impression that a raised eyebrow would.

“What?” she asks, a little menacingly.

You force back your smile. “Oh, nothing.”

“Why were you smiling?”

“Well,” you allow the corners of your lips to curve upward, “if it helps any, we’ve done some very adult things in those bathing sessions…”

“Ewwww! Gross!”

Your head, as well as Dash’s both snap towards the direction of the voice. In the front doorway stands Scootaloo, giving the most disgusted, scrunched-up face a kid could make.

You didn’t even hear her come in… “How’d you get in? I thought the door was locked.”

The look on her face still hasn’t dissipated in the least. “It was unlocked when I got here. Celestia, I wish it wasn’t…” she adds under her breath.

“Cream probably left it unlocked when she left,” Rainbow says to you.

“Well, I was gonna get something from my room, but...” Scootaloo shakes her head. “...nevermind.”

The little orange filly then proceeds to step back outside, closing and locking the door behind her.

You and Rainbow exchange glances. There’s silence for a good while.

Then, both of you burst out laughing.

----------

Monday.

The most dreaded day, both in Equestria and on Earth.

Yet, this Monday seems to be the least hectic day you’ve had in awhile.

You and Scootaloo sit at the kitchen table, scooping up spoonfuls of bread-based pellets and milk, crunching them, chewing them and then swallowing them. In other words, you’re eating cereal.

Scootaloo stares at the gorilla on the box. It has an unnatural smile plastered on its face, one that a gorilla would never make. It appears to be looking at a cereal bowl the size of its head, while a magical stream of milk pours down into the white glass from an unknown source. With a shit-eating grin, Scootaloo glances back and forth between you and the gorilla.

Don’t say it. Don’t you fucking say it.

“Hey, Ivan?” She giggles, awaiting your response. You try to ignore her, instead focusing on your bread-based pellets.

After a few moments pass, she realizes that she’s not going to get one. That’s okay, though, because she doesn’t need one for this joke.

“Look, Ivan! You’re on the cereal box!”

You raise an eyebrow. At this, she begins to emit little high-pitched cackles, covering her mouth with her hoof as to not be too loud.

“Haha, yeah. You know, it’s even funnier the sixth time you say it.”

She lets out an amused snort. “Heehee, it’s not even the joke anymore, it’s your face. You really do look like a gorilla when you’re mad.”

You play the calm, collected, logical reasoner. “I’m not mad, I was just –”

You’re interrupted by a particularly loud snoring, which echos down the hallway into the kitchen where the two of you sit. It’s not loud enough to actually overpower your voice, but it does cause Scootaloo to jump in her seat.

You smirk. The filly, however, doesn’t seem to notice, instead letting out an exasperated sigh. “Holy Celestia… And you sleep in the same room as her?!”

You take in a small spoonful, nodding. “Yup. You get used to it after awhile. The door to our room’s open right now, so that might be one of the reasons we can hear it so loud out here.”

“Yeah, but I shut my door last night and I could still hear it through the wall. Can’t we like, get some soundproofing or something?”

You shake your head. “If you can’t sleep, you’re always welcome to take some blankets out here and sleep on the couch. Otherwise, you’re just gonna have to learn how to be a heavy sleeper, ‘cause we don’t have the money to do that kind of thing right now.”

She frowns, folding her forelegs over her chest crossly. “So, in other words, you’re saying, ‘Tough beans. Either put up with it or go sleep on the couch.’”

You confirm this with a nod. “As long as you don’t pee on it.”

Before she can come up with a retort, another insanely loud snore emanates from your room. Scootaloo cringes, as if the noise were nails dragging across a chalkboard.

You laugh at her as her face contorts in weird ways. She tries to say something mid-twitch, but can’t stop herself and ends up emitting a funny guttural sound, somehow bringing up the mental image of a Russian attempting to speak in French.

You muss up her hair a bit, then pick up your bowl and walk over to the sink. “Wash out your bowl when you’re done with it, okay?”

You hear a faint “Ugh,” as well as a light clinking as she sets down her spoon. She scoots her chair out from under the table, hopping off the wooden seat and approaching the sink as you dry your own bowl.

“I can’t reach the sink.”

You look down at her. She’s propped up against the side of the counter and, like she says, can’t reach the sink.

“Okay, well, you have two functioning wings and the table is surrounded by a total of four chairs. Let’s see if you can figure this one out.”

She groans, going to the diningroom for a chair and dragging it back to the sink. She washes the bowl with surprising speed, setting it down on the counter once she’s finished.

You check the clock on the wall. It’s a little after seven, leaving you under half an hour to get to work. You walk down the hallway and into your room, past the snoring Rainbow and into your closet where your work clothes are stored. Since you could never match the volume of Rainbow’s snoring anyway, you noisily browse through the clothes you have on hand, looking for something that’s comfortable yet somewhat nice.

You soon find yourself adjusting the collar of your shirt in the mirror. Today you wear a plaid long-sleeved shirt, some tan pants to go along with it, and brown moccasins.

Yeah, moccasins. Ponies don’t know what humans are into, anyway.

“You look nice.”

You turn around. On the bed, Rainbow lies on her side, half-lidded eyes blinking away the bleariness that comes with the morning. Her mane falls messily over her forehead, blending in a flurry of mismatched silk threads.

You walk over and sit beside her on the bed. You run your hand through her messy hair, knowing to look for a particular spot just behind her ear. Your find a soft spot and exploit it, nails digging in below her fur and lightly scratching the warm skin underneath. The tip of her ear flicks and she begins a low hum, smiling.

You do this for a little while, enjoying the quiet noises and subtle movements she makes. Soon, however, it’s time for you to get moving. You lean down, lightly kissing her on the forehead, as you say your goodbye.

“See ya later, Dash.”

You think she’s asleep, but are proved wrong as she turns over and returns the favor with a peck on the cheek.

“See ya, big guy,” she says, running her hoof through your hair. “Love ya.”

You smile back at her. Her vision shifts from your eyes to your lips, and you feel pressure from her hoof on the back of your head, pulling you down. You lock lips from her, your hands naturally curling around her back and neck as you press into her chest, with her doing the same. Your hearts beat in rhythm for the moment, keeping time for you as you enjoy this feeling while you still can.

She finally lets go, and you do the same. She keeps a hoof on your cheek as your prolonged eye contact keeps you in place, dragging out the moment for just a little while longer.

“Love you too, Dash,” you say, leaning down again and giving one last final kiss to her cheek. You stand to leave, exiting through the bedroom door and walking out into the living room.

“What took you so long?” an impatient Scootaloo asks once you get out there. She sits on the couch, backpack in her lap as she idly kicks her hind legs.

You grab your nametag off the counter. What it says, [ ]≡ΓΓoov σy σo'•σ ⌂ß•• ~y⌂σo , still tends to look like gibberish at first glance. You pin it to your shirt.

“Just had to say goodbye to the mare before I left. You’ll get it when you’re older.”

She just sticks her tongue out at you, hopping off the couch and slipping her backpack on. “Well, let’s hurry. I’m tired of waiting.”

You grab your keys and head for the door. “What do you mean, ‘Let’s hurry’?” you ask, eyebrow raised. “You don’t start school until eight.”

“Psh,” she blows a strand of hair out of her face. “What, you don’t want me to walk you to work?”

A kind of strange offer. “Well, it’s not that I don’t want you to.”

“Don’t question it, then.”

That’s too bad, because that is exactly what you were about to do.

Feels like deja vu, too.

“Alright. Let’s go, then.”

----------

“Wow, you were a lot more wild than I would’ve thought you would be…”

“Yeah,” you say, not without a hint of pride, “I’m not saying that it was very smart, but… Damn, if I didn’t have a lot of fun when I was younger.”

“So this means that you’d be okay with me going to parties and stuff, right?”

You feel your throat clench up. “I, uh…” You tug at your shirt collar. “It’s a bit different for mares, you see.”

She scowls at you. “Oh, come on! Right after you tell me all these awesome stories?”

“Well, I think it should depend on our financial situation at the time. As long we have enough bits to support an extra foal, it’ll be fine.”

“Wait, what?! No!”

“Sorry, was just messing with you.” You rub your forehead, knowing that your distracting quips weren’t going to make up for the blunder you just made. You probably sound like the dad with the pipe in his mouth, telling his kids not to smoke. “Listen, just… don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

She seems to be able to agree with this. “Alright, Ivan. I won’t.”

You chuckle. “Well, actually, don’t make that promise, ‘cause I know you’ll break it. Everyone does stupid things; hell, I still do. Just try to limit the amount of stupid things you do, ‘kay?”

You sense that this nod is more sincere. The two of you walk in silence for awhile, the conversation bouncing around in your head for the remaining walk to the hospital.

You soon arrive. Through the glass, you think you see Lyra in the waiting room, but the sun’s reflection makes it kind of hard to see and you lose sight of her soon after seeing her.

Ay. Looks like somepony’s avoiding you.

You stop on the hard walkway. Scootaloo follows suit, sitting down beside you. For some reason, she seems kind of jittery, looking back and forth between the hospital and the gravel beneath her.

Her dad’s in there. Of course she’ll act like that.

“Well, I’ll see ya, Scoots,” you say, patting her on the head. She groans, brushing your hand away. You smile. “You should be all registered and stuff, since we did all that last week. If there’s any trouble with classes or anything, you tell them to contact the hospital, okay?”

“Okay. Bye, Ivan.” The little orange pegasus makes to leave, but stops. She partially turns around, facing you from the side as if she has a question but is too shy to ask it.

You’re about to ask for her, but decide on keeping quiet as she approaches you. She looks you up and down, opening her mouth to speak but shutting it as soon as it seems like she’s going to say something.

Unexpectedly, she hugs your leg. You feel her give it a quick nuzzle before she briskly trots away, neither saying anything nor looking back.

You feel a warmth in your chest rising as you look on after the filly, a noticeable red tinge staining her otherwise orange cheeks.

Hehe. She tries to cover it up, but she can't. You can see it all the way from here.

Mondays aren’t all bad, it seems.

You enter the hospital, the smell of over-cleaned furniture and the wheezing of sick ponies gracing you with their presence. These two combined elements have always been your trigger to walk on up to the front desk and greet your favorite receptionist.

And, with your head still in the clouds, you do exactly that.

You place your elbows on the table, a smug smile crossing your lips. The receptionist has their back turned to you, the big rolling chair blocking vision of one another.

“Oh, Cream~” you say, thinking you’ve got her, “I think you forgot something!”

The pony in the chair turns around to face you. Instead of the pink unicorn you're accustomed to, however, a teenage stallion is in her place.

“I'm not... That's… What?” he says, his voice steadily growing quieter when he sees you.

Fuck! How the hell did you forget?

He stares straight at you. Unsure of how to react, you stare right back. Both of you sit completely and utterly still, neither of you knowing how to break the uncomfortable silence that seems to intensify between the two of you.

You're saved when a familiar voice calls your name. “Hey, Ivan!”

Grateful for the interjection, you break eye contact with your new friend to address a certain mint unicorn. Lyra approaches you at a brisk pace, wearing a grimacing as she comes closer. You rise to your feet and face her.

“Hey, Lyra. What's up?”

“In my office. I need to talk to you.” You feel something tugging on your hand. You look down to see a magical aura encasing your hand, pulling you toward the hall.

You oblige, following Lyra through the hallway door. “Alright, sure. What about?”

“It's private. I'll tell you when we get there.”

'It's private...' In other words, we're going to have an uncomfortable conversation.

Okay.

Her office isn't far from the lobby. The two of you enter, Lyra being sure to close and lock the door behind you, as well as lowering the blinds over the window that usually allows one to see into and out of the small room.

She sits down in her cushioned rolling chair, you sit down in the one in front of her desk that feels like it was carved out of diamonds. The whole thing gives you a sense of deja vu – it feels like elementary school all over again.

Lyra is the principal, and you’re the unruly student about to receive a stern talking-to.

The mint unicorn clears some papers off her desk, using her magic to open drawers and assort them into various folders and files. When she’s done, she places her hooves together on her desk, looking you straight in the eye with an expression that denotes a feeling of complete seriousness.

“I’m going to start off with the obvious,” Lyra says. “Cream was fired last week while you were gone.”

Why is this supposed to be obvious to you? You feel a nervous tingle in your spine as you begin to wonder where she’s going with this.

She stares at you for a moment, as if waiting for a response. When none comes, she lets out a sigh. “The reason she was fired was because alcohol was discovered in one of the receptionists’ drawers. Apparently, all three full-time receptionists were completely aware of this, and were collectively stashing it there. We don’t know for sure if the weekend receptionists knew as neither of them admitted to this, but they were let go of as well.”

You frown, something Rainbow said earlier coming to mind. “That’s… a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

Lyra merely shrugs. “I thought it was, but I didn’t make the decision. Hell, I probably would have never said anything had I known, so long as it didn’t jeopardize my own job. But unfortunately, rules are rules, I guess.”

“So, is that it?” you ask, though you know that it certainly isn’t.

A scowl forms on the unicorn’s face as she stares at you intently. “You know, I thought you would be more upset at this news.”

“Well, I was when I first heard it,” you retort a little defensively. “Cream already came over a few days ago and told me everything that happened. It’s only natural that the shock has kind of worn off on me by now, right?”

“Cream has been to your – No, you already know?!” Lyra’s eyes bug out, livid at this new information. “Why the hell did you make me explain all that to you, then?”

“I figured you knew, since apparently it was such ‘obvious’ information!”

“I was referring to the way you were flirting with the new guy, smart one.”

“I wasn’t – you know what?” You stand up from your chair, glaring at Lyra. “If all you’re gonna do is hurl insults, then I’m done here.”

You whirl around, giving her your back as you head for the door. As you reach for the knob, however, a green aura surrounds it, holding the lock in place.

You groan. “Lyra, seriously.”

“Ivan, please sit back down.”

You ignore her, instead trying to manually unlock the door. Unfortunately, her magic proves to be a quite a bit stronger than your fingers.

“I’ll just bash this entire door down if you don’t – ”

“I’m sorry for getting mad, alright? Just please sit down, this is important.”

You stand there for a moment, considering her half-assed apology. The aura fades from the doorknob, giving you the option to leave the room.

You sigh, turning around and walking back to the desk. Reluctantly, you plop down in your seat, not eager but willing to give Lyra a second chance.

“Alright. Shoot.”

She sighs, doing what she thinks is a discreet job of rolling her eyes. Again, she clasps her hooves together in front of her, taking in a deep breath before she speaks. “Before I go on, Ivan, I need to ask – were you just outside with Scootaloo?”

You think for a moment. Why does she want to know? Do you tell her? This only confirms that you really did see her, and that she very likely was avoiding you… or Scootaloo.

“Yeah, I was. Why?”

Her face seems to be caught somewhere between skeptical and curious. “Last I heard, she was caught with alcohol and being sent to a fillies’ home in another town.”

How did she know? News tends to travel fast in small towns, but she knows a bit too much for simply being the doctor treating Scootaloo’s father. Something doesn’t sit quite right with you.

Again, you confirm what she says. “Yeah, she was. But I, uh…”

Lyra leans forward, ears perked. That last part was a slip of the tongue; at this point, you’re really not sure you should trust Lyra. You don’t know what she could do if you told her you adopted Scootaloo, but something tells you she knows a lot more than she’s let on so far.

The cautious side of you wants to take those last few words back. Unfortunately, it’s a little too late for that, so you decide to just come out with the truth.

Besides, chances are she’s going to find out anyway. What’s the worst that could happen?

“I adopted Scootaloo. Now, why is this so important to you?”

Lyra remains a blank slate for awhile. “Well, you actually did that,” she mumbles under her breath. “Alright, then. With you as her guardian, this takes on a whole different issue.”

“What?”

“Quick question: do you usually just let Scootaloo run free around Ponyville?”

Is she calling you irresponsible? “Well, yeah. I mean, she’s almost a teenager.”

She seems to pick up on your slightly aggressive tone. Oh, no, that’s fine. Ponyville is a relatively safe town, after all. But have you ever asked her about her day?” She puts emphasis on her next words: “Where she’s been?”

“Of course I do,” you retort. Damn, she could easily be a state social worker. “Believe me, she usually tells me a lot more than I care to hear about.”

“Really? Like what?”

You fold your arms over your chest. “Do you really need to know?”

“Maybe I don’t,” she says, her voice dropping to a lower pitch, “but I think you need to.”

You raise an eyebrow, tilting your head skeptically. What you don’t reveal, however, is the anxious feeling rising in your gut, as you worry over what Lyra might say.

Where has Scootaloo been that you haven’t known about?

“Scootaloo paid her father a little visit the other day.”

This almost causes you to break your composure. Being passive-aggressive will make up for it, you’re sure. “Is that really so bad? I mean, he is her father. She has a right to visit him.”

Lyra’s jaw nearly breaks off. She falters for a moment, only able to utter a classic ‘I can’t believe this’ statement. “After all that’s happened, I can’t believe you would still say that.” She stutters again, her words tumbling over each other until she finally manages to blurt out one thing.

“Would it interest you to know that she had a half-empty beer bottle in her hoof, and that she’s not allowed to see him because there’s a restraining order?”

You almost get the sense that Lyra’s trying to start trouble here.

Yet, that sense is completely bulldozed by the few things Lyra just mentioned.

Scootaloo’s playing with fire. So soon after her life was almost ruined, she’s back to toying with the root of her problems.

A half-empty beer bottle. You can only speculate where the other half went.

And she never even told she visited her dad.

What the hell.

No, seriously. What the actual fuck?

Does she think this is some kind of game? What if somepony caught her?

No, no, scratch that – somepony did catch her. She just got really fucking lucky.

By now, you're sure your calm mask has slipped off, because Lyra keeps fidgeting in her seat. It's funny; despite how determined Lyra seemed to get you riled up, she doesn't seem to happy with the results of it.

“Hey, Ivan... You alright?”

Are you alright? You feel betrayed; you gave that filly a second chance at life, and she goes and nearly blows it away. You told her you expected her to do stupid things, but this… this is beyond that spectrum.

Your fingers intertwine in a tight weave. “I'm fine,” you lie through your teeth. “It's just... I have one question.”

Lyra appears attentive, yet somewhat loath to respond. “Yeah?”

“It’s about that restraining order. I just can't help but notice that there wasn't one when Rainbow and I left for Canterlot...”

As the seconds pass, Lyra seems to grow more and more uncomfortable.

“What I'm wondering is why she's suddenly not allowed to see him. What happened while I was gone?”

You think you know the answer to your question, but decide to hear her out.

Lyra's mouth hangs open for a second, whether suspended in disbelief or simply lacking words, you can't tell. “I... thought you knew.”

You shake your head. “As it appears, nobody really tells me anything, so I'm kind of in the dark here.”

“Well, she was caught with the beer, and – and h-he's the one who gave it to her. That's why there's the restraining order.”

Suddenly, it all clicks together.

”I had an extra pack of beer I left in there, and Cherry decides she wants to go give some to – guess who?”

“Scootaloo's motherfucking dad.”

You're not sure how you feel about this. You're not sure what you're supposed to feel.

Except anger.

“Does anyone else know?”

Lyra quickly shakes her head no. “Only us four. Me, you, Scootaloo and her dad.”

“Can you promise not to tell anyone else?”

She nods. “Yeah, sure. I never meant to, anyway.”

The rest of the work day passes by, but neither of you say a word to each other.

Close Bonds: Chapter Twenty-Seven

You sit on your haunches in the middle of the living room, facing your now truly-adoptive little sibling. She mirrors your exact position, up to one minor detail.

You hold out both hooves bottom rims up, smirking at Scootaloo as she stares at the two appendages.

“Come on, lil’ sis. Don’t got all day.”

“Yeah, you do. Don’t rush me.” She bites her lip, then slowly extends her own hooves out towards yours, eyes trained on you as she ever so steadily comes closer and closer.

An evil thought comes into your head. You twitch both hooves, letting them rise just slightly above the height that they previously were. Almost immediately, Scootaloo yanks both hooves back.

You laugh at the glare she gives you. “What?” you ask innocently, hooves still seemingly in the same position in front of you. “I didn’t even move.”

“Yeah you did! You did that like ten times!”

“Sure… Now come on, you still need to beat me.”

She frowns, again watching your unmoving, waiting hooves. Cautiously, she brings them forward, nervously pulling her hooves back to her a few times at some imagined movement of your hooves.

At about the third time she’s withdrawn, you chuckle. “You have to touch me before I hit you, you know.”

She takes this information in without replying. Slowly, carefully, she brings her hooves to yours, centimeters away. The time she takes to cover this distance draws out into forever, her eyes focused intently on any signs of movement from you.

Finally, the very rim of her hooves connect with yours, a soft tap resounding.

In a movement quicker than her eyes catch you bring your hooves up and around, the two appendages hovering above her own. You bring them down swiftly upon hers, a loud smack sounding off as the hard keratin comes in contact with her soft pastern.

“Ahh! SH-oot,” she cries out, shaking her forelegs out. Patches of red blush on the area of impact, not from this incident alone but of about ten other identical ones that have played out over the last half hour.

“They don’t call me fastest in Equestria for nothing, kiddo,” you boast, blowing on one of your hooves as if to cool it down. “It’s gonna be awhile before you can keep up with me.”

“Oh, yeah?!” she shouts angrily, “You’re not fast, you’re just using surprise! I bet that I would win if I tried to smack you!”

You smirk. “Oh, ho ho! Is that a challenge?”

She turns her forelegs over and holds the undersides of her hooves up, daring you to try.

You click your tongue. “You sure, Scoots? I mean, I’m gonna have to laugh at you if you lose.”

Her face becomes one of determination. She tilts her head slightly downward and squints.

“Bring it.”

You sniff outwardly, appearing confident. On the inside, however, your heart feels ready to explode with pride.

That’s your sister.

You place your hooves on top of hers without any hesitation, even going so far as to put weight on them. This surprises Scootaloo, as you can feel her tense up. Her hooves shake as she prepares to take you by surprise, determined to beat her very idol at her own game.

You, however, just imagine yourself flying. You’ve always found that you’re much more perceptive when you think about the clouds, the vast blue sky, the wind blowing through your mane… It likely comes from your habit of instinctively taking note of everything around while you’re in the air.

Aside from its advantages, it makes your rather frequent trips to the hospital that much more unbearable. There seems to be a clock in every room in the hospital, and that Celestia-damned ticking drives you insane. All your friends can testify to that.

Oh, whoops. Scootaloo’s hooves just dropped a little. An unmistakable telegraph.

You quickly pull your hooves back, feeling the air swish off the tips of her hooves as they barely miss yours. Damn, she really is quick, even if not as fast as you are. Maybe someday, she’ll pass you up.

Maybe.

Unfortunately for her, she’s not as good with control as she is with speed. She slams herself on the fetlocks, giving way to a yelp and two inevitable bruises in the near future.

She falls on her back, rolling on the floor as she holds her forelegs, gritting her teeth in anguish. You, on the other hand, are on the floor for different reasons. You tried to hold back your laughter, even going so far as to bite down on your lower lip. However, as the tears pooled in your eyes and your whole body racked with barely contained guffaws, you gave up and fell onto the rug, clutching your sides as your snorts and chortles filled the air.

Scootaloo soon recovers, sitting back on her haunches and giving you a scornful look as you continue to laugh at her expense. It’s finally died down enough for you to hold it in, and as you clamber back to your hooves you cover your mouth with a foreleg so as to hide the still very apparent smirk.

And then, something unexpected happens. The corners of the filly’s mouth twitch, preceding a broad smile taking over her face.

Next thing you know, the both of you are on the ground again, this time with Scootaloo joining in on the laughing. It goes on until it starts to become painful; whenever either one of you tries to stop, all it takes is a quick glance at her counterpart and the two of you are back on the ground, flopping about and gasping like fish out of water.

It takes up until you hear the door unlocking before you two can finally end the chain of chuckles. Both of you quickly compose yourselves, rocking up to your butts again and sitting there, each with stupid grins on your faces. You wait for him, ready to drag your stallion into this laughterfest whether he’s willing or not.

As soon as the door opens, your demeanor immediately changes. You don’t even need to use your little focusing technique, but by the very way he opens that door you know that something’s off – something’s wrong.

Scootaloo, however, doesn’t seem to notice. She simply waves at him, ignorantly wearing that ever-present grin. “Hey, Ivan!”

He does what looks like a half-attempt at a smile. Instead, it stops halfway, forming more of a grimace. You rise to all fours and walk up to him, hiding your uncertainty with a caring smile.

“Hey there, big guy,” you say, standing on your hind legs so as to become level with him. You hug him around the neck, and give him a smooch on the cheek.

He doesn’t have to force anything this time. The edges of his lips curve up slightly, a rosy tint coming to his cheeks as he seems to brighten up a little bit. “Hey, Dash,” he says quietly.

Despite looking more positive than when he first walked in, he doesn’t seem to be in the mood for another kiss. Not a good sign. You let go and hop off him, but stay close to his side as he closes the door and walks into the living room.

What you find just a tad bit scary is that he walks straight up to Scootaloo. He doesn’t change his clothes, or get something to eat – no, he makes a beeline for the little orange filly.

“Hey, Scootaloo,” he says, standing over her. She leans backwards away from him, her eyes darting around the room for a moment before finally resting on his.

“Yeah…?” she asks, her tone caught somewhere between sarcastic and intimidated.

“We need to talk.”

“Hey~! Ivan!” You immediately cut in, killing this before it can go anywhere. The two members of the conversation both look surprised at your interruption.

Shit. What do you say now?

“Uh…” Quick! Think of something! “Scootaloo still has some homework to do. Couldn’t this wait until later?”

The pegasus gives you a confused look. “What? But I already–”

“I thought I saw some, Scootaloo. Now go do it.”

It takes her a moment, but she finally takes the hint.

Ivan watches the purple tail disappear around the corner, followed by the sound of a door being carelessly slammed shut. He stands there for a bit longer, staring in the direction that Scootaloo went.

You start to say something, but he holds up a hand, letting out a bland remark. “It’s fine. It’s not like I had anything important to say.”

He leaves you behind, shaking his head as he sullenly enters the hallway. You, however, are not going to let him get away that easily.

“Hey! What’s up with you?” you press, following him down the hall. He ignores you, and consequently only manages to incite your temper.

“I’m talkin’ to you!” you shout. He proceeds to turn the corner into your bedroom, and slams the door in your face. You stand there for a moment, stunned.

That almost smacked you in the nose. Holy shit.

Seriously, what the fuck is his problem? If something’s bothering him, he needs to say something, not act like a fucking foal and slam doors.

You feel your breath quicken, your heart rate picking up as you let angry thoughts set in. It doesn’t take long for you to get all worked up. You grit your teeth, ready to buck in the door and demand to know what's going on.

A thought stops you. You furrow your brow. You feel like you've been in this position before. Standing outside his door, thinking about...

Oh, yeah. You remember.

You've done it. You've done it now, you blue idiot.

Celestia, fuck, dammit, why did you have to do that? It could’ve gone so much better.

You stand before the door to his room, the day playing over and over in your head.

Right after you smacked him across the face...

“Ivan, wait!”

“I'm sorry, Ivan. I wasn't thinking. Please, just listen… Ivan, please...”

What were you thinking? Hunting him down, screaming at him in front of an entire park, and then giving him a bloody nose? What did that do for you? And because of that, here you are standing outside of his room, thinking of all the ways you screwed up. All the ways this day could have gone better.

Starting with you shrivelling up into a little ball and dying before any of this could have happened. At least he wouldn’t be pissed at you, then.

You wonder how long it is before he kicks you out.

Breaks up with you.

Finds another mare. One with a smaller mouth and a bigger head.

Imagine that, Rainbow. He won't miss you. He doesn't need you. All you ever are is a drain on him. You've only been together three days – Scratch that, were only together three days, and already you've proven yourself to be a psycho bitch. He'll be better off without you. He'll be happier with another mare.

You can't stand the thought, though. It latches on to your psyche, slowly draining you of your resolve, sucking away at the remnants of your composure.

You let out a quiet whimper as you beat yourself on the forehead with a hoof. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

You don't deserve him. He deserves better. You had your chance, and you blew it.

You blew it. Just like you blew the Wonderbolts.

Just like you screw up everything.

You want to fix this. You think you can. Maybe.

Yet, everything in your body urges you, screams at you, to just run away. Run away and hide somewhere where you can’t hurt anypony. Where nopony can hurt you.

You tentatively reach for the doorknob, fighting against your thoughts. Yet, an imagined scene plays over in your head, discouraging any attempts at trying to settle things. You imagine him yelling at you, questioning what goes on in your head and pelting you with insult after insult. You’d just sit there and take it all, too.

Some masochistic part of you would enjoy that, you feel.

Your resolve weakens. You retract your hoof and slump to the floor, the dam finally bursting.

The lump in your throat doesn’t go away. Not swallowing it down it only makes your crying that much louder, to which you bury your face in your forelegs so as to not let him hear you.

Stupid. Loser. You knew you were going to lose him.

Can’t even keep a stallion for more than three days.

You fall asleep to these thoughts, curled up in a ball by his door.

You woke up a few hours later, eyes crusty and nose stuffed from crying. You dragged yourself into your room and plopped onto your bed, where you continued where you left off: sobbing hopelessly.

As it turns out, you weren’t quiet enough that time. He heard you, and walked into the room. However, instead of being angry as you expected, he was… kind. Concerned.

An excited chill runs up your spine as you recall the way he comforted you, soothed you. How that soon escalated to a kiss, then two, and then...

Maybe this’ll end in hot, sweaty sex too?

You chuckle to yourself. No, you wouldn’t count on that.

Back to the present. Your stallion’s in there. Something’s bothering him, and you’re going to do the same for him as he did for you. Show him kindness.

Especially if it means hot, sweaty sex.

Heh heh.

----------

You’re half-naked and in the middle of taking off your pants when the door to your room opens. In walks Rainbow Dash, likely here to chew you out for acting the way you did.

Fuck. You know you acted like a toddler throwing a tantrum, but you really don’t want to deal with this…

You slip on some comfortable pants and quickly turn to rummaging through your closet. Maybe it’ll mute at least some of her yelling. God, you really don’t feel like this right now.

“Hey, Ivan,” you hear from behind. She says your name flatly, as if in a statement.

You groan, bracing yourself for the inevitable. “Yeah, Dash?”

A long pause. As you continue to dig through your clothes for something suitable, you start to wonder if she suddenly had to go to the bathroom or something. That would be weird. Not altogether unwelcome, though.

Unexpectedly, you feel a pair of forelegs wrap around your torso. Rainbow presses her body against your back and begins nuzzling you.

“You know I love you, right?” she asks, giving you a soft kiss on the neck.

Of all things… “Yeah, I know. A-and I love you too.”

Still, you can’t help but be a little suspicious. You wonder if she noticed you stutter.

If she did, she doesn’t show it. After squeezing you for a few more beats, she releases her grip, returning to the ground with a soft pomf. You hear the slow, deliberate plodding of her hoofsteps as she puts some distance between the two of you.

You take your shirt off, not bothering to perform the sacred shirtless routine of all men: looking at yourself in the mirror, checking out your biceps and abs as you flex your hardest in a poor attempt to feel manly.

You don’t really want to try this right now, though, since Rainbow’s here. The last time you tried this in front of her, she started laughing. Like, all-out guffaws, rolling on the floor and everything. That was certainly a hit to the morale, and she only apologized an hour later after she realized you were hesitant to let her see you in your underwear. She threw out some excuse that ‘I wasn’t laughing at you, I was laughing at what you were doing.’

Knowing her, it almost sounded believable. Apologizing, but managing to throw an insult in there all the same. That’s just like her.

Which is why you have the right to suspect something here. On a normal day, you would’ve gotten an earful about your previous actions; things you regret doing, of course, but you digress.

Something’s up. You can feel it.

The bed squeaks, and the sound of a drawer being opened and idly brushed through reaches your ears. “So, Ivan,” you hear from behind you, “how was your day?”

Straight to the point, you see. A seemingly harmless question.

Met with a seemingly harmless answer. “It was fine. Went to work, worked, then came home,” is your curt reply.

You feel her eyes bore a hole into your back. You slip a shirt on.

“Anything… interesting happen today?”

Definitely prying now.

You slip your head through the hole. “Not anything I’d want to hear about, that’s for sure.”

The rustling seems to come to a halt. You, however, aimlessly dig through your closet, pretending to be looking for something even though you’re fully dressed.

You really don’t feel like putting up with this shit right now. You don’t want to talk about it, you don’t even want to try discussing it with her… Not right now, at least.

“Ivan.”

You sigh. Knowing that she’s caught on to your charade, you stop, waiting for her to continue.

“Come here.”

You turn around. The little rainbow-maned pony sits on your bed, patting a spot next to her.

Reluctantly, you do as she wants, and sit down beside her. The action bounces her a little, nearly making her lose balance and causing her wing to flare up. She plays it off by wrapping her wing around you, as if she mean to wing-hug you.

“What’s going on, dude?” she asks, concerned. “I know something’s up. You’ve been acting funny ever since you got home.”

Your eyebrow nearly up and flies away. Did she just tell you that you have been acting funny?

“I’ve been acting weird, Rainbow Dash? Me?”

She gets this confused look, as if not sure how to react. She probably hadn’t expected this response; her act was so unreadable, right? “Well – Yeah, that’s what I just said, right?”

You shake your head, not at her question, but at her awkward attempt at passive-aggressiveness. “Look, I’ll be honest here. I don’t know what it is, but you’re acting really odd right now. I think I should ask you what’s going on.”

“What?” She looks genuinely hurt at this. “But I thought – “

“You thought what? That interrupting me while I’m trying to say something to Scootaloo, and then acting like everything’s all fine and dandy immediately afterward is alright? Because on this side of the room, I’m feeling just the teeniest bit suspicious that what you’re doing right now isn’t a hundred percent genuine.”

She’s speechless for a moment. A blush settles across her cheeks and she frowns. “Are you saying I’m acting or something? That I’m a liar?”

“Well, unless you suddenly went bipolar or something – “

“Can’t I just be nice for once without you fucking questioning it?” the little blue pegasus shouts in your face as she jumps to all fours on your bed.

Okay, that’s more like her.

“Why don’t you just talk to me, dammit?!” She stamps her hoof angrily, but the soft mattress negates the effect a bit. “I care about you, I really do, so why won’t you just tell me what the fuck is wrong?”

The groaning of moving hinges puts the conversation on pause. The two of you look in the direction of the door.

A nervous-looking filly peeks her head through a small crack in the doorway. She looks between the two of you and gulps, regretting the decision to even show her face. “H-Hey, is uh… Is everything okay?”

The two of you stare at her. Another lump moves down her throat. She attempts a smile, which fails miserably.

It’s funny, really. Amidst the arguing and mind games, you’d nearly forgotten you were even mad at her. If Rainbow’s plan was to make you forget, she almost succeeded.

Almost.

“It’s fine, Scootaloo,” Rainbow says. She gives you a glance, quick but enough to tell you that if you make a sound you’re dead meat. “Just go find your friends or something, alright?”

Scootaloo seems hesitant to go. She takes a precautionary step backwards, but then decides she’s going to stand firm in her spot.

“What’s wrong, guys?”

To be honest, you’re amazed at her tenacity. Whenever your parents got into an argument even close to as loud as the ones Rainbow and you get into – which wasn’t too often – you would shrivel up in fear and make yourself as small as you possibly could. Usually, hiding someplace safe such as your room would muffle the noise a bit.

But still. Every shout, every time one of them would try to raise their voice over the other would make you cringe.

Either that girl really has guts, or not having both parents for an extended amount of time has made her forgotten how to behave in this situation.

Either way, admittedly, you’re impressed.

A fleeting sense of panic flashes across Rainbow’s face. Whether real or just a cover-up, she grits her teeth in annoyance at the filly’s persistence. “Scootaloo, I’m telling you to leave. Ivan and I are discussing something, alright?”

“What is it?” she asks ignorantly. “Maybe I can help.”

God, if only she knew…

“Scootaloo.” Her patience has worn thin. “Leave. Now.”

The small orange pegasus stands firm, choosing to defy the command.

Well then, if she really wants to know…

“Maybe you can help,” you say, an edge to your voice that doesn’t go unnoticed by the other two in the room. You pause for a moment, looking from the shocked blue pegasus – with whom the situation has started to spin out of control – to the half-as-surprised filly in the doorway.

She’s looking a bit nervous now, sorry that she hadn’t listened to the wise advice of Rainbow Dash. “Okay… How?”

“I have some questions, and you are going to answer them,” you say.

Scootaloo blanches at your tone. This is exactly what Rainbow has been trying to avoid. “Ivan…” she hisses.

You ignore her. “First question, Scootaloo. Remember that day we got food at Sugarcube Corner?” At her nod, you continue. “Where did you say you were that day? I forget.”

You can see her already shuffling under the scrutiny. “I hung out with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.”

It looks like her alias holds up; that’s what she said that day as well. Still, you notice that that’s the same thing she’s said every day. “And…?”

The guilty look in her eyes says everything. She’s busted, and she knows it; she’s just attempting to stall, now. “A-and what?”

“And did you go anywhere else?” You furrow your brow, the heat of your gaze causing her to take an involuntary step back.

She bites her lip and her eyes dart around the room, as if looking for some way out of this, some kind of escape... “Yes…” she finally says.

“Where?”

Rainbow interjects. “Ivan, you’re acting like she’s some kind of suspect. Stop treating her like this, it’s like an interrogation – “

“Rainbow, be quiet.”

The room goes silent. Those three words, spoken quietly but with a piercing edge, cut Rainbow off mid-sentence. For a moment, her jaw drops; but that quickly morphs into an expression you know all too well.

You swear you feel the temperature in the room rise a few degrees.

“What did you just say, dipshit?” Every word is enunciated clearly and concisely, leaving no doubt as to the malice behind them.

At this point, you – and any other sane person – would have backed off. But tonight… You’ve been dealing with so much shit lately. You really don’t feel like putting up with any more.

Fuck this. “I said, be quiet. Do you need me to say it again? ‘Cause I will: shut your mouth for once.”

She looks like she’s been stabbed. Angrily. “I’ll- I’ll shut my mouth when I want to shut it, you idiot!”

You pinch the bridge of your nose. “‘You idiot’? You sound like a fucking child. You see why I get tired of you talking sometimes?”

She rears up, one of her wings flaring out. You’re guessing she was about to fly up and get in your face, but couldn’t due to her other wing being in a cast.

This only seems to frustrate her more. When she comes back down to all fours, she forcefully stomps the rug, causing all the windows in the room to shudder.

“Why are you acting like such a jerk? I was just trying to be nice, and then you fucking turn it all around on me.”

“Oh, really? When the hell were you being nice? Because I really can’t remember.”

Her voice catches in her throat for a moment. Her lips tremble, and she swallows a lump. “You’re an asshole, you know that?!”

“And you’re a loud bitch! Do you ever even think about what you’re saying, or do you spout things as soon as they pop into that empty head of yours?”

A loud clack sounds off, and a fiery pain shoots up your leg. That leg gives out, causing you to fall to your knee, clutching the spot on your shin where hoof met bone. You clench your teeth and squeeze your eyes shut, your thoughts completely focused on the knot forming under your hands and the cause for it.

That bitch.

When you finally open your eyes and look up, you see Rainbow standing before you. She holds her shaking hoof out in front of her, her breathing ragged.

“Don’t… Don’t you ever…” Steam spews forth from her nostrils, most likely ventilating the fire in her eyes. “...call me stupid. You hear me?!” If anything, she’s succeeded in her goal of getting in your face.

You say nothing, afraid that she might actually attack you this time. After a few long moments of her puffing hot air into your face, she turns around, walking to the other side of the room and away from you.

“Get out.”

You sit there silently, staring a hole into the back of her multi-colored head. Neither of you move, neither of you talk.

Minutes go by. Finally, steadying yourself on the bed, you rise to your feet.

You walk to the doorway. Scootaloo left a long time ago, it seems.

The door moves automatically, slamming behind you as you exit. You wince at the sound, but don’t look back.

A lump forms at the back of your throat. You swallow it down, leaving your airways clear for your hot, shaky breathing.

Of all things to pop into your head at the moment, you begin to wonder about how you went from sitting on the bed to cringing on the floor. You don’t even remember, everything is so hazy...

You need to go for a walk.

Close Bonds: Chapter Twenty-Eight

You walk back to the middle of the room, limping slightly every time you put weight on your right forehoof.

Your can hear your heartbeat in your ears. You’re sweating, you’re so damn hot… Every time you exhale, you can feel flames licking at the edges of your throat.

Celestia… That didn’t go nearly the way you wanted it to.

Nowhere close.

Your muscles tense up as a wave of adrenaline and rage rushes through you.

Celestia… Fucking…

“Stupid! Fucking! Stallions!” You scream, pronouncing each word with a punch to the rug.

Why couldn’t he just listen? Why won’t he understand?

You just wanted to help him. You were just trying to be nice for once.

If anything, his suspicion is what hurt you the most. You know you’re not the nicest mare. You know you have a volcanic temper at times…

...as evidenced by your two throbbing hooves.

Oh, Celestia. Oh, fucking hell. Tartarus.

You hit him. You hit him.

That’s assault. That’s illegal. Hell, it might even be considered domestic violence.

He… he wouldn’t turn you in… would he?

No. He wouldn’t do that. You’ve done it before.

Fuck, that just makes it worse. You’ve done this twice now. You actually, really, physically hurt him. Twice.

He was being a jerk. You were just trying to be nice. He didn’t have to act that way just because he’s irritated, and… something’s bothering him…

You never intended for this to happen. Why did you fly off the handle like that?

Because you always do, stupid. Stupid.

Why didn’t he just listen? Why didn’t he just tell you what was wrong? Instead, he got mad at you, and then he started acting like that to Scootaloo…

You didn’t want him to scare off Scootaloo again. If he yelled at her or did anything to make her upset with him, he’d be back on the rocks. You just wanted to help him… to protect this family...

He just wouldn’t fucking listen!

Still, that doesn’t give you the right to go and punch him like that.

Damn it…

You collapse in the middle of the room, burying your head in your forelegs.

Damn it all…

Your ears perk up at the sound of the front door opening. A howling wind rushes in, audible even all the way in this room. It’s really windy right now.

Wait, is he actually going outside?

Sure enough, the door closes, followed by a faint click.

Again, you hear your own heartbeat.

He couldn’t have actually taken what you said seriously… could he?

You just meant for him to get out of the room. You needed some separation before things got out of hoof.

Well, more than they did, at least.

He didn’t pack any clothes, right? He didn’t pack anything. His suitcase is in the closet.

Just to make sure, you trot on up to the still-open closet. Sure enough, his suitcase is there, up high in one of the shelves above the clothes rack.

Stupid. This is his house. Why would he leave? If anything, he would have kicked you out.

…

Okay, then. He probably just went for a walk.

He’ll be back later. At the latest, tonight.

He’ll be back.

----------

“Hey. Scootaloo? You awake?”

You crack the door ajar just enough so you can peek inside the room. A thin sliver of light etches its way across the dark room, running along the floor until it hits the wall and makes its ascent upwards.

“Yeah.”

You open it up a little wider, taking a step inside. The streak of white widens, soon illuminating the little orange filly lying on her back in the middle of room. She doesn’t look up, only squints her eyes at the bright light.

“Why’s it so dark in here, kid?” You walk inside, leaving the door open behind you.

“Didn’t know how to turn on the light.”

You clap your hooves twice and the candles flicker to life. “There. Better?”

She doesn’t say anything.

You stand there for a moment. A pause. “Well, dinner’s ready. Ivan’s not home yet, so… more for us, I guess.”

“‘Kay.”

Again, you wait for a moment, thinking of something else to say. Not able to think of anything, you turn and exit the room, shutting the door behind you.

----------

The two of you sit at the table, full plates in front of you, although you’re not sure either of you have done anything more than idly dab at your dinner.

You made spaghetti tonight, one of Ivan’s favorite meals. He’s not home yet though, and it’s already dark.

You’ll just save it for later.

You continue to stare at your food. Normally, you would have wolfed down a plateful by now, and probably be going for seconds. You don’t have much of an appetite tonight, however.

“Was it my fault?”

You look up from your meal. Across the table, tears brim the edges of Scootaloo’s eyes. Nevertheless, she looks intent on getting her answer, her eyes having a fierce look to them.

“No, Scootaloo… This isn’t your fault. Me and Ivan just fight sometimes.” You give her your best comforting smile. “It happens.”

The look doesn’t leave her; if anything, it only grows more intense. She opens her mouth, ready to say something, but stops.

Another silence passes by. The dull clinking of silverware against glass resounds about the kitchen.

You haven’t eaten anything. Sighing inwardly, you move to rise from your spot, planning on saving what’s on your plate for later and just cleaning up.

Before you can leave, however, Scootaloo suddenly slams both forehooves on the table, rattling the diningware. “Don’t lie to me! I’m not a little filly anymore!”

This stops you. You shift back into your original position. You listen attentively.

“I’m not stupid! I saw him walk in! He was coming for me, not you! He was mad at me!”

Several things flash through your mind. For one, you now know for sure that she’s blaming herself for what happened. She knows that his anger was originally directed towards her, before you stepped in and directed it to yourself. But, first and foremost, she has to have a reason for believing this.

You may get your answer, after all.

You watch her from across the table. She clenches her teeth together in a look that radiates firmness, seemingly without the anger that normally accompanies it. It reminds you of a few people in your life.

At long last, you pop the question. “And why was he mad at you, Scoots?”

At this, her resolve begins to falter. Again, she’s found herself in a situation where her unwillingness to step down has led her into the iron clasp of a trap. A low, quiet groan barely escapes her lips, as she’s now become acutely aware of this fact.

You glare at her intently, now showing the very same tenacity. Her eyes turn downcast, and she begins to fiddle with her hooves.

“Well?” you demand impatiently.

“I… Am I not allowed to go see my dad, or something?” she says shrilly in a sudden, but weak, turn of tone.

Her sudden passive-aggressiveness does her little good, however. She shrinks under your glare, suddenly finding the grooves in the wooden table very interesting.

So, that’s what happened.

Is that really all that put Ivan in such a bad mood?

You suppose that after all that’s happened, he really doesn’t like the idea of her being near him… Celestia knows you don’t. Still, in your mind at least, she has a right to see him, even if she should have asked one of you or at least said something afterward. He is still her father after all, and she probably loves him no matter how screwed up he is.

Maybe that’s it? Maybe Ivan’s jealous? Does he even think of Scootaloo in that way? During the time that Scootaloo has been with the two of you, he hasn’t really acted like the ‘fatherly’ type towards her. More of an older brother, really.

Damn. Just this morning, you heard the two of them laughing in the kitchen. He was in such a good mood when he came into the room, too. Does it really bother him that much?

It must be the stress. So much has happened these past few months… He needs an outlet, and it just so happens that all the emotional frustration and anxiety that’s been building up in him caused him to blow up in that moment.

And maybe you, too…

By now, Scootaloo is half-consciously rhythmically tapping her hoof on the table. The long drawn-out silence is making her extremely uncomfortable.

You decide to break the tension. “Nopony said you weren’t allowed to.”

Those words would normally earn you a sigh of relief from the filly; your tone, however, betrays a catch.

“Still, you should have said something to us.”

She mulls over your words for a bit, considering their worth. After a few seconds pass, she comes up with a genuine inquisition. “Why, though? If none of you ever found out, nothing would have changed.”

“Well, he found out somehow, Scoots,” you say, sighing. “And that just makes it worse. You didn’t tell him, somepony else did. It’s kind of a trust thing, it’s–it’s hard to explain.”

“I still don’t see why going to see my dad is so bad,” she mutters.

“It’s not that it’s bad, it’s that you didn’t say anything. Usually, me and Ivan tell each other these kinds of things; not everything, but the important stuff. Again, it’s hard to explain, but it’s just trust. It’s what you’re supposed to do.”

“So, he doesn’t trust me anymore?”

It takes you a moment for you to come up with an answer for that. “I–I really don’t know what he’s thinking. I just hope that when he comes back, he’ll have thought it over and come to his senses.”

“It’s dinner time, and he still isn’t back.”

You look out the window at the darkening sky. You’re very aware of this.

----------

Dust. Dust and wind everywhere. You try to cover up your face with your shirt, but that combined with the extraordinary amounts of dust only serves to blind you.

Not that you wouldn’t have been blinded anyway from all the dirt collecting in your eyes.

You stumble through Ponyville, not a pony in sight. Unlike you, nobody else is crazy enough to stay outside in this weather. They’re smart enough to stay indoors.

Then again, what you face out here seems almost preferable to what you might encounter indoors.

From what you can see of the sky, it’s starting to get dark. No matter how much you might loathe having to face Rainbow again, it would be dangerous to get caught outside in the dark during this storm. Finding your way around would be nigh impossible.

Not that it isn’t already, with this limp you’ve developed. Fuck, she really hit you hard…

Where the fuck are you? Seriously. You would start heading home right now, but you really have no reference points to tell you in what direction you should go. All the buildings are silhouettes, the lampposts tall shadows with faint, dying lights at the ends of them.

Everything looks the same. Nothing is familiar. You push your way through the storm to the nearest lamppost, merely desperate for something to cling onto so you have some support in fighting the storm.

It’s difficult to breathe. Even without the dust, the wind itself makes it difficult for your diaphragm to work properly. You try to quell a rising panic in your chest. It’s hard to breathe. Fuck. I can’t see anything. I don’t know where I am. Will I get out of this storm? I don’t want to have to go the whole night like this. What if–”

Suddenly, you see it. Salvation in the form of a street sign. Unreadable from here, you make your way over to it, desperate to have some clue of where you are.

You’re on Elm Avenue, near the schoolhouse. Intersecting this is Third Street.

Fuck that. You’re on the outskirts out town. That’s… pretty far from where you live.

While you could take Third Street pretty much all the way through town to the mane street, you’d be going directly against the wind. Factoring that in, the walk from here to there could take hours, and then you wouldn’t even be at home by then, either.

Shit. Maybe some nice and trusting pony would let a giant bipedal into their house for the night?

No, wait. You don’t need to go knocking on random doors. Fluttershy lives fairly close to here! She’ll let you in!

And, if not, she keeps a spare key under the mat.

It takes awhile to get there. You’re tripped up several times by random objects thrown about by the wind, and have all but completely shut your eyes to keep the dirt out. Your eyes sting, your shin aches, and the blood on your hands is starting to cake.

Damn you to hell if the outline of Fluttershy’s cottage doesn’t seem like the holy grail.

You bang on the door loudly, trying to outdo the roaring wind. The aching in your shin has reached an all-time high, and you’re ready to drop.

Unfortunately, no one answers. You hammerfist the wooden door, harder this time, hoping to get her attention.

Nothing.

Sighing, you reach down and lift the mat, revealing the glinting key. No, several keys. Why would she keep more than one key?

A little dustless rectangle underneath the mat has been protected from the storm. From it you grab a random key–a brown, faded one–and attempt to unlock the door with it.

It’s a little bit difficult, considering the wind is blowing the key around and making you a little unsteady, but you manage to push it in and turn the latch.

You step inside–no, stepping isn’t the right word. You nearly fall flat on your face as soon as the door opens. It’s relatively nice, though; at least this time you hit rug instead of cement or hard-packed dirt.

“Ivan?” you hear from not too far away. You don’t look up, since the light of the brightly-lit house already stings your eyes. You remain on your hands and knees, taking in tremendous gulps of fresh air.

Sweet Celestia… Your throat is literally caked in mud.

At this, you begin retching. Little bits of dirt spew forth from your mouth, dotting the rug underneath you.

God, if you don’t end up with pneumonia or something…

You feel a wet rag wipe your forehead. You close your eyes as it runs over your face, cleaning off all the dust that’s collected there.

A soft voice reaches your ears as you continue to cough and sputter. “My, my… You look terrible.”

As if you didn’t already know. You give one last dry heave before licking your lips, only to find that your tongue sucks off all the moisture that the wet rag left behind.

“Water…?” you croak. Immediately, a glass of water is at the ready. You take it and chug it down ravenously.

“Slow down,” Fluttershy warns, rubbing your back, “we don’t want you to choke right now…”

You ignore her completely. After emptying the cup you set it down, feeling much better.

“God… That storm…”

“What were you doing out there?” Fluttershy asks in the most demanding tone she can–which really isn’t saying much. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous outside? You could have gotten seriously hurt!”

“I think it’s a little late for that,” you say, crunching a grain of sand still in your mouth. “More water please?”

“Of course,” she says, attempting to help you up. “Here, come sit on the couch.”

You lean on her a little bit, but feel as if you might knock her over if you put too much weight on her. For the most part, you stand on your own, using the ground for support.

Once you get to your feet, you let out a loud hiss. You’d forgotten about the bruise on your right leg, and the pain it brings takes you by surprise.

Fluttershy cringes. “Wh-What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

You shake your head. “No, no, not you…”

Slowly, she guides you over to the couch. Once you’re there, you plop down on it, thankful for not having to walk anymore. As soon as you’re seated Fluttershy disappears into the kitchen, promptly returning with another full glass of water. She hands it to you, and like the last one, you proceed to gulp it down. Satisfied that you won’t drown yourself, she immediately sets to work rolling up your pant leg, having noticed your limp while she was assisting you to the couch.

Partway up she stops. “O-Oh, wow…”

No. That’s never a good sign. You place your now-empty glass off to the side, and curiously bend over to get a look at what surprised Fluttershy.

“Oh… shit.”

A dark purple knot sticks out of your shin like a discolored tumor. You estimate that it’s about as large as a sliced lemon, but looks more like a black eye swollen shut.

Goddammit, Rainbow.

Fluttershy rushes off into the kitchen again and returns with another rag, this one filled with ice. “Here, hold this against your bruise while I go look for some tape.”

“Alright.” You place the ice against your shin, hissing again when the cold material makes contact with the sensitive area. Fluttershy soon returns again with some medical tape and pre-wrap, and proceeds to wrap the latter around your leg.

“How did you manage to hurt yourself this badly?” she asks, still fussing over your current condition. She moves the rag out of the way for a moment to finish applying the pre-wrap to your leg, before breaking it off and moving to pick up the tape. “I’ve never seen a bruise like this before, except on some of my animal friends.”

This really isn’t any worse than some of the injuries you got as a kid while biking, hunting, what have you. In fact, there was this time your foot got caught in the chain of your bike, and you ended up directly hitting a sidewalk curb with your shin. Yeah, that hurt like hell too.

Still, Fluttershy likely isn’t one to be into ‘extreme sports’ like you were. It’s only natural that she acts like this. “I… I hit my shin on the way here.”

“Hit your shin? On what, a deer’s antlers?”

One of the few times you’ve heard Fluttershy use sarcasm.

“No. I think if it were that, it would have been a lot less painful.”

She doesn’t seem to hear your comment as she nibbles a small incision on the edge of the tape, before grabbing the roll with her teeth and tearing it off. “There. Now just stay put while I put these things away. I’ll be back to check your breathing.”

Now that she mentions it, your lungs feel a little tingly. You cough into your hand, nodding. “Okay.”

She scurries off, leaving you a few moments to yourself to think. Do you tell her what happened between you and Rainbow? You know that she’s wondering why you were out there during that storm in the first place; she already asked earlier, and will undoubtedly ask again.

She’s always been a great mediator. Whenever you’ve needed it, she’s always been there to offer herself. Maybe she can even help counsel you a bit.

Still, her making the connection between the fight and the bruise on your shin is something that feels a little… risky to you. Fluttershy may take it upon herself to take some sort of action and, despite everything, you don’t want to see Rainbow get into trouble.

No, Fluttershy wouldn’t do that. She’s always been extremely confidential, she wouldn’t say anything unless you asked her to. Besides, she’s known Rainbow since they were both fillies in flight camp; much longer than she’s known you. You think you know where her loyalties lie.

Fluttershy returns with another glass of water, placing it on the table and sitting down next to you. “Here you go. In case you get thirsty again,” she says, making herself comfortable.

“Thanks,” you say, taking a few peckish sips. You put the half-empty cup back in its place beside you and watch as Fluttershy places her ear to your chest.

“Breathe in.”

You don’t know what she hears when she does this, but you comply.

“Breathe out.”

Again, you do as she says. Something about her expression says that she’s confirmed something, and she goes back to sitting in her spot.

“So?” you ask.

“You sound okay,” she says, nodding, “but I would take it easy if I were you. And make sure to go to the hospital to be checked by a real doctor if you start to feel funny.”

You smile. “Thanks, Fluttershy.”

“Mm-hm. If you need anything else, just let me know.”

“‘Kay.”

...

“H-Hey, Fluttershy,” you say, your voice breaking the silence.

She looks up, an ‘eager-to-please’ attentiveness in her eyes as her ears perk up. “Yes, Ivan?”

“I, um…” Well, here it goes. Once you say it, there’s no return. “I… I wasn’t being completely honest with you earlier.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah… I know exactly how I got that bruise, and it wasn’t from hitting my shin.”

She doesn’t look too surprised. “I know. Hooves make very distinct markings.”

You’re a little unsettled by this. She knew you were lying, but didn’t say anything. Maybe she didn’t want to cause trouble, and just left it alone.

Or maybe she knew that you would admit it.

Again, silence.

“It was Rainbow.”

She only sighs. “I had a feeling…”

You would’ve expected anything but this. Surprise, anger, worry, concern… But she seems almost unfazed. She expected this.

Only one word exits your mouth. “Wha…”

“She’s always had anger problems, Ivan. You know this. She’s exploded and hit ponies when she was a filly, and I know she’s freaked out on you. It was only a matter of time before this happened…”

“‘A matter of time?’ She’s hit me before, you know,” you mention. Fluttershy’s eyes widen, making you realize just how bad that sounded. “It wasn’t as hard then though, and she was in her cycle.”

“I can see how she would be more irritable then, but most mares don’t use their heat as an excuse to hit ponies.” She frowns. “And even so, this has happened twice. Something needs to be done about this, Ivan.”

Panic begins welling up within you as ideas of what she’s implying begin to fill your head. “Please don’t say anything to anyone, Fluttershy.”

“I won’t. But she needs to realize that she can’t keep doing this. She gave you a limp with a single punch, but what if that turned into two punches, or three or four? She’s really quick, and no offense, but I don’t think you could defend yourself.”

You’ve heard stories about her and Applejack taking down monsters with their bare hooves. The thought is kind of scary, really… What she did to you today was controlled. She held back. What could happen if she was really angry?

Beating the shit out of you is one possibility.

“What do I do then?” you ask, desperate for some advice.

“Well, I’ve been trying to get her to take anger management classes for years, but she always just gets mad at me when I bring it up.”

You cock your head. “So you’re saying I should…?”

“Only if you get the chance,” she stresses. “And be subtle. She’s probably still a bit upset about the whole thing, of course, but in any case, I’ll be coming by at some point to have a chat with her.”

You sigh, leaning back and tilting your head up towards the ceiling. “Good luck with that. Last I checked she was in a blind fury, and is probably even more pissed at me for not being back by now. Fuck, I’m gonna have a hell of a tomorrow when I get home.”

Fluttershy rests a hoof on your shoulder. “She’s probably worried sick about you right now. I’m sure that by tomorrow she’ll have cooled off, and will be just ecstatic to know you’re safe and sound.”

You close your eyes, exhaling loudly through your nostrils. One can only hope.

----------

You lie on the bed of your room. Ivan’s room. Your room. A string attached to a metal device brings the flow of a melody to your ears, one that carries along with it bittersweet emotions and melancholy.

We’ll do it all

Everything

On our own

You’ve forgotten how many times you’ve played this song tonight. It’s one of your favorites, particularly because it reminds you of a certain someone close to you.

We don’t need

Anything

Or anyone

With him, you always feel so free. So independent, in control.

The irony.

If I lay here

If I just lay here

Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

You’re alone.

Nobody lies with you tonight.

You feel so horribly empty.

The iPod dies and powers off, leaving you in silence. Your only company now is your pillow and the pale moonlight shining through the window.

Tears well up in your eyes. They pool up and run down your cheeks, following the dry, matted paths of many that came before them.

Close Bonds: Chapter Twenty-Nine

Somehow, in the midst of your sleep, you realize that you’re hugging something warm. Firm, but comfortably soft.

Breathing.

In your dream, it takes no form. It’s constantly changing, almost always something unfamiliar. Your special somepony will sometimes appear there in the throng of shapes and faces, but vanish just as fast as they came.

You think maybe it’s your subconscious trying to comfort you. It’s been a rough day, after all. Nevertheless, you take the comfort as it comes. It’s nice to feel someone next to you, a living, breathing—

----------

—human?

Your eyes pop open as you realize you’re hugging Ivan from behind.

In bed.

You freeze, blinking a few times to make sure it’s real and not some cruel, mean trick that your mind is playing in you.

A few blinks later and he’s still there.

This confuses you a little. For one, you’d think he should be at work right now. From the intensity of the light streaming through the half-open blinds, you’re guessing that it’s around nine or ten in the morning.

There’s also the fact that he hates to sleep in. Yet here he is.

When did he come in? You thought you heard the door open earlier this morning, but figured it was Scootaloo on her way to school.

Another question: what happened? Why was he out so late? Where, or with whom did he stay?

Is he still mad at you?

You silence your thoughts for a moment. Soft sighs escape him in his sleep as his lungs expand and contract. His bare back is turned to you, so you can’t see his face, but he seems to be sleeping peacefully.

He obviously took a shower recently, as his skin has a very faint but familiar scent to it. His hair is still just the tiniest bit damp, and again, the scent it has is uncomfortably familiar. It’s not yours, it’s not his, and worst of all, he smells like a mare.

You push those thoughts to the back of your head, choosing instead to ponder on what you’re going to say when he wakes up. If he’s still mad at you, will he talk to you? If anything, you want to avoid another argument at all costs.

Just apologize. He gets over things fast, just apologize and things’ll get better.

…

Yeah. Sure they will.

----------

The shower just stopped running.

You’ve been awake for ten minutes or so due to the combined effect of trying to sleep later than usual, and the pitter patter of shower water.

Oh, and how could you forget? The damn light coming through the window makes it feel like you’re sleeping under a blazing inferno.

You open your eyes, making sure to face away from the window while doing so. Crust lines the edges of your stinging eyelids, which you rub to rid them of their uncleanliness.

God, if you don’t feel like shit. You spent basically the entire night talking with Fluttershy. It started out with you informing her of all that’s happened and her giving you advice, but as the night drew on the two of you began to simply talk. You talked about normal things—things like how her animals were faring, thoughts on recent and upcoming books, new movies, Hearth’s Warming, and even a little bit about Earth.

It was... nice. Nice to talk about casual things, for once. You’d almost forgotten that Hearth’s Warming was coming up.

That bathroom door opens. Emerging from the steaming bathroom is a wet Rainbow Dash with a towel wrapped around her midsection. When she sees that you’re awake, she stops. The two of you stare at each other for a moment.

“H-Hey,” she mumbles, looking off to the side. She scuffs the ground with her hoof, obviously uncomfortable.

“Hey, Dash,” you say quietly.

Silence.

“So, um,” she nods at the covers near the foot of the bed, “I, uh… I saw your leg. Was that from…?”

The area of the bruise was sensitive and a little swollen by the time you left her house last night, so Fluttershy rewrapped it for you. Rainbow, you guess, is probably referring to that.

Your silence is answer enough. You throw the covers off of yourself and move to step off of the bed, but the blue pegasus stops you.

“H-Here, let me help you.” Rainbow Dash darts over to the bed. She places her forehooves on the bed and sticks herself underneath your armpit in an attempt to give you extra support.

You mutter a thanks, and stand to your feet. You wince as you set your foot down, but the pain is only momentary. Dash sets her hoof down, and you notice her bearing her own grimace.

You tilt your head. “Uh, you alright, Dash?”

She turns the other way. “I’m fine.”

The two of you silently walk to the kitchen. You have a slight limp; slight enough to hopefully be unnoticeable to most ponies. As you approach the kitchen, a faint scent fills the air.

“Did you cook something this morning?” Rainbow Dash asks, seeing the uncleaned pan on the stove and also noticing the smell.

“No, that was Scootaloo.”

She looks at you with a slight curiosity. “You saw Scootaloo?”

“Yeah. She didn’t say anything, though.” You sit down at the table and sigh. “Is she mad at me?”

“She’s… a bit upset right now.” She walks over to the stove and lights the burner for the dirty pan. “You want some pancakes?”

“Yeah… Sure.” A long pause passes between the two of you as Rainbow Dash mixes the batter, pulls out the chocolate chips, and throws butter on the pan. “What about you?”

“Me what?” Her voice intermingles with the sounds of cooking as she focuses on making food.

“Are you… upset with what happened?” You cough into your hand. “The argument, I mean.”

She seems to stop for a moment. “Are you?”

You stop, the gears in your head locking up. What does she mean by that? Is she being aggressive? It really didn’t sound aggressive… Are you still angry with her?

Silence reigns for the moment.

She finally sighs. Turning to you, she says, “Look, Ivan. This may sound weird to you, but… I think we should just let it go.”

Again, you find yourself unable to produce a coherent response. “Ghh—What?”

“It’s—It’s pretty obvious we’ve both been under a lot of stress,” she says, going back to her cooking, but swivels her head for one last look in the eye. “You especially.”

You attempt to refute this, but she just interrupts you with a quick, “Don’t deny it. Especially with the whole—Earth—situation,” she says as if it leaves a bad taste in her throat, “and Cream, and Scootaloo…”

“Oh, come on, Dash. Let’s not blame Scootaloo.”

“I wasn’t blaming her for anything, Ivan. She’s a joy to have around, but… she’s a lot of work. I know that you’ve been trying your hardest to get back on good terms with her and try to keep her on the right track.” A pause. “I talked to her last night. She told me about what happened. What set you off yesterday.”

You groan internally. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. I don’t exactly blame you for what you did. I probably would’ve done the same thing; but, I mean…” She seems to be searching for the right words. “Aren’t things a bit sensitive right now to be yelling at her like that?”

You sigh, catching yourself from reflexively rolling your eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

“You’re normally so calm and reserved. Is there anything else bothering you?”

Her question simply passes over your head as you recede into your thoughts. You wonder how Scootaloo is doing right now. From what you could tell, she was still upset with you, as she really didn’t say much this morning. You’d only just had momentary contact with each other—she was leaving the house just as you were entering—but the way she simply glanced out of the corner of her eye, barely even acknowledging you… it stung.

”Hey Scootaloo,” you remember groggily saying to her, ”where are you—”

“School. Bye.”

The whole thing is just so stupid, really. It was all bad timing, bad circumstance… Everything that went wrong just went wrong. On any normal day, you wouldn’t have flipped out like you did. You did flip out; while Scootaloo may have been doing something that was off-limits, you feel that you’re in the wrong here. You should have dealt with it in a much calmer manner. You should have went into your room, shut your door…

...Well, you did do that. However, Rainbow followed you in. She tried to calm you down, tried to make things better… But you were just so irritable at the time.

Any other day, had she done that, just knowing that she had good intentions would have lightened your mood. Yesterday, however, everything just kind of… got to you.

Maybe Rainbow’s right. While you definitely want the best for her, Scootaloo puts quite a bit of stress on both you and Rainbow. She’s an extra mouth to feed, a foal to keep track of, and just another body in your already small, stuffy house. You were still adjusting to her even being there, and still jumping through hoops just to stay on her good side.

Ha. Ha ha. Yeah, so much for that.

Rainbow herself is a lot of energy to keep up with. You absolutely love her to death, but she has a bit of a temper. Intensify that temper with how cranky she’s been getting recently due to corresponding with her parents, among other things… Yeah, not too fun.

Now that you think about it, she snapped pretty quickly last night—well, faster than usual, at least. You hadn’t really put a whole ton of thought into how she might be being affected, attributing it all to ‘crankiness.’

“Ivan?”

You snap out of your thoughts. Rainbow, you realize, is standing directly in front of you with a stack of pancakes on her outstretched wing—her good wing.

“Huh?”

She gives you a concerned look. “Are you okay, Ivan?” She slides the plate of chocolate chip pancakes off her wing and onto the table.

“Y—Yeah, I think.” You drag the palm your hand down your face in a moment that suggests waking up. “Listen, I need to go check in with the hospital. Let them know that I’m not showing up today.”

“Oh? Why aren’t you…” Her eyes flicker down your bandaged shin, and her voice dies in her throat. “Aren’t you going to have a hard time walking there? Do you need somepony to go instead?”

“I made it from Fluttershy’s house this morning,” you grunt, rising from your chair. “I’ll be back soon, don’t worry.”

“Aren’t you at least going to eat? I just made pancakes…”

“I’m not very hungry right now.” As you begin to make your way into the hallway, you realize how rude you must seem. “Uhh, maybe you can save it in the fridge for me?”

“Alright.”

----------

As the door closes behind Ivan, you once again find yourself alone in the house.

Well, not completely alone. You have a stack of fresh, buttery, chocolate chip pancakes here.

…

You cover the whole batch up with another plate and stick it in the fridge, right next to the leftover spaghetti. You’re not hungry right now.

You trot on over to the couch and plop down on it. You idly look around the livingroom.

It’s quiet. The quietest it’s been in a long time.

Quiet enough for you to think about things. Things like this whole business with Ivan.

You have a sinking feeling in your gut. This isn’t going to work. This whole, “Let’s just drop it,” business isn’t going to work.

You could feel it. There was tension in the air as soon as you woke up this morning. There was tension in the bedroom, in the kitchen. He barely talked the entire time.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, how could you have fucked up so badly?

Maybe things wouldn’t have been so bad if you just hadn’t punched him. This morning, maybe you would have been able to talk to him had you not felt a guilty pang every time you saw his bandaged leg. Hell, he probably wouldn’t have even ran off last night if you would’ve just kept your fucking hooves to yourself.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

You wonder what he did with Fluttershy last night. The way he looked, with those baggy eyes and that tired walk… He looked like he hadn’t even slept.

She’d better have kept her grabby hooves off of him…

You shake that thought from your head. “No, no, Fluttershy would never do that,” you say aloud. “No, no, no, no—”

Tap-tap-tap!

Speak of Discord…

The soft knocking at your door is unmistakable. You sigh, pinching the bridge of your snout. “Come in!”

You hear a faint voice from the other side. “It’s locked…”

You groan audibly, then hop off the couch and open the door. Outside stands Fluttershy, smiling pleasantly at you.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, it’s so good to see you!” She leans forward and drapes a foreleg over you in a hug. You feel her take a quick sniff of your mane. “You smell… refreshing, today!” She gives the side of your neck a small lick.

“Yeah, well, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that to my coat,” you say, wiping the area off with a hoof. You frown, but she looks unfazed.

“Oh, I’m sorry…” She looks past you. “M-May I come in? Or is this a bad time? Would you like me to leave?”

“Ugh…” You roll your eyes and recede into your house, but you don’t close the door. Fluttershy bounds in, cheerful as can be, making sure to shut the door softly behind her.

“Oh, this place looks so nice! So clean, compared to my house. I try to be as clean as I can, but my animal friends are always making a mess somewhere…”

“Uh, huh.” You plop back down on the couch, lying on your belly with your chin between your hooves out in front of you.

Fluttershy approaches the coffee table, picking up a Daring Do book off of it for a moment before setting it down. “So, what have you been up to lately?” she asks, turning her big blue eyes towards you.

“I made some pancakes. They’re in the fridge, if you want any.”

“Oh no, that won’t be necessary,” she replies. “Although, if you have some tea…”

“Ivan keeps some somewhere in the kitchen. Probably in a cupboard or something. Just watch out for rancid food, we still haven’t cleaned it all out.”

She smiles at you, and then trots out into the kitchen. You hear cupboard doors open and shut, glasses touch down on tile…

“Hey, Fluttershy,” you call out.

“Y-Yes, Rainbow Dash?”

“Last I checked, tea doesn’t make jingling noises.”

“S-Sorry.” You hear what you hope to be the sound of money or keys being put back in their rightful spot. More noises, the stove is turned on, water running…

“Hey, Fluttershy.”

“Yes, Rainbow?”

“Ivan told me he stayed at your house last night.” Upon receiving no answer, you assume she’s waiting for you to continue. “Just wondering, did you guys talk about anything… Um… Pertaining to our… Uh...”

…

“Fluttershy?”

“We can talk about this now while I’m way out here in the kitchen, or we can wait until I’m back with the tea.”

Point taken.

Soon enough, after a small space of time in which you fidgeted on the couch for a bit and heard the familiar screaming of the tea kettle, Fluttershy walks back into the living room with two cups on each wing and the handle of the teapot in her mouth.

“One’th fer yoo,” she says around the teapot, placing a small cup in front of you. She pours some steaming tea into the cup, which you proceed to sniff and take a small sip.

“Yecchh,” you spurt, scrunching up your snout. “How do you guys drink this stuff?”

Fluttershy simply pours herself a cup of tea. After setting down the teapot, she says, “You’re supposed to wait for it to cool down first, Rainbow. Try blowing on it.”

You roll your eyes. “Not that. It’s super bitter!”

“Well, how many sugar cubes would you like?” she asks, revealing a previously unseen bowl of sugar cubes.

“Oh. Uh, four?”

“Let’s start with two,” she says, dropping them in your tea. You watch the small white cubes dissolve and shrink into the dark liquid.

“So, you wanted to talk about last night?”

You suddenly perk up. “Oh! Uh, yeah!”

She picks up her cup of tea, placing it to her mouth to blow on it before taking a sip. “What would you like to know?”

She’s starting to bug you. Still, she’s your source of insight on what Ivan might be thinking… And most likely, she didn’t just show up to have tea and chat.

Although, you wouldn’t mind it if she did. Minus the tea. You haven’t seen a whole lot of your friends, except for maybe Twilight and AJ every once in awhile.

“Well… How is he? Is he mad at me right now?” Another thought, though you’re hesitant to say it, comes to mind. “And how’s his… injury?”

“Well, Rainbow, before we go on, I’d just like to make clear that I don’t believe you ever meant to—”

“Just get on with it. Let’s not dance around the issue here—”

“He’s hurt. Really hurt, Rainbow.”

Your heart sinks in your chest. “Well, how hurt? Like, what did he say?”

“He told me a lot of things. First and most importantly, he loves you very much.” Here, you feel like a stake has been driven through your heart. A very tender, loving stake. “But he’s upset, and—I hate to say it, Rainbow, but I think he’s scared.”

“Scared?” You nearly reel back in shock. “Of me?”

“Well, there’s a very distinct hoofmark imprinted into his shin…” Your ears flatten against your head at the mention of this. “But it’s not just that. He didn’t say it directly, but I think he’s afraid of… losing his family.”

You stare intently at your friend. Losing his family? But… “What?”

“Think about it, Rainbow. He lost his old family. You, and Scootaloo now… You’re all he has left.”

“That’s not true! He could—” You’re silenced by a raised hoof from Fluttershy.

“Yes, he has Twilight, and after that Lyra took him in, and Celestia knows I’ll always be around for all of you.” She gives you a reassuring look. “We all will. Well, except for Lyra, maybe. But the point is, you are the pony who he cares most about in this world. You can quite literally say,” she covers a giggle with her hoof, “that you mean the world to him.” She waits a moment, but seeing as how she’s the only one laughing, she shrinks back into her mane a bit.

“I… I think I see what you mean.” You stare at the patterns in the couch, running your hoof over them. You’d wondered for a long time if he reciprocated the your feelings as intensely as you felt them. The fact that he chose to stay in Equestria rather than going to his home world seemed to confirm this, but it sounded different coming from a friend. “I… love him… too.” You blink. “And I think I know why he’s afraid of losing us… I guess.” You look up at Fluttershy. “He’s been real stressed recently. I knew what the reasons were, I guess I just didn’t know the reason behind those reasons… if that makes sense.”

“As long as you understand that something needs to be done and are willing to take action, then it’s okay.”

“But what?” you ask almost despairingly. “I tried to talk to him this morning… I mean, I told him that I thought we should just drop it, but I was going to talk after breakfast—”

“You need to let him know that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to fix this. Once he’s confident in you, he’ll do the same.”

“But what?” you repeat to her, looking desperately to her for advice. “What do I do?”

“Well, I’m sure you’re aware that you sometimes tend to… oh, what are the right words… lose your temper. Just a bit. You’re normally a sweet pony, if somewhat confrontational, but—”

“Wait. Wait wait wait. I think I see where this is going.” You scowl at her. “This was all a trick, wasn’t it? A setup. You’re just trying to get me to go—”

“Rainbow, I just think that especially now, it would be a good idea if you just took those anger management classes. Just to try them.”

“Ohh, come on!” You cover your face with your hooves. “I can’t believe this! All this time, you were just here to convince me to do something that you’ve been bugging me for months about and thought you could finally convince me!”

“Rainbow, I sincerely believe that it would help your relationship if you at least tried to tone your anger down a little—”

“Yeah, I try! I try all the time! What, do you think I get mad on purpose?!”

“No, you don’t, and that’s why this would help! Rainbow, you flew out of control last night! Did you see the bruise on his leg? Don’t you know that you could be legally charged with domestic violence?”

“Yeah, well, you know what? I think I’m going to leave before I get charged with some… other… violence…” You growl, shaking your head. “I’m leaving, alright?!”

You hop off the couch and head towards the door. Fluttershy follows right behind you, pleading the entire way. “Please, Rainbow Dash, just take some time to think about it!”

You swing the door open and are about to leave, but then realize that you would be leaving Fluttershy alone in your house. Fluttershy.

“You know what? You get out,” you command, pointing at her. She just stares at you for a moment, before obeying.

She stands outside on your front porch, giving you pleading eyes. “Please, Rainbow. I know you’re upset, but just think about it.”

“Oh, I’ll think about it, alright. Goodbye, Fluttershy.” You shut the door on her, leaving you alone to your thoughts.

You stand there for a moment, just thinking. Thinking.

Celestia. Fuck.

----------

Clip clop clip clop clip clop clip clop…

The rhythmic beating of your hoofsteps is joined by a cacophony of hundreds of other hoofsteps and voices as you enter the market. You don’t hear any of it, however, as such petty noises are drowned out by the one in your head.

They’re still fighting, as far as you can tell. You weren’t there long; you went in and out your bedroom window as quickly as possible, stealthily grabbing a sack of bits out of your dresser and leaving. You heard yelling through the walls—only Rainbow’s voice though, not Ivan’s. Still, it made you cringe.

Have they always been this way? Always fighting? They always seemed happy together before… did it start after you showed up?

No. No, Rainbow Dash punched Ivan in the face once. It was at the park. Were they together then? You think they were. They were living in the same house at the time.

Still, you can’t help but think that it really is your fault—no, you know that it’s your fault. Yesterday when Ivan walked into the house, you could tell he was mad at you, and you directly. And you know exactly why, too.

…

No. You can’t think like that. He was just being stupid. He just stormed in all angrily and didn’t even tell you what was going on. Really, you don’t even know if seeing your dad really was the whole reason he got mad. It could have been something else entirely.

…

Either way, that’s no way to handle things. Even if you did do something that might have upset him.

Even if you did…

Shaking these thoughts from your head, you approach a food stand. You lay a few bits on the counter, and tell the stall pony, “I want a fruit salad and a salt cube.” Remember your manners. You don’t want him to spit in your food. “Please.”

The stallion looks you over for a moment, eyebrow raised. “Ain’tcha supposed ta be in school right now, kid?”

You frown. “Do you want my money or not?”

He shrugs, and then takes the bits. The few minutes it takes for him to prepare the salad gives you more time to think about things.

Things like running away. Somewhere far away where you wouldn’t bother anypony, where you wouldn’t bother Ivan, or Rainbow Dash, or your dad, or that one pony that you got fired… The more you think on it, the more it seems like it would be better for everyone if you just disappeared.

Well, maybe except for Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. They would probably miss you, and you would definitely miss them. Maybe you could write to them. You could come visit them once in a while, or they could visit you wherever you found yourself living. Maybe they could even help you run away. They could supply you with some bits to start off, and—

The stallion’s voice. “Hey, kid.”

You look up to see that your fruit salad is finished and rests atop a thin wooden plate. Beside it is a small white salt cube. You nod and take the salt cube in your mouth, while resting the plate on an outstretched wing. “T’ankths,” you mumble out.

He grunts in response. You take your food and walk to one of the nearby tables.

You sit in silence, casually eating your food. As you sit and chew, you watch as numerous ponies stroll by: young, old, stallion, mare, filly, colt. You wonder if any of them have the same problems you do. A foal darts off into the crowd, followed close behind by a young but somewhat tired-looking mare, who you assume is its mother. Both re-emerge from the crowd a minute later, but this time the mother holds the colt, tucking him close to her chest and with a scowl on her face. She sets the colt down, giving him a cold glare. She appears to be speaking sternly to him, accentuating her talk with stomps of her hoof and other angry gestures, but the colt just keeps nuzzling her and laughing. Eventually, after a few minutes of pushing him away every time he tries to nuzzle her, she sighs, rolling her eyes. The colt takes this as a cue to rise to his hind legs and hug her around the neck, and the mare’s eyes soften. She gives in and nuzzles her son back. The two walk off in another direction, disappearing from your sight.

You decide to focus on your lunch for a bit. You pop a grape into your mouth, trying to distract yourself with… other things.

…

Oh, shit.

Is that Ivan?

He looks your way, and you instantly duck. You watch from under the table as he stops for a moment, scanning the crowd.

What’s he doing?

Suddenly, he starts walking in your direction. Your heart jumps into your throat as his eyes seem to rest on your shivering form for a moment, but then look slightly past you as if he’d seen you but hadn’t recognized you. Studying his gait, you’re suddenly reminded from this morning that he has a limp; deciding to act first and ask questions later, you prepare to make a dash from under the table before he sees you. Looking behind you at Ivan as you bolt in the other direction, you suddenly find yourself colliding with a soft, furry mass.

You, as well as the pony you just ran into, let out a simultaneous “Oof-!”

The other pony seems to be bigger than you, as you find yourself planted back on your butt in the middle of the road. You shake your head, fighting dizziness, and look up to see who you crashed into.

A pink mare looks down at you, her eyes wide in surprise. She seems oddly familiar. She wears a white, painted-splattered cap, just the right size to fit comfortably on her head with her ears sticking up from around the sides. She seems to have an improvised saddlebag on her, with paintbrush slots on the outside and some paint cans sticking out of—

Sweet mother of Celestia, that’s that pony you got fired from the hospital.

Why is life so cruel?

“Hey! Cream!” Though you can’t see him through the crowd, you hear Ivan’s voice. You take the chance to take one last fleeting look at the pink pony before darting under the table again, silently pleading with her with your eyes as you cower underneath the barely-suitable-for-hiding wooden structure.

She stares at you for a moment with a perplexed look. Out of the corner of your eye you see Ivan round the table, walking past as he approaches her. You do your best to stay as far away from him while staying under the cover of your hasty shelter. The mare you now know as Cream snaps her attention away from you and looks up at the towering figure that is your adoptive father.

She takes a moment to regain her composure, but manages a convincing smile. “Hey, Ivan,” she greets, dusting off her chest.

“What’s up?” he asks, extending a fist out to her. She bumps it with her hoof.

“Besides you, you mean?” She casts him a smirk. “Here, I can’t even see you completely. Let me just back up for a moment.” She backsteps a bit, until there’s a good amount of distance between the two, as if a part of the joke. You, however, notice that it ensures that Ivan is facing the opposite direction from you.

He reciprocates with a groan, stepping towards her to close the gap. “Yeah, yeah, like I haven’t heard that one before. Your jokes are getting old, Cream.”

She dismisses him with a hoof. “Ivan, please. You just have a shitty sense of humor.”

He stares intently at her. You start to wonder if he’s angry, but are shown otherwise when the two simultaneously burst into laughter.

Huh. He’s laughing? That’s different. He looked pretty upset this morning, and as far as you know, he and Rainbow are still fighting. There’s no way they got over a huge fight just like that.

Besides, you really don’t get what was so funny about the joke in the first place.

“Ahh, shit… We’re so weird,” she says, wiping her eye.

“It’s just you, I think,” Ivan answers, drawing a few more chuckles from the both of them. It takes a few moments for the giggles to subside. “So,” Ivan says, “what are you doing right now? You look like you just got done working at the paint factory.”

“Ahh, you’re close. But no.” She takes off her multi-colored cap. “If you’re wondering, this thing’s been splattered with paint since… a long time ago. I decided when I was a filly that this would be my painting hat, and that’s what it’s been ever since.”

“Really? Not a beret or something?”

“No. These, you see,” she indicates to all the colors messily wiped and splashed onto the old cap, “are memories. This particular article of clothing happens to have a stroke of paint from just about every work of art I have ever created ever since I was ten. Aside from that, it keeps the sun off my face when I’m working outside.”

“Interesting,” Ivan comments, rubbing his chin. “Never seen you wear it before.”

“Well, of course you haven’t. You’ve never seen me paint.”

“I’ve seen you do those sketches you do when you’re bored.”

“Okay then, smartass. I’ll make sure to bring it to the hospital from now on—” She stops herself. “—or not.”

Ivan’s face seems to darken at this, and he shifts uncomfortably. You yourself feel a pang of guilt.

Funnily enough, Cream seems to be the only one unfazed. She doesn’t even seem to notice Ivan’s own change of demeanor. “Welp, I’m off to a small painting gig I got. You look like a busy stallion, so I’ll let you go.”

Ivan perks up. “Oh? You got a job?”

She smiles. “Kind of. I’ve been doing odd jobs here and there, whatever I can get my hooves on. I’m doing a wall down at the Ponyville Day Care Center today. Hoping to get done by late afternoon.”

“Painting right?”

“No, I use crayons. These buckets of paint in my saddlebag are just to dip them in, and the brushes are for tickling myself when I start to get bored.”

He rolls his eyes. “Alright, alright…”

“You know I kid,” she says playfully, nudging Ivan’s leg with her elbow. You hear him immediately suck in air, and he quickly pulls his leg back.

This doesn’t go unnoticed by Cream. “Hey, you alright, dude?” She sticks out a hoof to poke the sensitive spot, but Ivan instinctively moves his leg again.

“Uh, yeah. I got hit in the shin.”

Hit in the shin. Yeah, if that isn’t the truth. That was the moment when you decided to back the fuck out of that room. Retreat, hide, disappear until the sirens end.

“Hit in the shin?” Cream asks, looking concerned. “I thought I felt a lump there. Are you alright?”

“Yeah. That lump is probably from the bandages.” He gingerly peels his pant leg up, revealing the gauze covering his shin. “It’ll be alright, probably. It’s an excuse to skip work today, at least.”

A frown crosses her face. “What are you doing up walking around, then? Shouldn’t you be at home, resting it?”

“Well, I was walking to the hospital to call in.”

“Oh.” Still frowning, she asks, “Couldn’t Rainbow do that for you or something? I mean—”

“Nah, it’s fine. I needed some fresh air, really.” You look up into the clear sky. “Better get it while it lasts with all these storms, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess…” She follows his gaze for a moment, looking up into the sky, but she can’t seem to keep her eyes of the injury as her attention almost immediately returns to the bandaged area. “Damn though, Ivan, it seems pretty bad… How do you even get that?”

Not even a hesitation in his answer. “It happened last night. I went out in the storm, stupid me, and, well… yeah.”

“Yeah?” She’s leaning forward now, looking to attack the issue like a shark, but holds her tongue when she notices Ivan biting his lip. Instead, she just shakes her head. “You’re stupid sometimes, you know that?”

“Yeah, yeah, love you too, Cream,” he responds sarcastically, albeit looking visibly relieved. “I’ll see ya later, alright?”

“‘Kay, Ivan. Get your ass back home and rest, too. Have Rainbow take care of you, order her around and shit. She owes you for all that time in the hospital.”

He smiles one last time, then turns and begins limping away. You watch anxiously as he slowly walks off, an irrational fear in your gut making you think that he’ll turn around at any moment and catch you when freedom is so near.

Luckily, he doesn’t. Cream watches him leave, noticeably taking a sidestep that blocks Ivan’s view of you, and vice versa. Finally, after a tense half-minute, she turns to you.

You contemplate making a dash for it. However, something about her makes you feel as if that would be the… wrong decision. Not that it would end badly for you, moreso that you would be ungrateful to ditch her after she covered for you like that. You still remain in place under the table as she approaches you, however.

“Hello, there.” Despite being cream-pink and out of a job, she has a very sunny disposition. Her grin stretches from ear to ear, as if meeting you is the best thing that’s ever happened to her. “You’re Scootaloo, right?”

You say nothing, choosing to remain silent. This does not seem to bother her in the least.

She continues on, as if you’d actually answered. “I’ve seen you before, but I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. My name is Cream.” She extends a forehoof in your direction. “But since you’re family of Ivan and Rainbow now, I’ll bestow upon you the privilege of calling me Auntie Cream.”

When you don’t respond, she remains frozen in her friendly pose, except for a few blinks every other second. You start to wonder how long she would stand there if you didn’t do anything, but the thought of her acting like a statue and staring at you for a long time makes you uncomfortable.

Hesitantly, you put a hoof forward, lightly bumping hers. Her grin settles into a polite smile at this point and she lowers her hoof, putting you more at ease.

“It’s good to meet you, Scootaloo,” she says. Your eyes dart around, as you’re momentarily unsure of how to reply.

“Y-You too,” you finally answer.

Close Bonds: Chapter 30

“Here,” Cream says, extending her forehoof out to you. “Let’s get you out from under there.”

As with everything else, you hesitate; just as well, however, you take her foreleg in the crook of yours. Her grip is surprisingly firm, and with a brief yank she has you out from under the table and onto your hooves.

You duck your head to avoid being clipped by the underside edge of the table as you emerge. She holds your hoof up at chest level for a moment before releasing. You slowly allow your hoof to touch down in the dirt, not sure what to make of the whole thing.

“Welp, I have to get going,” she suddenly announces. “If I wanna be home by afternoon, I gotta start on this job…” Her eyes land on a nearby clock. “...five minutes ago.” She turns, trotting away at a brisk pace and calling over her shoulder, “See ya later, Scoots!”

“Huh? W-Wait!” you find yourself calling out. She stops, allowing you to catch up to her.

“What is it?” she asks, her eyes wide in apparent surprise. “Do you have something important to tell me?”

“I…” It’s only now that you realize that you don’t know what you’re going to say. That, and you have the strangest feeling that you’ve been played somehow. “Th-Thanks.”

She dismisses it with a hoof. “Oh, don’t worry. You’re a petite filly, it was easy enough.”

What? You shake your head. “No, no, not that… I mean, thanks for that too, but I was talking about, you know, covering for me. From Ivan.” You let out a relieved chuckle, wiping your brow to emphasize your next statement. “I would’ve gotten in a lot of trouble had he seen me.”

“Hey, no problem, kid. Remember, you need anything, Auntie Cream’s got ya covered, alright?”

“Alright.”

You think she’s going to walk off again, but she just keeps standing there. “...Anything at all. If you need someone to talk to, or need some advice…”

You cock your head.

“...or if there’s anything wrong, or you need some advice…”

You raise an eyebrow.

“...or you need someone to talk to...”

“Are you pushing something?”

She tilts her head in confusion, one ear staying up while the other flattens against the side of her head. “What? No, no no. I’m just saying that if you ever need some advice, or—”

“I get it, alright?”

She smirks impishly. “You don’t seem like you get it.”

You groan audibly. She just laughs, and continues to trot off.

You watch her bounce along happily, almost a skip in her step. You want to leave, you want to just lose her in the crowd and never see her face again, but some part of you just finds the mare so strange, so fascinating…

Well, maybe not fascinating. You’re not fascinated with her, it’s more of a morbid curiosity. Despite having been defeated, despite having had her life derailed and shoved in a direction she can barely control, the day seems to go on as if nothing’s changed—hell, she acts like the sun shines just for her.

Wasn’t it just the other day that she was a slobbering mess on Ivan and Rainbow’s couch?

You don’t call out for her to wait this time, rather preferring to wordlessly catch up with her. She doesn’t seem to acknowledge you, but a smug look coincidentally crosses her face at the same moment that you’ve come to her side.

You suddenly find your fruit salad being levitated in front of you. “Don’t want you to go hungry,” she says, still looking ahead. You stare at it for a second while the two of you walk before taking it in your teeth and tucking it under your wing.

“You’re not going to eat it?” she asks you.

You shake your head. “No… I’m not really hungry now. I’ll save it for later.”

“I don’t blame ya.” She’s silent for a beat, using the moment taken to somehow change the mood. “So… What’s really going on?”

Your voice catches in your throat as you try to formulate a response. “I—What do you mean?”

You know exactly what she means. You know exactly what she means.

Really, your question lies not in asking what she means; what you really meant by that was, Where to begin?

“I didn’t want to push it, but… Ivan’s hiding something. I knew I wasn’t going to get it out of him, at least not without upsetting him.” She eyes you. “And that’s okay, because I didn’t need to ask him. I have you here.”

Her bluntness take you back. “I… Uh… What exactly do you want to know?”

Celestia, you feel so stupid right now. If she feels the same way, though, she doesn’t show it. “Well… He got pretty uncomfortable when I mentioned that bruise. I mean, I guess his excuse is pretty legit, but with the way he was acting…” She looks to you again.

“Yeah, well…” You scratch the back of your head. Do you tell her? Ivan didn’t want to tell her, maybe there was a reason for that.

It could just be the fact that he might not want Cream to worry. As long as you’ve known him, he’s never been one to really let others know when something's bothering him. Well, except for last night.

Another reason you can think of—a pretty important one, at that—is that you’re pretty sure Rainbow could get in trouble for hitting him. That’s assault or something, isn’t it?

Do you risk letting Cream know what happened? She seems pretty close to the both of them, but you still don’t know her that well; she could decide that what’s happening needs to stop, and go to the guard or something. Your family could get split up—Rainbow could go to jail, and you might get taken away again. Sent out of Ponyville.

You could just pretend you don’t know what happened.

The sound of her voice takes you off-guard. “Rainbow Dash and Ivan didn’t get into a fight or something, did they?”

“No, no,” you find yourself quickly assuring her, realizing your mistake all too late. Well, so much for pretending.

You could just lie to her. Then again, something about this mare tells you that she’d see right through you.

You sigh. “It wasn’t like that. They did fight, but… not like hoof-fighting or anything. Except Rainbow kind of...”

Cream’s eyes widen. She stops walking and holds a hoof out to stop you as well.

“She didn’t… hit him, did she?”

You gulp. This is bad. This is bad. You shouldn’t have said anything. Should’ve played dumb. Should’ve played dumb.

Your reaction tells her all she needs to know. “Oh, Celestia. I mean, I know Rainbow gets kind of snappy sometimes, but… Well, I guess I’ve only known her for a month or so…”

“Please don’t tell anyone.”

She snaps out of her musings at your pleading. She looks down at you, her face taking on a kind of pitying look.

“How are you handling this, Scootaloo?”

The question takes you aback. The thought had never occurred to you that somepony would actually ask how it affects you... Ivan and Rainbow were the ones fighting. Rainbow took the heat from Ivan for you last night; you should’ve gotten out, no harm done. But yet…

“It… It really sucks. It really fucking sucks.” Cream doesn’t blanch at your word choice. She simply continues to listen with her ears perked, her expression showing all concern and attentiveness. You let it all out on her; everything you’ve been feeling for the past few days just spills out of your mouth. “I mean, they’re all yelling at each other and stuff, and I have to listen to it. Every time one of them shouts I can hear it through the walls, and I have to cover my ears with my pillow because it makes me flinch every time. And I just feel so bad for both of them because it feels like whoever’s being shouted at is just so helpless, and I feel so helpless because I know that if I try to stop it they’ll just get mad at me and then I’ll be the one being yelled at… And it just makes me so mad at both of them because they’re hurting each other like that. I love them both, which just makes it harder for me to decide who’s right or wrong.. Every time they yell, I wonder why they can’t just listen to each other; why can’t they just sort it out? Why can’t they just calm down and make up or something? But no. They just keep yelling and keep hurting each other, until Ivan runs out the door and I have to listen to Rainbow crying all night…”

Fuck, you really spilled your guts out on her. Too bad you really don’t care.

You find yourself gritting your teeth. Steam gushes out through your nostrils every time you release a hot, heaving breath. Damn, you really got worked up.

You feel Cream place a reassuring hoof on your shoulder. You feel it move it move up and down with the expanding and contracting of your barrel. It relaxes you a bit. Slowly, you begin to wind down a bit.

“The worst part is,” you continue without further prompting, “is that it was probably my fault. He was mad at me, for—” You stop, realizing who you’re talking to and how what you’re about to say might incriminate you.”—a—and Rainbow stood up for me, and instead of me, he just got mad at her instead. It’s my fault they’re arguing now. I should’ve just taken it, I should’ve—”

Cream pulls you close to her, burying your face in her soft chest. “Shh,” she whispers. “It’s not your fault, alright? You can’t think that way. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

You didn’t do anything wrong.

You swallow a lump in your throat. “B—But the same thing happened to my last family. Th—They all started arguing, and th—things got really bad, and—”

“That wasn’t your fault, either. Ponies in love just argue sometimes. That’s all there is to it. They’ll get over it.”

“But… what if they don’t?” Celestia, you feel like such a foal right now. But you need this. You need someone to talk to. Someone you can vent to, who, no matter how unrealistic it is, will tell you that everything’s gonna be alright.

Celestia knows you haven’t had that for years.

She releases you from the hug and fixes you with a smirk. “Hey, come on, kid. Have some faith. You think one argument’s gonna make them stop loving each other? Those two are close—” She sits back on her haunches and sticks her two forehooves together. “—like this.”

You look the other way. “Dad and Lyla were close, too…”

At this, Cream’s expression softens again. She sits there for a moment, seeming to be thinking about something.

Then, she gets up to her hooves. She turns in the direction she had been heading before, and looks back at you. She smiles a small, minute smile. “Come with me,” she says. “I have something to show you.”

----------

The two of you arrive at the Ponyville Day Care Center. The place is pretty new, as far as you can tell. It’s pretty plain on the outside; just a building composed of many rectangles all attached in numerous ways, as modern architecture seems to dictate.

You’re not exactly sure what you’re doing here, but Cream seems to know where she’s going. You follow her as she enters the building.

The two of you walk through the main lobby. A pony at the reception desk looks up, but only for a second before seeming to disregard your presence and letting you pass by. Without a word, Cream pushes through a door.

The two of you traverse the hallways of the Ponyville Day Care Center for a little while. Many of the walls are painted. You look at the simple designs; a rabbit reading a book, a frog on a lily pad. They’re interesting enough to look at for a fleeting second before your mind gets bored and shifts its attention elsewhere—typical of a place made to hold busloads of foals.

Most of the time, there’ll be a pony trotting by with a purpose, having somewhere to be and some time to be there. Sometimes a smiling “teacher” will walk by, followed by a line of rambunctious fillies and colts. It’s always a funny break in the silence whenever you hear them pass, the sounds of their arguing and playing and squealing pervading the air. Occasionally, a door to a room left open as you trot past will provide this same experience.

Soon enough, Cream stops smack in the middle of a hallway. She turns, and with a smile, faces a blank wall. A blank, white slate.

“Well, I’m not being paid to stand around. Better get started,” she says, allowing her saddlebags to drop to the floor. She removes five miniature-sized cans of paint: red, yellow, blue, white, and black, and places them on the floor.

Oh, right. She mentioned she was painting here.

She pulls out a few brushes of different size and shape, laying them side-by-side next to each other. She pulls out a small white cup, about the size of one of the paint cans, and asks, “Will you please go and fill this up with water?”

“Oh, alright,” you say, taking the cup in your mouth. You make haste to a water fountain around the corner.

When you come back, you see that Cream has already begun painting. Using the black paint, she’s started painting outlines of what appears to be a beach, with waves lapping against the sandy shore and a half-drawn palm tree swaying in the wind.

Damn, she’s fast. And good.

You suddenly feel an unpleasant rumbling in your stomach, and remember that you still have your lunch with you. You take it out from under your wing and undo the paper wrapping Cream put it in to prevent it from spilling.

Wouldn’t want fruit salad all over the inside of your wing, after all.

You eat your lunch as you watch her go. After the initial sketches are done, she begins to make progress much more slowly, taking her time to make sure she gets all the details just right.

By the time you’re done with your food, Cream seems to be done painting the outlines; it’s quite a detailed picture, all it needs is some color.

The artist takes a few steps back, admiring her work. “Hey, you know, kid,” she says, turning to you, “if you wanted to, you could help me paint this thing.”

You gulp. You? Help her paint? “But… what if I mess it up?” You’d hate to ruin her artwork. It looks so nice, and you’ve never really painted before.

“Oh, it’s fine. Paint dries, and then you just paint over it. No biggie.” She grins. “Come on, don’t be scared. I’m not getting paid much for this anyway.”

“Well, I mean…” You look at the skillfully done work, and then think back to all of your school hoof-paintings.

“Why don’t you just help me with the base colors, then? I’ll tell you what colors need to go where and mix them for you.”

You rub your foreleg anxiously. You consider her request, but it seems you don’t really have much of a choice as she takes your foreleg and pulls you to your hooves.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fun!” she assures you as she drags you over to the wall. She lets go of your hoof once you’re there, but plops a small tin bowl into it.

“Hold this for a sec.” She takes both the blue and yellow paint cans in her magic and begins dumping small portions of each into the bowl, eyeing the concentrations of each until she seems satisfied. She then gives you a paintbrush.

“Here ya go. Mix it until it’s a nice even green throughout, and then start painting the leaves on that tree,” she directs, pointing to the palm tree.

“‘Kay,” you say, and start mixing. The colors stick to the paint brush, the colors swirling around each other before beginning to combine into a leafy dark green. While you do this, Cream floats paint cans around, mixing her own colors.

A thought pops into your head. “Hey, Cream?”

She talks while she works. “Yeah, Scoots?”

“How come you paint with your hooves and not your magic?”

“I started painting before I knew how to magic, kid,” she explains. “I can still paint with my magic if I need to: like, say, I need to paint something high up and don’t want to use a ladder. But I prefer working with my hooves. Feels more natural.”

“Huh.” You look down into your bowl. The paint seems to be mixed enough.

“Make sure not to paint over the lines,” she instructs. “I like to start by coloring in the parts really carefully near the lines, and then filling in the middle afterwards.” She demonstrates this technique on a section of the trunk of the palm tree. “Like so.”

“Alright,” you say, trying what she says. Literally the first thing you do is paint over the line. “Aw, crap.”

“Scootaloo! There are foals here!” She looks around, checking to make sure the hallway is clear.

You roll your eyes, but don’t say anything in response.

She glares at you for a few seconds, then looks at what you’ve done so far. That’s when you cringe.

She notices the mis-paint, and just shakes her head. “Is this what you’re getting so worked up about? I really don’t get why you’re so worried about it.”

“You told me not to paint over the lines, and the first thing I did was mess up…”

“Yeah, and I also told you it was okay to mess up.” She points to the streak of green paint overlapping the outline. “We’ll just reconnect the lines when the paint dries.”

“And how long will that take?”

She shrugs. “Probably before we’re done with everything else. Don’t worry about it, kid.” A glove floats out Cream’s saddlebag and pats you on the back. You give her a deadpan look, to which she responds by chuckling. “Now, I would be mad if you painted over the entire line with green, because then I would have to draw a whole new line and I’d know you were doing it on purpose. But you’re not doing it on purpose, and this,” she gestures to the small mistake, “is fixable. Just give it a little time, and we’ll patch it up.”

You don’t say anything, choosing to stare at the little green streak for a little while.

The glove boops you on the nose. You smack it out of the air and it hits the ground, causing Cream to laugh. “Come on, we’ve wasted too much time. Just be a little more careful from here on out, and we’ll see where we are when you’ve finished coloring your tree.”

----------

Your talk with Fluttershy gave you a lot to think about… well, aside from the problems already weighing heavily on your mind.

You hung around the house until the smell of tea and pancakes started to make you go crazy. As per your routine, you went outside and exercised for a bit. As of late, you’ve been focusing a lot more on things like pushups instead of wing-ups, running instead of flying…

You think you’re starting to get back into shape. Not flying shape, of course. You’ve been able to feel your wing atrophying for weeks. Just the bad one; your good wing still has enough strength to carry things and stuff, and the fact that one is so much stronger than the other drives you crazy.

Still, you feel pretty good about how much your running has improved. You were always decent, but you’ve never exactly been an amazing runner. That’s starting to change.

The feeling of your hooves pounding the dirt at an even pace, synchronized with your long, steady breaths, sucking in the cool passing breeze… It helps get your mind off things. Makes you feel good.

Of course, you don’t get the same feeling then as when you’re flying. It doesn’t give you the same rush that freefalling does, nor the exhilaration of having complete and utter freedom as you soar through the air, performing loop after barrel roll after after dive. After a particularly awesome trick, you might look down to check if anyone saw. Maybe Ivan would be taking pictures with his iPod, and—

Ahh, Ivan. Back to reality now.

You sit on a grassy hill in the middle of the park. Sweat drips down your cheeks, catching any passing breezes and helping to cool you down through your thin fur coat. Your heart thuds in your chest, accompanied by the sound of your choppy breathing.

You roll onto your back and begin doing crunches. A pair of shorts and a sweatshirt keep the chill off of you, because no matter how good that breeze may feel, it could very well be the reason for a future case of pneumonia. Your mane and tail are braided to keep them out of the way as well.

You catch yourself wishing Ivan was here to see you again. He always said that you looked cute in your workout clothes; you never really thought so, but once he said that, you’d started wearing them more often, making it a point to catch his eye when you passed.

Music lightly flows into your ears through the earbuds connected to his iPod. He’d started letting you use it a little while back, after you two started dating in secret. You never listened to music while you were flying; it was unsafe, and you didn’t really need the extra entertainment anyway. But it helped a lot with the repetitive drollness of muscle workouts. When a good song came on, you’d always get pumped, egged on by the upbeat encouragement or hollering accusations of angry ‘rockers,’ as Ivan called them.

I see your shadow on the street now…

A new song begins, one you recognize but aren’t all too familiar with. You don’t pay too much attention, allowing the lyrics to settle at the back of your mind as you focus on your burning abs.

Around crunch eighty, a line in particular strikes you.

How can I do this to you right now? You’re over there when I need you here…

Your pace quickens. You grit your teeth.

My happiness is slowly creeping back

Crunches are too easy. They’re too easy, if you can think right now you’re not tired enough. Do some pushups.

You flip onto your stomach and pump out five pushups, before rolling onto your back and doing the same amount in crunches.

Now you’re at home, if it ever starts sinking in

Sweat and spittle fly off of your snout as you relentlessly repeat this pattern as quickly as possible, clenching your jaw all the while.

It must be when you pack up and go~

On one of the turns, your hoof loses traction in the moist grass, causing you to slip and flop belly-down in the turf. You lie there for awhile, your chin against the ground and all four legs sprawled out against the earth.

My happiness is slowly creeping back. Now you’re at home. If it ever, starts sinking in. It must be when you, pack up and go.

My happiness! Is slowly creeping back. Now you’re at home! If it ever, starts sinking in, must be when you; pack up and go~

This refrain sticks, for some reason. Even when the song is long over and the next one has begun, this line just keeps repeating itself over and over.

And then it hits you. The last part sounds like Ivan; just seeming to pack himself up and taking off whenever something happens.

My happiness is slowly creeping back… It must be when you, pack up and go.

You shake your head. Don’t think like that, don’t think like that. You love each other. You still love each other, even after all the fights you’ve had. He’s stayed with you through worse. It will be okay. It’ll be fine.

Still, the image of him singing this to you while he plays his guitar… Just those two sentences. It bothers you. You can’t get it out of your head.

You know he doesn’t think like that. He loves you. He played that guitar for you that very first night. He’s always cared for you. He wouldn’t be happier if you—he wouldn’t—

“Hey, are you okay there?”

You open your eyes. The voice is male and somewhat familiar, yet you can’t quite place your hoof on who it is.

You realize that you’re just laying there, sprawled out on the grass, and feel your cheeks heat up. You jump to your feet, brushing yourself off.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I was just—” You stop when you see who it is.

Thunderlane.

He was one of your coworkers back when you were part of the weather team. He was a co-captain alongside you and cloudchaser; quite good at his job and a pretty good flier, you had to admit.

But this fucker also used to hit on you all the time.

And as soon as you see his face, you know you’re not in the mood to put up with his shit.

You immediately pull down the collar of your shirt, showing him your tuft you’d grown out over the past months. “Taken, buddy. Not interested.”

He takes it in for a moment. He smirks. “Wow, look at you. Looks like you’ve been growing it awhile, too. Never took you for the kind of mare to settle down, stay with one stallion, y’know?”

“Yeah, well, turns out I am. Which means get lost.”

He lets out an amused snort. “I was just making sure you were okay. Jeez.”

You roll your eyes. “Yeah, sure. Like I haven’t heard that one before.”

He raises an eyebrow, looking smugly at you. “Really, Dashie? You really think I’m here to try to pick up on you, while you’re hurt and vulnerable? What kind of stallion do you think I am?”

You’re about to shout a retort, but then you notice Rarity approaching. She dons a fancy-looking hat, accompanied by a pair of matching sunglasses and a colorful short skirt. What she’s wearing doesn’t matter to you, though; you’re just glad for somepony to get this idiot off your flank.

She walks up beside Thunderlane, all smiles as she looks between the two of you. “Good morning to you, darling! I trust all is well?”

You give her the shortened version. “Everything’s fine, Rarity. I was just in the middle of my daily workout when he showed up.” You glare at the stallion.

Rarity raises an eyebrow. “Oh, well I hope he wasn’t disturbing you. It wasn’t his fault; we saw you lying—err, exercising, and I asked him if he would be a dear and check up on you while I went to use the ladies’ room.” She flutters her eyelashes at him, to which he smiles.

Your jaw drops. “Wait a minute—you two—” You look back and forth between the pair, unable to believe that Thunderlane somehow got in with the pristine, elusive Rarity. You scowl. “When did this start?!”

Neither of them seem to pick up on your tone. They’re making doe eyes at each other. “This is only our… third date?” Thunderlane confirms this with a nod. Rarity breaks from her gaze to look at you. “He was such a gentlestallion… He had come to my boutique to order a suit for a date. We talked for a bit; it was mostly me giving him advice, but he still presented himself as a courteous and polite pony. At the time, I found it to be such a shame that such a well-mannered young colt was taken, but I wished him luck on his date nonetheless.”

Courteous? Well-mannered? You stare disbelievingly at the very same pony whose favorite phrase you remember being ’tampon-socket.’

Rarity continues on with her story. “It was by chance that I happened to run into him at the market a week later. I inquired about his date, and nearly had my heart broken when I saw the look on his face. We talked for a bit, he helped me carry my groceries back to the boutique… And when he came the next day to make his final payment on the suit, he asked if I would like to go on a date with him.” She smiles at the fond memory. “Of course, I said yes.”

You look suspiciously at the subject of Rarity’s admiration. He throws you a smug grin. “Right…” you say, sneering at him while Rarity is still caught up in her little fantasy land. “Well, I think I’m going to get back to my workout now. I still have flutter kicks and… other stuff to do.”

She snaps out of her reverie and nods. “Oh, of course, dear! We’ll leave you to it.” She throws you a quick grin. “I’m sure Ivan appreciates you keeping in shape like you do, hmm?”

You say nothing. Rarity doesn’t seem to notice your dour mood, as she chirps on. “Perhaps we should get together sometime. All four of us; a double date!” she suggests excitedly.

Thunderlane snickers. You roll your eyes. “Yeah, sure. We’ll do that sometime.”

She catches your sarcasm this time. “Oh, don’t be so unpleasant, Rainbow Dash. I understand you’re not exactly one for over-the-top outings and such, but it doesn’t have to be a dinner at a five-star restaurant.”

“It’s not that,” you mutter. This garners a concerned look from Rarity and an eyeroll from Thunderlane. Neither of them press the issue, however.

“Well, we’ll be off now. Swing by the boutique sometime, darling. We don’t see each other often enough.”

“Yeah, see ya, Dashie,” Thunderlane echoes. You give him the evil eye.

The two trot off together, happily chattering away. You watch them for a minute or so, before shaking your head and returning to your workout.

You reach into your pocket and pull out the iPod. At some point, the earbud jack came out, causing it to pause one of the songs midway through. Not wanting to accidentally run across a song like the last one again, you switch to your ‘metal’ playlist and pick a random song.

You turn the volume all the way up, drowning your thoughts in the music as you begin to run.

Close Bonds: Chapter Thirty-One

You entered the hospital. There at the receptionist desk sat a pony who was not Cream. You told them that you were missing work today. What’s your name? Ivan Walczyk. ~₩, '§, Γ… Yeah, that’s you. Yeah.

Not-Cream wanted to know why you were missing today. You told her that you were sick. An injury you said. Yeah, you’re okay. Oh, no, it’s not my eye, haha… Yeah. Just a bruise, I’ll be back tomorrow. Uh-huh. You too…

You left as soon as you could. You didn’t want Lyra to catch you. It’s not that you don’t like her, it’s just… you’re not really in the mood for her right now.

You have other things on your mind.

You completely cold-shouldered Rainbow this morning, and you know it.

You just… didn’t really want to talk. It was Fluttershy’s advice, anyway. She told you to try to avoid confrontation until she could talk to Rainbow.

Yeah, is that why you didn’t eat the pancakes she cooked for you? You could’ve easily avoided confrontation; hell, she didn’t even want to talk about what happened. She wanted to ‘just drop it.’

You know that would’ve never worked, but you could have at least humored her for a bit, until Fluttershy came. You didn’t need to leave immediately.

You just… really needed to get out. That house was making you claustrophobic. It all just seemed to be closing in on you, trapping you…

This whole situation has been just horrible. It’s like everything that could go wrong just… did. All at once. No real warning or anything. It was at least bearable when you and Rainbow were there to support each other, to just hug it out or something when she was mourning her wings or you were feeling guilty about her or Scootaloo.

Heh, sometimes all that frustration would manifest itself as angry sex. You had the ‘honor’ of bathing a moody, cranky Rainbow Dash that one time, and had access to all the bedsheets in the hospital at any given hour. Actual penetration was rare, but a fingering and a blowjob every now and then was quite a delightful stress reliever.

Why couldn’t last night have gone like that? That would have been a much preferable alternative…

You sigh. You know why. You were the one who was angry. You were the one who angrily stomped into the house, throwing a fit and lashing out at anyone you could. You were unreasonably taking your anger out on those around you, those you care for…

You’re used to dealing with Rainbow Dash when she’s upset. It doesn’t take much to tick her off; controlling her has almost become part of your routine. Kissing her on the head, scratching her ears and other things like that are all ploys you use to get her to settle down. You’re usually the calm one. She, on the other hand, really doesn’t get to see this side of you often. She doesn’t know how to react, made evident by what happened last night.

It’s stupid. She freaks out and overreacts on a daily basis, but when you do it, it turns into some kind of catastrophe.

Just to add to it, she’s part of the reason you’re so stressed. You’ve had to provide for her for so long on such meager pay from a job you now feel guilty for even working.

Your trip to the hospital today just reminded you even more. You entered the building, looked to the receptionist desk, and were reminded that you still had your job, and Cream didn’t. Not only that, but one of your best friends no longer had the opportunity to fulfill her lifelong dream, and the most you could do was hug her and tell her that everything has going to be alright. She’s working odd jobs for peanuts, it’s definitely not alright!

You wish you could do something. You’ve always been one to help your friends whenever you could, and never expected anything in return—although, almost anytime you’ve ever asked, they’ve returned the favor. But now? You just can’t help. You’re stretched thin as it is. You adopted a foal, you can’t afford to support Cream financially. And you can’t quit your job either, if you want to keep Scootaloo in Ponyville.

Oh, and about that. How does Scootaloo repay you for your efforts? By going to the hospital and seeing her deadbeat dad. Again. With a half-empty beer bottle in her hoof, nonetheless.

It just kills you inside. You’d done so much to ensure that things went well for Scootaloo from here on out, and there she was risking everything you’d worked for…

And what exactly have you worked so hard for? Everything went to shit anyway. She may still be in Ponyville, but she’s miserable. You’re miserable. Rainbow’s miserable.

You stop walking. You stare down the road leading back to your house.

You walk the other way. You still don’t want to go back right now.

But you told her you’d be back soon…

Yeah, sure. That was a lie, and she knows it.

----------

Ding!

A sing-song voice rings out from a cracked-open doorway in the back of the store. “Just a moment, and I’ll be right with you!”

Your eyes wander around the vast interior of the Carousel Boutique. You’ve always tried to avoid coming inside this place, mostly to avoid the lingering odor of perfumes and being dressed up like a doll. Which leaves this to be one of the few times you’ve actually taken the time to look around.

It’s a lot bigger than it looks from the outside. The ceilings are high, which balances out the cluttered feeling all the racks, ponyquins, and other fashion items give off.

You trot over to the clear-glass counter. A few moments pass before you get bored. You plop your chin onto the counter, groaning as wait.

Something bright catches your eye. You tilt your head a little so you can get a view.

Through the glass barrier, you can see a multitude of different shiny items: hooflets, necklaces, ear piercings, even some shoes. All are studded with an array of different-colored gems, most of them made from a shiny, pure gold or silver plating.

You stare at them for a bit, turning your head to different angles to compensate for your chin still resting on the countertop. You don’t really know why you’re looking. Probably boredom.

Not to say that none of these are nice. All of them are, really. You’ve just never been the ‘jewelry’ type of mare. None of these would really look good on you.

Well, except a few of them, maybe. Like that sapphire one.

You look at the sapphire necklace for a little while. You imagine how it would look on you; it’s a shade of blue just a bit darker than your coat, with a bright gold chain that snaps together at the back of the neck. You think of how well it would accentuate your color, of how nice you would look as the small, ocean-blue jewel swings lightly from your neck to the tune of your hoofsteps.

A little slip of paper accompanies the necklace. You squint a little, attempting to read the tiny print.

Oh, it’s the price.

…

Oh, it wasn’t that nice anyway.

A voice causes you to snap your head up. Rarity trots out of the doorway behind the counter. “Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chique, unique, and magnifique!” Even after seeing it’s you, she completes her little jingle.

You give her a dry look. “Rarity, you don’t need to do that, it’s just me.”

“Well, it’s not just you, Rainbow Dash. It’s you.” You give her another deadpan stare. She sees it, but seems to ignore it. “So, darling, what can I do for you? Would you like a new outfit? I was just thinking about a design the other day that I believe would look wonderful on you!”

Oh, brother. “Uh, well, I just got done with my workout, so I didn’t bring any bits—”

“Oh, not to worry about that. After all, you’re my friend, and I’m the Element of Generosity.”

“Well, okay then. As long as you’re offering…” You tap the glass directly above the sapphire necklace. Rarity looks to where you’re gesturing to, and her eye twitches.

“Ha ha. Not that generous,” she clarifies.

You roll your eyes, hiding a smirk. “Well, it was worth a try.”

“I suppose. Would you like to take this into the back room? I was working on something rather important when you came in.”

“Oh. Yeah, sure! That’s cool.”

You round the counter and follow Rarity further into her shop… err, house. House-shop. Shophouse. You wonder if that’s a word. Twilight would know, she’s a nerd.

You pass through her shophouse, glancing around at the rooms the two of you pass through. Rarity has a lot less furniture than you’d remembered. Still, you get a sense of deja-vu from all the pink- and purple-themed carpet, chairs, drapes… just about everything is pink or purple. Or white. There are some white tiles, some white walls…

You finally reach your destination: her work room. You shudder. You used to call this space ‘the torture chamber,’ and with good reason; this is where Rarity used to bring you when she wanted you to ‘test new outfits.’

There’s no guarantee she won’t still do so… You gulp at the thought, suppressing the urge to hop out the nearest window.

“Here we are, my newest work,” Rarity says, gesturing to an unfinished dress that you, frankly, couldn’t care less about. “I don’t suppose you’d like to take it on a test run, now, would you?”

Oh, yeah. You care now.

The fashionista notices you backing up towards the exit, and lets out a ladylike chuckle. “Oh, don’t worry, dearie. I know how much you detest trying on new outfits... for whatever reason,” she adds onto the end. “You liked the last outfit I made for you, didn’t you? The one I’m supposing you wore in Canterlot?”

It takes you a second to recall. When that night comes to mind, as well as all the details—Ivan’s reaction to seeing you in the dress, the dinner date, the dance, and the more… adult parts of the evening—you blush, timidly rubbing your foreleg.

You clear your throat before Miss Gossip Mare gets any ideas. “Well, I don’t really like dresses or hairclips or any of that fancy fru-fru stuff… But, uh, Ivan liked it. So there’s that.”

Her attention seems to only be partially on you now as she rifles through drawers. “Did he, now? Well, I’m glad that the effort was worth it. It was awfully difficult to sneak a whole dress into the hospital without alerting your coltfriend; it was all I could do to refrain from darting from room to room like some kind of spy.”

You almost roll your eyes at how dramatic she makes it sound. “Yeah, well, thanks for that.” A thought pops into your head at the reminder of the dress. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“Anything, darling.”

“Is there anything specific I should know about washing that thing?”

“Oh?” The unicorn continues doing whatever it is she’s doing with her clothes stuff, but pauses for a moment to flash you a devious smirk. “You didn’t soil it in any way, did you?”

You don’t like this. “I was just asking because it just seems so… delicate. And it doesn’t feel like any of my workout clothes. I was afraid I might ruin it or something.”

“Oh. Well, a mere dab of spit oftentimes removes even the toughest of stains.” You notice a faint playfulness in her tone as she says this.

You raise an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“So, you’re telling me to just lick it? Is this a joke?”

“Well, it’s the same advice I gave to your coltfriend at one time, in regard to a certain pair of jeans with a certain kind of stain in them.” There’s a twinkle in her eye. “He exhibited a similar reaction to yours.”

She’s referring to something, you just know it. You rack your brain, trying to figure out which jeans and what stain—

“Oh. Oh, fuck, Rarity.” You bring a hoof to your forehead.

She titters lightly behind a hoof. “Language, dear.”

“Alright, I’m outta here,” you declare, turning to exit the room.

“Oh, don’t be like that! You know I kid!” The door is encased in a purple aura, and quickly swings shut.

You sigh, attempting to turn the doorknob. You hear a click, and realize that it’s locked.

“Rarity…” you growl.

“Come on, darling, don’t leave just yet! At least tell me how your trip went.”

“It was fun. Lemme go now.” Grunting, you tug on the door again.

“You have to unlock it first. And details, darling, details! Where did he take you? Was it fancy? Romantic? Did you swooooon for him~?”

“We went to a restaurant, a park, and a bar.” You unlock the door, but find that it’s still being firmly held shut. You wrench back on it. “Let… go… Rarity!”

“It’s getting rather… hard… to hold you here…” she says between clenched teeth.

After a minute or so you have the door partway open, but your already-fatigued muscles let you know that you’re not gonna win if this goes on much longer. Finally, you give in, letting go of the knob. “Fine! You win! Whatever the fuck you want, you got it!”

The door slams shut, vibrations and sound reverberating around the room. Rarity, not expecting the sudden change in force, lands unceremoniously on her chin, rear end sticking high into the air.

“Well!” She snorts, dusting herself off. “I should think that you would at least humor me in this sense, considering I stitched together a complimentary dress for you at a moment’s notice.”

“Well, thanks for the compliments, but if you want humor then go to Pinkie Pie.”

She gives you a look. She thinks you really meant that, doesn’t she?

You shoot one back. “What?”

“Oh, nevermind.” She shakes her head. “So, you two went to a restaurant, correct? What restaurant was it?”

“It was… Um…” You rub your chin thoughtfully. “Uh, I don’t remember the name, but it was a really fancy place…”

“Oh, well that at least narrows it down to all of Canterlot. Care to be more specific?”

“I’m trying, okay?! It was about stairs or something.”

“A restaurant having to do with stairs...”

“Oh! Oh! I just remembered! That Fancy Pants dude owned it!”

At this, Rarity seems to explode. “You went to a restaurant owned by Fancy Pants?! How was it? It was wonderful, wasn’t it?!”

“It was a freaking restaurant, Rarity, not the culmination of my entire life.” You look off to the side. “Although, it wasn’t too shabby, if I say so myself.”

“And what was it you said the name was? Something about…?”

“Stairs, I think?”

She thinks for a moment. Then, a deadpan stare. “The Steppes, you mean?”

“Yeah! Steps!”

“Steppes, with ‘Lß’ at the end.”

“Oh yeah, totally makes a difference.”

She pinches the bridge of her snout. “I could argue with you, but then I would be assuming Twilight’s role.” She takes a moment to reorganize her thoughts. “Okay, then what next? You mentioned a park earlier, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yeah!” You can’t help but get excited at this. “We went to this really cool park after eating dinner, where they brought excess weather factory clouds and put them on the ground! It was super cool!” You chuckle at a certain memory. “Ivan almost broke his ass when he tried to jump into a big cloud. Guess he forgot he wasn’t a pegasus. Funny as hell.”

“We’ve all known him to be a bit silly at times,” she concurs. The two of you giggle, likely at different memories, but of the same person nonetheless. “Anything else?”

“Well, we went to a bar.”

The pristine unicorn rolls her eyes playfully. “Knowing you, that doesn’t surprise me in the least.”

“Hey! It was his idea!” You harrumph, folding your forelegs. “Besides, it wasn’t like we just drank and rutted or something. There was a dance floor.”

“You two danced?”

“No, Rarity, I brought up the dance floor for no fucking reason,” you deadpan. “What do you think?”

She frowns. “No need to be so crass, Rainbow Dash. And I was just skeptical because I’m having trouble imagining Ivan dancing on all fours…”

You shake your head. “No, I, uh… It was pretty cool, actually. He showed me how humans dance.”

Rarity cocks her head. “Oh? I’m curious now.”

You smirk. “What, you weren’t curious when you trapped me inside your house…?”

“Oh, hush and continue the story.”

“Well, I mean, I don’t really do the whole formal dancing thing, but… it was kind of like how some ponies dance on two legs, except we weren’t leaning on each other. It was just me leaning on him.”

“Mm-hm.”

“And I was having trouble standing, and he kept having to hold me up. Because I wasn’t used to that and all.”

Totally not because you were drunk as hell.

You continue. “And then it got really, really intimate when he…” You’re interrupted by the sound of Rarity’s giggling. Your cheeks feel as if they’ve gone ablaze as you suddenly realize that you’re saying all this mushy stuff out loud.

“Oh, I’m sorry, darling.” She covers her mouth while she snickers. “Do go on.”

“No. You know the rest.”

“Oh, come on, Rainbow Dash, I was only surprised. I never get the chance to hear you gush like this—”

“Then ya better savor it, ‘cause this is the last time.” You turn the other way, folding your forelegs tightly against your chest.

“Fine, fine.” A snort, and then a light sigh. “I’m sorry, I should not have laughed. I promise not to pry anymore. About that, at least,” she quickly adds.

“Hmph.”

“So, what about the next day? From what I heard, the two of you were gone for three days.”

At this, your eyes suddenly find the floor very interesting. You face her again. “Well, not quite… And Ivan had some kind of business with Celestia most of the time.”

“Oh? And how did he react to that?” She titters. “Nothing particularly bad happened, I hope.”

You sigh. You’re not going to tell her exactly what it happened, or why, but... “He wasn’t too happy. When he told me, it put a load on both of our minds…”

A silence passes. The ruffling sounds Rarity is making with her dress stop.

“Was it a bad first impression, or…?”

What? “What? No. At least, I don’t think so. I was talking about—” You pause for a moment, rearranging your thoughts. “Okay, okay. What?”

“I wanted to know how Ivan reacted to meeting a princess for the first time.”

“Oh…”

A long silence passes. From the sound of it, Rarity goes back to her dressmaking.

“Listen, Rarity.” She doesn’t respond, just continuing to work. “I think I’m going to go.”

She turns her head slightly, watching you out of the corner of her eye. “Oh? Did I do something to offend you?”

This takes you aback a little. That was… rather direct. “Uh, no, I just… Ivan’s waiting for me. I should really be getting home.”

“Hmph.” She hums thoughtfully. “Well, if you insist. Before you leave, though, may I ask a favor of you?”

You really hate it when ponies do that. “What favor?”

“Could you try something on for me?” As soon as she sees the eye roll, she quickly clarifies. “Just a necklace. And maybe a few hairclips, if you have the time.”

Two sides of your mind argue with one another. On the one hoof, you kind of want to get out of here. You’re uncomfortable, and have a bad feeling that this pony’s trying to get something out of you. If that’s the case, she probably will; even if begrudgingly, you have to admit that she’s a bit more clever than you are. She’s a wily mare.

On the other hoof, you don’t exactly know what you’ll do with yourself even if you manage to get away. You’re a bit tired from your workout, and even though you think you could go for a little bit longer, it’s probably not a good idea. You’ve overtrained many times before, so you don’t really want to have to deal with that along with what’s already on your plate. Especially since you’re not expected massages from Ivan anytime soon…

Ugh. Might as well go with whatever Rarity’s doing. “Sure, sure. Just make it snappy.”

“Will do! Be a dear and come sit in front of the mirror for me, will you?”

You trot over and sit down in front of the large full-body mirror she has by the wall. Once there, you look yourself up and down. Toned flanks, not too big but not too small; just right, you think. At least, you’ve never gotten any complaints from Ivan: quite the opposite, actually. A sleek build, you’ve always been on the petite side, so you suppose that works to your advantage. The only part you think you can truly call yourself really well-built is your back. Years of working on your flying, working up to feats most ponies could onlydream of…

You turn a little bit to get a better look. Your wrapped wing only serves to remind you that you’re probably way out of shape in that area. Still, you can still see the lines the muscles make underneath your skin. You open up your good wing, giving a few light flaps just to watch your fur move and ripple with the flesh underneath.

You get a small bit of satisfaction out of this. Even if all that work you put in didn’t help you to accomplish your dreams, you still have these impressive guns to show off.

You’re in the middle of showing off your neck to the mirror when you feel a necklace slip around it. White beads, the generic definition of jewelry, find their place on you as white hooves click a button into place on the back of your neck.

“There we go… Wouldn’t you say they look nice on you, Darling?”

You stare at the necklace. The thought occurs to you that not that long ago, you completely despised the thought of any type of this girly nonsense, yet here you are actually considering…

“Eh. It’s okay, I guess. I don’t think it goes with my hair.”

“Oh?” Rarity inquires, “Why don’t you think so?”

“I think I look a little too… tomcoltish. Fake pearls just aren’t my style.”

Rarity mumbles something about ‘fake pearls my flanks’ before re-addressing you. “Actually, Miss Contrary, I think it’s because you’ve let your mane grow out as of late.”

You make to argue, but another look in the mirror tells you she’s right. Hell, you knew she was right before you even took your next blink. You started growing it out ever since Ivan told you he thought long hair was sexy.

Just another thing you wouldn’t have even thought of doing a year ago. Has he been changing you?

No, he hasn’t. He hasn’t done anything to change you. A better question to ask would be, have you been changing for him?

“I could cut it if you’d like.”

The offer surprises you. Rarity used to always make comments about your hair not being stylish enough, that it was too short, that those beautiful colors you had were all wasted potential.

Rarity shrugs. “Personally, I think you look fine either way, but I find that changing up your looks every now and then is usually refreshing. Plus, it will put things in perspective; if you like your hair longer, just grow it out again. Trim it every now and then to keep it healthy. If not, then that’s just as well. You can come back to me just about anytime you wish, as long as I’m not too busy.”

You don’t seem to recall Rarity ever changing up her looks. Still, what she’s saying makes sense. It’s just hair. It’ll grow back.

“Alright.”

You barely even have time to blink before a pair of scissors can be seen in the mirror. Magic straightens out sections of your hair as the scissors go down the line, cutting off strips that hover in the air for a bit before making dives to the trashbin.

The hair at the front of your head, which you’d gotten into the habit of parting and brushing back with the rest of your mane, is once more reduced to bangs that hang loosely over your forehead.

“Just a few finishing touches,” Rarity says as she makes some small clippings around different parts of your mane, evening it out. She dampens your hair a bit with a spray bottle before running a comb through it, then stands back to admire her work.

“There!” she exclaims with a smile. “How do you like it?”

For the umpteenth time today, you find yourself staring at your reflection in the mirror. You tilt your head, watching your mane fall in ways different than what you’re accustomed to.

Rarity did a good job. She made it look the way it did before you grew it out, except for a few personal touches: a bit less messy in the front, and a little longer in the back. Combined with the pearl, it honestly looks rather nice.

“It’s… alright.”

“Oh! Just one more thing!” She darts off, quickly returning with a small white hairclip. “To complete the look.”

This is where you’re going to have to disagree with her. However, you don’t voice your thoughts, simply choosing to take in the view.

“You look absolutely adorable!” she gushes. “I did something similar with Applejack just the other day, and was curious as to how it would work with you. I swear, the two of you are so much alike…”

“Adorable, huh?” You begin fiddling with the hairclip. “Alright, so how do I get this thing out?”

“Oh, don’t be like that, Rainbow Dash. I’m sure Ivan would agree with me wholeheartedly. And while I have to say that you’ve always been one for the more ‘natural’ look, especially with this manestyle, I can’t help but feel that there is some outfit somewhere that would compliment you nicely.” Rarity rubs her chin, most likely pondering the answer to that thought. “Could you hold on for a little while longer? Or does your lover beckon you?”

“He can wait.”

“Mm, that’s good,” she absentmindedly replies while trotting over to a rack. This rack in particular seems to have a random assortment of different articles of clothing on it.

Out from amidst the whirlwind of clothes comes a white hoodie jacket. Little faint yellow lines accent the edge of the hood and the sleeves.

“Didn’t know you made casual clothes like these, Rarity.”

The hoodie is levitated over to you. You take it and slip it on while she speaks.

“Well, it’s true that I don’t do this type often. But a true fashionista must be able to adapt to all types of outfits.” She lets out a sigh. “Plus, somepony custom ordered this one and never picked it up.”

You pull the jacket over your head, slipping each wing into the slits on the sides. You take a good look at it in the mirror.

“Huh. I like it, but…” You tap on the beaded necklace.

“Oh! You’re right, of course. That just looks off.” With a soft click, the necklace is undone, and floats off to somewhere you don’t know.

Taking a second look at your reflection again, you smile. You look like a tomcolt again. The jacket, the short mane, even the hairclip.

“You can take it all home; the hairclips are a bit a dozen, and I haven’t been able to sell that jacket in weeks.” Rarity flutters her eyelashes to accentuate her next bit: “Plus, I’m sure you’ll want to show off your new outfit to your colt. I’m sure he’ll be floored...”

This is like the fifth time she’s mentioned him. What the hay?

“Speaking of which, I have some lingerie I can loan to you that I’m sure he’ll love—”

You suddenly wheel on her. “Seriously, Rarity? What’s up with you today?”

She blinks in confusion. “Whatsoever do you mean, Rainbow Da—”

“You’ve mentioned Ivan like, a million times today. Why do you keep bringing him up?”

“I just thought that you might have somepony special in mind when you—”

“Do you think I’m looking nice for him? Do you think I’ve been sitting in here, trying on clothes and necklaces and all this shit for him?”

“Well, you only ever started getting worried about your looks when the two of you began living together!”

“Let me make something clear, Rarity.” You take a step towards the alabaster unicorn. “My life does not revolve around him, okay? I’m not changing for him, and if he doesn’t like it, well… he’s just gonna have to put up with it.”

You stomp your hoof to emphasize your point. “And that’s that.”

Rarity gives you a concerned look.

Somehow, it just serves to irritate you further.

“What?” You give her your most intimidating scowl. “The hell you looking at me like that?”

She just keeps making that annoying face at you. “Is… everything alright, Darling?”

“Whether everything is alright or not is none of your business.”

“It most certainly is,” she says with a hint of aggressiveness in her voice, “because I’m your friend. I’m only concerned for you. After all, you’ve been acting a bit tense ever since I asked about your date.”

“Thanks for your concern,” you say sarcastically. “However, I think I can handle my own problems.”

“...Remember what I said about you and Applejack being alike?”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?!”

“Nothing,” she sighs. “But darling, I don’t understand. Just a few weeks ago you were asking for a new dress, and now you seem to be completely against the notion of—”

“I know, I know! I don’t care about that, it’s just—” You shake your head. “Ugh, I just don’t think I should have to change a fundamental part of myself just to make that whiner happy, alright?”

The alabaster unicorn puts on a confused look. “But Rainbow Dash, it’s only hair—”

You jab a hoof at her. “And I know what you’ve been doing this whole time! You think you’re so smart, asking me these stupid little questions, prodding and pushing and trying to get me to spill it!” You cross your hooves over your chest. “Well, you ain’t gettin’ nothin’ outta me!”

“You’re being overdramatic, Rainbow Dash.”

“Admit it!” You point accusingly at her. “You’ve been trying to make me talk this whole time, just so you have some juicy gossip you can share with all your stupid Canterlot friends! Isn’t that right?!”

She frowns, looking a bit dismayed at your accusations. “On the contrary, I really am just trying to help you. In fact, I’m a little hurt that you don’t trust me.”

“It’s a fucking yes or no question, Rarity.”

“Please, if you would just settle down—”

“If I get told one more time to calm down…” You’re positively fuming at this point. It takes you a moment to realize you’re grinding your teeth.

You take a deep breath. It does little to quell the barely-contained fire within you, but at least it makes you appear calmer. “You know what? I’ll show you what settling down is.” You walk to the door and calmly open it. “See this? This is called self-control. I’m leaving before somepony loses a pretty white tooth.”

At this, you step out of the room and slam it shut behind you. Rarity doesn’t attempt to stop you this time.

----------

Poke.

Poke poke.

“Ivan? Ya ‘wake?”

Your cheek is poked a few more times. You swat at a small hoof by your face, and are surprised that you actually managed to hit it with your eyes shut.

“Ah’d let ya sleep here, but I dunno if Applejack would get mad. She always gets mad at Rainbow Dash fer sleepin’ in the trees...”

Your eyes pop open. Standing over you is a little yellow filly, gazing down at you with a curious look.

You yawn, stretching your arms as you do so. You feel your back rub a tree trunk through your shirt.

You scratch the side of your head. “Dang… Didn’t think I’d fall asleep. What time is it?”

Apple Bloom looks up into the sky. “Uh… Late afternoon?”

“Don’t stare at the sun like that. It’s not good for your eyes.”

She gives you something between a blank stare and a confused expression. “What?”

“Nothing.” You’d forgotten about the whole ‘redirecting harmful rays’ lesson Twilight gave you. Ponies probably look directly into the sun all the time.

“Ya look tired. Ya gettin’ enough sleep, Ivan?”

You blink a few times, finding that your eyes have gotten a little crusty during your midday nap. “I… had a bit of a long night last night.”

“A good kind’a long night or a bad one?”

“Bad.”

“Oh.” She looks at the ground for a moment, then returns her gaze to you. “Ya wanna talk about it?”

You chuckle. “Seems like I’ve been doing a lot of that recently.” You give the small filly a teasing look. “But, you know, maybe Dr. Apple Bloom has some kind of magical mystery cure that’ll solve everything for me, huh?”

She giggles, sitting down beside you and leaning back against the tree as well. “Well, the girls an’ Ah tried gettin’ our cutie marks in psy—psycha—psykek—” She turns to you in exasperation. “Can ya help me out here?”

You put your hands up in self-defense. “Hey, I’m not the professional here.”

“Gosh darn it Ivan! Well, the point is, our cutie marks weren’t in bein’ psychochiatrists.”

“Yeah, that’s honestly pretty obvious.” When you see the angry pout Apple Bloom gives you, you ‘clarify,’ “I mean, you would’ve had your cutie marks by now otherwise, right?”

“Yer mean, ya know that?”

You reach over and begin mussing up her mane. “Nah, it’s called being playful. There’s a difference.”

She swats your hand with a hoof. “Nah, yer jus’ plain mean. Is this why you and Rainbow’s always fightin’?”

That statement stops you. You quietly fold your hands up on your lap, softly sighing through your nose as you turn your attention to the blue sky.

“Well, I dunno if it’s that. I don’t think so. I’m really not sure what causes it, to be honest.”

“Hmm…” she hums thoughtfully at your side. “Ya tried talkin’ to her, right?”

Your sarcasm is put aside for the fact that this is a young filly you’re talking to. “Yeah, I did.”

“Oh. ‘Cause whenever Applejack or Granny Smith or Big Mac gets mad at me, they yell at me and I hide in my room.”

You manage to suppress a snort. “I would imagine.”

“And then I get mad at them for yellin’ at me. And then we’re all mad at each other, and if it’s Applejack we’ll probably be steamin’ over it for a lil while, all day maybe. But sooner or later, we got chores to do, and we hafta work together or else none of it gon’ get done.”

You hum to yourself, thinking over what she says.

“Well, sure, over small arguments, maybe.”

“Oh believe me, me an’ Applejack get into some BIG ones. When ya see that vein in her neck turn redder ‘n Big Mac, ya just know…”

This brings another smile to your face. “Heh, I think I know. I worked under her, remember?”

“An’ I live with her, remember?”

God, you love this filly. “Still,” you start to bring the topic back on track, “maybe sister relationships are different or something. I dunno. I just wish it was that simple. Just talk to her…”

“Didja try doin’ somethin’ for her? Sometimes Granny’ll let me eat sweet ‘taters for dinner, or Applejack’ll make a big ol’ pie…”

Or pancakes, maybe?

“Eh, somethin’ like that…”

Apple Bloom shrugs. “Welp, Ah’m all outta ideas then. Also, Ah gotta get back ta work on the barn. We’re cleanin’ it out, and AJ said I get a half hour’s break.”

“How long has it been?”

She rises to her hooves, dusting herself off. “Dunno. If she yells at me, I know Ah’m late.”

Another chuckle comes forth, but this time you don’t stifle it. “Well, I’ll let you go then. Have fun with your barn.”

She gives you a look. “Seriously? Have fun with yer barn?” She shakes her head. “Jus’ don’t let AJ see you sittin’ there, ‘kay?”

Without waiting for an answer, she darts off, once again leaving you to your own thoughts.

----------

“Well, we’re finally finished!” Cream proclaims. Each of you takes a step back to admire your work.

On the wall before you is a painting. Your painting. Your beautiful painting of a beach with a palm tree.

“That’s awesome,” you say quietly.

“You see why I do this?” In response to her question, you nod. “And just think,” she goes on to say, “foals are going to pass by this same painting every day. They’ll see it, and it’ll soon become a part of their daily lives. They’ll wonder at it, trying to imagine who painted it, what we were thinking when we created it. They’ll think up stories for it, they’ll picture themselves inside this… well, picture.”

You giggle. “You really think all that’s going to happen?”

She wiggles her brow playfully, then ruffles your hair. “I’d like to think so. Why, weren’t you a mini picture connoisseur when you were little?”

You swat her hoof away. “No way, I didn’t care about that stuff. I was into skating, and scooters. Extreme stuff, y’know?”

“Really?” She gives you a skeptical look, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “So, there are no pictures or anything that you remember from when you were younger?”

You look to the side, tilting your head a little as something comes to mind. “Well, there is one, I guess…”

“Can you tell me what it looked like?”

“Well, it was a painting of my older sister, Lyla. It wasn’t very good, but I was still always jealous because my mom made it for her and she never made one of me.” You smile. “I don’t really mind anymore. It’s actually kind of funny to remember how mad I got over it.”

“See?”

“See what?”

“You have a special picture that you remember from your childhood. Chances are, you’re gonna remember that forever.” She gestures to the painting in front of you. “See this? I’ll bet’cha any amount of bits that some foal’s gonna see this, and it’ll stick with ‘em for the rest of their life.”

“Hmm.” You put on a thoughtful face. “Maybe…”

Cream appears happy to have gotten through to you.

“...not.”

“You’re hopeless,” Cream groans, pushing you. You laugh and push her back, causing her to kick a can of paint over.

“Aw shi—” She manages to stop herself just before it comes out. “—p.”

“Good thing the lid was on, right?”

She looks down, and upon seeing the still paintless floor, sighs in relief. “Yes. Yes, very good. I don’t want to spend bits on another can of paint.”

“Another?”

A grim look falls over her face. “Yes. Don’t ask.”

You keep silent at this.

You help her pack up her things, and then the two of you chat it up as you head for the exit.

“Hold on, Scoots,” she says when the two of you enter the reception room. “I need to collect my check.”

“‘Kay,” you say, hopping up on one of the seats. You sit there for a moment, twiddling your hooves and looking out the windows while you wait.

Looking out one of the windows to the side of the building. Something catches your eye.

Oh, crap. It’s Ivan again!

At least, that’s what you think initially. You make to duck, but there’s a residing feeling in your gut that just tells you that something’s… peculiar.

You peek with over the windowsill. Sure enough, off in the distance stands a lone human.

...He looks a little taller, though. Ivan’s really tall in the first place, so maybe you’re just seeing things, but…

You don’t remember him having that much hair on his face, either. You saw him just this morning, didn’t you?

His clothes, too. They’re ripped, holes all over the place. Is he okay? Did something happen to him?

“Cream?”

“Just a second, Scoots,”

“Cream, I uh, really need to get outside.”

“I’m just signing a few things, I’ll be back in a second.”

“I… I…” Your hoof taps the ground rapidly. “I really need to go!”

Without waiting for an answer, you dart outside. You’re guessing that Cream’s worried about you now, but you can explain later. This is important. Something’s off. Something’s really off.

You dash towards the figure, your hooves making muffled smacks against the grass. You nearly stop when the figure suddenly turns on you.

You slow to a reluctant walk. “I—Ivan?” you ask, timidly.

A clear look at the creature’s face tells you that this definitely isn’t Ivan. This one is dirty, smelly. It has a lot more facial hair than Ivan has, and both the hair on his face and his mane are a pitch black instead of light brown like Ivan’s.

Two eyes. Two wild, dark brown eyes. Neither of them are faded.

“Y—You’re not Ivan…”

Those eyes suddenly widen, as if it is astounded by those few words. A pale hand rises, a single digit directed towards you. Its whole long, gangly body begins to shake. You take a step back.

Out comes a raspy voice: “What did you just say?”

Your heart leaps into your chest. He talked! You hadn’t expected that.

So, now you know for sure. He must be another human.

“Scootaloo!” Cream calls out from behind you. You look back to see Cream dancing nervously on the edges of her hooves, frantically gesturing for you to return to her.

“You… You know…” You turn your head in time to see the human begin coughing. Doubled over, he’s still taller than you. He soon rises to his full height again, standing intimidatingly over you.

He clears his throat. It comes at a bit clearer this time. “Did you just say Ivan?”

His voice is deep and sharp. This should be scaring you, but the implications of his words are almost enough to completely smother the fear. He’s asking for Ivan. He must know Ivan!

Your heart thrums loudly in your ears. “Uh… y—yeah. He lives here. In Ponyville.”

His breathing hitches. He stares at you for what feels like an eternity.

“He’s… alive?”

The human approaches you. Every step closer makes him seem larger, until he’s just a foreleg’s distance away from you.

He towers over you like a skyscraper. Yet, you stand your ground.

You hear Cream calling for help. You pay no mind. Your eyes are locked onto this giant, and in turn his full attention is on you.

“He… There’s just no way. He’s been here, all this time?”

This close, you’re beginning to notice things. Aside from the fact that he’s human, he looks astonishingly like Ivan. An older version.

“Yeah. Do you, um… wanna see him?”

He just stands there, unmoving. Staring down at you. You nervously rub your foreleg, struggling to keep eye contact.

“Uh, my name is Scootaloo,” you introduce yourself, thrusting out a hoof towards him. “What’s yours?”

He just gazes at your outstretched hoof for a few moments. Then, slowly, he reaches out with his hand, grasping your hoof lightly and giving it a ginger shake.

You hear what sounds like a crowd gathering behind you. Ponies talking, gesticulating, occasionally even yelling. The multitude of voices grows, but the whole crowd combined does absolutely nothing to drown out the human’s next words.

“Clayton. Clayton Walczyk.”

Close Bonds: Chapter Thirty-Two

"You... You can take me to him. Right?"

You're lost in the giant's eyes. Clayton's eyes. You snap out of it, nodding to him in affirmation.

"Today?" he anxiously questions.

Again, you nod. "Yeah. I dunno if he's home right now, but I--"

You're interrupted by shouts from behind you. You look over your shoulder to find that the crowd has gotten larger. They keep their distance as they eye you warily, the only thing between them and the two of you being the group of guards steadily approaching.

"Creature!" one of the guards, a unicorn mare, shouts. "By direct order of the princesses, we order you to stand down!"

You look back at Clayton. He stares at the group, his brown eyes widening in fear.

"Step away from the filly!" one of the stallions in the group adds. "Come peacefully! We mean you no harm, and would like to avoid using force if at all possible!"

"They've been chasing me..." he says under his breath, barely above a whisper. "They've been tracking me down for days, hunting me like... like some kind of animal. Those... horses, with the horns on their heads." He points towards the mare who spoke first. "They have some kind of witchcraft. They tried to put a spell on me. Oh, Jesus, you gotta help me."

He begins to shake. Despite his size, the giant looks frail. Weak. His eyes dart back and forth between you and the squad of guards with an unsteady gaze, sometimes flickering in the direction of the tree line off in the distance.

He shouldn't have anything to fear, right? The Guard is meant to protect good ponies, and the princesses are nice. Nothing bad happened to Ivan when they caught him, right? Then again, you really don't know what they did to him. He never really talked about it. Another thing that worries you are the marks on Clayton's hands... Knuckles, you think they're called. They look like the same ones Ivan had when he got into that fight with your dad.

Which means that he punched something. Or somepony. He could be in trouble now.

He takes a step back, looking as if he might dart off with or without you. You see the muscles in his legs tense up; you know what happens next, and you don't want to lose sight of him.

"Go!" you shout, taking to the air in a dead sprint. You don't check to see if he's with you; you can hear the giant's footsteps relentlessly pound the grass below, the wind rushing by as both of you make for a patch of trees nearby.

A beam of light whistles as it shoots past. You get tunnel vision as different types of spells whizz by, some popping midair and forcing you to dodge the explosions and resulting magic fragments. You begin to feel the familiar tug of telekinesis. You yank your hooves away from different colored auras before they can get a firm grasp on you. You look beside you to see Clayton doing the same.

About a hundred yards to go...

This human is almost hard to keep up with. His long, lanky legs take swift strides, his arms pumping in tune. In the distance, you hear wingbeats.

Seventy-five yards...

Clayton shouts. Out of the corner of your eye, you see something glowing a bright red. A quick glance shows you that it's his arm. He clutches it with his other hand, the limb pulsing with possibly harmful magic.

"Jesus H. Christ!" he yells. His arm attempts to straighten out automatically, and he fights to keep it in check. Veins pop out of his arm as his tricep flexes out into a stiff horseshoe, looking like the worst cramp you've ever seen.

You flap harder. You go faster. You watch more carefully for magic bolts. You don't want to get hit by that.

Fifty yards...

The sound of wingbeats looms over you. The hair on the back of your neck sticks up.

You let out a yelp when you're almost kicked in the head by a hoof. You take a dive, trying to gain what little speed you can while avoiding the guard above you.

He's a much better flyer than you are. There's no way you're gonna be able to avoid him.

Luckily, his attention seems to be more on Clayton. The human attempts to bat him off, but it's slowing him down.

More pegasi are approaching. The two of you need to get to those trees.

Twenty-five yards...

You're so close. Just a little further...

Suddenly, you feel it. A pressure in the small of your back, which spreads to accommodate for your wings, legs, and everywhere else.

You feel your pegasus magic attempt to fight off the unicorn magic, but to no avail. You feel extremely sluggish. You're still flying forward at breakneck speed, but now you're starting to take a descent.

Your mind screams at you to get those limbs working: to try to stick out your hooves to break your fall, anything. Yet, the only thing you can do is close your eyes as the ground approaches you at a frightening pace.

"Help..." is all you manage to utter.

You don't even have the energy to shield your face.

Suddenly, a set of hands grips you around your waist. You're yanked back up into the air, and placed in the crook of the human's arm.

Clayton groans, and you can guess why; the grip in his left hand feels a lot weaker than his right, and the case is probably the same for the entire arm as well. The arm he holds you with seems to be experiencing frequent spasms, and all of his fingers writhe independent of one another like dying worms. The sight makes you uncomfortable, yet you can't deny that those very same appendages are what likely saved you from a ton of broken bones.

Ten yards...

You're almost there now. The pegasi won't be able to navigate those trees at full speed, and if Clayton can keep running this fast all the way through, there's no way the unicorns or earth ponies will catch him.

It's just now that you hear a loud clunk. Your heart stops for a moment as a jerk sends you almost hurtling towards the ground.

A pegasus hovers above the two of you, smacking Clayton with a long wooden stick. That last hit managed to land square on the back of his skull. He grimaces, but makes no move to disarm the guard. You're so close already, if you can just make it to the treeline...

Suddenly, a group of three pegasi swoop down in front of you, blocking your path. They all hold wooden sticks in their hooves, and they all look ready to strike.

Clayton doesn't stop. He doesn't slow down a bit.

Each pegasus readies themselves in their own way, getting ready to strike.

Clayton continues to barrel towards the one in the middle. You whimper, and do everything a practically paralyzed pony can do to brace for whatever comes next.

Suddenly, at the last moment possible, Clayton jumps to the left. The guard on the end looks surprised, but nonetheless quickly takes her swing.

Clayton puts his left shoulder up, attempting to shield the side of his face. The stick glances off of his shoulder, then smacks him in the ear.

In the split second that follows, Clayton takes a wild swing. The guard, expecting this, ducks off to the side, easily avoiding the punch. Dodging his fist turns into a compromise, however, as she ends up getting slammed into by the full force of the giant's body.

The next moment flies by in a blur. The three of you tumble over one another, Clayton's momentum carrying you another few yards before you finally come to rest.

You lie on the ground, unable to move. Hoofsteps sound off in the distance. The pegasus mare lies on her side, eyes clenched with every pained, wheezing breath. Clayton seems to be unconscious.

What a mess...

You hear some other pegasus guards touch down. They take cautious hoofsteps toward the mess of injured bodies.

Suddenly, the human's eyes pop open.

He turns, getting into a pseudo-sitting position, and begins kicking at the pegasus guards. One of them drops his wooden stick and unsheathes a knife.

In a flash, he jumps up to his feet and begins running, scooping you up with him as he goes. More shooting, more wind rushing by, but you don't pay as much attention to that as much as to the trees dodging left and right, in and out of your sight.

----------

Hm... The guards seem to be busy today...

You're walking around Ponyville, currently trying to decide what to do with your time until it gets closer to dark.

You're cooking dinner tonight, aren't you? Which means that you should probably be home in a few hours to prepare it... Although it would probably be a good idea to eat up that leftover spaghetti tonight. Waste not want not, after all.

It's hard to tell if you're really planning out your schedule based around dinner or if you're just trying to avoid the house for as long as possible. Both, maybe?

A sudden flash of green light just a few feet from your face causes you to almost jump backwards. Before you materializes a scroll, held together with a small patch that bears a familiar insignia.

Twilight's cutiemark.

It hangs in the air for a moment, before whatever anti-gravity magic was placed on it begins to wear off and it drifts towards the ground. You catch it before it gets too low, peeling off the sticker and unrolling the scroll to read what's inside. When you do so, what looks to be a box of matches and a large white feather with a weight and string attached fall out from the rolled-up piece of paper, both objects hitting the dirt by your feet with a soft plop!

Whoops.

You pick the objects back up, holding them in your idle hand while reading whatever's in the letter Twilight sent you.

Ivan, pease please get to your house ASAP. No time to Will explain when you get there. Write a letter to me one once you are home on any iece piece of paper, then burn it with the matches provided. Keep the feather on you at al times, it is one of Princess Celestia's wing feathers and it will allow me to locate you easier.

Signed, Twilight

Well, shit. Four strike-throughs, a misspelled word and the letter is barely formatted. Yeah, you'd better get hustling.

You fold up the letter and stuff it and the matchbox into your pocket. You assume the string was meant to act as some sort of necklace, so you slip your head through and begin your jog home.

While on the way, you notice that a lot of the guards running about seem to be eyeing you warily. Most of the time, their eyes land on the necklace you're wearing before they give you a look and go on their way.

Damn, why these ponies always gotta be after the hue-man? You thought there was no more prejudice in Ponyville.

You make it back to your house in about fifteen minutes. The unusual amount of activity in town, combined with the suspicious glances and Twilight's letter all serve to make you anxious, and you get inside as soon as you can. You need to know what's going on.

You get inside, shutting the door behind you and looking around. No one appears to be home.

You quickly make your way to the counter, setting the matchbox down and begin searching for a paper and pencil.

You sit down with your writing utensils, and set to work on your letter.

Dear Twilight,

"Ivan?"

You turn around in your seat. In the opening to the hallway stands Rainbow Dash. Her fur and mane are tangled, her eyes are slightly red, and tear stains line her cheeks. She looks like she's been crying.

You feel the familiar pang of guilt in your chest, followed by a torrent of other emotions that just leave you confused and unsure of what to do.

She approaches you, treading lightly and never breaking eye contact with you the whole way. Those mournful eyes make you sick to your stomach the longer you look at them.

"Ivan, can we... Can we talk?"

Oh, God, not now... Why now?

You hate yourself for what you have to say next. "Rainbow, I really wish I could right now, but something's going on."

She remains silent, opting to continue giving you that same stare. It seems accusing, as if daring you to explain yourself. You hurriedly produce Twilight's letter, unfolding it and holding it out for her to read.

"I got this from Twilight about twenty minutes ago," you explain. "I don't know what it is, but something's going on outside. The guards are rushing people inside their houses, I'm getting weird looks and, well... If whatever this is concerns me..."

You let it hang in the air for a bit. Finally, Rainbow breaks her stoic gaze, sighing. She nods, a look of understanding crossing her face.

You don't want to show it, but relief floods through you. "Thanks, Rainbow," you say, stepping off of your seat and kneeling down to give her a hug. She returns it, if somewhat reluctantly. "We'll talk as soon as we can, alright?"

"Alright," she says. She nuzzles your cheek. "See what's up with Twilight. I kind of want to know now, too."

You sense a tint of worry in your voice. You nod, nuzzling her in return, before going back to your letter.

Dear Twilight,

I'm at my house now. There's a bit of commotion outside. Rainbow and I would like to know what's going on.

Signed,

Ivan

You pull out one of the matches. Instead of a red tip like you're used to, there's a green tip. It seems to correspond with the bright green flame that erupts when you strike it against the box. As the Twilight instructed, you light the corner of the paper. The two of you watch, interested, as it consumes the letter much faster than a normal fire would. Seeing as how it leaves no ash behind, you let it drop onto the countertop along with the original match.

"So, I guess now we just wait," you say.

The two of you sit in awkward silence for a minute. Rainbow Dash gestures toward the couch after a bit, to which you nod back. You move everything to the coffee table, and you and Rainbow sit down and wait, albeit a bit pensively.

Another ball of green flame erupts over the coffee table. You instinctively reach out to catch the scroll as it falls, immediately opening it up to view the contents.

This one's much longer. You lay it open on the coffee table for Rainbow to get a look as well, and begin to read.

Dear Ivan,

Thank you for responding according to my instructions. Included in this letter will be a brief run-down of everything I can immediately think of about the situation at hoof, as well as more intsructions should any of the given situations happen.

First off, the letters I am currently sending are being sent to you through the matchbox. Since the matches are reusable and usually arrive with the letters, I will be using the matches instead of mine or Spike's magic for both convenience and so that you have a steady supply of matches on hoof. We will likely be doing a lot of communicating this way for the next few hours or so.

You look at the coffee table. Beside the scroll lies a little match with a green tip; the one you used to send your letter to Twilight.

Huh. You hadn't noticed that.

Should you lose the matchbox in some way, I can still send letters to you through Celestia's feather. I can also send letters to you without it, however this is much more tedious for me. Also, in my hurrying I forgot to mention in the last letter that there is a small bag attached to the feather. Inside the bag is a pill that I need you to swallow. This pill, along with the feather, will allow me to accurately pinpoint your location at all times. The pill will wear off in a week, and the feather will not likely be needed after today. Still, until I say so, keep it on you.

You pick up the bag that you'd previously thought was some sort of weight. There's a string tied around the opening. You untie it and tip the opening over your palm, and out falls a pill. A humongous white pill.

"Uhh, Dash?" you ask, turning to the blue horse by your side.

"Water?" she asks, knowingly.

You gulp. "Yeah."

She takes off into the kitchen. You look back at the scroll and continue reading.

Keep the feather in sight at all times. It allows the Ponyville Guard to recognize that you are not a threat.

Follow the orders of the Guard, but to your discretion. They may confiscate the feather; try not to allow them to. If you feel you are in trouble, drop the feather; once the distance between you and the feather becomes substantial, I will be alerted and will be prepared to neutralize the threat. And yes, this includes the Ponyville Guard.

No matter the circumstances, I will be arriving with an METD squad shortly, as well as Canterlot Guard if necessary.

METD, short for "Magical Entity Threat Disposal." You don't know a whole lot about them, but you do know that they're highly militarized. And they're coming to Ponyville, possibly along with the Canterlot Guard.

The Ponyville Guard isn't enough, it seems. Although from what you've read in the letter, they may pose their own problem.

"Here," Rainbow says, placing a glass of water down on the table along with a knife. "The knife is so you can cut it in half."

"Thanks," you say. "Also, you're going to want to read this."

While you cut the pill into two and painfully swallow each half, Rainbow Dash reads the letter.

When she's caught it up with you, she looks up, wide-eyed. "The METD? Holy crap."

You nod your agreement while you finish off your glass of water.

"And... And... Another human?! Ivan, you're surprisingly calm about all this..."

The shock of what she says hits you like a sledgehammer. You stand stock still for a moment.

"I... What?"

Rainbow Dash places a hoof on a line of text. "Yeah, it says right here—"

Your hands slam on the wooden tabletop next to the letter, causing the pegasus to jump in her seat. You pay her no mind, your thoughts running a mile a minute when you read the next line:

Now, to fill you in on what's going on. An entity, one that has been described as having characteristics matching that of a human, stepped through the portal and into our world. One of the guards stationed by the portal has sustained minor injuries in attempting to apprehend the entity. What we can only assume is a human is now running about in Ponyville, and is acting much more wildly and irrationally than you had upon your arrival. I would appreciate advice on how to approach the human, as well as...

You don't read the rest. You slump back in the couch, suddenly feeling really dizzy.

"Ivan? You uh, you need another glass of water, or...?"

Your reply comes out as little more than a whisper. "Dash..."

"Yeah, big guy?"

You stare off into space. "There's another human in Equestria, Rainbow. Another human," you repeat, more to yourself than to her.

"I know. I read it in the letter. And can you stop making that face? It's creepin' me out..."

"I... I need to find them." You sit up abruptly. "Talk to them. Meet them. Is it someone I know? Is it—"

"Woah, woah, woah." You suddenly realize that Rainbow Dash is sitting on your lap. She presses her hooves against your shoulders, holding you against the couch. "Hold on, guy. Twilight told us to wait here."

"But I need—"

"Hey. Listen to me." Your wild, shifty eyes are caught in her pools of violet. You attempt to break free of her hold, but the stare she gives you pins you back more than anything else does.

"Ivan. Settle. Down." She gives a deep sigh through her nose, the hot gusts of air blowing into your face and serving to soothe your nerves a bit. You take a deep breath as well, and attempt to do what she says.

"Good. Now, Twilight said to stay here, right? That's what we gotta do. We gotta trust her. You trust Twilight, don't you?"

You nod.

"Good. Don't worry about meeting this other human, okay? I know it's a big deal for you—hell, it's a pretty big deal for me, and probably everyone in Ponyville—but seriously, we don't really know what's going on out there. It could be dangerous."

"Twilight said that if I was in danger to just—"

"And another thing. She said she needed your help, right? She wants to do the best she can to make sure we can meet this guy, whoever he—or she is, I guess. She wants to make sure we meet the new human in the safest way possible. Nobody gets hurt: not you, not the other human, not any ponies. Something that they taught us in the Wonderbolts academy was that as a team, we could accomplish things quickly, safely and effectively. Well, none of that's gonna happen if you go rushing out there Ram-Doe style, thinking you can do in ten minutes what the Ponyville Guard has been trying to do for Celestia knows how long and magically find your human. You get me?"

You sit there for a little while longer, considering what she just said. She makes a surprising amount of sense.

It takes a few minutes, but her soothing words, along with just her presence manages to bring you down to a point where you're no longer having tunnel vision.

You let out a deep breath through your nostrils. Rainbow takes in your breath, then releases it just as you're breathing in again. You've noticed her do this before, but you never said anything. It feels good to feel her warm breath on your face, breathing in her scent before releasing it and seeing her do the same. It's relaxing.

"Thanks, Rainbow," you say, and without thinking, pull her into a hug. She hesitates but soon returns the embrace, wrapping her hooves around your neck and resting her chin on your neck.

For a second, you feel as if all is alright in the world. It really isn't though, a hug isn't going to fix all the fighting, all the words you wish you could take back. Ponyville's in chaos, and you might be wanted by the Guard again soon enough. But just for the moment, you'd like to pretend that everything's alright, that you and your love are just lying here in each other's embrace, not a worry or care in the world as you feel her soft fur brush up against your bare skin, her warmth seeping through your skin and heating you to your core.

You're broken out of your fantasy by a succession of loud, rapid knocks.

The two of you freeze for a moment. You gently nudge her off of you.

“You think it’s the Guard?” she asks as you make for the door.

You take a look through the peephole. You see a little orange pegasus, covered from head to hooves in dirt and shifting uncomfortably. “Nope,” you answer while you unlatch the door, “just Scootaloo.”

You open the door for her. “Hey, Scoots,” you greet as you beckon her inside.

“Hey, uh…” She shifts nervously on the porch, noticeably wincing when weight is put on one of her hind hooves. “Listen, I was wondering... how do you know when there’s a human?”

“I… What?”

“Like, do humans all have hands like that? And are there any monkeys that don’t have hair?”

“Scootaloo, why are you asking me this stuff?”

You ask that question, yet you think you know the answer.

No, it couldn’t be. They’re still looking for the other human right now. What are the chances that Scootaloo—

“Well, I think I met a human. He was really tall, was kind of dirty and had some fur on his face, and said his name was Clayton Wal— Wal-something. It was like your name.”

Clayton.

Clayton.

“Clayton?!” you nearly shout. Scootaloo leans back at your outburst, and a few guards outside look in your direction. “Where is he?!”

You try to step outside, but Scootaloo blocks your path. “He’s—He’s not out here. We couldn’t get past all the guards around town, so I told him to wait near the clubhouse.”

That’s all it takes. You don’t even think. You barely register the shouts from behind you as you barrel past. You’re pretty sure you just jumped over Scootaloo, but you don’t care enough to think too hard on it.

Shouting. Male voices this time. More shouting. Hoofsteps, wingbeats. Your feather necklace trails behind you as you speed off towards the farm. All these things do is serve to urge you on.

You turn a corner, and what looks like a whole platoon of guards blocks your path. You simply run off in the other direction, and almost laugh when you hear the whole lot of them attempting to mobilize.

Pegasus guards keep getting near you, swooping down close to your head. Each time one of them gets too close, you swing at them, not really meaning to hit them but letting them know that you’re not gonna let them stop you.

Numerous times you feel the magical grasps of unicorns. It slows you down a bit, especially when they catch hold of your feet or hold down your hands when you’re fighting off a pegasus.

Finally, you find yourself at the gate of Sweet Apple Acres. You have an idea of where the clubhouse is, so you take off towards the west field.

Really, the clubhouse is in the east field. You’re just doing this to get the guards off your ass.

You know Apple land better than any pony in Ponyville, aside from the Apples themselves. It may just look like row upon row of apple tree to most ponies, but therein lies their mistake; as soon as they lose sight of you, you’re gone.

You look behind you as you dart down a row of apple trees. The group of guards is behind you; not overly close, but not far enough for your comfort. Pegasi attempt to track you from above, but if you do it just right, you can confuse them using the trees as cover.

You run straight for a little bit. Some pegasi have locked onto you, and you can hear the ground troops yelling things like, “I see him! Down here!”

You suddenly swerve off to your right. Instead of jumping into the next row of trees, however, you jump behind a single tree and quickly scramble up into its branches.

Shouts. Ponies run by you, and you hear pegasi swooping in low. At first, they all seem to congregate around the area you disappeared, peering around tree trunks and even searching in the trees themselves. Some ponies come dangerously close to spotting you, a few even seeming to look directly at you for a few heart-stopping moments. Fortunately, an ample branch covering and the lack of lighting through the foliage may have saved you.

Thirty minutes pass, and you’re still having trouble reining in your breathing. You haven’t run like that since you were on the high school track team; hell, you probably never even ran this hard then.

For the most part, it seems as if the guards have moved on. You hear occasional voices and hoofsteps, but for the most part they’re far away. It should be safe to come out from hiding.

You check one last time to make sure that no one’s around, then climb down from the tree. You stay low, darting from tree trunk to tree trunk as you move along the west field. If you move quickly and stay under cover, you should be safe; as far as they know, you could be anywhere in this vast two hundred and fifty acre farm.

For once, Applejack’s constant bragging about her apple farm has actually done you some good.

Crossing the entire west field takes awhile. By the time you’ve reached the main path connecting the gate to the house, the sun is setting. Traffic down the dirt path looks to have increased, as the road looks to be well-traversed by guard ponies. In the direction of the house, you can hear the sound of Applejack raising her voice at a pair of guards.

Sounds like they’ve contacted the Apples.

“Well, Ah’ll be darned! A million and one guards, and it takes an old green mare and her little grandfilly to find the monkey!”

You nearly jump out of your skin. You spin to face the voice.

“Hey Ivan!” Apple Bloom waves from beside Granny Smith.

“Buh… What?”

The old pony waves her walker at you. “Don’t play dumb with us, young colt! You’ve been causin’ a mighty ruckus ‘round here, an’ Ah’m keen on findin’ out just what my favorite little monkey’s gotten into!”

You’re still shocked, and are extremely unsure of how to respond. So, you answer with the thought that most immediately pops into your mind: “How the hell did you find me?”

You receive a whack in the head by one of Granny Smith’s walker legs. “Language, boy! An’ us Apples know our land better ‘n anypony—” She stops herself, looking you up and down. “Er, anything in Equestria!”

Apple Bloom rolls her eyes. “Granny was readin’ me a story out in the orchard when we saw you bein’ chased up a tree like a squirrel.”

The green mare clicks her tongue. “Why ya gotta go an’ tell ‘im the nitty-gritty details…”

“So, what? The guards just let you stay out here during their manhunt?”

“Uh, not really…” The filly’s eyes once again wander towards her grandma.

“Ah fought ‘em off with every last bit o’ me, hooves an’ teeth included!” A pair of dentures pops out of her mouth as she says this.

“Uh, Granny?”

“Don’t worry, filly! The dirt’ll come right off!” She picks up the dentures and wipes them on her coat. Some of the dirt comes off, but most of it just goes into her mouth along with the false teeth.

You watch for a moment, slightly worried about the mare, but then shake your head. “Granny, I… I’m not really sure what to think of what’s going on here right now, but I really need to get moving.”

“Oh, don’t you worry ‘bout nothin’, feller. Me an’ the filly are here to help you!”

You look back and forth between the smiling pair. “Uh…”

“Fugitive or not, you’re still mah favorite monkey, an’ I’ll give you safe harbor in these fields for as long as ya like! Heck, I had my fair share of days as a young filly hiding from the ponice—”

“I really don’t think I’m gonna be here long, Granny. I just need to get to the north field as soon as possible, and then I’ll be gone.”

Apple Bloom pipes up. “You goin’ to the clubhouse?”

A lump travels down your throat. She knows. You really have no other option than to just admit the truth, do you? “Yeah.”

You can trust these two. You think.

“Going around the house is probably safer, but if you cross this here road there’s a shortcut.” The filly’s eyebrows furrow, and her hoof rubs her chin thoughtfully. “Although, if you cross this road, ya might get seen, and then ya’d get caught…”

She says it as if it isn’t the most obvious thing in the world, but you don’t comment and soon all three of you are deep in thought, analyzing the situation. Suddenly, a wide grin comes to the old mare’s face. “The two of you just wait right here,” she says. “Ah’ll take care of this.”

You and Apple Bloom watch, curious, as Granny Smith enters the path and begins walking down it in the direction of the house. Ever so slowly, she makes her way towards the group of ponies all gathered around near the porch. They all look like silhouettes from here, but you can see all heads turn towards her.

Applejack’s voice. “Granny Smith, where the hay’ve you been?! We’ve been lookin’ all over fer you!”

Then, the lights go out. You can’t see anything, but you hear a loud crash, followed by raucous laughter and cursing. Lots of cursing. Mostly from Applejack.

“Wow, Ah never knew AJ knew so many words…” Apple Bloom says in awe. “Oh, and Ah think that was supposed ta be a distraction.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.” The two of you dart across the open dirt road. She takes the lead, guiding you through her ‘shortcut’ across the orchard. It’s getting dark. Following the little blur of yellow and red becomes a challenge in itself, making you thankful that you don’t have to find your own way around anymore. As much as you know this orchard, she knows it better.

Suddenly, she stops. You do the same. She her head swishes this way and that, as if looking for something.

“Aw, shoot. I think we’re lost.”

You’re about to do an eternal facepalm until she breaks out into a fit of giggles.

“Naw, just kiddin’. We’re here, actually,” she says, pointing towards in a certain direction with her snout. You follow that, and realize that in the direction she’s pointing there’s a clearing. “It’s pretty well-hidden, so ya probably won’t see it until ya get close.”

In spite of everything, you smile. After making sure to give her a quick revenge noogie, you walk towards the clubhouse.

You’d heard a lot about this place from the Crusaders, but this is the first time you’ve actually seen it in person. For a clubhouse built by a few little kids, it’s honestly… quite impressive. It looks roomy from the outside, and has a nice little walkway leading up to the front door which you’ve been told has a folding mechanism.

Apple Bloom follows you up the surprisingly sturdy walkway. Once you reach the door, she presses a button. The walkway automatically folds up into a small box on the porch of the clubhouse.

“Gotta make sure nopony follows us in,” she explains.

These ponies, man.

You open up the door and step through. The place is dimly lit by candles, and the shades are all drawn. Light snores flow through the air, and your eyes don’t even have to adjust to see the rainbow mane and tail in the middle of the room. The guilt smacks you upside the head, and follows up with a nauseous punch to the stomach as you realized you just completely ditched her back at the house. Her eyes open, blinking a few times before settling on you.

You take a tentative step inside while Apple Bloom shuts the door behind you. “Rainbow, I—”

She cuts you off with a “Shh,” placing her hoof on her muzzle. She then walks up to you, rearing up on her hind legs and giving you a hug.

“It’s okay,” she whispers. “I get it. Just… you really bucking worried me. Keep that in mind next time you go running off like that, alright?”

You know she’s joking, but you just can’t bring yourself to laugh at it. “I know. I’m sorry. How did you guys get here so fast, though?”

“Well, it’s a lot easier to get here when you’re not being chased by guards and taking detours around the Apple farm. We saw the commotion going on about an hour ago, and figured we’d be waiting for awhile.”

You nod, pulling her in tighter. It’s been a bumpy ride, and for her to put all your disputes aside for the moment to help you with something else is…

“I sent Twilight a letter explaining what was going on, so you don’t have to worry about that,” she says. “Oh, and I met your brother. I told him how we thought he’d died, and how excited you would be to know he’s alive.” She chuckles. “Looks aside, you two really aren’t that alike.”

That grabs your attention. Somehow, despite spending the whole day trying to get to him, you’d forgotten that he was supposed to be here.

“Where is he?”

Then, you hear the snoring again.

You look over Rainbow’s shoulder to find a large mass lying in a corner at the other side of the room. A mass too large to be a pony. Your grip loosens, and Rainbow takes that as her cue to release the embrace. She looks up at you, then follows your eyes to the lump, then looks back at you.

“Is it…?”

She nods. “He’s asleep right now. He’s had a bit of a rough day. He and Scoots.”

It’s just now that you notice Scootaloo curled up next to him. A wave of appreciation washes over you as it really begins to sink in how much these two have really done for you…

And then, once again, guilt.

You approach the two sleeping figures. Your footsteps make muffled thuds on the wooden floor, causing Scootaloo to instantly jerk awake. Your brother is a bit slower to arise, mumbling something while shifting a bit under some covers. The blankets lift, and underneath is another human.

A strange and alien sight. It’s so weird to finally see another human again, after so long… It doesn’t seem quite real. You’re compelled to move forward. This isn’t some sort of dream, is it? You just need to make sure…

You stand a few feet from him. The two of you stare at each other, him from his sitting position on the ground and you on your lightly rocking feet. What you see confuses you. It’s undoubtedly him, but the last time you saw him he was your little brother. The kid—no, man appears to be in his early twenties. Older than you.

“Oh… Oh man,” a deepened voice says. “It’s… really you. You’re…”

“...not dead?” you finish for him with a smile. No matter how old he may be, he still acts like the same Clayton you knew.

It’s only a matter of seconds before you drop to your knees. The next thing you know, you’re hugging and crying into a very smelly man’s shoulder. You feel his body wrack and shudder as well, and the two of you just hug it out for awhile.

You feel a set of hooves wrap around the both of you. And then another, and another, and one more. Here you all are, two long-lost brothers who thought each other dead, and the ponies who helped to reunite them.

You don’t think you’ve ever felt more happy for, nor thankful to, anything or anyone else in your entire life.