//------------------------------// // Swift Service // Story: Season of Longing // by PudgyAndPink //------------------------------// Delilah couldn’t believe she was in a carriage and on her way to meet one of the most influential stallions in this city. The pink mare sat awkwardly beside the much more mature and elegant, Sweet Gold. No wonder Crisp Apple married her, Delilah thought as she felt the weight of the cupcake she had eaten earlier sink into her chubby frame. She’s so pretty...I can’t help but, feel like I’m an ugly duckling next to her. Sweet Gold had a pleasant muted green coat and long luxurious golden locks. Her eyes were a darker shade of blue than Delilah’s with a cute heart-shaped beauty mark under her left eye. Delilah thought of her pudgy freckled face and shuddered slightly. Memories. Faint, soaked in sorrow as they crawled through the gasoline black depths of her mind. “Delilah...Delilah, Darlin...DELILAH!” The pink pony snapped out of the dark inky thoughts to whirl around and look at the mare beside her. She was greeted by a worried looking Sweet Gold. “Sugarcube...Are you sure you are alright?” the older female’s eyes seemed to flicker as if looking at something on the mare’s face. Then Delilah realized her face was wet… “O-Oh” the wavy maned pony sniffed then hurriedly dried her tearing eyes “Y-Yes...I’m fine...I was just...It must be dry air” she stumbled out an excuse not willing to let this mare into that dark place in her mind. Though she could tell she needed a higher skill in lying to fool Sweet Gold. Judging by her new friend’s expression Delilah was an open book of emotions. But the older mare let her have her little lie and pressed no further. “I was asking you if you had an idea of what you want your shop to be like,” Sweet Gold said trying to turn the subject “I’m curious just how far you have thought ahead on this dream of yours” Delilah May blinked regaining some composure before smiling. “Oh yes! I thought about this so many times” she replied gaining a bit of life as she talked about her dream “I want it to be on a relatively busy street...Hoof traffic is good for business, I want windows to display flowers a-and a place to arrange and cut the stems...most of all I want it to have an upstairs where I can live. I like the idea of being so close to work” She watched Sweet Gold put a hoof to her chin as if she was envisioning this shop the pink mare had put so much thought into. “Have you thought of how you are going to get this place?” the older mare asked with a motherly note in her tone. The bubble gum mare’s eyes widened in startled shock then narrowed softly in a mix of sadness and shame. “N-No...I-I guess I’ll just have to find a job until I can afford it” she admitted softly to the older mare. She hadn’t thought much into any of this aside from her parents buying her a ticket here and some spare change. Perhaps she had been too confident in her abilities. She begged her parents to let her leave their hometown to start up a business. Much to her mother’s dismay, her father fed into this passion and bought her ticket to Oatly Burg. She suddenly felt like she made a very big mistake. This place was far from her cute little town. Her family was far away...and she was all alone. She had been so desperate to get away from… “Mrs. Apple” Delilah was shaken from her thoughts as the carriage driver came to a stop and called out to Sweet Gold “We are here” Delilah gaped open-mouthed at the abode which stood like a great monument between her and the rolling hills framing the valley. The architecture seemed a mix between the stonework of Canterlot for a foundation and the homey, rustic appeal of a rural village for everything above the first floor. It was trimmed in a pale wood with an apple red paint on the main walls. Decorating the large double oak doors was a golden apple. Delilah recognized it as Crisp Apple’s logo for his company and his cutie mark. The bubble gum pink pony was frankly star struck. She never thought that she would be standing in front of Oatly Burg’s richest stallion’s home. Well, maybe one or two late-night bedroom fantasies. “Well come on, Sugarcube” Delilah was jarred from those thoughts to see Sweet Gold standing at the large oak doors waiting for her. She had been fantasizing so long Sweet Gold was already out. Blushing a cranberry red, the pink pony stumbled out of the carriage as she fumbled a few apologies. She kept it to herself that she was kind of thinking about her new friend’s husband. Sweet Gold smiled chuckling a bit as the chubby mare came to stand beside her. “Welcome to Apple Crisp Manor” the older mare announced as the doors parted. Delilah gulped as a large unicorn stood in the now open doors. He had large gold-rimmed glasses, a dark swept back mane and a pale blue coat. He looked down at the chubby pony with a flat look of disdain. Delilah tipped her muzzle down a little to let her wavy mane hide her face a bit. This stallion was making her uncomfortable. “Hello, Swift Service” Sweet Gold chimed as the large unicorn moved out of her way. As Delilah went to follow her new friend, the large stallion cleared his throat and stepped in her way again. The pink pony shrunk down a little and her ears fell flat against her skull. She heard Sweet Gold stop short on the hard marble floor. “No no, Swift Service, this is my guest! Now be a dear and let her through” Delilah smiled sheepishly up at the glowering stallion. With a grunt, the large stallion removed himself from her path. Delilah scooted around him nervously before scrambling after Sweet Gold. The pudgy mare kept close to her friend as the stallion’s gaze slowly released its icy grip. Once out of eyesight, the pink pony sighed in relief. “He was...friendly?” Delilah murmured trying to be polite about this little exchange. “Don’t worry about him, Darlin” the elegant earth pony mare replied “He’s been like that for ages...Took him a solid six months to even get a smile when I moved in” She tossed her head a bit to get her mane out of her eyes. They came to a large waiting room at the end of a marble and stone hallway. Large chocolate brown sofas and chairs lined the walls accompanied by a few oak coffee tables. “You can rest here, Sugarcube” Sweet Gold said motioning to the seating “I will go find my husband” The apple green mare smiled watching Delilah nervously choose a seat. “You’ll keep her entertained, Swift Service?” Delilah jolted at the loud grunt beside her seat. Scrambling back a little she came face to face with the gloomy stallion. She...She was leaving her alone with HIM? The pudgy female gulped casting a pleading look to her new friend. But she was long gone. She could hear her hoof steps clicking as they went farther down the marble hall. And so began the awkward silence… Delilah sat with her front hooves neatly on her lap. She could hear the clock sitting in the opposite corner of the room ticking away. Tick. Tick. Tick. She timidly cast a glance over toward Swift Service. The stallion remained standing in the same position. His eyes fixed ahead of him as if counting the moments till Sweet Gold’s return. If she hadn’t been any wiser she would have thought he was in the royal guard. “S-So...What do you do, Swift Service?” Delilah asked trying to break this long silence. It was rather uncomfortable to sit there in this weird silence. The unicorn sighed a bit before actually giving his reply. “I serve Mr. and Mrs. Apple” “Oh well, How do you serve them? Do You cook, clean or-” “No, I mainly serve the Mrs.” the mare's ears flattened as her poor virgin mind fluttered to a much dirtier place “I bring her favorite tea, lavender with a touch of cane sugar, or when the time calls for it...I hurt anypony who gets too close to the Mr. and Mrs.” The stallion cast her a bland look “I got this job because I am very good at what I do” Delilah swallowed softly moving her gaze away from the stallion’s intense stare. “At making tea?” she asked in a hopeful manner, trying to avoid direct eye contact. “No, hurting other ponies” he replied bluntly “I have perfected a spell that can crush a marble bust within moments...Care for a demonstration?” “NO THANK YOU!” Delilah blurted out turning her gaze fully on him to see a generic bust hovering next to the stallion with a faint violet light around it. The stallion looked a bit startled as his eyelids now stretched up revealing his violet eyes. “O-Oh...That’s disappointing...Alright” the stallion levitated the bust back onto the stand it was sitting on. It was after another long moment of silence Delilah heard hooves clicking on the marble floor again. Sweet Gold’s lean and feminine frame came around the corner. Delilah thought she was going to faint in relief seeing her friend. Thank Celestia… “I’m back! I trust Swift Service was accommodating to your entertainment needs, Sugar?” The chubby mare glanced warily at the large stallion who was watching her intently. “Y-Yes, he was fine…” Delilah fibbed trembling as she got to her hooves. “Oh! That’s wonderful!” Gold chimed motioning with the tip of her head for Delilah to follow “Come on now, Crisp would like to fill you in on our idea”