This Is Your Story!

by Mahayro

Chapter Two

The first and most regretfully opened set of eyes to see the morning belonged to Berry Punch. She was no novice to morning headaches, only twitching a bit as her senses came to bear. One of those senses arrived to her brain faster than light--and the only thing faster than light is bad news.

"Shit!" came a forced whisper--and then she was off to tend to the kids.

The oozing glaze of the sun's first rays peeked upon the faces of the other two mares--loosely drawn about each other's shoulders as old lovers might do.

Colgate stirred from the light, not wasting time to separate and dust herself off. She frowned somewhat, recalling last night's events without the adrenaline rush that insulated her from trauma of one sort or the other. Effectively alone for the time being, she gently considered the ordeal, speaking aloud to unhearing ears.

"Something's gotta change, dearie. It can't stay like this forever."

She looked down upon her comrade, who was moving somewhat--but in what way? Colgate examined a little more closely and saw that Carrot Top was indeed shaking. Shivering? Instinctively, she knew that Carrot was not merely cold... She fetched her blanket from the bedroom with a touch of horn magic, but let it hover a moment before her. She then smiled as she considered to fold and wad it more tightly, then nestle it within Carrot's limbs instead of atop her. Carrot then pulled it close to her chest, and the shivering ceased.

Colgate whispered something to herself, then dashed for the train to Canterlot and the dentist's office, not even taking a moment to comb or brush beforehand.

The blanket-holder continued to lay thus. Perhaps she had been more tired than the other two put together. Or perhaps...

There commenced a dull and muffled roar of sobbing into a blanket. There was some tossing and turning, and then suckling, and then briefly some rhythmic thrusting of the lower body. After this last act came a full cacophony of whines caught in cries, alien and disorienting, and ever stronger shivers. The shivers took residence and would not leave.

Eyes opened, their head wincing immediately, fearing the very thought of facing the day once more with the same shattered pony.

Then without warning, the living, breathing source of this spectacle tumbled onto all fours and regarded the window to outside. Something prodded her to straighten up and enter the daylight. A lovely drumbeat of activity could just barely be seen, and it called to Carrot. Cautiously, she departed to discover what good things the day might bring her.

---

After Colgate's couple hours of catch-up work at the front desk, she returned home to finally freshen up; then, off to the back yard she went to commence this stage-building project of hers. From years of previous such work, she'd amassed all the basic tools to build impromptu wooden structures. She didn't have much scrap wood to start with before getting the--

Colgate headed back inside to double-check; as she'd suspected, the lumber funds remained on the table. Drawing on her vast reserve of cheer and grace, she just dismissed the mistake with a faintly upturned cheek and mentally prepared to do this bit of grunt-work herself. She did have to admit to herself, though, that it was a bit of a bummer not knowing if Carrot would even turn up today; this she indicated with a sigh while strolling by the blanket on the floor and minding to float it back where it belonged.

She didn't even make it fifty paces out the door toward the hardware store before spotting Carrot, heading back toward her. (Oh, what manner of mighty magic might permit one to summon a friend at will like this?)

With a friendly shout: "Hey, I forgot to help you get the wood! And, you know...I kind of didn't get the instructions, either!"

Colgate hadn't even gotten far enough last night or today to actually devise those instructions...but that wasn't on her mind at the very moment. She'd broken out into full gallop, that somewhat excitable mare that she was, aiming to embrace and to express her joy at the golden one's apparent lack of dysfunction.

After doing so with a squeeze, the two quickly caught up on affairs: Carrot had apparently just been wandering town ("looking for trouble", borrowing Berry's terminology), and she realized something. She resolutely would not discuss the nature of this "something", and she felt frustrated even to have mentioned it; Colgate reasoned that a bit of refreshment back at her place might loosen the both of them up a bit. The BGs had all had a rough start to the day; but some things could be fixed after the fact, and a proper cup of ginger root tea was certainly among them. Wherever Berry was, she would probably happily settle with a different drink of her own choosing.

They silently set back to last night's table, seated next to one another, and held their tongues until the tea was ready.

After blowing to cool off her fresh cup: "Really, now, I gotta ask: how did you pull it all back together?" Colgate sipped while viewing her company askance. "You were...not in a good place last night."

Carrot declined her head, though not enough to imply shame. Her voice carried sympathy. "I... Maybe I didn't?"

"You're saying you don't know?" Colgate's eyebrows furrowed, a developing tangle of concern and mild disbelief.

Carrot froze again. Colgate waved her free hoof wildly to indicate not to continue further. "Oh, nevermind that. I'm not holding you on trial or anything!" She tittered, then patted Carrot while offering her "sorry", letting trouble wash back out to sea.

She proceeded to idle chat. "I'm also sorry I'm not much of a host. Yeah, I don't have a lot of stuff in here. I've just been lost in doing things, day in and day out. Hardly a moment to myself, hehe..."

With an awkward pause and a reluctant sip, Carrot countered, "And that doesn't bother you? I mean, it's great that you're helping keep my sorry flank busy too. But we're all looking out for each other here, and--"

A fluttering and melodic Colgate riposted, "Ooohhhhh no no no no no no no no no, I didn't pour this tea for me today. Don't even try that. Come on now. I'm not gonna hurt you, I swear. Maaaaybe you don't know me as well as you'd like to, and that's fine. But we gotta deal with this. So...hm...yeah, why'd you come back? I didn't even tell either of you how long I'd be at work today."

Carrot pushed her barely touched teacup aside and idly clopped her forehooves together, leaning on the tabletop. The mare of the hour had been running on emotional fumes all morning, and the fumes were just beginning to falter. She eyed her fair-and-foul-weather friend with something in the opposite direction of contempt. Shivers. There were shivers--there had always been shivers--and now they were visible again. Something inside her silently cried for a deep and arcane satisfaction, and Colgate could see through the slumped hungry-eyed form and read that desire like any good mare--but she would not shy away from it like most sane or socially conscious mares. (For all her quirks, Colgate couldn't ever turn down a pony in need.)

Please help me mend my broken heart, Carrot's sunken self wordlessly intoned from within the flesh-and-blood suit of life she wore. Let me live again. Nopony would know how to respond, not even Carrot herself. But Colgate tried with two outstretched hooves and a smile, even while suspecting it could not be enough.

Colgate felt the shivers. Though someone scared of the situation herself, she just let out a gentle humming tone to attempt to calm Carrot's storm.

Then Carrot finally spoke with her mouth.

"I can't...I can't do this! I just want to be...I want to be someone like you! Why can't I just be you? Why!?" The sobbing was beyond earthly control, but Colgate's close embrace about the neck and chest at least provided Carrot a soothing shock absorption for these spasms.

Colgate opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it, just continuing to provide a pillar to collapse upon. This pillar stood with Carrot for some ten or fifteen minutes while she continued to relieve her existential woe. Carrot mentioned a sense of missing something that everyone else had; she bemoaned her inadequacy to live up to anyone's expectations; she confessed a lack of appreciation for the happiness of others out of spite and envy. Finally, she touched on the heart of the matter.

"There just doesn't seem to be any place in the world for a pony like me. They don't just fail to understand--they don't want to understand! So I lose my job, I can't find a place to live, I lose all the other ponies I used to call 'friend'--and for what? Because I wasn't born a certain way? Because I couldn't know my own natural beauty like you? Because I'm not at peace inside??"

Colgate wisely kept her tongue still on the topic, sharing nothing in reply but a gentle squeeze. She kept holding as Carrot continued unloading.

And then, minutes more into the episode, Carrot let slip one of her real desires. "But really...I just want everyone to be honest and true to one another. Like...a pony can't stay mad or harsh when she opens up. She reveals herself. She looks like a fool for a moment, sure...but then you're ready for the healing, too. The healing of intolerance. The remediation of..."

Another thought flooded into Carrot's mind, causing her to sob once more. "I just can't fix everyone in this town, Colgate! Everyone in this world! There's just not enough time! There's always going to be...there will always be ponies who hate. I hate that! It would be so much easier..." Colgate just continued to hold her, humming in assent, not prepared to act further.

"Can't I just be you?" After the passage of time, the remark's repetition now seemed but a simple request.

But Colgate now knew she fully was out of her element. Best that Carrot snap out of this episode and make her complaints plainly. She hugged a moment longer, then with a distancing push: "What do you really want?"

"You've got it all...you've got a job where people know you. You have friends, and one who's loved you her whole life. You don't have to worry about anything. You're just you...you don't have to worry about what 'you' is...because you've got it down to an art..."

Colgate could have said many, many things in response to this. Her wisdom led to this outcome, bearing a sympathetic smile: "No. No, you don't know me as well as you'd really want to. But that's fine. Come over to this bulletin board. Let me show you something."

Trotting slowly over from their chairs, Colgate maintained a foreleg around Carrot's disrupted shell. Then, on arrival: "See this? See all these dates--" a wave over the whole corkboard "--all these places--" another wave "--all these causes? Things set up by others? Missions, designed to help those who really know what they want?" Here, Carrot Top perused current and future tasks and times Colgate had obtained for the group as well as for herself through her connections at the dentist's and at Town Hall. The pet charity...coaching Ditzy Doo to help her represent Ponyville honorably in the Equestria Games...the ongoing efforts of the Town Clean-Up Post-Plight Squad...pruning trees before the expected arrival of the Breezies... Colgate's proxy life was laid bare before Carrot, and the beginnings of an unspoken realization washed over Carrot's currently still form.

"Hun, it is okay to want more in life. That is absolutely okay. And you're part of the reason I know it to be true. Because you're coming to me, when I'm already coming to--"

"Guys!" The yell came from a fair distance beyond the front door.

Colgate responded right away, "Berry! What's up!?"

Along with the expected noises of a quickly approaching mare came Berry's reply: "Cheese! He's here! Code Red! Move move move! Party time!"

Colgate's composure broke in a much more pleasant fashion than it did last night--sparkling eyes, mildly dropped jaw, standing ramrod straight and facing the closed door. "Holy sh--" But then she caught herself and giggled. She then quickly regarded Carrot. "Alright! Hey, let's get going! You're gonna get to see him after all! Time for your little flank to brighten up!" This was followed by a peck on the cheek, something Carrot rarely received from either of her BG comrades.

Carrot attempted happiness, scoffing coyly at that remark. "Hey, my flank's not that little..."

As the panting Berry made it to the door, the sprightly Colgate sprang over to quickly whisper some words that included the name of Carrot Top--which did not go entirely beyond the notice of that name's bearer. It seemed obvious that they were discussing her latest plight. Carrot drooped her head and fidgeted about in a corner for several seconds, but she was interrupted before going too far down that road.

Berry, having approached unnoticed, held Carrot's head aloft again with one hoof, presenting to her the second most wide-eyed and glorious smile she'd ever beheld. "Hey, get outta that funk o' yours, girl! This is Carrot's time to shine! I can feel it in my soul." Berry kicked her head back and subtly turned, the smile and eyes turning a bit more sultry. "You...are...sooooo gonna get lucky tonight."

The three bolted for the center of town, slackening a couple times for the sake of the already-winded Berry Punch. Perhaps none of them really knew what to expect; but if Cheese Sandwich was featured on the menu, then a good time would be as well.

And there he was: the pumpkin-mocha party master himself, breaking out in song and bending reality itself with flashes of music and spirit. An upbeat tune was heard yet unplayed; vivid party-time mental images (or were they only images?) matched the beat. Berry suddenly recalled last year's birthday party for Dandelion--but so, apparently, did everypony else! What was even going on?? Cheese was something truly special--even otherworldly.

Carrot's wandering friend and mentor, Written Script, was also a witness to the scene. Though Carrot quickly identified him by his silver coat and slick indigo mane, he was totally fixed on Cheese; there was never really a moment for her to catch his attention during this boisterous occasion.

As the song wrapped up, the gathering crowd (BGs included) couldn't help but close ranks around him for an impromptu traveling crowd-surf. The mob's cheers of unadulterated joy rattled windows as it migrated through town. The cluster was not static, though--it mingled and moved in its awareness-bereft celebration. Throughout this affair, the town-famous Elements of Harmony conversed with Cheese; it came to light that the showy blue pegasus, Rainbow Dash, was due for a birthday party and arrival anniversary befitting her, and this is why he had shown up.

Some half a mile later, Cheese hopped out of the bunch to land on his own four hooves; and both his hind legs started twitching, one after the other. Wait--did his eponymous cutie mark just move? With an "Ohoho, wowzers!", he dismissed his sendoff party and vanished back toward Town Hall at a tack that would've racked a Wonderbolt's head.

A few seconds after that, a rubber chicken he'd left on the ground just then was picked up by...himself, having come from the other direction. He then let out a goofy guffaw and disappeared toward Town Hall again. Amused bemusement held the crowd for a second. Even Rainbow Dash, hovering above the crowd with a good view of things, spat out, "Wait, what?"

And in a flash, the mob transformed back into a group of individual ponies--who currently just happened to be rather uncomfortably close to one another.

The Elements of Harmony departed right away, with two of them--the stunningly white and cultured Rarity and her folksy orange foil Applejack--alerting the rest to come along because Cheese was probably starting to plan the party already. The town's usual insane reality-warper and party planner, Pinkie Pie, did not hold with either her closest friends' ranks or the slower erstwhile mob's; at some point, she wandered off completely. The rest would also soon be out of sight from the herd around the eclectically arranged apartments and stores.

Some seconds in commencing their slow trot toward the town clearing, Carrot Top checked her company. Berry and Colgate were out of sight for now. Everypony present was quite mature, which made her wonder for a moment: Aren't daytime fêtes more of an all-ages affair? Then she suddenly scoffed at herself, realizing the little ones were all at school at this time. She also happened to be almost completely surrounded by stallions. Though she'd already brushed the flanks of a tall mossy-gray-coated fellow on her left side and one in aged vellum on her right, this was the first moment she had to realize what (that is, whom) she'd touched lately. She blushed rather brightly.

She looked up to the one in gray, and--sweet Celestia!--he was looking right back at her. There was something else that caught Carrot's attention, and it wasn't just the high noon sun blasting radiance into his punky emerald-green mane. The vague hanging silence of expression indicated she was trying to place him, as if he were familiar from a past acquaintance. There were likely some more primal feelings in play as well. The moment demanded a more immediate reaction, though, so she snapped out of it, tumbling into a search for words.

"I-- Ju-- Hey."

A flat broad-mouthed smile and confident eye were her rewards for this. Then: "It's for horses!" jumped out of his lips in inviting satin-coated basso, with the slightest hint of Highlands charm.

Milliseconds later, from the still-shocked mare: "By-- Are you married?"

"Hoho, get a hold of yourself there, lass! Let's try: 'What's your name?' "

Very rushed and high-pitched came her reply: "Okay, what's your name?"

The stallion was mildly befuddled; Carrot Top's embarrassment followed fully a second later. She cowed her own excitement, drooping and blushing again--but only until the next words were spoken.

"Delighted, Miss Okay." The smile turned up a little, tilting the balance of coolness and warmth in his visage toward the latter. "Drum here. Drum Digger. I guess my parents couldn't agree on something with my name...but my Pa won the destiny game, it would seem." He glanced straight backward, and Carrot eagerly followed. Emblazoned on his rump were a round-bladed shovel and a narrow-bladed spade, crossed, with matching handles on top.

"Huh--oh right. Carrot Top." A thought of her own occurred. "Please, just a second? I'm...I maybe don't get out a lot and I need to--oh, I don't know--"

"You need...to slow down." Carrot visibly melted at the sound of Drum's rumbling closed-mouth laughter.

She was about to say something, probably in assent, but Drum simply turned his head fully toward her and went, "Shhhhhhh..." Then, "If you can make it one whole block without saying anything, I'll tell you something."

But Carrot's mind was racing, and she would just as soon carry the juggernaut of a stallion on her back and win the Equestria Games 400-meter hoofrace if that race ended at the end of the block. But the tightly-packed herd may as well have been a spillage of concrete mix, pooling and spreading but doomed not to go far--only to cease and to lock her in place and to end her happiness forever. She grimaced and sought a way around the ponies in front of her, but she then quickly realized even breaking through wouldn't help anything if her acquaintance didn't match pace.

She had her resources, though. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly, allowing the sounds of the steps and occasional bumping around her to guide her pace. She breathed audibly through her nose--inhaling, holding, exhaling, pausing. The deadening of taut expression on her face paired with relaxation on Drum's; he continued to glance at her slightly but otherwise returned to his own thoughts.

Carrot Top waded through eternity while Drum and everyone else endured about three and a half minutes.

Then they rounded the block. Drum tapped the top of her head with his temple to get her to stir and pay attention again before crashing into the lighter-yellow-coated one to her right any more than she already had.

"How was yoga?"

Whatever she could've said on the matter was immaterial: she tensed up again immediately and remembered Drum's promise with shimmering eyes and childlike fascination. Any caution or serenity she used to govern her life was gone from this time and place.

"Okay, 'Okay'. I noticed earlier you were wondering whether you knew me. Well, not a lot of ponies do...but the ones who do, they find out sooner or later that I'm a stallion's stallion, if you follow."

Carrot turned away sharply. Her mood shifted back to embarrassment. Then it rotated to amusement, then rollicked toward despair, then made a brief stop in sadness before settling back at amusement. A couple forced gingerly laughs could be heard.

But Drum was looking dead toward her this whole time, a rather mischievous attitude growing in his eyes and parted-lip smile.

"Mostly."

Being the near-giant that he was, he invoked his presence to part the ponies to his front and left and broke away. Carrot finally looked back, was apparently startled beyond comprehension at his departure, and screamed outright. The situation triggered a panic response in the group, half of which circled around Drum to impede his movement. Besides this circle, every eye now focused on Carrot, and every body stayed motionless.

The light yellow stallion to her right then asked, "What happened? Did this guy do something to you?"

Carrot's senses had whiplashed so many times recently, she could not regain a simple composure. Her almost sobbing voice didn't do much for her case in her statement, "Ah--no, no! Just leave me alone! He's fine! It's a misunderstanding!"

The unnamed stallion confirmed drily and nasally, "I saw nothing either, just you getting excited about something--I presume the tall fellow." He half-rolled his eyes with a "hmph" and resumed his walk forward. This engaged the herd to follow suit and leave Drum completely alone. With a path cleared, Drum picked up to a gallop, shouted, "See me at the party, won't you!", and slipped back around the old corner.

Carrot scrunched her face mightily and shouted back a garbled nothing in particular. The crowd did not react this time beyond some annoyed mumbling.

The herd, steadily shrinking from members departing to their original plans for the day, otherwise proceeded to Cheese's latest destination without further incident.

After chasing said Sandwich, five of the Elements, and the stragglers from that mob halfway across town, the BGs finally reunited in the nearly setting sun. Berry had been robbing more ice for her latest round of liquid refreshments but was still mostly in a publicly presentable state. Carrot had managed to level off emotionally and stayed to herself on the sidelines. Colgate was just in her own world, thinking about the platform for the pet charity. Pinkie Pie turned up for something she called a Goof-Off--a partying battle against Cheese; and though the affair ended on a bit of an angsty note, it was quite the mind-blower. After the Goof-Off, most of everyone parted to start setting up the party proper back near Town Hall.

But the BGs were quite strained with their own plans and projects and simply would not be bothered with the matter further until the fun started. Was Cheese's impromptu crew really going to try to pull it off that night? It wasn't their issue anymore. Berry made sure of that after getting Carrot to blab about her new acquaintance.

"See? Trus' a mother's intuition ever' time!"

She was beaming at her own 'achievement' of willing Carrot Top into a potential hook-up. Plus, she had the sort of look in her eye that itself should receive a strict viewership rating--though Carrot, generally not allowing herself to consider the carnal in public, received it with a standard sort of cheer.

Colgate, who was not directly in Carrot's line of sight, chose to show her affection instead with a tackle-hug from behind. This was met with cute laughter all around and repaid with a return of their close embrace earlier that day--minus Carrot's inner torment.

Berry quipped, "Oh, ge'a room, you two. But don' turn in that key in early, Veggie-Tail!"

Carrot's cheeks heated at the thought and sighed with relief at the idea of satisfaction around the proverbial corner--or was it something else? Suddenly, however, she decided to try to explain at least something deeper to Colgate.

"Cole..."

"Yes?"

"I really do admire you. Really. It's not just the thing I said earlier."

"Am I gonna have to send Berry to set up that room?"

"I...uh, nevermind. Can I just stay here for a while? You feel so warm."

"Don't you have a fireplace at your new home?" Colgate was sort of jerking the chain here, more for her own amusement and also because she wasn't getting the point.

A startled silence.

"Kiss me. Kiss me so I can feel right."

In their years of acquaintance, Carrot and Colgate certainly knew about each other's open persuasions. But this was a first--at least while sober.

"Hun, are you losing it? Just a few more hours--you got this!"

"Kiss me so I might feel myself again."

Berry was just kicking back, leaning against an over-sized birthday cone hat, regarding with a giant grin that communicated quite a lot about her interests and her inebriety.

For as much as Carrot wanted this moment, she could not bring herself to initiate something even remotely unwanted from her dear friend. Colgate took this hesitation as a chance to pull away--but Carrot held fast, even on the dirt and spilled punch and confetti, even smack in the middle of a not-entirely-depopulated part of Ponyville. Colgate grimaced slightly, looked around, and took a deep breath.

"You need this, don't you?"

Carrot apparently considered that the equivalent of consent and dove in. Colgate, no stranger to untimely pleasures, indulged a bit herself, opening her mouth so they could share tongues. They shared and shared while a caring Berry stared. Carrot started to caress Colgate's mane and part it along two of its high-contrast blue/white stripes. Then she left her left hoof in the open rift, swirling it around a bit and purring into Colgate's opened mouth.

After perhaps five minutes of this, Colgate dropped the pretense of involvement (as she was adjusted to a rather steamier course of events) and took a free eye to gaze at Berry as hard as she could--alternately catching Berry's eye and directing her own to the orange-maned issue at hoof.

"She really is min'y fresh! Ow owwww!" That was really not what Colgate had wanted to hear.

It may well have done the job she wanted, though. Carrot was suddenly ensnared in embarrassment, pulling away and curling in a ball with a terrible frown.

Colgate stayed chipper about matters, giggling a little while sliding back over to her capricious companion. She rotated herself on the ground so as to have to crane her neck fully backward to meet Carrot's eyes--a silly yet affectionate pose.

She then covered at least two octaves in gently squealing, "Feeling like yourself again?" If she was not truly enthralled in the moment, she certainly could turn on the coquettish charm like a light switch.

This disarmed Carrot's concern, which followed her already having been disowned of her passion, which had dismissed her woe. There was nothing left for her to do. She facehoofed.

"Yeah...guess so..."

"Hahaa! Time for Berry Punch!!" A luscious lush of mauve splashed into their view and then their bodies; and the three all laughed and cuddled and rolled about in the spent party favors for a while, freaking out every passerby they could.