Chapter Seven: Siblings Are Embarrassing
Ms. Harshwhinny ingested the remains of her coffee, her nostrils passing a sigh as the liquid soothed her with its warmth. The mare’s eyes slid shut, allowing a moment to bask in it as a hint of a serene smile located her lips. Her ears perked, an insistent knock disrupting her serenity. She set the empty mug into the sink and trotted to the front door, a certain stallion entering her mind. A ghost of a smile made an appearance as she traced back to their previous engagement. Their evening watching films had ended on a high note after the first movie Comet Burst had presented to her, a pair of light-hearted comedies chasing away all indications of melancholy.
The day seemed to shine a bit brighter as she was met with the azure unicorn’s dorky grin. There was an especially luminous shimmer in his eyes today. It was made apparent to her that he was up to something. She wouldn’t bother prodding him for information. The mare could feel his eagerness wouldn’t permit him to keep it contained for long.
“Gooood morning, Vicky!” Comet Burst jubilantly vociferated.
The mare’s own greeting died in her throat, befuddlement marking her features. “…Vicky?”
“Yeppers! I thought that it could be my special nickname for you!” The corners of his grin curled up to form an impish smirk. “As for which of your first names I shortened, I’ll never tell ya.”
“The second one,” Ms. Harshwhinny professed without missing a beat.
The stallion’s smirk dissipated, bewilderment drawing itself across his face. Two options gave her a fifty percent chance of guessing correctly, but her display of confidence--as if she actually knew the answer--was what flummoxed him. “How’d ya know?”
“You obviously think highly of me. Naturally, you latched onto Victorie.”
“Y-Yeah! That’s--that’s exactly how I did it!” Comet Burst’s astonishment doubled. He had two younger siblings who were familiar with his thought process, but this mare he had known for only a few weeks was able to pinpoint his reasoning behind his chosen nickname. He wasn’t expecting her to be able to understand him on that level at all.
Ms. Harshwhinny stepped out of her house, sliding past the stallion with a knowing glint in her sapphire pools. Comet Burst side-stepped to allow her space, his burgundy eyes tailing her. “Now…Are you going to tell me what you have planned for us today? Or must I make another guess?”
“Ya know I’m up to somethin’, too?” Bafflement was still with him, but he pushed through it and presented the mare with one of his jocose grins. “I’m startin’ to think you’re a mind-reader, Vicky.”
A sparkle that resembled mischief spawned in the mare’s eyes for a scant moment, summarily striking the unicorn with stupefaction. “I did not say I wasn’t.”
A chuckle from him resounded, and the earth pony wondered if he was rubbing off onto her. Everyone was a product of their own environment; this stallion had insistently became part of her environment. She was significantly more used to his presence. The stallion shed more light on the mundane lull between the Equestria Games. Ever since she caved in and internally accepted his friendship, she found herself looking forward to seeing him.
“I guess it would be jerk-ish of me to keep ya guessin’. Let’s get goin’! I got a surprise for ya!”
A section of the meadow outside of Canterlot had been claimed by Comet Burst for a project he dedicated much of his time to for the past week. Ms. Harshwhinny remained ignorant of its construction, as her usual route strayed from the creeks. A perfect oval had been mowed, its inside lane meticulously measured at 1,320 feet. Logs and branches made a crude inner rail that added a rustic charm. The rail was broken by a thin vein of the creek that cut into the track on both sides diagonally and served as a jumping obstacle. A five-foot robust log jutted out from the start and marked quarter miles. A hole had been drilled into the center to fit a white pole, four out of five feet jutting out with three red rings painted along the top. Several strides before the first arc stood a stone wall to give her another obstacle to clear. Mid-length of the backstretch, a pair of eight-foot logs stood parallel of each other, three pairs of notches chopped into their sturdy bodies to fit a single pole to a desired height.
Ms. Harshwhinny took it all in. She was well aware that setting this up was no small feat. As sharp-witted as she was, she was having difficulty registering that Comet Burst invested so much time and effort into putting this together. She couldn’t recall anyone besides her parents doing something like this for her outside of buttering her up. The stallion bounced into her line of vision, half-turning to her and raising a hoof from the ground. His eyes were ablaze with excitement over her reaction.
“Thought you’d like a track to work out on.” The stallion’s raised hoof ascended higher to rub at the crest of his neck, his grin adopting a sheepish edge. “Heh. I can’t take all of the credit, though. I did have help. It’s pretty hard keepin’ a thing of wood straight when tryin’ to attach one end to another thing of wood.” Removing his hoof from the back of his neck, it was lowered back to the ground, his burgundy oculars searching the mare for approval. “Uh…ya like it?”
Ms. Harshwhinny turned her head Comet Burst’s way, feeling a swell of affection for him. Her visage still showed off her surprise, but her intonation was as calm and reserved as it normally was. “Yes, it’s lovely, Comet. Thank you.”
She loved it!
Her rump sank into the grass, her front hooves unbuttoning her blazer. The azure unicorn’s cheerful disposition melted away, confusion paired with nervousness taking over.
“Uhwha-what are ya doing?!” the stallion balked, heat rushing to his face.
The brown-coated mare paused and quirked a brow. It was an oddity, getting flustered over the removal of her garments. Equines naturally went unclothed, so his reaction seemed peculiar. “You cannot expect me to run in my outfit, can you?”
Burgundy eyes conjured realization. Comet Burst visibly relaxed, his mouth forming a sheepish smile. “Oh! Right! Y-Yeah, don’t wanna get your nice blazer all sweaty and dirty! Gotta…keep it all…clean and…purple-y!”
“Indeed.” The mare resumed unbuttoning her jacket. “Would you mind holding onto my clothes for me? Thank you.”
She knew he wouldn’t refuse. Out of the corner of her eye, she witnessed him nod and partially turn to offer his back. Peeling off articles of clothing, she folded them neatly and stacked them onto his back. Smoothing out any miniscule hint of wrinkles and creases, she topped her blazer and blouse with her scarf and necklace. Aiming for the pole that marked the starting point, the mare set her gait at a trot to increase the flow of blood and ease her heart and pulse into a livelier beat.
Comet Burst watched Ms. Harshwhinny pass the pole and lean inwards as she circled around. Passing the pole again, she transitioned into a canter. He couldn’t help but admire her form as she sailed over the first jump with fluid grace. Uncoordinated with jumps himself, he could appreciate the amount of work she obviously had put into perfecting herself.
The stallion was so absorbed by her, a pair of stalking figures went unnoticed until one made themselves known by whispering in his ear.
“Hey, bro.”
“What the heckaroni and cheese?!” Comet Burst sprang forth and whirled around to face his visitors. Before him stood two giggling unicorns. The older was a mare slightly younger than him. Her coat was a blue so light it could be mistaken for white at a distance. Her bleached mane and tail were grown long and maintained to a silky shine with a delicate curl at their tips. Her cutie mark depicted a golden star superimposed over a swirling galaxy. Sunglasses with pink, heart-shaped lenses were raised to rest on her forehead, revealing bubblegum pink eyes. The younger was a high school-aged filly a shade lighter than the stallion, the length of her mane and tail surpassing his by a few inches. The black circular frames of her glasses exceeded the size of her ruby eyes, making them appear larger than they actually were. Like the stallion, her flank was missing a cutie mark. “Geeze, Nova! Did ya have to sneak up on me like that?”
“Duh. Y’know you would’a done the same thing.” The mare smirked impishly, finding amusement in the pout Comet Burst put up. Her ears perked at the secondary giggle that slipped from the filly by her side. “Oh, lighten up and bring it in.”
The cyan unicorn’s frown steadily curled into a smile. Closing the gap between them, he tossed a foreleg around her neck. The mare leaned into the embrace, a soft chuckle escaping her. The filly joined them, nuzzling into the stallion’s shoulder. “You girls are butts, ya know?”
“You’re the biggest butt of all,” the mare playfully countered.
“You’d know all about big butts.” Comet Burst’s subsequent giggling was cut off by a yelp when the mare jabbed him in the neck with the toe of her hoof.
Ms. Harshwhinny veered into the turn that would lead her into the homestretch. Her neck and shoulders were patched with sweat that glistened like pools of copper. It was then she noticed a mare around Comet Burst’s age was nuzzling him. From her perspective, the filly was obscured by older unicorns. An unsettling shock rushed through Ms. Harshwhinny. Did her friend find himself a marefriend and neglect to inform her?
She gradually slowed, drifting out of lane to accost Comet Burst and the arrivals. Comet Burst and the mare parted, revealing the filly. The filly acknowledged the elder mare with a nervous smile as she attempted to retreat behind the larger frame of her sister. The brown-coated earth pony met the cool, disarming gaze of the light blue unicorn and her countenance hardened.
“So, uh…” Comet Burst began, tearing Ms. Harshwhinny’s attention away from the younger mare. “This is Nova Star and Andromeda. They’re my little sisters.”
“Hey,” Nova Star casually greeted with a single nod of her head. Idly dragging her hoof across the dirt, the younger Andromeda remained quiet at her side as she kept her wide eyes locked on Ms. Harshwhinny.
Ms. Harshwhinny’s features softened as relief settled in. The mare was only his sister. Surely, the stallion would have shared something as momentous as a change in relationship status. One thing she detested was being left in the dark.
“Charmed,” Ms. Harshwhinny said primly.
“Comet been behavin’?” Nova Star questioned, blatantly ignoring the expression of embarrassed exasperation from her brother.
“He’s been…interesting.”
A brief chuckle that ended on a snort escaped the unicorn mare. “Yeah, I’ll bet.”
Comet Burst dove between the mares and filly with intent on preventing further embarrassment at the hooves of his sibling. “So you two met! Great! That’s great!” His head turned to Ms. Harshwhinny. “Ya wanted to finish that workout of yours, right?”
Ms. Harshwhinny hummed in affirmation. She found it odd the stallion was suddenly eager to separate them, but…this was Comet Burst. She was still familiarizing herself with his eccentricity. Turning away, she trotted off briskly. The stallion’s eyes were on her, observing intently as she immersed herself back into her workout. A sharp jab to his ribcage snapped him back to reality. Stunned by the unwarranted prod, he whirled to his sister for an explanation. What he got was a fiendish grin.
“I knew ya liked older girls, but I didn’t expect this.”
“S-Stop that!” Comet Bust sputtered, rosy pink blooming upon his cheeks. “It ain’t like that! We’re just friends!”
Nova Star’s eyes flickered to the pile of garments and accessories atop of Comet Burst’s back. “Well, ya already got her clothes off, so I’d say you’re pretty close to gettin’ there.”
Her quip intensified her elder sibling’s blush. The cyan unicorn’s ears perked, picking up soft giggles originating from the younger of his sisters. “Don’t you start, Andy!”
Instead of hushing Andromeda, her giggles were only spurned. Comet Burst huffed and spun on his hooves to watch Ms. Harshwhinny run. The mare had sped up into a speedier canter and cleanly cleared the hurdle that stood before her. What a ridiculous notion. He felt nothing for Ms. Harshwhinny other than friendship.
Right?