“Somepony else?” I asked as I slowly and shakily stood up and slipped the ring box back into my pocket. “How long?” Tears stung my eyes and I had to force myself to keep them from spilling over and running down my cheeks.
“Almost two months,” he admitted as he hung his head. “Swing, I’m so sor— “
“Oh, no! No, you don’t get to say you’re sorry!” I shouted, cutting him off and making him flinch. “You don’t get to say sorry after you spent the last two months living with me and cheating on me with some two bit tramp! Who is it?” He shook his head and I felt my blood boil. “Do I know them?!” Test nodded and I felt the urge to drive my hoof directly into his muzzle. “Test, I let you live with me! I gave you my love, my devotion…I gave my virginity to you! And you went and did this.” I sat down on my haunches and looked at the ground. A hoof was put on my shoulder and I immediately smacked it away with mine. “Don’t you fucking touch me you no good, cheating, low-life, cock sucking, son of a bitch!” I stood up once more and looked at the cowering grey pony in front of me. “I hurt a pony for you Test! I did unspeakable things after he spilled that acid on you! And how do you repay me? By going and cheating on me with some other stallion! Have a nice life with him, whoever it is. If I never see you again, it’ll be too soon.”
Trotting away and back towards Canterlot, I ignored the cries and pleas of the stallion behind me. I finally allowed my tears to fall and soon I was walking blindly, my eyes stinging and my vision blurry. Stopping, I realized I was on a bridge, the Canterlot River flowing calmly under the stone structure. Reaching my hoof into my pocket, I removed the ring box and rolled it around watching the moonlight shine off the black leather. With a choked up shout, I launched the ring box into the air and out over the river, the valuable stones not being worth anything to me anymore. My eyes followed the box on its short flight and watched it splash down into the river where it would go over the waterfall a couple miles away. Leaning on the side of the bridge, I watched the water drift by as my tears began to fall into it like rain drops.
“Are you alright sir?” A stallion’s soft voice asked from behind me and I turned to see a Lunar Guard bat pony standing there. His coat was a lavender color and his mane a royal blue. I looked him over some more before answering.
“What’s it to ya if I’m alright?” I questioned as I looked back down at the water. The sound of hoofsteps next to me made me sigh “What is a Guard like you even doing all the way out here? I know for a fact that this is outside the Guard’s usual patrols.”
“It is.” The stallion replied. I looked over at him and I saw his amber colored eyes filled with concern. “They have a Guard stand out here because, believe it or not, a lot of ponies jump off and into the river, knowing full well that the waterfall is down-river. Going by when I saw you, I’m guessing your fillyfriend said no to your proposal?” I huffed and then chuckled a little at his question.
“Not exactly, no. He’s…he was my coltfriend. I popped the question and he told me he’d been cheating on me with another stallion. All in all, not the best night of my life.” I felt a hoof on my shoulder and looked over at him. He had a look of sympathy and I noticed the moonlight glinting off his fangs as he gave me a small smile.
“Don’t fret. Ponies come and go from your life. Some for the worse, some for the better. If you ask me, it was probably for the better. Because clearly he didn’t love you like you loved him,” the handsome stallion said, making my eyes water more. He quickly realized I was about to start crying again and extended a wing, wrapping it around me in a comforting embrace. “Hey now, no need to cry. It’s alright. It’s all alright. You’ll meet somepony else. Sometimes it takes multiple tries to meet the right pony. Life is funny in a way. Think of happiness like a rainbow. Before you can see the rainbows, you have to deal with the thunderstorms that create the opportunity for them. This is one of those thunderstorms. And soon, you can expect to see a beautiful rainbow.” His soft voice mixed with the cold air and caused me to yawn quietly, though it didn’t go unnoticed. “It’s rather late. Perhaps you should head home and go to bed.”
“I can’t. He’ll be there. And I know he’ll try and convince me that it was only a one-time thing. A one-time thing doesn’t happen for two months!” I snarled but quickly cowered and looked away from the handsome bat pony. “Sorry for my outburst. I just really don’t want to see him. I do really need to get my work clothes from home though. I know I can crash at a friend’s place tonight. That’ll save me from dealing with some of the drama. I’m really not looking forward to the next time I see him.”
“Hey now. No need to apologize for the outburst. It’s totally understandable. Would you like me to escort you home? Just in case he’s there?” I shook my head as he retracted his wing.
“No, it’s alright. I think I’ll be fine. I only need to get my uniform and then I can head to my friend’s place for the night.” I replied as I stood up and looked out over the river, remembering the ring box. “Now I wish I hadn’t launched that ring into the river. That thing was almost a year’s wage worth of jewels. I could’ve pawned it at least.”
I gently knocked on the door to Luna’s office. “Come in!” Was the muffled reply from the other side of the door and I cautiously opened it. Luna looked up from the papers over her reading glasses. She immediately took them off and smiled at me as I stood in the doorway. “Oh, Swing. We hadn’t expected to see you here. Soooo, how soon should we expect the wedding?” Luna smiled as she stood up from her desk but her smile quickly dropped as she saw my red eyes. “What happened?”
“He told me he’d been having an affair.” I replied with a sniffle as I attempted not to cry again.
“He what?!” I flinched at Luna’s tone and she quickly composed herself. “We are sorry for that outburst. It will not happen again. Now, sit down and tell us all about it.”
“I’d honestly rather not. Right now, I just want to sleep. Is it okay if I just crash on the couch out here?” I asked her as I nodded towards the couch in the small waiting room.
“Absolutely not! You are our best friend. It would be disgraceful to let you sleep on a couch. Come, we’ll set you up in our guest room. We’re certain that you will like it.” I followed her with my uniform draped over my back as we made our way to the guest room.
I sniffled as I stapled a stack of paperwork together. Setting it aside on my desk, I grabbed a tissue and wiped my nose before tossing the soiled tissue into the waste bin. Luna’s door opened and I looked over to see her looking at me with a small frown. “We’re expecting a new Guard for our detail to arrive sometime this afternoon. Please send him in if we are not busy.” I nodded and she shut the door. Going back to my paperwork, I looked up when the door opened, only to see Shining Armor trot in. We nodded to each other as he entered Luna’s office and I went back to my paperwork without a second thought. After a little bit, I heard a door open and I looked up expecting to see Shining Armor leaving but instead saw the bat pony stallion from the night before.
“Oh. Hello. I thought you looked familiar last night.” He chuckled as he removed his sunglasses, revealing his beautiful amber colored eyes. “I’ve actually got something for you.” He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a black ring box which he then set on my desk. I grabbed it and opened it up to see the engagement ring inside. “I remembered that you said it was worth a good bit of money. I didn’t want it getting lost. Now you can do with it as you please.” I smiled politely at him as I put the box into my top right desk drawer.
“Thanks.” Resuming my previous task, I stopped a few seconds later as I realized that he was still in front of my desk. My eyes moved upwards to see the stallion watching me with a goofy grin on his face. “Not to be rude, but can I help you with something?”
“Yes, actually. I was told to report here for reassignment.” My shoulders drooped at his statement and he was quick to notice. “Is something wrong?”
“No, just still thinking about last night and what not. Sorry.” I replied as I attempted to resume my paperwork. He sat down in front of my desk and I again stopped as I looked up at him.
“So, I never did get your name last night,” he said, making me look over to the small sign on my desk with my name on it. His eyes followed mine and he chuckled in embarrassment. “Oh, sorry. Sometimes I can be as blind as a bat.” I snorted and grinned at the bat pony’s comment. “I’m White Fang but most ponies just call me Fang. It’s nice meeting you Swing.” I grunted a reply and tried once again to get to work but the chatty stallion wouldn’t let me. “So, how long have you been the Princess’s assistant?”
“A few months,” I said as I stapled another stack of papers together.
“Not to pry, but what did you do before this?” Fang asked as he watched me, his gaze making my face twitch a bit in annoyance.
“I ran a music store.” My statement made him gasp.
“You’re a musician? I love musicians!” I paused and felt my cheeks and the tips of my ears slowly turn red. Looking up from my desk, I saw he had caught what he’d said too as his cheeks were flushed. “S-sorry about that.”
“No, it’s alright.” Going back to my work, I felt a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.
“So what can you play?” Fang asked as he gently dragged a hoof over the carpet.
“Just about everything really. Haven’t played anything besides a piano in months though. I was best at the trombone before I joined the Guard.”
“Do you ever sing?” He questioned as he looked up from the carpet, his demeanor now being shyer from his earlier embarrassment.
“Not anymore. I only sang for one pony and he’s dead to me now.” The small smile on my face quickly vanished and his ears drooped in response. “Sorry to disappoint you.” We both looked over as the door to Luna’s office opened and Shining Armor stepped out. While Fang was quick to salute him, I simply waved to him. He gave me a polite smile before heading out into the corridor. Fang looked at me in surprise as he dropped his salute.
“You just waved at Prince Shining Armor. The Captain of the Royal Guard. Do…do you know him?” Fang questioned as he looked between me and the door.
“Sorta. We’ve talked and what not in the past. He’s a nice guy. Once you get past all the fancy titles, he’s just another stallion like you and I. Although he really surprised me with something. When he and Cadence don’t want ponies to know what they’re saying, they talk to each other in other languages.” He raised an eyebrow and I nodded that it was true. “They talk in Prench, Istallion, and Germane so ponies don’t know what they’re saying. Joke’s on them though. I took four years of Prench in secondary school and my grandmother was Istallion.” I took a sip from my coffee mug as he looked at me, stunned that I would listen in on conversations. “You’d be amazed how dirty they can get once they get going.”
“You listen in on their conversations as well?” Luna’s voice made me tense up but she chuckled at me. “Nous aimons les écouter. Si scandaleux!” I smiled as I turned back to face her.
“Avez-vous entendu Cadence lui dire comment elle va utiliser la sangle sur lui?” I asked with a laugh.
“Oui. Ou comment il va l'attacher. Ils sont si méchants.” Luna giggled at her comment before directing her attention to the confused stallion in front of my desk. He shook his head and quickly bowed to her, making her grin. “Please, we are all friends here.” Fang slowly stood up, confusion written across his face. “Step into our office for a moment and let’s discuss your qualifications.”
It had been four weeks since the incident with Test, and things had gone back to somewhat normal. Well, if you count crying myself to sleep at night as normal. With Test gone from the house and back in Ponyville, I’d been spending a lot more time at the office, doing whatever I could just to stay away from the house. Despite Luna’s constant attempts to get me to spend less time at the palace, especially with Hearth’s Warming only a few days away, I continued to find menial tasks just to stay away from the house. It’s not that I didn’t like the house. No; I was rather fond of the house. It was certainly a few steps up from my old apartment. It was the memories that it held that kept me away. All of them with Test. Every time we’d kissed, danced, made love, or laughed was trapped in that cursed house. And I couldn’t bear it. “Swing?” I looked up to see Fang standing before me. “You alright?”
“Yeah. Just, lost in thought,” I replied as I resumed my work. Fang watched me for a moment before resuming his duties; which at the moment were sitting in the waiting room and reading a magazine. “So, do you have any plans for Hearth’s Warming?” I asked awkwardly as I realized that I had finished all my paperwork, leaving nothing to do.
“I do, actually. I planned on going to The Hollow Shades to see my family. They haven’t seen me in almost a year, so it’ll be good to be home again. Even if it is only for three days.” He smiled as he set the magazine aside. A small smile tugged at my mouth as I watched him.
“What’s it like?” I questioned as he seemed to be daydreaming.
“Oh, it’s lovely. All my siblings and I gathered around the table; mom and dad both making dinner. Dad cooks the best salmon and the mango pie that mom makes is absolutely to die for.” His ears perked up and I couldn’t help but blush as I thought about how soft they must be, the little tufts of fur on top sticking out wildly in all directions. “Hey, you should come with me! It’d be great to have a friend to travel and spend the holiday with.” Fang smiled, showing exactly how he’d earned the name White Fang. My blush only deepened as I thought about how wonderfully painful those fangs would feel in my shoulder as he ru— “So what do you say?” He asked and I immediately returned to reality.
“I’d love to join you. That is if I can get leave for those days though,” I said as I looked at my small desk calendar.
“Go! You need to get out of the office!” Came muffled shouting from the other side of Luna’s office door. I huffed in slight embarrassment as Fang chuckled behind me.
“Well now that that’s been taken care of, we’ll be leaving on Friday.”
“So where are we headed again?” I asked sleepily as I followed Fang through the train car to our seats.
“We’re headed to The Hollow Shades. It’s just a few hours outside of Manehattan.” He replied with a smile as we sat down, the morning sun having not even risen yet. “I already sent a message to my family letting them know to set an extra place at the table. They also are making a vegetarian meal just for you since I know you don’t eat fish.”
“Oh. Thank you,” I replied with a yawn as I leaned back and closed my eyes. “So how long of a ride did you say this is?”
“Only nine hours. Not too bad,” Fang said happily, his happy-go-lucky attitude too much for me at such an early hour. I groaned as I heard a group of ponies enter the car and take their seats, all of them chatting with each other.
“Well I’m going to try and get some sleep. If I’m not awake by lunch, go ahead and wake me up.” I laid my head back and I was soon asleep.
I slowly opened my eyes and flinched at the sunlight that filled the train car. As I began to wake up further, I realized that I was no longer leaned back but rather that I had leaned to my right and was using Fang’s shoulder like a pillow. Immediately I sat up and looked over at Fang, who was wearing a pair of sunglasses while reading a book he’d packed. “You alright?” He asked as he looked over at me. I nodded that I was as he closed the book. “The dining car is about to serve lunch. You want to head back there and get some food with me?” I nodded and followed as he got up and walked back towards the dining car. When we entered the dining car, the scent of pasta hit my nose and I began drooling as we sat down at a small table. A waiter in a white jacket with black lapels trotted over and took our orders. As we sat waiting for our food, Fang began to strike up conversation.
“So you said you’re from Ponyville?” I nodded that I was as the waiter returned with two glasses of wine. Eyeing the glass of red liquid, I took an experimental sip and cringed at the taste. “Not a wine fan?” I shook my head as I grabbed the water glass that had been sitting on the table before we sat down. “So, tell me about Ponyville. What’s it like?”
“It’s alright, I suppose. Pretty quiet and a lot smaller than Canterlot. The ponies are friendly enough. Certainly more so than in Canterlot,” I replied as the waiter returned with our food.
“You don’t really seem to be a big fan of Canterlot. What’s wrong with it?” Fang asked before shoveling a forkful of alfredo into his mouth.
“I just don’t like crowded cities. Nopony takes time to just stop and enjoy things. But enough about that. Tell me about The Hollow Shades. What’s it like?” I twirled my fork and stuffed the pasta on it into my mouth.
“Oh, it’s amazing. The trees block out most of the sky so it’s perfect for ponies like me. And they have the best fruit I’ve ever eaten there because it doesn’t have all the air pollution that places like Canterlot do from the trains. And the night sky, it’s breathtaking. You can see stars you didn’t even know existed. It’s absolutely stunning. I can’t wait to see your reaction when you see it. You’re going to absolutely love it.” He smiled at me and I felt a twist in my gut that I hadn’t felt in weeks. As much as I hated to admit it, Fang was rather handsome. With that lavender coat of his which felt like silk and his midnight blue mane which I’d noticed smelled like green apples earlier when I’d woken up. His beautiful, amber eyes which were easily the most beautiful I’d ever seen. And even his fangs which stuck out over his bottom lip, shining in the sunlight coming through the window, were adorable. Celestia damn it. Here we go again…