//------------------------------//
// Crossing Broken Bridges 
// Story: Christmas Makes a Human Rather Moody 
// by Heartland Picker 
//------------------------------//

On the streets of Ponyville….

Ben wasn't so much walking as he was meandering, as he was wrapped up in how to explain the relationship problem to Rose in the midst of forming his apology. I should know better than what I did. It never does any good to insult a lady even if she did cross the line. While it wasn't right to insult another, he was reminded that he was still a sinner like any other human being despite being the only one this side of existence. I don't know if He created this planet or not, but that doesn't give me the right to spit on it. Last rights or not, I can't leave this unresolved.

Finding Rose's home was a bit troubling, as the old proverb about small towns still held true here. Word about his outburst spread pretty fast. How it started, it didn't matter. Most of the ponies were avoiding him at this point. It made sense, considering that it was ultimately his own fault. He traded one sin for another, and he was reaping the consequences.

A brief moment of thought at the time left him wondering if he deserved worse. Yeah, Rarity was right to smack me across the face; what I said was completely over the line. He wondered if she wouldn't have hit him as hard if he hadn't unintentionally cut that fart on them. He started to chuckle again. Farts can still be funny no matter how old you get. One brief look at the sky reminded him that humor wouldn't really be the best medicine at the moment. The only path forward was to talk to Rose, if anyone was willing to help him find her. It didn't matter if he heard ponies caroling or if he saw a couple enjoying some time watching over their foals playing in the snow whilst discussing how to pull the wool over their heads for Hearth's Warming gifts (at least he assumed it worked that way here: he learned the truth about Kris Kringle at a young age). His voice carried and cut through a lot of the normal noise that they were used to hearing.

Ben went up to the pear stand to ask for directions, where an elderly dark caramel stallion was going about his business. Hope he's not one to hold a grudge. "S'cuse me sir, do you know where I can find Rose?"

Grand Pear looked at him like a deer in a headlight. "Sorry sonny. I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about. You may want to try someone who's more native to this town."

Ben might have questioned him further, but could tell that the stallion was being truthful. He stood there for a moment wondering why he took off from the castle without asking where to go. Nice going, dumbass. His self-incrimination was cut short by the sound of a party whistle and confetti going off next to him, which nearly caused him to go into cardiac arrest. "Ahh!!!"

Breathing a little heavier, he found the source of the commotion. "HIYA, GRAND-PEAR!!! HAPPY HEARTH'S WARMING!!!!"

Grand Pear, who already had partial hearing loss for unknown reasons, had simply laughed at the display. "Thanks, Ms Pie. Happy Hearth's Warming."

Ben was still on the ground trying to catch his breath while still dumbfounded at how Pinkie was able to show up out of nowhere like that regardless of the situation. This was when Pinkie noticed that she had unintentionally jump-scared him. Normally she would move to help him up, but she was a bit hesitant to do so at this point. "Oh. Hi Benjamin. Surprised to see you walking straight." she said a bit coldly.

Ben understood the implications. She's mad. Means she was there too. "Pinkie, I know you're mad about what I did last night. Just know that I'll back off on the liquor for the time being."

Pinkie wasn't impressed despite his sincerity. "Ben, everypony drinks hard at least once in their lifetime. I'm just upset that you insulted our holiday! What was that about?"

This shook Ben up a bit. "Insulted your holiday? What did I say?"

Her choice of words couldn't have been more icy. "Leave this god-damned Scrooge the fuck alone? What did we ever do to you to bring out your version of Snowfall Frost? That's just mean! Nobody should be left alone for Hearth's Warming!"

Ben was able to piece it together. "Ohhhhhh. Pinkie, that song was a piece of satire from home. I'll explain it later but for now, I'm sorry."

Pinkie wasn't blind to the fact that he was being genuine, thus her anger was replaced with her normal happy-go-lucky demeanor. She approached him in a more civil manner than before. "Here, let me help you up." She got behind him and gently propped him back to his feet. "So what are you doing out here anyway? Looking for a special gift for somepony special?"

This caused Ben to double-check his pockets. There was a problem: his pockets were all empty. Crap, I spent several hours on that! Where is it!? Halfway through his panic, Pinkie had stopped him by holding a small box in his vision. "I think you dropped this. Gasp! Who's it for? You finally have a special somepony!?"

Ben let out a sigh of relief and grabbed the box. Oh thank God. "Thanks again Pinkie. No, it's nothing like that. I'm just looking to make amends with someone. Do you know where Rose lives?"

Pinkie understood right away. "Oh. You had me worried. It's not good for ponies to stay mad at each other, especially during Hearth's Warming. We know you're about as stubborn as Applejack, so why the speedy change of attitude?"

Ben answered as simply as he could. "I got a wake-up call. There are worries that I've been ignoring as of late Despite my aggravation with Rose, that was no reason to blow up on her. What I did was disre-"

Pinkie put her foreleg against his mouth. "Stop right there, Mister. I think you should save that explanation for Rose. I understand you're sorry for what you did, but I can wait for the long story. Go see her! Apologize!"

The stout man was more bemused at this point. "Uh, Pinkie, I still don't know where to go. Where can I find her?"

This brought the bubblegum-colored mare back to Earth. "Oh, right. She's probably at home. Go two blocks down and take the street to the right. Third house on the left, daisies hanging at the windows, can't miss it. Just help her understand why you won't date her, whatever the reason. 'Tis good to be gentle and kind, for it's the season!"





Any other day Ben would have passed through this neighborhood without a second thought, usually because he was heading over to Sweet Apple Acres to hunt for various trees that might suffice for tonewoods. Fruitwoods were always a bit tricky to work with back home, but when someone got one right, they usually packed a deep, solid punch when played. He wasn't sure how Applejack would take the idea of busting up one of her trees, but was surprised that they had couple of trees that were alive and strong, but had gone sterile for unknown reasons. The one log they let him have was still drying at the moment, as it would be a long time before it was properly aged for quarter cutting, at which point he could experiment with it.

This was in the back of his mind, as he was now actually viewing the neighborhood without his usual tunnel-vision that he normally had going when he was heading to the orchards. When he found the place that Pinkie told him to look for, he noticed two things. First there was the flowers that were kept inside the front windows. It's the dead of winter, yet somehow they can still keep the flowers alive. Magic will never make sense to me.

The second thing actually got his attention. The front gate was still open and the front door was still cracked, but both holly wreaths were on the ground with mild snowdrift to the right of them. He made a beeline for the door and knocked.

After a few seconds, he heard a couple of hoofsteps followed by a sneeze. Another five seconds passed, and Rose had answered the door. She looked pretty bad. Her eyes were bloodshot, her eyelids were swollen, black and raw like she'd spent the night rubbing pepper spray out of them. Her snout was also red, raw, and runny. Her mane and tail were a mess, and she was shivering while sniffling.

When she realized who was at her door, Rose was worried. Why is he here? I'm already suffering, he doesn't need to rub my muzzle in it. "What do you want?... Achoo! You're the last creature I want to see at the moment."

Ben, however, could only look at her in deeper regret. What he saw wouldn't do for anyone. I'm such an asshole. She basically ran over here and left the door open. Now she has a bad cold. Damnit. "Rose, do you mind if I come in for a bit? We need to talk."

Rose was taken aback by his demeanor. He wasn't just humoring her now. His speech and body language were sincere. Maybe I should give him this one, he's not being a jerk this time. "Okay." She didn't have the ability to argue with him over it.

Ben hung the wreath back on the door and shut it behind him, but then decided that it might be best to carry the mare inside.She's already in a bad state, might as well help her any way I can. "Which way to the living room?" Ben asked. Rose weakly responded to the question, "Just head to the kitchen, first door on the left." 

Ben spotted the kitchen and took her through to place her on the couch.  Once he did so and laid a blanket over her, he noticed that the living room was in a similar state to Rose. Vases were knocked over and the fireplace was barely smoldering. On top of that, the trash bin next to the couch was full with used tissues. He spent the next five minutes rekindling the fireplace. Once he got a couple logs lit up, Ben gently said "Just get comfortable while I brew up something for that cold." He went into the kitchen and started making tea.

After ten minutes, Ben had returned with two mugs steaming from the brim. He handed one to Rose as she made an attempt to sniff it despite her condition, and she was actually surprised. Rose asked "This is pungent, what did you do?" Ben smiled meekly and said "Ginger tea with some extra spices blended in to ease the effects of the sniffles. I hope you don't mind."

Rose took another sniff, and noticed something new. The fumes alone were causing her head to clear up. She took a sip and she was met with a nice blend of cinnamon, lemon, and ginger: it was lovely to her taste. After spending the next few minutes sipping the man's healing tonic, she felt her cold symptoms start to subside. Wow, he seems to know what he's doing. He's so sweet. "Okay, big guy, why did you come over here? Just letting me know what I'll never have? Kick me while I'm down?"

Ben had bowed his head low. "Um, no Rose, I came to apologize."

Rose was slow to pick up on that last bit, considering that she was addled with the sniffles. However, once it registered, she became hopeful. "Oh? So you wouldn't be against dating one of us?" One can only hope.

Ben was mildly amused, thus he quietly snorted. "Don't get ahead of me." He calmed himself again to say his piece. "I only came to let you know that I'm sorry for what I said the other day. It was cruel, low, and likely untrue. I shouldn't have lashed out like I did. I should have just been civil and just stated it to you bluntly. I should have figured you would be so upset as to let yourself go like this."

As Rose sat there nursing her tea (which was also working wonders on her head), she started to consider her own actions. Unfortunately, she let out a violent sneeze before she could make a thought. "ACHOO!" She rocked back into the couch, nearly dropping her tea. However, the sneeze was hard enough to make her muscles ache, which caused her to wince.

Ben recognized the reaction immediately and took the mug out of her hooves. "Give me your foreleg." Rose obeyed, and Ben set to massaging it.

Rose couldn't have been more grateful for this. Wow, this feels really nice, even if those hands do feel......odd. This brought a stark realization to the front of her mind. Wait, all I've been doing is trying to get him buttered up to roll in the hay, yet here he is tending to my health. I never bothered to consider his side of this whole thing. She felt like a lowlife when that last thought passed, especially since she considered her own actions. Once he had moved to her other foreleg, she spoke up. "Ben, can I say something?"

Ben nodded. After she let out a light cough to clear her throat, she began. "Ben, ever since that night at the bar, I was hooked to the sound of your voice. I just kept imagining what it would be like to wake up to that sound, probably better than the birds." She paused before speaking again. "Thinking about it now, it selfish to want that. I never considered how you might feel about dating me with that in mind. You're looking after me now, and it's giving me a perspective on the whole thing: I was never thinking about your feelings. I was stubborn, which pushed you over the edge. So, I guess I'm saying that I'm sorry too. I should have just listened to you the first time you told me 'no'."

Ben smiled a bit after that, and felt it was time to break his silence. "Rose, your apology is appreciated, and I forgive you. However, I need to clarify something. Feel free to interrupt if you have any questions."

For the next twenty minutes, Ben went about explaining the limits of relationships outside of the human species and the mental problems that occur. Rose asked the occasional questions to which she got some fairly reasonable answers. Once she understood that sapience was exclusive to his species alone back on Earth, his responses to her advances made sense. What drove the whole thing home was his upbringing: his childhood was nearly a cookie-cutter of the Apple clan.

Rose would admit that she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but she could kind of understand where he was coming from. "So, if I'm following what you said, it wouldn't be in anypony's or your own best interest to pursue romance with any of us, right?" Ben nodded lightly. Rose couldn't have felt worse than she did if she were dying. "Ben, now I feel awful about what I did. You had every right to be angry with me." She started to cry softly in her regret.

Out of nowhere Ben had picked her up and just hugged her. "Rose, it's fine now. You didn't know why I couldn't until now. We both said lousy things, and we ended up hurting each other." He held her tight for a minute before he set her back down and wrapped her up again. "Also, I wanted to give you this."

He pulled out the small box that was in his pocket. Rose took it with great care and gently opened it. Inside was a carved wooden rose with a female human figure clothed in a cloak and tunic with a flowy "hood" covering her head standing on top of it. Her hands were folded and her head was bowed forward like she was in meditation. Rose couldn't help but look at the figure in awe. "This is beautiful. Part of it is a rose, but what about the rest?"

Ben looked at her. "She's a major figure in the Catholic faith, Mary the Virgin queen. She was chosen by the Father himself from the time of her own conception to be undefiled by the stain of sin for the birth of the Messiah. In times of struggle or sorrow, the faithful ask for her intervention to carry our plea to the Lord."

Rose only partly understood what he meant, but including the female figure with the flower actually made some sense to her. "Thank you Ben. I guess there's more to you than I anticipated." She went to hug his midsection again, to which Ben only responded to stroking her mane.

It was then that he noticed that her mug was nearly empty. "Need some more tea, Rose?"

Rose looked to him with a grateful smile. "Yes, please." He left the room with both mugs and refilled them. When he returned, Rose took it rather hastily as the effects from the first round left her near begging for another. "Thank you. Also, I won't bother you again."

Ben looked out the window and noticed that nightfall was approaching. He went to put a few more logs in the fireplace for the night and started speaking again. "Rose, it's getting late. That second mug should get you through the night if I'm not mistaken. I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

Rose was taken aback at that. "Really? I thought dating was out of the question."

Ben's expression became soft and remorseful. "Rose, you're sick because of how I handled the situation. I just want to set things right. I figure getting your health back might be a good place to start."

She pondered his words. With that face, I can't deny him that action, even if it might be a bit much. "I never realized that you could be so sweet. I guess there's no way to tell you not to worry about it?" Besides, I won't say no to those leg massages when I start sneezing again.

Ben didn't even bother to consider that statement. "No. I just want to set things right. Besides, misery loves company, right?"

Rose smiled and said "Right. Well, thanks for taking care of me today. I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"Sleep well Rose." With that, Ben took his leave, shutting the door gently on his way out.





Ben had just walked into the castle library where Twilight and Starlight were waiting. The silence in the room was a tense one, as the mares had concerned looks on their faces. Starlight decided to break the silence. "Is everything okay now?"

The stout human faced them. "More or less. We talked it over, and we have a bit of an understanding now. However, she's down with a cold at the moment. I'll be heading back over tomorrow to help her recover, just to make things right."

The tension had disappeared with that, and Twilight took a turn to speak. "Thank goodness for that. Knowing Rose, she likely didn't take your spat very well. I'm just relieved that you two resolved this mutually. Is there anything else?"

Ben didn't realize until now that he was pretty drained. "Actually Twilight, can I ask you a favor? I'm not sure if it's a good idea for me to be home alone for the time being. You mind if I stay another night or so?"

Twilight picked up on what he meant, and smiled sweetly. "Of course. Is there anything you need from the cabin?"

He only had one thing in mind for the evening. "Actually, would it be too much to ask to grab my D-18, please?"

Starlight hopped out of her chair. "I'll be right back." She teleported away for a few minutes, and she returned with the guitar he asked for. "I guess you're in a bit of a somber mood, huh?"

Ben hugged her and grasped the neck of the guitar. "Yeah, just need to do some gentle tunes before calling it for the night. Thanks you two. You're great friends."

Twilight beamed at him. "Of course. We'll see you in the morning."

With that, Ben took the old mahogany dreadnought and went back up to the room from the night before and set the guitar on the mattress for a bit to get ready for bed. Once he was settled in for the evening, he grabbed the D18 and started to pluck and strum. Then he started to sing quietly. "There are bridges on life's highways, but we never see them there."

Even though the song was soft and low, the castle had a tendency to carry sound. When they mares heard the faint tune, they snuck up to his door and took the time to listen, hanging on to every lyric and note that followed. With that, everyone turned in to their respective rooms for the night.