Darkness, but it had to be somewhere around noon? Maybe one o'clock? I had refused to open my eyes from my safe place down here on the floor of nearly an hour. You see, when you are on the ground gravity can't play cruel tricks on you like slowly making your head droop to the ground, leaving it in the perfect spot to crash into the corner of the coffee table. If I wasn't hung over before, I damn sure was now. That or I had a substantial head wound, come to painfully think about it, my head did feel wet.
The last time I was this committed to the carpet, I was covered in blood then too. Oh how irony is a bitch. Here I am, trying my best to keep self-harm at bay only to get sloshed and be murdered by a piece of furniture. I couldn't help but smile at what Cherry had commented about a ironic falling death of a pegasus, oh how the world plays its tricks. To be honest, the other reason I refused to open my eyes was because I was afraid that when I would I would be laying in a hell of war-torn destruction.
After all, I had my hang over for a very good reason. I still felt the sting of betrayal, I was still dealing with the heartbreak. How could Fluttershy of all ponies collaborate with Zebras!? I remember meeting her when I was just an intern years ago! I had been just a field agent at the time, nothing more than a government bean counter with a bulletproof vets and a clipboard. I had been assigned to the Lunar Terabithian Desert to assess the losses after an attack on a base camp.
Everything was going to plan, I had tallied the cost of the equipment and was working through the munitions depot when we were attacked again. It wasn't anything spectacular, just a few rouge Zebras that were holding up on the north end of the camp who were quickly dealt with. Sadly, I had been farmed out to the MOP at the time and with it being such a high priority incident, Fluttershy was very much so on deck at the time. She was spared, mercifully, so were all the troops on the base.
But a stray round had found its way through the munitions tent I was working in and was stopped my right shoulder. I laid there for a while, I guess my brain was trying to figure out if I was dying or not. But after nearly thirty minutes I rose to my hooves and let my wings carry me to the MOP treatment tent. Everypony was shocked, not because I had managed to find my way back to the tent after being shot. No, it was just a flesh wound. But because I had pretty much stopped a bullet by pure chance from hitting a create of high explosives.
Don't think for a moment that my name sake wasn't used for several jokes after that. The whole rest of the week was filled with "It was by pure CHANCE we didn't all blow up" And "I need to get some of that CHANCE armor, I hear it's lucky". But I digress too much. The point to this is that Fluttershy had come expecting injuries, not casualties. The few left standing were near as makes no difference, unharmed. Then here my lucky flank comes, bullet still lodged between my left shoulder and wing, white coat covered in blood and sand.
To me I was having the worst day at work ever, but to her... to her I was the whole world. Few ponies can comment on what it is like to receive medical care from Fluttershy herself, but I can. Be it a minor injury, be it that there were tons of trained staff around and even be it that I was more or less being a cry baby about everything at the time, she still made it her top priority to see me through the pain.
Her bedside manner was second to none! She also must have saw an opportunity to teach a few of the cadets and staff, because I was made into quite the spectacle. But even still, she managed to mend my wound and have me resting comfortably soon after. Even after all this time, I remember what it was like to look into her face and see true compassion and a reciprocation of pain. It was so damn rare to see from a doctor, even rarer to see on a battle field, but it was something that had always stuck with me.
But how did this happen!? Was it compassion that was driving her to this point of contacting the enemy herself to try and see an end to all this? Was it the pain she was feeling from so many lives lost and so many more injured? I could imagine that only seeing the dregs of war would wear on even the most hardened of ponies, but for her it must be torture. I guess it takes strength to be gentle and kind, but at what point does it become too much for her? She was the element of kindness and war was the most unkind thing that could ever happen.
Had she finally snapped? Was she being bribed? Even from my home here on my floor I knew that even with the order to take the time off, my brain was not going to rest for a moment. I knew that my team was going to dig until they hit bedrock on this, leaving nothing to chance. I could only pray that they found blackmail or infiltration. I don't know what I would do if I found out that she had orchestrated this entire affair on her own.
"Chance!? You home?" A voice shouted from the door.
"Uuuuuhhhh... Define home."
"Chance, could you open the door please?"
"But the floor is so comfy..."
"Please, it's important."
Well, it can't be Cherry, she has a key... unless she lost it again. If that were the case then the Chance Haven home was about to be forced to adopt an open doors policy to strangers... Just the thing for the head of an investigative organisation. I stumbled to my hooves with a pounding headache and somehow found my way to the door. Please be cloudy outside, please be cloudy outside! Damn it... It was fierce partly cloudy!
"Chance? Are you ok?" Roseluck asked in recoil.
"I was over served last night... otherwise I'm here."
"Ok... What about the blood?" She said, looking at my mane.
"Oh, that. I got into an argument with a table. It won."
"Oh! Ok. I was worried that..." She stopped herself before she could say what we were both thinking.
"No, no... it's ok. You though I tried to kill myself... Again." I said, brushing the comment off. I looked back to she her staring at me in horror, hooves over her mouth, standing in shock. Oh yeah, I can't talk to ponies like that...
"Hey, look. That was the wrong way to- OOF!" I was tackled. The cream yellow mare was hugging me with too much force for a pony who had murdered two bottles of whiskey and raided the cabs mini bar on the way home.
"Oh Chance! I'm sorry I didn't come talk to you sooner! I couldn't imagine what it has been like for you dear! I wanted to, I DID! But I was too scared! Every time one of those ambulances would leave your house I always thought the worst! Please don't think ill of me! I was just so scared that after seeing you look so happy all month and not seeing you head to work today that you... you..." The mare was now squeezing me half to death, if she was showing that she wanted me to live, then it was going to be very ironic when I passed out on her. Her tears said enough, she actually cared about me, but was too scared to talk to me. I can't say I blame her.
"Rose... Luck... Need... Air!!!" I managed pushed out.
"Oh! I'm sorry!"
"It's ok..." I said, stifling a dry heave. "It's not your fault that I was so mopey all the time. I was working through some serious stuff and chances are, I would have been less than kind had you tried."
"But... what about now?" She said as she shy'd away from the door.
"Well, I met somepony who helped me with talking about it. I guess you could say it was a chance meeting."
"Oh? Is it a he somepony or a she somepony... If you don't mind me asking?" Roseluck grew a brilliant shade of red as she began rubbing her leg with the other. Oh no... she couldn't possibly be serious. Me? She was interested in... me!?
"O-Oh! She... It's a she somepony. But just a friend! A very strange friend." I blurted out. what was happening here!? blow her off, say you are shagging the brains out of Cherry and send her on her way!
"That's great! I mean, I'm happy to hear that! So Can I come in." Oh no! Absolutely not! This is not happening! I forbid it!
"Sure! Don't mind the mess, I had a rough night at work." Damn it brain! Do as I want you to!
"Oh it's fine! Just a bit dusty. Do you want to talk about it?"
Rose let herself in and found a place on the couch to sit, I on the other hoof was searching my brain frantically for an exit strategy. I had not 'chatted' with a mare since Lolly and I were still together, and now here one was, in OUR home! I paced a bit and sat before I made too much of an awkward scene, Luna knows the last thing I wanted to do was make one of my neighbors uncomfortable. I did still have to live next to her, assuming we don't get blown up at any second.
"I... can't really talk about it."
"Nonsense! I might not be that mare friend of yours, but I feel guilty for not coming to you sooner. Call it a free one on me!" She said nervously.
"No, like, I can't talk about it to anypony. It's official stuff." I said tapping my hoof on the table.
"OH! Like, spy stuff?" She said with a wink.
"Sure... We can go with that."
"Ok, how about a vague explanation, something... not on record?" She said with a hopeful glint. See this is not what they teach you in training. Espionage and guilt can be kindred to a point of not having a clear answer at all. I studied Rose cautiously... Why had she just now came to talk with me, why did she care now that I was starting to get thing back on track.
"Rose, thank you for checking on me, but stuff like that is like handling raw explosives. One mistake and it's not just my neck on the line."
"I understand... I'm sorry I pried. Oh! I must look like such a fool!"
"No-no! It's ok, really! I get this a lot. It's boring anyways."
"Boring enough to come home three sheets to the wind? Look, I know it must seem strange to you, but I like seeing you happy. I remember the smile and little wave you would give me when I would head off to work every morning. Truth be told,after my own relationship ended, I never knew how much I would miss something like that."
"I take it that it's still a fresh wound?" I asked carefully.
"Yeah... It was a long time coming, but it officially ended two weeks ago. I was starting to think tragedy was contagious...Not to down play your situation with mine! Please don't think that!" She said, hiding a tear.
"No no... We all have our burdens to bare. I'm sorry to hear things went south for you."
"It's quite alright... Hey, look at me, making a fool of myself at my neighbor's house... Not awkward at all!"
"Now, don't go getting all shut in like I did. Take it from me, two or three days like that is enough for anypony."
"Hey, look at the time! I have some hay to fold or some aprons to eat... I mean fold! Crud." Oh good! I made the poor mare stammer her words like a teenager. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut on things, and right now my gut says I can trust Rose... just a little. I had to do something to smooth things out a bit at the least. Maybe opening up a bit wouldn't be so bad.
"Wait... Say you were to learn something..."
"Learn something?"
"Yeah, something... about another pony... And that something altered your perception of them, not just like, bad but like, super bad!"
"Oh! Is it the mare friend you talked about." Ok, there is not faking that. She really had a thing for me and was worried that Cherry was a threat. Either that or she was the best i had ever seen.
"No, not Cherry. She's not part of this."
"So... you are only telling me?" She said, looking up to me from under her bangs.
"I guess so, yeah. I mean I would talk to her about it, but she is not here for some reason... Odd, she usually turns out about this time too..." I looked back to rose and... Oh come on! Why did mares have to use that look! That's just not fair, here I was going on and on about Cherry and Rose looked like I had just trampled her garden. "Anyway... your ears are more than great to listen to me, so forget all that."
"Ok. So who is it?"
"I can't say, but suffice to say it was somepony who I looked up to greatly. Say somepony like that had done something that you never thought they would. Say that the very act hurt you so much that you couldn't stop thinking about it and that you would never think of them the same way again. Say they did that to you and then you found out that the very think that they did didn't just hurt you, but other ponies too. Then, to top it all off, you find this out through doing your job and you have to act on it. How do you even do you job knowing that it means hurting the pony you admire, even if they did such a thing?"
"That is a very good question... I guess if I had to related it to myself, I would do my job."
"What if doing my job meant that it would have disastrous effects no mater what I did."
"Chance... Sweetie. It's no secret that you work for the MOM. We all know it. We know that you work marking ponies who have done thing... wrong. Is this... something that could lead to a lot of ponies getting hurt?" I didn't say anything, I just bit my lip. "I would say then that you would have to consider things... If you do you job, I assume it could save ponies lives? Am I doing this right?" I nodded. "Chance, you have to do your job then. Not just for you, for other ponies out there. If this pony cares about you in the least, they will be sorry for what they did, but they will understand if you tell them why. Think about what it was like for you to loose Lolly and the kids, you wouldn't want that for everypony else, would you?"
"No... I don't." I said bleakly.
"This must be some pony you are talking about to have you this messed up. I'm truly sorry that they hurt you like this. They must be a real bad pony."
"If only you knew the truth... you would be sitting here with me on the floor... Thanks for listening. I needed to let that out." I said, offering a hoof to her side gently.
"Anytime, Chance... Anytime..."
The two of us chatted a bit more, mostly about the Dinkles being assholes and how bad one of their shrubs looked before Rose had finally felt that she had wore out her welcome. Truthfully? I don't think that was possible with her, she is just so sweet, she has this innocence about her that I found rather attractive. It was that feeling I got from Lolly when we had first met. She was strong and confident, but it was not without limit. It was that limit of what she could emotionally handle that I found attractive. It made her real to me, not just another mare who said "Smile smile smile!" when they saw a sad pony, but somepony that went deeper than a few coats of paint.
"I really enjoyed talking with you, maybe we could do it again sometime? Maybe over at my place for tea?" she said rather shyly considering I had basically devolved national secrets to her, vague that they were.
"I think I would like that."
"I think I might put a pot on tomorrow." She said leaning in closer.
"I think I might come by around two thirty?"
"I think that might be nice." She said, giving my cheek a peck.
"I think... I mean, see you then!" I stammered.
"Bye!" She said, giving me a wave as I closed the door.
"HUBA-HUBA! Whose the new... LUVA!?" Cherry said from the kitchen. Did I just pee myself!? I did. I definitely just pee'd a little. Once I had found a spatula to pry myself from the roof, I found the strength to respond.
"Luna's butthole! What are you? A freaking ghost or something!?"
"I'll go with, or something. You should watch that creative language, other wise Luna might just make you a ghost. " she said as I trotted through the kitchen door.
"How long have you been here, exactly?"
"Hm... The memory isn't what it used to be, but I would say... between some work related trauma and you getting your bologna hole slobbered on."
"Cute... So, if you over heard all that, What do you think of... all this crap."
"Well, from what I heard... I would kill her."
"Cherry, please. This is serious!" I said squeezing my head.
"I am serious! If the mare did you that dirty, use your spy powers to make her pay! I would." She said as she helped herself to my fridge.
"It ain't that easy. This whole mess is something of a national thing. Not to mention the mere though of doing that to her-"
"HA! I knew it was a mare!"
"How could you possibly know that!?" I said in frustration.
"Because silly... Only a mare can mess a buck up that bad." She said as she sat at the table with a fresh apple. "It's our special power we have. Ew, you eat these things?" She said, taking a big bite and spitting it out.
"Wow... I officially hate mares now."
"Oh don't be like that! I'm a mare an you love me!"
"In a psychotic kind of way I guess."
"There you go! Now, if it were me in your hooves, I would make her pay for it. If you cared enough for her, and it sounds like you do, I would let her know just how bad it hurt me." Cherry said as she played with the half eaten apple.
"Well this just sucks. It's like being a mountain climber and being too scared to climb the biggest mountain out there."
"Yeah, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Chance, you are a friend to me, if this mare really hurt you by doing what she did, then you need to make it known. As bad as it sucks, you can't let other ponies hurt you without telling them they hurt you. Take it from me, the worst thing you can do is let stuff like this just slide. It just makes it worse."
"Your right... I hate this, but I have to do it." I said resting my head on the table. I was just so damn tired. My brain felt like it was over heating between the emotions and the liquor left in my system. I wanted nothing more than to curl up next to a warm fire and fall asleep.
"I know. I'm usually right. No thanks needed. Now, let's get you cleaned up! You smell like an old bar rag."
"Oh no, you are not helping me."
"Oh come on... What am I going to possibly see that I can't already."
"What is wrong with you..."
"A LOT of things. But what's your hang up on stuff like that? Me and my sister used to bathe together all the time."
"I ain't your damn sister, Cherry. I'm a middle aged buck with a alcohol problem and a sever allergy to living."
"Com'on... I'll wash your mane..." She sing-songed.
"That does sound nice." I said rather shyly,
"Baby, if you think me playing with your mane feels good..." She said, as she lead me to the upstairs bathroom.
"DON'T SAY STUFF LIKE THAT!" I shouted turning beet red.
I was too tired to fight it, but the warm water I was sitting in felt so damn good! Cherry had made more than good on her promise as well, her washing my mane was the single best thing I had felt since my wedding night. Every movement gave me goosebumps, but despite the good feeling I was having, I declined her invitation to wash my tail. That was just too much. I was already fighting the urge to be aroused, that would just end very badly.
Not to mention the very thought made me feel uncomfortable. As great as sex would feel right now, doing that with Cherry would feel more like having sex with my own sister than even a friend. Even if washing my tail was something she would do as something more of a joke to make me feel awkward, there would be no hiding the big problem that would soon come of it.
"So... Whose the mare..." She said sweetly.
"I can't tell you that, you know better."
"No, not that mare, the one you were square dancing tongues with silly."
"Oh! Her. That's Roseluck, she's my neighbor."
"Oh dear! Do we have the hots for the neighbor?"
"What!? No! I mean... Maybe!? What's it to you?" I stammered.
"Nothing, just girl talk is all."
"Well, if you must know, I do think she is cute."
"Awwww! Chancey has a crush!"
"Shut up with that! If anything she has a crush on me."
"Yup! I could tell. She has a thing for you, and probably has for a while now." She said as she began rubbing my back.
"Oh com'on! Like she would want a sad old buck like me."
"First off, you are not that damn old. You are what... twenty nine? Thirty?"
"Try thirty two." I said grimly.
"Oh no! Thirty two!? Off to the old ponies home! Oh no? Did I forget to get you your prune juice? Crap! I forgot your depends too!"
"Oh shut up! I'm not that old."
"So... What's stopping you from going over there and checking out her garden?"
"CHERRY!"
"What!? If you ask me a little romp in the woodshed would be good for you!"
"I'm perfectly fine without the woodshed, thanks." I said with all the maturity I could muster while being washed like a foal.
"Wanna bet?" She said cocking an eyebrow.
"Oh no... don't you-"
"Oh just think about it!' She said wrapping her hooves around me from behind. "Her soft hooves running all over your body... The feeling of breath on your neck... That sweet sweet smell mares have when the moment is just right!" She said softly into my ear as her own hooves began to rub my chest. "And don't forget, these wings of yours, I hear that Pegasi have very, very... VERY sensitive wings." She whispered as her nose began to caress my one good wing. The very feeling of somepony else touching my wing like that sent all the blood from my brain right to my crotch.
"OK! That's enough!"
"What's wrong, are we... Pent up?"
"NO! I'm fine, it's just too soon is all!"
"You can't hide everything behind your depression." She said, glancing down. If there is a deeper shade of red on earth, it had yet to match my cheeks. "Face it, you NEED this." She said as if she were a damn doctor. Never mind the slue of emotions I was going through, now I was horny. Great... Thanks, circumstance...
"Maybe you are right... Maybe I do need to do... that."
"See, I know you don't think its right, but moving on is never easy. It's just one more mountain to climb... or in your case, quite the tower."
"CHERRY! why do you have to say things like that?"
"Because you are cute when you blush." She said, giving my wing a nuzzle. That's just not fair!
"I hate you sometim-" My heart was frozen by the feeling of a hoof on a very sensitive area of my body... Oh wow! WOW! It had been a REALLY long time since I felt that! "W-What are you doing..." I said with a huff. I felt her warm breath on my ear as she whispered sweetly back to me.
"Helping out a friend."