“What the hell Retto! I wanna puke, then puke again!” Hazel finally broke the silence since both brothers woke up. Ristretto gave Hazel his breakfast and this had been the first time they spoke since the awkward interruption the previous night. Sunburst could hear them from Ristretto’s bedroom, but didn’t dare come down to join until Hazel had left.
“Let’s not talk about… that, what happened happened and that’s that,” Ristretto quickly tried to close the subject.
“You were so loud!”
“LALALALALALALALA!” Ristretto yelled, covering his ears.
The air was tense again. Hazel once again decided to try to defuse the situation, “Okay okay I am done, just one question.”
Ristretto sighed and looked up from his breakfast to his brother, “Go on then.”
“What the hay is a power bottom?” Hazel asked.
Ristretto dropped his fork on his plate, sucked in air through his teeth, stood up and started ushering Hazel out the room. “Right, time to go to school!”
“Retto! It’s eight in the morning! I don’t have to leave for half an hour.”
Ristretto ushered him to the door, grabbed his bag and put it on the colt. “Doesn’t matter, go play with your friends, walk slow, go by the cafe or something, here’s ten bits.” Ristretto dove into his bag, pulled out ten bits and put it in Ristretto’s bag. “Go buy something nice, don’t repeat that phrase to your friends!” Ristretto nudged Hazel out the door and shut the door.
Hazel blinked. Blinked again and looked back at the door. He then looked into his bag, “Cool, ten bits.”
A sigh of relief filled the air as Hazel left. He slid his back down the door until he was sitting on the floor, his back against the door. It was the slam that convinced Sunburst that Hazel was out of the house. Walking down the stairs he gave Ristretto a smile. Ristretto looked back annoyed.
“And where were you in my time of need?” Ristretto glared at him.
“Ignoring your time of need in order to not die of embarrassment from your brother walking in on us last night,” Sunburst smirked, sitting next Ristretto at the door. He wrapped his hoof around his coltfriend who in turn rested his head on Sunburst’s shoulder. “Unno… there are six seats in the kitchen, a bed, two couches and an armchair you have to sit on in this whole house, and you plan to have your sigh of relief on the floor.”
“I’ve been waiting to say this. Morning, My Sun,” Ristretto changed the topic.
Sunburst smiled and gave him a kiss. “I couldn’t think of a better title.”
Ristretto smiled back and got up. “Alright, I have some breakfast for you. Oh, and I still have some time before I start my afternoon shift. You don’t reckon we could, pick up where Hazel interrupted us last night?” Ristretto asked.
“Your wish is my command,” Sunburst giggled.
…
Ristretto walked through the familiar doors of the coffee shop with Sunburst by his side. Quickly signing in, Ristretto made Sunburst his regular before bidding him goodbye. Ristretto leaned on the coffee machine with a sigh as Sunburst left.
“I guess that is code for Sunburst and I are doing good,” Vanilla chuckled.
“We decided to go steady last night,” Ristretto said with a smile, turning to Vanilla. “And how are you, Vanilla?” he asked.
“Good, look, I am super happy for you and Sunburst, that is really cool! You deserve something like that. But I am gonna have to tell you something Ristretto and, well, I think you are going to need sit down.” Vanilla lead Ristretto into the back kitchen where the sweets were made for the displays. Ristretto took a seat and Vanilla checked to make sure there were no customers.
“It’s about Hazel… you remember that incentive that he applied for that would win him entry into the most prestigious Canterlot writers’ college? Well… see the thing is Ristretto…” her downtrodden gaze quickly turned into an elated grin, “he got in!”
Ristretto slowly got up and held onto Vanilla’s hooves. “No,” he stammered, “,-n-no way! I- I can’t believe it. Tell m-me you’re not kidding, please V-vanilla… be honest” he stammered, barely able to stand.
“Ristretto I’m not kidding! He got in! What’s more the boss was talking about needing a manager in the coffee shop he’s opening in Canterlot!” Vanilla got more excited. Ristretto was simply ready to collapse.
Tears stung his eyes as his hooves started shaking, he could hardly maintain his composure. Ristretto outstretched out his hooves and Vanilla gave him an enormous hug, “This is the best day of my life Vanilla. Thank you. Thank you so much for everything, I’ll never forget you.” The two embraced tightly. “We’ve been through so much. To see Hazel get something like this…”
“He deserved it, Ristretto, he did, and you did as well. Now come on, we have a shift to finish, then a two weeks notice to fill out,” Vanilla smiled, helping the barista to his hooves and offering a napkin from the storage cupboard.
“I’ll visit you Vanilla, you-” Ristretto blew into the tissue with a mighty SNORT “- can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“I know,” she smiled. “Alright, here comes a customer, let’s do this.”
…
“What hurts the most?” Ristretto asked a bed-ridden Hazel Quill fresh from the school’s sick bay. He had left work early to pick up Hazel and take him home.
“My belly! It hurts. So. Much!” He cried squirming in bed making it exceedingly difficult for Ristretto to take his temperature and hold a gently hoof over His stomach.
“Your belly? I’m going to get a bucket and the thermometer, i’ll be right back.” Ristretto got up off the bed.
Hazel groaned again as Ristretto left the room. One bucket later and he was sitting on the bed once again.
“Hey Hazel, what did you do with those ten bits I gave you this morning?” Ristretto asked once Hazel had stopped dry heaving into the bucket,
“I bought a doughnut on the way to class this morning, the rest of the bits is in my bag,” he groaned.
“Jeez Hazel, I think you have full-blown food poisoning. I guess you won’t be chowing down on street doughnuts anytime soon,” Ristretto replied as Hazel groaned again at the mention of food.
“Okay, okay, you’re gonna have to stop squirming so I can take your temperature.” Ristretto said kindly, but firmly. Hazel eventually managed to calm down enough to allow Ristretto to stick the thermometer between his leg and belly.
Hazel groaned again noisily. “I hate the thermometer,” he grumbled.
“Do you know where Mum shoved the thermometer when I was your age? Me sticking it in your underline is bad, I bet you’d love the backside treatment,” Ristretto pulled the thermometer out and read it. “Yikes. Alright that is definitely food poisoning you are gonna be feeling pretty terrible for a couple of days.”
Another loud groan from Hazel as Ristretto gave him the news.
“Alright, you need sleep, keep that bucket nearby, I’ll just be downstairs if you need something.” Ristretto got up and stood at the doorway. “Oh, and tell me when you’re awake.” He smiled.
“Ristretto?” Hazel croaked.
“Yeah Hazel?”
“I’m awake.”
“It helps if you keep your eyes closed,” Ristretto chuckled as he shut the door.
…
‘SPLURDGE’
Another tidal wave of sick emptied Hazel’s stomach and into the bucket. Ristretto could do little but rub his back and hope upon hope that every drop landed in the bucket.
“That damned school. They didn’t even let you leave until you threw up in the toilets.” Ristretto filled a glass with some chilled water from the pitcher.
Hazel was sitting in bed, having just told Ristretto about the fact that the school were reluctant to let him go home. “It’s okay Retto, I don’t mind that much,” he mumbled, hanging his head over the bucket. It was an hour lost deep in the middle of the night. Hazel had just woken from his ‘nap’ to a stomach once again performing cartwheels.
“No it’s not, but you know what? It doesn’t matter anymore I’ve got something really big to tell you Hazel, you’ve been through so much, so many changes in your life. There is going to be one more change, but it’s a good one, I promise and even if it is a big change, we will always be together, no matter what.” Ristretto stroked Hazel’s mane and smiled at the confused look on the restless colt.
“Hazel, do you remember when you gave me that short story you worked really hard on? And I gave it Vanilla?”
Hazel nodded slowly unsure of where this was going.
“Well, that got taken to a board of very important ponies, and they liked it. In fact, they loved it. Hazel they want to send us to Canterlot so you can go to a very special writers’ school for gifted colts like yourself. Hazel we are going to move to Canterlot! I am going to be a manager at a cafe, we’re going to love it there. You’re gonna go to a fancy school, get a proper writer’s education!”
“We are moving?” Hazel asked.
Ristretto looked around, a smile of disbelief spread across his face. He quickly huffed and began to speak, “Well.. huh yeah? I mean. Hazel! We are moving! Canterlot, a better place. You will love it, we will love it.”
“But Retto… what, what are you gonna do about Sunburst?” Ristretto’s eyes had never shrunk so quick in his life.
…
Sunburst,
What a stupid way to start this thing huh? I honestly don’t know how to start this letter. It is something I never thought I would have to write. Something that just doesn’t make sense to write. It is the things we love most that can be the hardest to write about.
Firstly, I just want to say that I love you, and nothing will change that. You are the most amazing pony I have laid eyes on and to give me a chance, you are something special. You have made the last months be some of the best in my entire life, for me, a pony who has travelled to the far reaches of Equestria, nothing beat looking into your eyes. It kind of makes what I am about to say next the hardest thing of my life.
Hazel got a scholarship, not just any scholarship. It is a scholarship to attend the most prestigious literature school in Canterlot. He will be surrounded by famous authors and be learning to write some of the best content Equestria has ever seen. Everything I wanted for him, but see, it means that I am going to have to be in Canterlot for him. So plain and simple. Goodbye.
I thought this over and well, I can’t think around it. I am not going to put you through long distance, and most certainly don’t you to follow me, you have friends, a career, a life. I am not going to take that away from you. I love you Sunburst, and keeping you away from me is the best way I can do that.
I hope you can understand why I have done this, don’t worry about me, I will still get benefits for caring over Hazel and I have even been offered a management position at a cafe in Canterlot. I am moving forward, I only hope to come close to meeting somepony like you.
Goodbye Sunburst, my Coltfriend.
-Ristretto
Sunburst dropped the tear stained piece of parchment and flung open his door praying that the pony responsible for slipping the note through his letter hatch was still in sight. His voice caught in his throat as a dry choked cry came out.
“Ristretto?”
The quiet empty streets of the night never called back.