//------------------------------//
// 12 - Redemption Episode 
// Story: The Woman Who Lived Nextdoor 
// by Hazel Mee 
//------------------------------//

Pricking my ears as I peered around the corner of my bedroom door I heard sharp clacking from Mayree's typewriter over the booming roar of gusts snapping at the eaves.

Good!  She would be too busy to notice me creeping about.

Thick carpet muffled my hoofsteps as I sneaked across the hall and into the bathroom.  I softly closed the door and leaned against it, sighing with relief.

Safe.

I lipped it off my back and tossed it into the shower stall before climbing in to fiddle with the knobs.

There were some things nosey mares must never know about.

Hot water pour down and thoroughly soaked me from mane to tail, rinsing away today's sweat and sea salt.  Of all the luxuries in Mayree's home, the shower had become my absolute favourite — at least since I'd bought my own soap.  I squeezed a blob of 'Stud Scrub' onto a brush and hummed an old shanty while working the pine-scented foam into my hide.

Mane manager oozed over my closed eyes when somepony, some-human since Sun Squall was away, knocked on the door.  I froze with a hoof tangled in my mane and yelled, "Hello?"

Mayree yelled back, "I'm coming in!"

"What?  No!  You can't-"

A gust of cool air told me that she certainly could.

With a startled whinny I quickly sat, but only half my rump landed on its squishy surface.  I flicked my sopping tail over it and froze.

"Sorry, Mainstay!  I can't use the outhouse because it's started pouring down, and I'm going to burst if I have to wait through one of your epic showers."

Lying through my teeth to save my studliness I grumped, "I'd be happy to just rinse off the dirt but you and Squall-"

She moved past me and I heard her unzip something.  "Yeah, yeah.  Whatever.  Don't peek, okay?"

I gestured at my face and said, "I have glop all over my eyes.  Trust me, I'm not going to open them."

"Like I want to see your-", I muttered quietly.

"What was that?"

I winced.  "N-nothing.  Just… hurry up.  I have to rinse this off before it sets."

"нοℓδ λομя нοяsεs!"

She laughed at her humans-only joke and though I tried not to picture in my mind what she was doing, the splashing sounds made it almost impossible not to!

My ears burned and squeezed tighter to my head.

This is why outhouses were better!  Why on turf would anypony think it was a good idea to put the bog in the same room where you're supposed to get clean?  I slowly massaged my mane and waited impatiently for Mayree to finish and leave.  The manager had already tamed my sea-frazzled split-ends, but I didn't dare stand up to rinse or work more into my tail.

"Do you have нεмοяянοιδs or something?"

"No!  Yes?  What?  What are-", I hurt my tongue gutting the human word.

She snickered and I heard amused disgust in her tone as she asked, "Does it hurt and bleed after you poop?"

"No.  No, it does not, but thank you for asking so politely about my rump's health."  I kept my eyes closed but turned my head so she could witness my frown and furrowed brows.

"Then why are you sitting on an inflatable doughnut?"

My eyes popped open!

So did Mayree's.  "Augh!  Close your eyes, pervert!"

I clapped hooves over my face as the mane manager burned!  "Muffin!  Muffin!  Muffin!  Get out!  Get out!"

Her disgusted snort would have done a pony proud.  I heard her stand up, zip her clothing, and a whoosh as the potty flushed.

"Pervert!"  She stormed out of the bathroom, slamming the door.

The hot shower became a freezing drizzle as I shoved my burning face under it.  I don't know what she was so upset up about — I'd glimpsed less of her smooth skin than when she'd been sunlight toasting!

If anypony had a right to be embarrassed it was me!

After rinsing my eyes clear I sat for a while under the warming spray before squeezing more Zebrican manager on my hooves and working it into my tail.  I took my time showering, drying, and brushing, but I couldn't stay in the bathroom forever.  My doughnut let out a mournful squeak when I stepped on its faux pink frosting and sprinkles, and it deflated like my frisky mood.  I flipped it onto my shoulders and gingerly pulled the door open.

Rain and wind roared but otherwise it was quiet.

I tip-hooved to my room and mulled over sneaking out the back to go organise my shed or visit the pub.

Nope.  I wasn't getting away that easily.

In a dark corner of my bedroom, Mayree was curled up on her overstuffed chair with her naked hinds tucked beneath her.  One of the human devices she'd been allowed to mail-order sat on her lap and it cast an eerie, flickering glow on her frowning face.

I ducked my head submissively and flicked my ears down while wagging my tail a little in hope of easy forgiveness.

Her frown got frownier and she looked back at the device.

Well, being ignored was better than being shouted at.  I walked on eggs to my keepsake chest and hid my shameful doughnut.  It was almost nighttime dark outside as heavy rain sheeted against the window and drummed on the roof.  I hopped up on my bed and stared out at the scrubby trees on the hill, jerking and thrashing in the wind.

I said, "I'm sorry."

Silence.

I sighed and hung my head.  "Really.  I am sorry.  I didn't mean to look but you surprised me."

More silence.  Thunder rumbled.

"A-and I'm sorry you saw my…  Uh…  It's for…  Umm…"  I grimaced and shook my head.  "It doesn't matter."

I dared to glance her way.

She was still ignoring me and staring at that glowing thing.  She sniffled and wiped her cheek.

Oh, strudel and biscuits.  She really was upset!

I jumped off my bed and walked over to her.  "Mayree!  I really am-"

"What?"  She stuck a hand into her mane and pulled a little thing out of her ear that made tinny music.  "Sorry, Mainstay.  Did you say something?  I was watching…"  She waved the tiny orchestra-on-a-wire at the clam-like device.  "Watching an episode I wrote."

Oh.

Maybe she wasn't upset with me?

I trotted to the side of her chair and peered at the glowing window.  The device hummed like a beehive as it showed a flat and simple painting of Princess Luna, drawn like a comic book character.  I shivered as she glared out at us with her hard green eyes and shouted something.  Her voice, sounding tinny and leagues away, came out of the little thing Mayree had pulled out of her ear.  Suddenly, the picture changed to another mare who was the same dark blue as the Princess, except her mane was bright streaks of black, red, and sickly green.  Her eyes glowed and sparked with chaotic magic and jagged arcs flickered around her as she cackled.  She vanished and the glowing picture swirled and jerked as magic bolts and flares went everywhere.

It made me queasy so I shut my eyes and looked away.

Mayree placed a cool hand between my ears and scratched with her blunt claws.  "Sorry, Mainstay."

I heard a snap as she folded it shut and opened my eyes.  She pulled another tiny orchestra out of her other ear and wrapped their lines around the moving picture device before roughly shoving it on a shelf.

She sat up, inhaled deeply and slowly let it out.  "What's up?"

"Oh, uh."  I waved a hoof at the hall and said, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what happened."

She chuckled.  "Okay, well, I'm sorry too.  No harm done?"

I nodded.

"Good."  Her light tone sounded forced and she still had worry-lines around her eyes.

"Why were you watching that when you know it'll make you sad?"

Mayree squirmed on her chair and chuckled wryly.  "I guess…  I guess I wanted to punish myself."  I rested a comforting hoof on her hind and she looked down at me with glistening eyes.  "I- I worked it out.  The date your mother…"

My lips tightened and I nodded.  Nopony would ever forget that week.

She choked and quavered, "I'm so sorry, Mainstay."

Here we go again.

I patted Mayree's hind and shushed her in what I hoped was a soothing way.  "Shh…  It's alright.  Mom always had a faint heart and it's not your fault."

She roughly wiped her eyes and barked a bitter laugh.  "I wish I could believe you."

I got up onto my hinds and pushed my way on the chair to wrap my fores around her in a tight hug.  "Even if you somehow created Midnight Shadow, you didn't mean for anypony to get hurt.  You're good and kind, and I don't blame you for what happened to mom.  Okay?"

She hugged me close with her long bone-y fores and her little nose made wet snorking sounds next to my ear as she sniffled.  "I guess this is my redemption episode, huh?"

I nuzzled her neck and simply said, "Yes."  Maybe she'd believe me this time?

She quietly stroked my back for a while and then murmured, "So, about that doughnut…"

I snorted and pushed away from her.  "Don't ask questions you won't like the answer to."

She chuckled and wiped her eyes.  "That bad, huh?  You want to go to the pub or something?  I'll buy."

"Sounds good to me!"

At least I wouldn't be stinking the place up like a pretty princess this time.

I dug the yellow rain-slicker out of my chest, struggled into it, and met Mayree on the porch.  She'd put on a similar coat that was made to fit her elongated body and hung down to her mid-hinds.  She fought wind gusts to shut the door and followed me out into the staggering downpour.

"Hang on a sec", she yelled.

She pulled something out of her pocket, cocked her fore back, and threw it hard off the cliff.  The seapony pearl glowed like a falling star against a backdrop of churning black clouds as it arced down to the waves.

After it was swallowed by the sea I squinted against the rain to look up at her and yelled, "Thank you!"

She patted my hood.  "You're welcome!  Come on, I'm getting soaked!"

Laughing, we ran toward The Hump.

There were only a hoofful of regulars in the pub this evening, plus a young couple who were probably tourists — I bet they were wishing they'd come during summer.  But, maybe not.  They looked happy enough as they cuddled in one of the booths, and foul weather makes warm hearts after all.

The sun must be setting, somewhere above the thundering clouds, and all the pub's oil lamps and candles were lit.  Old knickknacks and trophies hung from the ceiling's thick wood beams seemed to dance in the flickering light.  The dimness hid years of use and abuse on the scattering of mismatched tables and chairs, and the long bar lurked between them, under racks of glasses that glittering like gems.

"What'll it be?" asked Maple Square as she wiped down the bar's stained surface.

I shook off and walked up to the bar.  "A couple of pints and menus, please."

"I don't need a menu", Mayree called from where she was hanging our dripping coats up by the door.  "I'll have the clam chowder."

"Me too."  Thick hot soup and a slab of crusty bread would hit the spot.

We sat at our usual window table, overlooking the lane, though there wasn't much to see.  Everypony was at home with their band, keeping warm and dry, instead of rushing around in the storm like a couple of foals I could name.  There was no need to drag a third chair to the table as we usually did, and without Sun Squall's chatter to goad us, we just quietly enjoyed our ale and meal.

Mayree gazed out the window while my eyes roved over the few ponies in the pub.  Behind the bar, Maple looked bored and sleepy as she read a dog-eared novel.  Jackline, Hawser, and Marble Cake, crew from one of the trawlers, played cards at a low table by the fire.  Their fourth was a transient pegasus stallion who'd blown into town last week, looking for temporary work with the weather team and somewhere to hole-up for winter.  His plain-grey feathers looked pretty ragged, I guess from either helping build this storm or failing to keep it out at sea.

He laughed and spread his cards on the table with a flick of a wing.  The others groaned and threw their cards down.  I hope he had sense enough to lose more than he won if he wanted to have any friends while he was in town.

The tourists only had eyes for one another as they quietly talked, nuzzled, and kissed.  I caught a glint off a gold band around his horn and that explained it.  This was a funny place to come on a honeymoon but at least they looked happy.  Mind you, a hurricane could be howling outside and they'd probably take no notice.

A dark and tangled strand of wet mane hung down the soft curve of Mayee's cheek, with a droplet of water at the end shining like a diamond.  I could brush it back, gaze into her eyes, and kiss-

What?

What the blintzing muffin was I thinking?!

I must have jumped or gasped or something, because Mayree turned away from the window and asked, "You okay?"

Don't look!  Don't look into her pretty sea-green eyes.  They were the same shade as the waters off the coast of Jackcarter — a bustling donkey port half a world away that reeked of exotic spice and dessert blooms.  Her tanned skin took on a golden glow in our table's candle and her soft-looking thin lips curved like a bow as she waved a hand in front of my face.

"Hello.  Equestria to Mainstay, is anypony home?"

I snorted and shook my head.  "Sorry, I, uh…"

She giggled musically and reached for her glass.  "Bit for your thoughts?"

No!  No muffin-way was I telling her about the romantic mush that had blind-sided me.

I grabbed my pint and drained it.

I gasped, "I was, ah, just thinking about…  Squall.  Wondering how she's doing."

She smirked and said, "Missing your marefriend, huh?  Don't worry, she'll be back in a few more days."

I rolled my eyes.  "She's not my marefriend and I'm not worried."

More giggles.  "If you say so.  It's a shame you didn't go with them."

"We talked about this already.  She went to a family gathering in Cloudsdale.  What part of family gathering and Cloudsdale don't you understand?"

She pouted.  "Don't bite my head off!  I just think it would've been a great chance for her folks to meet you."

I snorted and grumbled, "We've met.  Her muffin-headed parents don't like me."

"What?  How could anypony not like a charmer like you?"  She pinched my cheek and her voice dripped sarcasm, but she winked to let me know she was joking.

Sweet biscuits and gravy but she was cute!

My heart throbbed painfully and I squirmed on my hard chair while forcing myself to look away.  "Because they're filthy rich and don't want their only filly hanging around a bottom-feeder like me?"

"You're a what?"

"A bottom-feeder…  Fish that eat muck off the ocean floor."

"δαмη, I imagined something involving whipped cream and chocolate sauce."

Now I was too!  I whinnied and shook my head to try to clear the image of Mayree's rump slathered in dessert toppings from my mind.  She laughed even louder and patted one of my fore hooves where it rested on the table.

"Sorry, Mainstay, but you're too much fun to tease."

Maple was staring at us with a raised eyebrow.  I snorted at her and sat up straighter on my chair, inhaled deeply and let it out slow.  Acting like a foal while Mayree yanked my tail would set tongues wagging and there were already too many rumours about us.  The town's least-eligible bachelor living with an exotic alien mare from another world; how could anypony not think something was going on?  I should never have let her and Sun Squall talk me into moving in.

Perhaps I should sail out to sea until my head was on straight again?  Maybe visit Marelorca and find a mare on vacation who'd be up for a weekend tumble with a scruffy seadog?

No, the weather was turning and my sloop needed a refit before such a long voyage.

It didn't feel like the right thing to do anyway since I wasn't a randy hoofloose colt any more.  Randy, I guess, with what was running through my head, but not daft enough to act on it anymore.

"Mainstay!"

I blinked and looked into her mesmerising eyes.  "Huh?"  What had she been talking about?  The weather?

"Are you coming down with something?"  She reached across the table to press a cool hand against my sweaty forehead and a rush of hot blood made my ears burn.  "You feel warm and your eyes are glazed.  Come on, I'm taking you home before it gets any worse."

Her chair scraped on the floor as she stood up.

Maple Square counted the bits Mayree dropped on the bar and thanked her for a generous tip.  She gave me a knowing smile and told Mayree, "You take good care of that stallion."

Mayree chuckled.  "I'll make sure he doesn't get out of bed until he's feeling better."

"You do that now."

It was a relief to get outside and away from her leering grin.  Mayree led the way and I flipped my hood back to let the cold rain freeze my overheated brains.