> To Find Home > by Selena Quintanilla > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Risking it all > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- " To think I considered yah my son would be da greatest dishonor this family has ever seen." " Yah bring dat shame in which no-zebra should bear." " Yah disgust me, yah have no place here." " GO FIND ANOTHER HOME!!" That is how he remembered it and he knew it was over. He said this final comment before leaving forever, " h... h-how could yah?" Stepping into the train and setting off to find some place he could call home. _________________________________________________________________________________ On an Autumn day in Ponyville it was buzzing with life. From Celestia's beautiful crisp sun, to the clouds that were kept neatly due to the professional work of the pegasi. Although, in the vibrant city Hall in Ponyville, in a small little house there lived a stallion, most notable for his musical abilities, and his name was Curly Note. As specks of sunlight poured in from the blinds, it nuzzled the pony's snout, causing him to awaken ever so slightly. He peeped his eyes open and wriggled his nose all the while still in a slumber mode. He yawned as he arched his back, getting in his first wake up call for the day. Gently he got up and made his way towards the bathroom for some prep time. He entered his bathroom and viewed himself in the mirror. A short description of Curly Note would be that he was tall and lanky, has an elongated face, and most significantly his curly afro, in which is name is derived from. Although, none of these features bother Curly, he cares about his personality and making his friends smile. He playfully bobbed his head around causing his extremely curly hair to move vigorously. He giggled to himself and got into the shower and started a warm bath. As he bathed his hair and fur became soggy with the water, leaving a funny looking Curly Note. He turned off the water and dried himself off, and next came was to condition his hair. He went over to the sink's counter and opened a bag with simple hair products in it, took out a bottle of conditioner and applied it all over. Grabbing a hair-brush from the bag Curly combed his hair into a neat purme. It looked like a tightly knit bowl of noodles. His friends always call him out for his insane hair, but they know that doesn't judge the warm soul that is Curly Note. As an occupant in Ponyville Curly plays at local clubs like at, "Live-night" or "Moonside club." His specialty as a mucisian is playing the bari-sax. Most ponies are perplexed on how anypony can play an obscure instrument like that, but for Curly he is just gifted at it. His friend, Salient Crisp, always has his back at everything, she is his closest friend. Ever since he was a young foal Salient Crisp and him were always a rag-tag pair of friends. Curly doesn't know what he would do without her. As it is, he lives alone with no parental help, just himself and a little pug named, "Fluffball," that he adopter a year ago. Salient knows how insecure Curly can be when he doesn't have anyone to talk to, and she is always pestering him to find a nice stallion. But his excuse all the time is, " No.. no I don't have time and I can hardly keep myself financially stable. Why would any stallion want a partner like that?" Salient replies," Well you'll have to grow up sometime and hey come on, maybe not today, but one day you will find the right stallion." That's how it is all the time, always having each other's back and never abondoning who they are. Funny enough, today he is meeting her at the train station, because she is returning from her trip in Appleloosa. Before leaving he made sure Fluffball had proper food and water, as to not starve the poor animal. Fluffball yapped happily and Curly rubbed the cute dog. He quickly got out and headed for the streets of Ponyville. He was anxious to meet Salient at the train station, and he was always punctual when it came to important meetings. His plan was to greet and pick up Salient from the train station, then they would have a nice chat while eating on a early breakfast. He trotted to the far end of Ponyville where the train station would be. The fresh aromas and nice patches of flowers pleased Curly, in a very calming way. As he arrived he noticed the lack of ponies and eerie emptiness it held. While he waited he could hear a distinct whistle from a distance. He thought to himself that it was too quick for a train to be arriving. A quick glance at the train station's clock indicated that it was only 6:30, and this train's arrival was quite unusual for a normal resident of Ponyville. Salient Crisp wouldn't arrive until at least 7:05, this was certainly peculiar. He soon saw the puffs of an up-coming train headed for the station. As it neared he saw the train had a minimum of two carts and the forefront. It stopped promptly right by the station, and the train whislted its arrival. The doors opened from the carts and two poines came out, an old mare and a stallion pegasus. What came next was surprising to Curly Note, from inside the carts came a broad figure with a cape draped over its body. It wobbled and stuttered around before collapsing to the ground. He could hear the moans that were coming from the figure, this worried him and he trotted over to see if he could help. As Curly Note hurried to assist this strange being, the cape came unloose and revealed the stranger he was shocked to find a beaten up zebra stallion. All Curly could say was, " W- what?" > Like a Flower > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It couldn't be, could it, has Curly Note witnessed a beaten up zebra fall down from fatigue, but WHY!! Curly Note could not comprehend this, much less say a single syllable out of his mouth. Words weren't lost from him, they were stolen out of thin air. Yet he muttered these four simple words," How.. could this be." The truth was, he had no darn idea, but he'd be damned if he did not at least attempt to help this injured zebra. " Hold on, I'm going to help you," Curly said as he gently tried to push the zebra onto his hooves. Curly asked," Can you move?" All the zebra could merely do was cough out blood everywhere, his battered cape, his unwashed fur, and even the train station's boards were matted with blood. Curly Note seized the urge to vomit then and there. The ill-stained zebra tilted his head and spoke," N-n.. no, please help me!!!" This made Curly Note even more nervous than before, but he knew he could not carry this massive zebra who was twice his size to the hospital. Although, Curly was determined, and he would not stand around and do nothing. He asked the zebra what his name was, in which the zebra replied," Zecarius." " All right Zecarius, please hold tight I'll right back," Curly Note said, he then got up and sprinted to the train station's ticket booth, where there was bound to be somepony who could help. He saw a stallion inside, he thought maybe he could help. He stopped abruptly at the booth and exclaimed at the stallion inside," Please sir, there is a pon-, I mean zebra who is badly injured, can you help me take him to the nearest hospital !?" " Whoa.. WHOAH, slow down there son, alright I'm not supposed to leave my station, but a zebra is injured?" the train master asked. " Alright, I have a wagon in the back of the station, can you bring him around back, and I'll carry him over for medical assistants." Curly Note nodded politely and gave his thanks. He trotted back over again to the groaning mess that was supposed to be a zebra. Curly Note says to the zebra," Zecarius am I right.... I'm going to need you to get up, so I can take you around back." He continued, " The train master will take you to the hospital, ok," Curly Note said in a sweet motherly tone. Zecarius measly said, " Alright." Curly Note was happy to hear this, he got next to the zebra and applied of his weight, so he can balance him evenly. Curly Note felt a strange sensation buzzing through as a was next to the zebra, it felt weird as the fur on Zecarius bristled along side him. Curly quickly discarded these thoughts, as now was not the time. It was then that he glanced up at Zecarius and noticed he was also staring at him, but he was probably waiting for them to start moving. Curly noticed something about him, that was it, his eyes. Sweet Celestia, did he have beautiful eyes, emerald green eyes that were vibrant and yet soothing. Curly spoke, " Alright, ..... let's go." Both of them trudge as fast as they could, but at a pace that would not hurt Zecarius. Step by step, they walked on. Zecarius would stop momentarily sometimes to catch his breath, and he would heave massive breaths, probably from lack of energy Curly thought. They finally made it around the corner and saw the ticket master straddled up on a wooden wagon that looked decent enough to carry a full grown zebra. " Alright, fellas just come on in and I'll take ya to town!!!" the ticket master exclaimed. "Come on," said Curly", let's go." Curly Note and Zecarius walked up to the wagon, Curly made sure that Zecarius got on securely. " You good?" Curly asked Zecarius, Zecarius nodded, Curly climbed on and said," Okay we are good to go!" The ticket master gave a slight nod and started running towards Ponyville's town square where the hospital would be. " OHH, dear Luna, Salient is going to kill me for not meeting her today," Curly silently thought to himself. But, inside he knew it was for a good reason, he was saving a zebra's life. Speaking of which, he looked towards his new acquaintance, Zecarius, who was looking down shading his head with the hood of his cape. He did not say a word, he just simply waited patiently, even if everything in his body hurt like crap. He glanced up and saw the pony who helped him, he did not know why he would help him, but he was intrigued non-the less. Curly noticed that Zecarius was watching him, he felt that strange feeling from before, but this time he did not relinquish the fuzzy feeling. He actually rather liked it, as those emerald babbles watched him, certainly no pony he has ever met had eyes like that. Then Zecarius hesitantly said," T-t... thank you, for everything," calmly giving his best smile he could muster. Curly replied," No problem." The wagon roughly came to a halt indicating that they had arrived," Whoops, sorry guys but we are here," they ticket master apologized. Curly Note got out of the wagon and made his way into the Ponyville hospital. He found a mare receptionist at the front desk and told her the situation. The mare professionally called in some nurses to bring a stretcher and medical equipment. As if on standby, nurses exited the building to where the wagon was, strapped in Zecarius on a stretcher and hurried him into an emergency room. ............. " What's going to happen," Curly said. ................" P-p.. please b-be okay." There in the hospital's waiting room, a curly stallion waited anxiously for his new found friend that he just saved. Outside the hospital, in no pure significance, in a patch of flowers there lay a single flower that was late and was starting to blossom, most likely waiting for the right moment to be free. > How To Save A Life > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * SMACK !!! * " HOW DARE YA COME BACK!" * THUD !!!* " YA FOOL, WHY DA YA GO AN' LIKE MALES" * SMASH !!! * "THAT IS A SIN, YA HAV' HUMILIATED US ALL" " P-p.. please, AHHH!!, it hurts!!!!" * Silence* " YA ARE A DISGRACE, NEVER COME BACK!!!!" * SLAM !!!* * SMACK !!!* * THUD !!! * * Knock * * KNOCK ! * * KNOCK !!!! * _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ * Knock * " Hello, Mr. ummm.... Zeca-rius, you have a visitor, says he saved you from passing out," a soft voice came. Zecarius awoke with beads of sweat falling from his forehead. " Thank da gods !" he thought. It was a dream, all a dream, and that's what Zecarius wanted to believe, but in reality no amount of forgetting could make it go away. As he scoured his surroundings he noticed he was wearing a hospital's gown, while he was reclined on a bed. White, all over the room, the walls, sheets, marbled floor, everything. Everything so bland in the room, all he wanted to do was move around. However, his guests did provide some company so that he wouldn't be bored. He glanced up and noticed the stallion from before, he was standing at the entrance of the door with the nurse. However, this time though he could actually get a good look at him, without the occasional migraine. The feature that stood out the most was his ridiculous curly mane, also accompanied by his tail, both were as dark as coffee. The stallion had a light hazel nut coat, and small little white patch of fur on the left side of his chest. For a stallion, he was extremely thin and slender, but he had height. He tilted his head up to meet the pony at his face, and he was astonished to find graceful, comforting eyes looking at him too. The stallion had crystal blue eyes that could take your worries away. Noticing this Curly Note blushed slightly, and coughed out of embarrassment, but still happy to see that his new friend was doing well. " All right, I'll just leave you two alone, call if you need anything ok," the nurse said politely, leaving the zebra and stallion to their own business. Curly Note then took the initiative to walk over tenderly, and sit on the right side of Zecarius's bedpost. " Hey, how you feeling?" Curly Note asked. " Fine," replied Zecarius, " Maybe ah' little worn out." Curly Note chuckled softly, noting that this was his first time hearing the zebra speak in a full sentence. His voice was deep, almost like the instrument he played, and he carried a thick accent of some sort. But, could he just listen to speak like that forever. " Ohh, that's good to hear. Would you like some food, I can call the nurse if you want, are you parch?" Zecarius replied generously," No.. no, y- ya hav' done enough for me, and I ah' ....* sigh* I can't thank ya enough." " Please, just sit an' talk." " Well, ok" Curly Note said, then relaxing a bit on the bedpost and scanning the face of the zebra. The zebra had a handsome face and strong jaw-line. Some stripes were streaked down from his jaw, looking like prickly little spikes. Also, for not bathing in probably weeks he maintained a neatly faded zebra Mohawk. It was then that he looked at his eyes, and liked before he was entranced by his emerald eyes. " STOP.. stop it, you have barely met him, and he is not some sexual object !!!" Curly Note thought all of this as he was having an internal turmoil with himself. Zecarius noticed the pony look away from him, muttering something from under his breath. As the pony was doing this, Zecarius glanced down to the pony's flank and looked at his cutie mark. He was interested in knowing what this pony's talent was. Focusing closer he saw that there was a musical note, ..... but it was odd. The musical note's end was curved around, making it go into a swirl, and around the note there were three golden stars. They were on the right side of the note, and each star went down, from largest to smallest. Breaking himself out of his fit, Curly Note looked back to the zebra realizing he was looking down at his flank. This startled Curly Note, and he blushed a deep red , making it very noticeable. He jumped a bit out of jitteriness, this caught the zebra off guard too. Now both were immensely trying to suppress their blushes. " I'm ah' sorry," Zecarius apologized, waving his hooves out pure guilt," I was ah' just curious, I MEAN.... about ya talent." Zecarius composed himself," I'm ah' sorry." Curly Note sighed and looked back at the zebra and said, " No, you're fine, it's just me being jittery is all. And there is nothing wrong with being curious." Curly looked and his cutie mark and told the zebra its strange meaning. " This cutie mark represents my musical talent, obviously, but the curliness in the note is because as a musician I improvise and interpret musical notes in a whim," Curly Note explained clearly, Zecarius was silent and listened attentively. Curly Note continued his explanation, " Basically meaning, I can play from nothing, into something, usually relating to classical or jazz. Also, the three stars symbolize my improvement as a musician, and what I still can accomplish." Finishing his explanation Curly looked proud of himself, because why shouldn't he be, he is the only member of his family who has exceeded in musicality. His saying was, " Not being a coach or teacher for the rest of your life." He looked to the zebra for his reaction, and he saw that he was grinning slightly, it was cute. He then went into a full blown smile, revealing perfect white teeth. It made Curly's heart flutter. Zecarius was indeed impressed by Curly's musical talent, but he was smiling because he admired the pony's enthusiasm and charismatic demeanor. It made Curly look bold and strong, even if.... he lacked physical strength. " That is incredible an' ya are very confident of ya self,.... it is cute," Zecarius said the last word very silently. " Ya are very brave too. It makes ya look strong an' committed." " Ohh... thank you," Curly replies blushing slightly, " But HEY... who said I'm not strong , I did help carry you to that wagon, you're not light at all." " Haha ... dat' is true, bwwhaaaha," Zecarius laughed out loud from Curly's joke, his baritone laugh was very soothing and real. This got Curly to chuckle, then into a continuous amount laughs. The next moment both of them were a bunch of laughing messes. Slowly they their laughs began to subside into short giggles. Both of them cherished this sweet moment in time, because for either of them it hadn't been a good day. Zecarius's smile slowly faded into a frown, remembering how he got here, and the dramatic experiences he escaped. He burrowed his muzzle into his chest, feeling sorry for himself. Curly took notice and frowned too asking," Are you ok? Do you need to talk?" Curly Note really didn't understand how Zecarius ended up so beaten and scarred. Although, he could tell it left terrible psychological thoughts, because he was heaving very heavily. " NO," Zecarius replied darkly. In fact, Zecarius wanted to forget everything that he went through in the past. And no one had the right to know.' He saw that Curly looked surprised by his comment, and quickly he apologized. He didn't mean to scare him, but he'd rather not talk about it. " I ah' didn't mean ta' startle ya, but I rather not talk about it." Zecarius said this as he returned to his casual mood. " Alright, it's fine. It is not my place to ask anyways," Curly replied glancing to the room's clock. By now the conversation had lasted until 11:45, and he was far over due in meeting Salient Crisp. " I'm sorry Zecarius, but I have to meet with a friend, I'm really sorry. But tomorrow we can catch up, the nurse told me you'd be free to go by tomorrow morning!" Curly note told Zecarius all of this while heading for the door. " It is alright, go ahead, an' yah' until tomorrow," Zecarius said, looking a little displeased that Curly had to leave. But he was looking forward for the next day. " Great!! I'll see tomorrow then, have a nice day!!!" Curly waved his final goodbye and hurried down the hallway, expecting a really pissed bi-sexual mare. Zecarius waited in his room waving too, he felt content and calm talking to someone who could make him smile. However, he was stuck in the room for the entire day. Suddenly he felt a pinch of pain coming from his left eye. He brought hoof to his face and touched his eye, his hoof became damp with blood. It wasn't until this moment that he realized he had stitches on around his eye, he panicked and got out his bed and went over to the nearest mirror. All his worries confirmed what he had felt, from his eyebrow down to his eye and part of his cheek, there was a bloody scar that was stitched completely. " OOHH DEAR GODS!!!" > Greetings > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Curly hurried out the streets of Ponyville, knowing clearly that Salient Crisp was probably waiting at his home. He arrived on the street of Town Hall and from his view point he saw a mare, unmistakably pissed from standing around for a good while. Curly Note advanced towards the mare, nervous, and scared what she was going to do to him. The mare noticed Curly Note, her charcoal face went red from anger. " CURLYYYY!!!" " YOU STUPID HOE," Salient rudely announced, " Where in Tartarus has you been?" Curly groaned under his knowing that Salient was probably going to tear him a new one. He replied, " I'-m, really sorry, Salient, but I got caught up." "Sorry!!!" "Sorry doesn't even begin to explain why I stood in the goddamn train station for nearly 2 hours!!! Plus, another 2 waiting outside your house!!!". " Sooo, bitch, you better have a good explanation, or I'm gonna choke a hoe." Curly was blown away by the mare's public display of rage. He knew she could lose her attitude at many times. Hence, the reason she is called ," The Queen of Assholes," but this was past her own abilities. Salient Crisp waited impatiently for an answer, and she'd expect it to be good. Curly gulped and hesitantly gave Salient a clean explanation. "Well, today I woke up to meet you early at the train station, and it was normal at first, but something happened." Salient rose an eyebrow and asked, " something happened ?" "Yeah! Umm... well while I was waiting another train arrived and from inside a figure appeared, a zebra to exact." "A zebra ?" Salient replied looking shocked. "Yeah, a zebra and the most shocking part was that he was bruised and beaten." At this comment Salient expression turned blank,but she clearly looked concered now. She brushed away part of her mahogany coloured mane, listening attentively. Curly continued, " Well I couldn't just stand there, and I got help from the Ticketmaster, and we took him to the nearest hospital." " I plan to meet him tomorrow and pick him up, he leaves around 8:00, if you want to come you're welcome to join." Salient looked quizzically at Curly, she knew he wasn't lieing because he was bad at it. From this explanation it was clear that him not showing up was in good intentions. "Alright!!" " I guess you had your reasons," Salient said sighing out. " Oh, thanks for understanding, it means a lot to me" "Also, he is really cool guy once you get to know him" " He is tall, strong, handsome, kind and..." "What!!!" Salient had a smug look on her face. " Sooo.... are you going to get laid or what?" This caused Curly to blush immensely and hide his face. "SALIENT!!! " "What?" "It was just a question." Salient was chuckling at Curly 's little outburst, smiling slyly all the while. " Look I'm sorry okay," Salient said changing to a sympathetic tone, " Don't take it to seriously, but come on you just saved a zebra from most likely dieing, you should feel proud, because i'am." Curly sniffled and asked, "Really?" "Sure!!! Curly, what pony would go to the lengths you did to save a pony's life," Salient exclaimed, putting her forearm around his back reassuringly. " And, if anypony thinks it might sound weird, then buck them, know what I'm saying?" "Yeah... I do, thank you Salient, for being such a great friend." Salient replied,"No problem." "Come-on let's go get some food, I'm going to kill a bitch if I don't get something to eat." This got Curly to chuckle, "OK, let's go." Both friends headed into Ponyville's market area where restrauants alike were lined up. They stuck close together, and neither of them regarded each other as friends, but more of brother and sister. > Family Comes From Many Places > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Evening had set on Ponyville and the sky's scenary lay beautifully, so that all creatures could bask in a golden hue of sunshine. An overview of Ponyville's market center was pretty moderate with street vendors, and the occasional customer looking to buy supplies. But, at the corner sides of the street there were many restaurants alike with different delicacies to buy from. The most well know store, or so to say bakery was the SugarCube corner. Most notable were its owner's Mr. and Ms. Cake, who always welcomed their purchasers with a welcome smile. Although, past the bakery, just a couple of yards away there was a Café run by a barista stallion & his husband.The café was called, " Amor del Sol." Its owner's are Sugar Swirl, a husky and tall, light brown stallion, with a dark chestnut mane that was short and neat. And his lovely, adoring partner Lemon Drop, he was relatively smaller than his husband and was leaner than most stallions, his coat was lime green, naturally, with brown hair that was extremely lengthy and wavy. He adorned his head with a bureau, to show his love for his birthplace, Istallion. Today, they were expecting some old childhood friends to arrive, but quite frankly their arrived schedule as far overdue. Their friends Salient Crisp and Curly Note were supposed to be here at around 8:00, but it was already 11:55!!! Still there was no sign of the two, and the food that both Sugar Swirl and Lemon Drop had prepared was going stale. " Where the buck are they!!!" Sugar Swirl exclaimes, clearly ticked off that his generosity was being tested. Beside him Lemon Drop tried to comfort him, trying desperately to ease his worries. " Don't worry dear, they probably hit some sort of bad timing, is all. They will be here, I trust both of them," Lemon Drop said in his thick Istallion accent. Even he was uncertain that they would arrive. However, by some Celestial miracle the bell rang from the café door. Two ponies entered, one a saddistict black, mahogany haired rapper, who had the blankest expression. Along side her was a tall, slender stallion with a hazel nut coat and a ridiculous coffee afro, accompanied with his tail. Their presence was made known to the café owners when Salient bluntly announced, " Heya Guys!!" Clearly her antics didn't amuse Sugar Swirl as he made his way around the sprawled out tables inside the café, looking beyond happy. " Heya, guys!!! HEYA , Salient did it occur to you that we were supposed to meet on schedule. It's past 7:00, and I definitely know it doesn't take that long to get here. What dare I ask took you two so long!?" Sugar Swirl asked in a matter-of-fact tone. Curly Note fidgeted under Sugar Swirl's strong dissapointment. Although, Salient had his back, and like her given name implies, "Queen of Assholes," she exactly did so. " Well listen Sugar bitch, me and my ol' pal Curly here had the misfortune of being delayed today. In fact, Curly saved a zebra's life. Ooh, yeah hoe, he saved him single-hooved and rescued his striped ass!!!" Salient replied brutefully, Curly blushing at her last statement. "And if you think you're gonna dog us out on that, then bitch you thought wrong. He is a hero and doesn't deserve your petty insults!!!" Everyone in the café was taken back by Salient Crisp's rude, but honest words, and there was no other way to express it. A few heads had turned to view this awkward public display, mostly just an elderly couple enjoying their coffee, but shocked at the younger mare's language. Sugar Swirl's fell agape and his eyes were wide-eyed, and he had no retoricole comment to add upon that. Lemon Drop came to his side and placed a hoof on his shoulder reassuringly. " Just let it go," Lemon calmy stated, " I'm deeply sorry for Sugar's pessimistic attitude, we were just worried you wouldn't be able to make it." Salient still stood there with a smug-ass grin, pleased to see that it got Sugar to be more polite to old friends. Her grin fell and she replied, " Yeah, whatever we're also sorry we couldn't arrive on time, which is partially both our parts." Salient said guiltingly, looking over to Curly who was still a bit nerved up from Sugar Swirl's comment. Sugar Swirl regained his composure slightly and glanced at Curly Note. "Is that true? Did you really save that zebra?" Sugar asked looking genuinely curious. Curly bashfully replied, " Y-yes, and maybe Salient over exaggerated a little, but yes I did save a zebra." Sugar looked satisfied with his answer and meekily said," Alright, I believe you, I'm sorry I acted that way to both of you, it was uncalled for." Salient replied, " Don't worry about it, what are friends for, huh?" " Yeah, what she said," Curly imputed as well. "Well I'm glad that was cleared, but perhaps we can catch up, maybe chat a little about this story in the dinning hall. Let's eat the food that Sugar and I have prepared for all of us!" Lemon Drop announced, leading the party into the cofé owners personal dinning hall. Everyone excitedly nodded and made their way to the dinning hall. Awaiting to catch up after many years of being away. Their own little group of family. > Old Friends, to Newer Met > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dusk has been making its way unto the streets of Ponyville. Celestia's Sun began to subside into the peek of the hills. Soon, Luna's Moon was going to appear in full glory, illuminating the stars and constellations. Although, in Ponyville's market area, in a small Cafe, inside laughter and residing voices could be heard ever so slightly in the back of the restaurant. In the lounging space of the owner's Cafe, four ponies sat around the communal furniture. In the middle of the room there was a wooden table that held a flower centerpiece, and to the left of the table there was a comfy red couch. On the couch both Salient Crisp and Curly Note. Across from the two, recycled in a much smaller yellow couch Sugar Swirl and his husband Lemon Drop, were affectionately cuddling. Could it had been like this always, life would be perfect. Salient Crisp was slouched on the right side of the couch while eating a chocolate cake on a silver platter. Curly Note was cheerfully sipping his caramel frappuccino. It was contained in a plastic cup, and on the lid it was plastered with the restaurant's logo; a picture of Celestia's Sun shinning over a simple cup of coffee. Curly Note was content-fully sitting on the couch laughing along with his friends as they made rhetorical jokes from when they were kids. Lemon Drop nestled into Sugar's right shoulder, that was comfortable as a pillow. Sugar Swirl had a croissant in his left hoof and his other hoof was wrapped lovingly around Lemon Drop. " Ahhhh HHAA!! You know that was not intentional, it's just that Anoran Swing was such a bitch and desperate. I did't mean for him to actually say anything." Salient Crisp had just apologized about an incident that occurred in every pony's secondary school years. Sugar cringed slightly from the memories he had from the stallion. " Euggh, don't remind me, he was such an ass, and i still don't know why he had it in for Lemon and I." " He honestly needed to just re- evaluate his entire existence, because harassing both of us wasn't going to get him anywhere in life." Sugar explained his own opinion on the matter and continued. " And to this day I have yet to know how ponies knew about our relationship, as far as i know only you and Curly knew." ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Apparently word had gotten that Sugar and Lemon had been dating for a while, ( in fact they had been together since elementary.) Anyways, this stallion named Anoran Swing had been known to be extremely homophobic towards any gay individual. In this case it was Lemon Drop and Sugar Swirl he was against. Around that time he hung around Salient Crisp, and she knew unmistakably that he was infatuated with her. She got annoyed with his antics and negativity towards Sugar and Lemon. She told him bluntly, " At least both of them are together and happy, while you'll still be a desperate little hoe, Bye!!" This of course didn't sit well with him, and every time he would pass Sugar or Lemon he would make sure to say snarky comment either when they were together or alone. Time and time again he would do the exact same thing. Until one day, Sugar Swirl was done with Anoran's complete mockery and idiocy. During his lunch period he confronted Anoran, and went off on him. " HEY!!! Anoran, I don't know what you have against Lemon Drop and I's relationship, but quit your bullshit, you hear!!!" Sugar Swirl asserted powerfully, snarling all the while. " I don't give a damn about your insecurities, but if you continue to harass him or I, I swear to Celestia i will personally teach you a damn lesson, YA hear!!!" ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Needless to say Anoran never bothered them again, for the time being. Salient's apology was more directly towards herself for not doing anything about Anoran. " Hey, don't worry Salient, that was years ago, and we both know you meant well for trying to protect us," Lemon Drop said reassuringly knowing that it was all in the past now. " Yeah, I-i know, it's just, (sigh), I wish i could of stopped him myself before he took to drastic means of bullying you both." Salient bowed her head looking gloomy. " Salient don't feel bad," Curly Note added, " One way or another you have helped us all, and none of us could ask for a better friend." Curly smiled genuinely and gave Salient a warm hug. Salient looked towards Sugar and Lemon who were both nodding from approval. Also, Salient would be lying if Curly's statement didn't make her teary. She sniffed and hugged Curly back, regaining composure. " Aww, thanks you guys!!!" " I love you too." Salient exclaimed, Lemon and Sugar got up from the couch and walked towards their friends. Everypony was now in a huge embrace, laughing at the loving gesture. Slowly they separated and returned to their respective spots. " Well, wasn't that lovely," Lemon Drop stated," Ohh, I almost forgot Curly, didn't you say that you had an encounter with a certain zebra today?" Curly reacted bashfully, because earlier that evening he had tried to stray away from the topic. " Yeah I did," Curly replied. " Come on then, don't be shy and tell us what happened," Lemon Drop asked as he scooted himself back getting comfortable on Sugar's torso. " Hmmm, ..... well, ...(sigh) okay, I guess I will tell you how it started from the beginning, and how I made new friend." > Scars > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ahhhh!!!!! *Ssshh* .... What ah waste!! Yah vile being, how dare yah return. Worthless, piece ah shit. Ple-ase m-mah eye, arrghhh!!! Damn Silence!!!! *SSSSSSSHH* ____________________________________________________________________________ Zecarius had multiple strands of sweat running down his forehead as he lay atop the counter in the center of his hospital room. He was shivering frantically from the sight he saw in the mirror. He couldn't recognize his own face from the incredibly noticeable scar that ran across his entire left-eye. Zecarius was utterly petrified and he was unable to move a single muscle. Until a nurse rushed into the room to see who was screaming. " Mr. Zecarius!," the white coated mare said, " are you ok!?" The mare seemed to have lost her breath from sprinting to the room. Her cap was hanging loosely from her blood red mane. She seemed genuinely freaked about the commotion she heard. Slightly Zecarius faced the nurse, he looked on the verge of crying and he certainly wouldn't be against doing so. His lips shivered from trying to speak, but he words couldn't come out correctly. Ultimately he was defeated and he placed his hooves to his temple and cried. Regardless if he was crying in front of a mare, it didn't matter, he had enough and he felt broken. The mare swooped down and cradled the zebra, who was clearly in a tramatized state. She doesn't know how he got bruised and hurt. Although, it left an excruciating mark on his mental health. Gingerly she caressed his back. " There-there, it's gonna be alright, I'am here to help." "Please let me help you into bed, in all honesty you need rest," the nurse said reassuringly. Zecarius raised his head from his hooves and nodded. Both made their way to the hospital bed, Zecarius was assisted and tucked in comfortably by the nuturing staff member. "There we are, all comfortable?" The nurse asked making sure Zecarius didn't need anything else. Zecarius nodded his head once again, and out of politeness he thanked her. "Thank ya... Ummm.. Ms. ?" " Red heart!" " My name is Ms. Red heart and thank you kindly, I'm just doing my job," Red heart beamed. Zecarius smiled back, he now felt content from having someone who could personally make sure he returned to prim condition. " Thank yah Ms. Red heart, sorry for scaring ya, ah just got surprised at how ah look is all." Zecarius said, but even he knew he wouldn't be able to fool Red heart. Nurse Red heart looked at Zecarius with an all too knowing face. Even she wouldn't be that gullible to fall ignorant to somepon.. er zebra's pain. She lay on the right side of the bed-post, taking Zecarius's right hoof. "Mr.Zecarius... I ah, don't mean to sound pushy, but if you need to talk about anything, perhaps I could lend an ear, or any other staff member." Red heart was worried about what was troubling the zebra, but even she knew it wasn't her place to ask. Zecarius looked away from the mare, and he tried not to be rude as to tell her he wasn't interested in talking about his past. " Umm... Ms. Red heart, thank yah, for yah concern but ah don't exactly feel comfortable about speaking off mah troubles." "But, please don't take it da wrong way." Zecarius replied with a comfortable posture. Nurse Red heart sighed and propped herself to her hooves. "Alright, I understand, I shouldn't have asked either way. However, if there is anything else don't be afraid to ask," Red heart grinned with a class A smile. " Ah will, an' oh, could yah please open da window?" "Of course," Red heart said lightly, making her way towards the blinds and unlatching the window. A fresh breeze entered the room, cooling the temperature and a fresh scent of flowers. The Sun's haze, provided by your's truly, engulfed the room in an orange and yellow hue. Zecarius looked in awe, because he had never witnessed such exquisite beauty. " There, now I best be going, but if you need anything feel free to ring the bell on the left." Zecarius looked over to his left and surely enough near the table stand there was a miniature golden bell, with a strand of string with a metal plate was attached to the bell's base. Zecarius glanced back to Nurse Red heart and thanked her once more, for he wouldn't be seeing her in a long while. Red heart said goodbye and excused herself out. Zecarius sighed heavily, finally alone to think and ponder what had just happened. He felt a great feeling of gratitude towards the mare for trying to help. Although, he just didn't want to remember what transpired in his life mere weeks ago. He rubbed his eyes from any last tears, and quietly he rested his head back on the pillow. He sobbed himself to sleep, still being able to feel the gruesome scar he would have to live forever. > Moonlight > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Alright, you guys see you soon, love you!!" Curly Note exclaimed happily as he made his way out of the Sugar Swirl and Lemon Drop's bakery. "Hey, see ya assholes later, loved your hospitality," Salient Crisp retorted facetiously to her friends. Lemon Drop stood at the doorway with Sugar Swirl on his right side. He grinned and replied, "Likewise, Salient and remember, you still owe me twenty-bits for those pastries you ate!!!" " They were specifically not intended for you to eat!" Lemon boasted out, taking off his bureau and leaning into Sugar Swirl. Everypony laughed aloud from their genuine rebuttals and they wouldn't have it any other way. Salient trotted over next to Curly and wrapped a hoof around him. "OK, stud, where ohh where are you taking me this fine evening?" Salient asked in a slured tone, and Curly quickly replied, " Well, ummmm .... my home.. I guess, I-i mean yeah." " Haaahaa, come on Curly I'm only kidding, but seriously let's go," Salient said in a hasty way, probably because she was tired from today's bullshit. Sugar Swirl immediately jumped into the conversation," OK, see you two later, both Lemon and I have to close up and prepare for tomorrow." All friends said their final goodbyes and went about to their own business. Sugar and Lemon closed the bakery for the night, Curly and Salient went to Curly's house to call it a day. The two comrades made their way towards Curly's house, making little conversation all the while. They passed the empty street of Town Hall, only the faint sounds of water in the nearby river could be heard. The night was cool and the sky was adorned in a display of stars. Curly and Salient arrived at the corner of the far street, turning the corner where another street of communal houses were. They trudged to the third house on the right side of the street, the house was simple in all aspects: a beige house with a brass wooden door. It had two windows on the sides that were draped by ruby curtains. On the floor lay a doormat that said," Welcome." Salient Crisp looked the house up and down, she had never seen Curly's home before. She gave a slient hum, " Cool digs, Curly," Salient said, " Can I come in?" Salient waited patiently for Curly to say something. Curly smiled warmly a replied, "Of course," " Just one sec." Curly took a step back a reached into his curly mane, tugging around a bit he pulled out a small golden key from his mane. He grinned a smart-ass look towards Salient and giggled. He went to the door and placed the key into the keyhole. From the other side he could hear the patter and pants of a particular dog. He looked back at Salient and said, " Mind Fluffball, he is a bit charismatic when meeting new ponies." Salient replied that it was no big deal, assuring him that she loved puppies. Curly nodded and turned the key inward, the door slid open and a small head of a pug poked out, yapping and drooling. " Hey buddy,!" Curly exclaimed with enthusiasm, " Did you behave?" The miniature pug spun around in place and barked happily. " Good to hear," Curly smiled, opening the entrance so that Salient could walk through. Fluffball took notice of the unexpected guest and barked at Salient. Curly soothingly petted the pug and in hushed tone said, " Hey, she is a friend, calm ... calm." Salient Crisp entered the humble home, going down to ruffle the head of he adorable pug. " How you doing tough guy?" Salient asked growling in a sarcastic manner. The dog yapped and nuzzled Salient's leg . " Hey, I think he likes you," Curly said and in a quick pace he turned on switch that lit the hallway. Down the hall there was a table on the right side, and left of the doorway there hung a jacket rack. "Come on, this way," Curly gestured for Salient to come inside, closing the door behind her. Salient trotted further into the lighted hall. On either sides of the hall there were pictures of family and friend, countless of memories were framed upon the wall. Salient chuckled at a picture of Curly's 16th birthday, a blacked framed picture showed a younger Curly with a mouthful of cake. Curly walked to Salient's side and chuckled as well, he likes to have past events snapped in a picture. He enjoyed reminiscing times of joy and carefree situations. "Come on," Curly nudged Salient and guided her into the foyer. In the center of a decent sized room there was a large black couch that faced the right side of the wall. A television set was placed in the direction of the couch, for an easy view to watch shows. To the right side there was another hall where the rooms were. Straight forward, past the foyer there was a kitchen area. There were two entrances, two from either side of the kitchen. A large horizonal counter connected the entrances, as well separating the foyer from the kitchen. Salient took her time to scope the entire house. " Hehe, umm.. I know it's not much, but hey!" " Home is home," Curly said bashfully. " Hey, no sweat, I like it, it's cozy," Salient replied and laughing at how fluffy the carpeted floor felt. Curly walked towards the kitchen and pulled open the steel refrigerator. "Do you want anything?" Curly asked, browsing the items inside. "Nah, I'm good," Salient continued to look around the room, taking everything in. " Might just call it for a night," Salient said as she made herself comfortable. "Alright Salient, I'll just make sure Fluffball goes to the restroom, then I'll show you to the guest room," Curly said as he pulled a water bottle and drank it. He tossed the empty bottle a minute later in the trash. He called Fluffball to follow him out the back door so that he could go. Fluffball ran excitedly out the door, and glad that he could release his bladder. Salient waited comfortably for the boys to return. She rapped some lyrics from her new song that she had been working on for her debut record. She was expected to return to Canterlot in a couple of weeks, there she would record her song, but at the moment all she had to do was relax. Being a world-class rapper did have it's perks, but she always made time to bit family and friends. Salient paced towards the jet black couch and layed down on all fours. It was funny how the color of the couch blended with her coat. She yawned a bit, too tired to do anything else. Salient twirled her hair into curls, in actuality her hair was really just long eloquent curls. Secretly she envied Curly's hair, and also the fact that he had a slim figure. It's not that Salient was obese or too pudgy, but she did have some weight on her. Although, that didn't bother her too much, and hey maybe one day she'll find a special somepony who likes her for her. In fact, she always tells Curly to be gregarious and just find a right match. Speaking of match, Salient remembered that earlier today Curly saved a zebra. A male at that, hmm... perhaps she should find out more about the situation later. As Salient was deep in thought it was soon interrupted by Curly opening the door for Fluffball. The pug rushed inside, contentfully Fluffball waddled to his water bowl that was near the counter. He lapped the water into his mouth and yawned afterwards, clearly Fluffball needed to rest as well. "Alright big guy," Curly said," Time to sleep." The pug glanced up and wagged its tail Curly looked over to Salient who was reclining on the couch. "Hey sleepy head, you can sleep in the guest bed first, before you pass out on the couch, haha!" Curly joked sarcasticly as he walked towards Salient. Salient giggled and replied, " Okay, smartass let's go hit the hay." Curly motioned for Salient to follow him down the hallway where the bedroom area was. The first door on the right was the guest bedroom. Curly opened the door and flicked on the light. Inside was a simple bed that faced the door, the bed had a white fuzzy blanket with two fluffed up pillows. There a closet as well for easy sorting of clothes, but ponies don't really need to wear clothes. " Well, I hope the room is to your liking my lady," said in a corny voice. " Celestia, you're such a doofus, I swear Curly," Salient murdered. "OK, well I'll leave you to it Salient, but if you need anything there is food and beverages in the refrigerator." " And my room is down to the left, ok goodnight Salient," Curly said kindly, closing the door behind him. "Night Curly, night Fluffball!!" * Bark * Curly gingerly walked to his room and made his way inside. Fluffball joined him as well, walking to his comfy dog bed that had white foam to keep him warm. Curly went to his respective bed and climbed, sigh heavily and groaning while doing so. Curly couldn't disperse the amount of crap he had been through today. From saving a, dare I say handsome zebra, meeting Salient and having a great friendly reunion with friends. Yup, surely today had been quite peculiar and he liked it. Curly snuggled into his black covers, thinking to the zebra and being unable to contain his excitement for tomorrow. Curly sighed from exhaustion and he layed his head down, letting slumber consume his thoughts. Ray's of moonlight shinned through the window encompassing the room in a nice indigo shade. ________________________________________________________ All through out Ponyville, ponies of all kinds rested, for tomorrow would be another pleasant day. Although, for one individual being, maybe tomorrow meant a new beginning. This being was a zebra, a zebra who was graciously rescued by a curly maned stallion. This zebra wanted to get to know this stallion and anxiously they waited for dawn. Slowly their eyelids closed and letting the cool breeze from the window take their worries away. The soft rays of Luna's moonlight guided them into a peace sleep. > Making a Stand > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia's sun once again returned, making night into day. Lighting Ponyville's streets with life and energy. At this time most merchants and purchasers would rise early, so that they could receive the best itmes and spots in the market. However, one particular stallion had different intentions. ______________________________________________________________ Curly Note, as bubbly and anxious as he was seemed rather nervous for today. To start, he abruptly woke up from bed, causing Fluffball to be startled. After calming him down he made haste and hurriedly entered his bathroom and fixed himself up. Ten minutes later he dried off and applied conditioner to his puffy hair. Once he was done combing his hair he exited his bathroom and made for the hallway. Fluffball followed in a brisk pace behind Curly. Curly tip-toed down the hallway as to not disturb Salient Crisp's slumber. He could faintly hear the snores from the mare inside the guestroom. He opened the door and took a glance inside. Sure enough Salient was sprawled over the bed, snoring aloud in her sleep Salient definitely would not be waking up any time soon. Fluffball yapped at Curly, indicating that he wanted his breakfast. "Alright! Hush now, Salient is still sleeping," Curly whispered in a quiet tone. However, Fluffball gave a deadpan look at Curly, obviously he could care less, life as a dog must be simple; pets didn't have any secret lives, did they? Curly trotted into the foyer and made his way to the kitchen. He grabbed Fluffball's bag of " Yummy Food" from the counter and poured it's content inside the bowl that lay on the floor next to the refrigerator. Next he filled his other silver bowl with water and placed it next to his food. "Happy now?" Curly question the small pug with a quirky look. Fluffball panted excitedly and dug into his breakfast. "Ok, I'm going to head out, be good," Curly said as he pulled out a pad of paper and pen from one of the shelves in the counter. He delicately wrote from his mouth on the paper. The message read: Dear Salient, I'm going to head out to meet with Zecarius, the zebra I saved. Make yourself comfortable, I know you must be exhausted and you will leave in the next day or so, but I enjoyed our time yesterday. There is food in the pantry or if you want to make something there is raw ingredients in the fridge. Love you, P.S- Mind Fluffball he can get a bit irritating at times. Content with his message Curly left the paper on the refrigerator. Sooner or later Salient would read it. Curly sighed and walked to the front door and pulled the window drape to the side. It looked chilly outside, so Curly grabbed a scarf from the coat rack and opened the door. He exited his house and pulled the house key from his hair and locked up. He placed the key back into his hair and headed towards town square where the hospital was. Ponies were already bustling about trying to go about their business.Vendors, merchants, and every day buyers were preparing to purchase and sell. However, Curly's only intent today was to meet with Zecarius and take him to eat at a nice restaurant. Curly walked past the town hall where the obscure pony statue was. Although, Curly believed it really was not necessary to have a statue that large take up so much space. Curly finally arrived at the hospital and entered through the sliding doors. He walked up to the receptionist desk and the mare took notice of him and smiled. "Hello, can I help you?" The mare asked politely and Curly replied, " Umm yes, is it possible if I could see one of the patience that came in yesterday... his name is Zecarius. He is a zebra." "Oh yes, I heard about him. Nurse Red Heart said he seemed apprehensive to speak, but I'm sure he will be fine. Would you like me to take you to him?" "No," Curly replied curtiously,"I was here yesterday and I know where his room is at, thank you though." "Alright dear, oh but here make sure to wear this pass, don't need ponies going about willy-nilly." The receptionist gave Curly a necklace pass that read Visitor, and Curly snapped it on to his neck. "Ok, thank you again," Curly said before walking to Zecarius's room. "No problem dear," the receptionist replied.Inside Curly's head many thoughts clouded his mind with nervousness, anxiety, fear. All Curly could do was try to be relaxed. Although, Curly knew that would be a challenge in itself. _____________________________________________ The morning blaze of the sun illuminated Zecarius's room. Zecarius stood upright on his bed, expecting a certain stallion to arrive. He couldn't contain his excitement, and he wouldn't deny that seeing the Curly again made his heart flutter. As if on cue the doorknob jiggled slightly, and in popped Curly's head. "Hello, Zecarius, how do you feel?" Curly asked politely before stepping completely inside the white tiled room. "Alright, ah suppose an' how are yah doing?" Zecarius replied with a grin on his muzzle. Curly blushed a bit and looked down to hide his face, Curly retorted," Good... good." Zecarius fully smiled and asked"Are yah ready to take me out of here, it is kind'a boring." "Yes I'am, I hope you're ready for a tour of Ponyville, the sights are beautiful even if it is a relatively small town." Curly jumped with joy on his hooves and went over to Zecarius's side. "Come-on I'll help you up." Curly offered a hoof and assisted Zecarius out of the bed. Zecarius stood a good two feet from Curly's head. All Curly good do was marvel at Zecarius's broad shoulders and thick, toned muscle that was hidden underneath his coat. Curly took a step back and let Zecarius have some space, didn't want him thinking he was weird. Zecarius stretched out, showing how toned his body was. If Curly wasn't​ dieing from seeing this amazing sight, he sure as Tartarus should be burried underground. Zecarius glanced up at Curly and noticed he was blushing slightly. He chuckled and walked towards him, making sure to keep his eyes on that warm, amazing, cute.... "Wait what, where did dat come from?" Zecarius was perplexed by his sudden urge of affection towards Curly. He certainly didn't think of him in any meaningful way that would make him want to be with the stallion. However, feelings were the reason he ended up in this situation. Zecarius quickly disregarded any feelings that he had felt, and only focused on his mutual relationship with Curly. Curly noticed that Zecarius's smile faded into a neutral position, had he don't something wrong? Curly couldn't tell, but he was cautious about what troubled the zebra just now. " Come on," Curly asserted as he went to the door and held it open, " let's go." Zecarius indignantly walked forward, exited the room and said out of generosity, " Thank yah,.... for everything." Turning around and giving his best smile he could muster. Curly looked into his eyes and become lost in a trance, not noticing that Zecarius saw as well. Curly changes his expression, as not to make the situation any more awkward and replied, " Anytime." _______________________________________________ Curly and Zecarius's day had gone splendidly, Curly took Zecarius around Ponyville; showing him the different attractions and sights. It was mid-morning and Curly felt it was a good time to rest and have a relaxing lunch. Curly looked over to the zebra who was gazing out at the long grassy fields. Curly thought that maybe they should have a nice picnic out by the river. Although, first he had to get to know the zebra a bit more. Curly asked, " Is it alright if we stop for a bit and eat lunch?" Zecarius stopped for a moment and looked down at Curly. He replied, " Ok, what do yah have in mind?" Curly smiled a cheeky grin and said," Follow me." Curly bumped Zecarius with his full weight and jogged down the dirt path they were on and crossed onto the bridge. Zecarius took this as an initiate to follow suit of the stallion. Up ahead Zecarius could hear Curly giggling as he ran across the granet made bridge. Although, Curly​ made an abrupt turn to his left after crossing the bridge and stopped to take a breath. Zecarius came up and beamed at him, looking like he didn't break a sweat. Curly composed himself, he wasn't an athlete or in any physical shape, that was certainly obvious now. He glanced at Zecarius who had a cocky grin, Smug ass, Curly thought to himself. Curly regained control and turned towards the street up to the left and said to Zecarius, " Come on, this way," in the most relaxed voice he could muster. Curly stood by Zecarius again and both made their way to the restaurant. Taking the left dirt road at first glance it seemed like there wasn't much to do. On the contrary, many ponies at mid-evening we're still buzzing about, either to dine a exquisite restaurant or local bars. The name of the street obvious described it perfectly, Martini Lane. Zecarius laid mesmerized at the fact that such a small town held a variety of shops, confectionary store, restaurants, etc. He couldn't believe that his previous experiences led him to Equestria, memories and experiences he would rather forget as Zecarius described it. Curly brought back Zecarius to his senses by motioning with a hoof in his face. " Yohoo, hey don't space out on me, I know it's lovely, but we still haven't arrived yet." That was true, and Curly wouldn't take no for an answer. So onward the boys walked down the road, occasionally looking into specific stores or restaurant. They finally arrived to a restaurant on the left side of the road named, Savor Inferno. The place was quaint with a Mexicolt vibe to it. The banners and outlining of the restaurant were in red, white, and green. The logo had a white coated stallion with black hair, also he was adorned with a stereotypical sombrero, giant mustache, and poncho, while eating a taco. Zecarius was confused by the asthetic appeal of the restaurant, for had never eaten any Mexicolt foods or delicacies. He looked at Curly with a puzzled expression and asked," Umm.. sorry to ask, but um, what exactly is this place?" Curly forgot that Zecarius had never seen any other cultural foods, or another culture in general. Curly mentally slapped himself and looked at Zecarius and said, " Oh, sorry I forgot that to you haven't seen anything like his before. Well, it is never to late to learn about a new culture. If you would let me of course." Curly gave his best puppy eyes to Zecarius, so he could guilt-trip him into agreeing. Zecarius notice the stallion's face changed into a pitiful expression. Damn those beautiful blue eyes, was all Zecarius could think. " Ok, sure I'm ah' interested." Zecarius replied and gestured towards the red doorway, " shall we?" Curly got giddy and happily answered, "Yes!" _________________________________________________________ Inside the restaurant the stallion and zebra had made themselves comfortable in a wooden bench outside that viewed out into the river. A large canopy overlapped the entire outside deck so they could have shade. The new friends were lost in conversation about the food that they had recently eaten. Curly was laughing historically because Zecarius had vicariously eaten a salsa chip with, Pico de Gallo, which is a traditional Mexicolt dipping sauce that contained different spicy concoctions. Although, Zecarius wasn't aware when the mare brought out the appetizers, and he simply assumed it was some regular dipping sauce. However, he was terribly wrong, and Curly was practically pissing himself. Zecarius scowled at Curly, his face was sweating from the extremely spicy flavor. Two glasses of water were brought out for him to replenish himself. Curly stopped laughing and smirked saying, " I told you that it was really hot. But, no it's fine he said." Curly mimicked Zecarius, grabbing his own chip and dipping it into the sauce and eating it whole without hesitation. Zecarius huffed and said, " Yah' whatever, ah' didn't know ok." Curly completely stopped and apologized for his immaturity. Zecarius accepted it and they moved on to a new topic. Since Zecarius's arrival Curly had been skeptical about how and why Zecarius was here. Furthermore, not that he had mentioned it before, but he had clearly seen the scar on his left eye, and if that wasn't incriminating, then nothing was. Curly didn't want to press on that subject too much, but the least Zecarius could repay him was some background about himself. Curly made himself comfortable and asked unsurely," Hey, Zecarius, can I ask you a question? I mean if you won't get uncomfortable with it that is." Curly asked timidly on the last part, he was shaking vigorously, scared and afraid what Zecarius might say. Zecarius looked quizzically, raising an eyebrow, he replied, " Uh, yah', umm what does yah' question pertain to?" Curly faced quickly turned pale, clearly shaken by the fact that his question was extremely personal. Curly began to shake from anxiety and dodged the question by saying, " Nevermind,..... it's nothing important." Curly said this sadly, knowing that he had no place to ask the question he had. Although, Zecarius wasn't having any of it, he gave a stern expression and replied with a hard face," No, yah' had ah' question, an' ah' intend to answer it." Curly sighed, gaining back some color into his fur. He cleared his head and asked in a serious, " Zecarius, I know it is not in my place to ask, but I trust that you won't get offended. *Sigh* "Ok, from witnessing your fall at the train station I reacted with what I thought was best." Curly continued trying to stay calm," And, I freaked out, nothing had ever happened like that in my life. After I took you to the hospital I noticed your eyes for the first time, the left one to be exact." Zecarius turned shocked that Curly would care about his scared eye, but he let Curly continue. " And, here is where I ask my question,..... why?" Curly looked at Zecarius with pleading eyes, making Zecarius rather confused. " How? Why?!" " Who would do that to you?" Curly couldn't contain his composure and started breaking down into a sob, " Zecarius, I have seen and experienced seen some troubling things, but nothing like this." Zecarius looked down to his chest, shading his emotions. The air stood still, no one moved, except for the slight breeze. Curly continued to search Zecarius's face for see type of reaction, none came. Suddenly, Zecarius lifted his head, and if Curly hadn't know who Zecarius was, he sure as Tartarus wouldn't now. Zecarius face was dark and bitter, tears were dropping from his eyes, and his lip quivered. Curly was taken back, he didn't know what to say. " Curly,.... ah'," Zecarius tried his best to relax, but there was the sudden urge of terrible nostalgia. He didn't want to remember, but damn it, the stallion who saved him deserved to know. However, Zecarius's conscious fought against him, and ultimately made him cold again. " No!" Zecarius boasted, catching Curly of guard, to which Curly replied, " What?!" Zecarius looked Curly dead in the eye and said again, "No!!!" " None of yah' have dah' right to know what happened." Zecarius voice grew at an alarming tone, one that Curly didn't know he had. " Not, yah', or da' the nurse, or anypony!!!" Curly was hurt by this remark, and Zecarius noticed but continued on his bantering, " What gives yah' the right to know, huh, what?!!" This is what ticked off Curly, and forced him to retaliate, " What right!!! What RIGHT!!! Zecarius, I saved from dieing out on that train platform!! You can't possibly think that didn't mean anything to me!" By now Curly was practically leaping across the bench, his face right up at Zecarius's face. " How could you possibly think that I can't be trusted,..... z-Zecarius, I care, Salient my best friend cares and she hasn't even met you yet!" Curly said all this in a calmer tone, with a little chuckle at the end. " Zecarius, please, let me help." Curly stooped down and walked over to Zecarius and extended his hoof. Zecarius looked at it for a few moments. In his head alarms went off, but his heart said otherwise. Oh gods, help mah' > I Will Survive > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A-ah remember....r-remember every single lash." *Smack!!!* " Blood was everywhere." "Ahhhh!!!" " Ah cried out for him to stop!" " But... he didn't" " Ah ran! Ran as far away as possible." " Ah took da earliest train dat' was available." " From Dodge Junction, all da way to Ponyville. Dats' when I met yah'." " Ah owe yah' mah' life, Curly." _________________________________________________________________________________________ Curly was taken back by Zecarius's kind words. His eyes lit with passion and tears formed at the corner of his eyes. After the little fiasco that they had at the restaurant, Curly decided to take Zecarius to the park, so that they could discuss what had happened. What Curly was expecting was not at all what he had in mind. Both rested on an empty bench that showed the park's beautiful pond. On that bench Zecarius would reveal his truth in clear, descriptive sentences Zecarius told his story on why he had arrived so beaten and scared. Curly did not want to believe that Zecarius had survived a case of extreme domestic violence from his father. The outcome was not a pretty one. " Ah had come home from practice at hoofball, an' mah' mom hated for mah' to be late for dinner," Zecarius explained to Curly the dreadful experience. " Ah should have known that ah rumor would have spread." " Because, somepony told mah' father of mah' relationship with another colt, just ah few days prior." "An' dat' colt's father was one of mah' dad's co-workers." Curly solemnly frowned at this news, he could not understand why anypony would do such a thing. Even worse, because it lead to the injury of Zecarius. " Ah was an' idiot for trusting dat' colt, his name was, Gleaming Aura." " Handsome colt, but ah terrible character on da inside. So, ah confronted Gleaming, confessing how ah felt about him...... he laughed, laughed right at mah' face, calling me ah pathetic colt-cuddler." " He left me there without remorse, an' ah cried heavily that night." " But, ah few days later mah' dad started acting strange around mah', and on dat' same day ah would lose everything ah had." Curly cringed at what Zecarius must have felt through this situation, not knowing it would be your last day living in your own home. He sighed and continued to listen attentively. " Ah arrived home late, an' ah could hear screams from inside mah' house." "Ah freaked out because mah' parents rarely fight." " Ah opened da door an' rushed inside." " Da noise suddenly stopped an' ah could hear ah faint sound in da kitchen." Curly knew what was about to happen next, but perhaps out of fear he chose to be as prepared as possible. Zecarius heaved heavily and composed himself before continuing. " Ah found mah' dad clutching ah black leather riding whip, while having his back turned to mah." " Mah' mom was sobbing over da table an' she.... *sob*.... oh gods, she said, "this is for your own good." Zecarius could not compose himself, then all at once tears drooped down Zecarius's face, he clutched his face into his hooves, his anxiety was getting the best of him. Curly quickly took action and cradled Zecarius's torso and held him tight. He flinched when Zecarius tensed up, but Zecarius reluctantly relaxed his muscles and allowed Curly to hold him. " Hey... if you don't want to continue I'll understand," Curly said reassuringly, still hugging Zecarius like his life depended on it. Zecarius halted his sobbing and crying, glancing down at Curly. He looked desperately into his eyes, as if half expecting for him to laugh or leave him there. However, the only thing he saw was a genuine smile and caring blue eyes. His heart skipped a beat and his face turned into a noticeable hint of red. Zecarius had never felt this type of intimate feeling for any other pony, not even with his own family. Or zebra for that matter. In the moment it felt right and he leaned in towards Curly. Curly could feel Zecarius's warm breath tickle his face, it felt comforting to say the least. Curly noticed a rosy color flash on Zecarius's striped face. Suddenly, Zecarius started to lean forward, advancing to his lips. Thoughts started running wildly through Curly's mind, Oh Sweet Celestia!!! Is he... IS HE!!!. Curly's thoughts were cut short when a pair of lips touched his delicately. His mind was in opposition, but his heart was drowning in ecstasy. Zecarius's lips slipped easily over Curly's lips, creating a greater sensation. Curly was wide-eyed, but slowly closed his eyes and allowed Zecarius to guide him in the kiss without resistance. A few good seconds passed before the two parted, both of them gasping for air. Curly fluttered his eyes, still taking in his first kiss from another stallion. Curly carried a silly grin on his muzzle as he regained control of his thoughts. Both stallions stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like centuries. Zecarius began to smile too, then they both lost themselves in a fit of giggles. " Wow! I did not know you had that in you," Curly commented on Zecarius's ability to be very swooning. Zecarius blushed at this and chuckled under his breath," Well,.... a-ah yah' see.... yah', ah'm sorry, but it felt right." Zecarius never left Curly's gaze, as he bumped his forehead against Curly's and nuzzled him lovingly. " Yah' have been da only pony dat' has ever cared so much about mah'," Zecarius paused and took Curly into his hooves and hugged him tight," an' ah'am eternally grateful for yah', for saving mah' life, an' caring for mah'." The entire time Curly was sobbing quietly, but now he had lost it all, he threw himself onto Zecarius and starting weeping into his shoulder. " Oh, Zecarius sniffle, I feel the same, chuckle." Curly passionately started to kiss Zecarius all over his face; his nose, lips, cheeks, he just could not believe that Zecarius liked him like that. Zecarius was all smiles and giggles, because not only had he found somepony who cared for him, but he found somepony to call family. Perhaps, that is all you need in life, a loving soul to love with everything you have. No matter who they are or what they represent, family comes from many places. Zecarius looked at Curly and said three simple words," Ah' love yah'." Curly smiled and giggled," Me too." ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Four Years Later It is a bright August morning in Ponyville, and the streets are buzzing with life and a lot of movement. Parents are getting their kids ready for the first day of elementary school. In one particular house, a curly maned stallion is preparing breakfast for his family. Curly, noted as the curliest of them all, was in his kitchen with his hair tied back into a bun. He wore a pink apron and on the front it said,"I Love My Family." Curly quietly hummed to himself, and after a few minutes he heard the footsteps of his husband and daughter. He grinned as his beautiful daughter came hopping down the stairs, into the kitchen. His daughter is an adorable zebra filly with a coat just like her "daddy's", and funny enough she also has curly hair, just like "papa Curly". On her hair she is adorned with a bright purple bedazzled bow. Her eyes are a sparkling violet color. Her name is Eve Blossom, because as her father's put it," She was our beautiful blossoming flower in the eve." Really sappy, but this is how the family is. Eve jumps onto the chair that is next to the kitchen counter where Curly is cooking. Today's specialty was blueberry pancakes with scrambled eggs. Most importantly, Curly poured Eve's favorite juice," Sweet Apple", courteously provided by the Apple family. Eve beamed a big smile and said," Good morning Papa!" Curly chuckled and replied back," Good morning my princess, you ready for another year of school?" Curly removed his tight bun and released his afro. Eve giggled and retorted," Yes Papa, but are you ready to cut your hair?" Curly looked up at his hair with a pout. Then he grinned mischievous and he went around the table and scooped up his daughter in his hooves and he started tickling her exposed belly. Eve started laughing uncontrollably, begging for Curly to stop. Curly did after he was sure she had learned her lesson on not mocking the fro. Curly nuzzled his daughter and said," Nope my princess, I will not be cutting the afro for quite awhile." Curly placed Eve back on the chair and went around the counter once more, where he placed the fluffy pancakes and scrambled eggs on her plate. Curly gestured her to eat quickly, because he was always punctual with time, and he did not want her to be late. As he was doing this he heard the final zebra in the house come down. Zecarius, Curly's husband, had made his entrance for the day. Also, to add onto that he looked quite dashing in his navy blue blazer, and with a white buttoned up shirt underneath. Zecarius over the few years had let his hair grow into dreadlocks, for a more modern look that still looked professional. Curly trotted to his husband and kissed him lovingly. No other pony or zebra mattered to Curly more than Zecarius. His love and devotion to him was endless. It was as if it was just yesterday Curly had went to the train-station, where he would meet his husband for the first time. Eve turned around on her chair and excitedly said," Daddy! Papa made blue berry pancakes. And they are delicious!" Both stallions laughed at their adorable girl's outburst. Zecarius replied," So he did. Well ah'am glad sweetheart." Curly left Zecarius's side so he could get him some food too. Zecarius took the seat next to his daughter and waited patiently. He nuzzled Eve on her hair and asked," Yah' nervous sweetie?" Eve stopped eating momentarily and looked up at her father and replied," Not really Daddy, but I' am happy you and Papa get to drop me off." Eve hugged Zecarius and smiled warmly. Zecarius returned the gesture and hugged her back while saying," Mah' too, mah' blossom flower." Curly finished making a plate for Zecarius and placed it on the counter. He was content that he had created the small family of his over the course of a few short years. His family. His home. These two things were his daughter and husband, and he would not have it any other way. All three of them ate at a quick pace, and once everypony was done Eve and Zecarius made their way to the front door. Curly discarded washing the dishes, he could to that later. He went into the refrigerator and pulled out his daughter's lunch bag. The lunch bag was a custom made box with a picture of the performing artist," Salient Crisp." Most notably as Eve's favorite "aunt." He grabbed the bag and headed for the door. Eve and Zecarius were already outside. However, something pulled Curly to pause a moment and look around his home. Something felt at peace with him, like he had accomplished something. He turned around and saw Eve on top of Zecarius's back in a fit of laughter. He smiled and understood what he had gained, family. Eve called out to Curly," Hurry Papa! We might be late." Curly grinned and called back," Coming!" He took one last more glance back and walked out of his home and locked up. Curly was ready to start another day with his family, who were now his home to him. The End. > Sleep Peacefully > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- To Curly Curly, yah' are an' angel from above Yah' saw mah' at my lowest Even then, yah' took care of me Ah' didn't think ah' would find comfort from your heartbeat Ah' lay in yah' embrace, an' followed yah' into still peace We made ah' family together, an' cherished every moment like da last Don't yah' ever forget that yah' mean everything to mah' Yah' gave mah' ah' purpose Yah' gave mah' ah' reason to keep moving forward Most importantly Ah' found ah' place to call Home Your Love,~Zecarius Zecarius placed the written note next to the nightstand, so when Curly woke up the next morning he would find a pleasant surprise. He gazed at Curly in restful, still peace. Zecarius smiled with pride, because never in his life did he think he would be in love with any pony, like he was now. He looked back to Curly, stooped down and kissed Curly on the forehead. It caused Curly to stir in his sleep and let out a laugh, Zecarius chuckled as he lovingly wrapped his hooves around Curly, and awaited his turn to fall asleep, with his lover right beside him.