The kitchen in the house was filled with the sweet aroma of Ryan making breakfast, yet a distinct smell of pool-accessories. Ryan was wearing his manly heart-filled apron. The first two to enter the kitchen area are Derpy and Camron. Ryan turns to see both of them looking sort of... Out of this world.
“Um... Hungry?”
The two hungry potheads simply giggled in response.
“Agh... It’s that time of the month again... Isn’t it?”
Camron, while keeping a smile on his face, nodded in response. Derpy, however, kept giggling as Ryan let out a sigh. “Go sit at the table, I’ll get this finished as fast as I can...” He said pointing towards the table.
They stumbled towards the table. Derpy seemed to be in worse shape than Camron was. They sat down and leaned back lazily, staring idly at the ceiling. Ryan sighed heavily, “Camron must’ve shown her the secret stash... Why did we even let him bring that here...?”
Ryan turned back towards the stove and began pre-heating the burners, preparing them for the meal. Once he had set them, he turned towards the counter and started to mix a pancake batter, making sure to have the batter thin to make the house favourite flat pancakes. Before pouring it onto the pan, he sprinkled two teaspoons of sugar into the mix, making the pancakes sweeter. After this he poured the mix into the pan and left them there, before moving on.
As he started preparing the other foods, he started humming a tune to himself. Ditzy’s ears perked up at the all too familiar tune, and she grins madly before jumping at what sounded like a door being knocked off of its hinges. Ryan flinched slightly, burning his hand on the hot pan.
“Christ! That’s gonna sting... Wait... What was that noise?” He mumbled to himself, staring through the open kitchen door.
“Oh well,” He said, turning back around. “Guess it was no- ARGH!”
Ryan jumped back, looking in shock at Pinkie sitting on top of the once clear counter, a wide grin on her face, and a confused Doug on her back.
“Okay, yeah, you’re Pinkie.” Ryan said to himself.
Doug stirred, and began mumbling in his half-asleep state. “Wh...Whas goin’ on... Why... Counter... Wha...?”
Suddenly, the sound system started to play by itself, as Pinkie began to sing along to the same tune that Ryan was humming not moments ago.
“All you have to do is take a cup of flour, add it to the mix!
Now just take a little something sweet not sour, a bit of salt, just a pinch!”
Ryan began to smile, and started to sing along. Doug went wide-eyed, as he began to realize what was being sung.
”Baking these treats is such a sinch, add a teaspoon of vanilla!
Add a little more, and you count to four, and you never get your filla!”
Both Ryan and Pinkie jumped forwards and linked arms, singing the last line together, as Doug slowly started to stand up. Camron and Derpy tried to sing along, but were having too much trouble from keeping themselves from laughing.
”Cupcakes, so sweet and tasty!
Cupcakes, don’t be too hasty!
Cupcakes!”
Suddenly. Doug sprang up and shouted the last line, throwing his hands up into the air.
”CUPCAKES, CUPCAKES CUPCAAAAKES!”
Everyone simply stared at each other before falling over into a fit of laughter.
“Wait... Where’s the food...? And what smells like Chlorine...?” Slurred Camron, a confused look present on his face.
Ryan let out a small chuckle. “That... Is actually a funny story...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I. Regret. NOTHING!” Ryan proclaimed, before diving back underneath the surface of the water again.
Rarity stood there for a moment longer, staring in absolute shock, before spinning around, placing her hand on her forehead and falling over the balcony, straight down into the swimming pool.
“Shit...”
Rarity fell into the pool, head-first. Lucky for her, the pool was quite deep, else it would have been quite deadly. Ryan’s lifeguard skills immediately kicking into action, he swam underwater and grabbed Rarity, pulling her back up to safety. Once breaking the water’s surface, he wrapped his arms around her torso and began to backstroke towards the shallow end of the pool, making sure she was kept upright, and no stray water was drifting into her slightly open mouth.
Once reaching the edge of the pool, Ryan climbed out, carefully lifting Rarity from the pool. He noticed she was fairly light, and easily brought her over to one of the nearby deck chairs, placing her down and positioning her on her back.
Ryan kneeled down beside her, tilted her head back, opened her mouth and placed his ear up to it, checking her breathing.
“Okay, she’s still breathing, but I can definitely hear some liquid moving around in her throat.” He mumbled to himself. “Been a while, but I gotta try...”
He stood up, and placed the heel of his hand in the center of Rarity’s chest, and his second hand on top, gripping his first hand. He began to press down on the chest, making sure to press hard enough to push the water out, but not to break the ribs, like what happened in training...
Ryan shuddered at the thought, and continued to press down on the chest. After thirty chest compressions, he took a quick check of her breathing, and noticed it hadn’t changed from the original sound.
“Gotta do, what you gotta do...”
Tilting her head back, he opened her mouth again, pinched her nose, and, collecting himself, began closing the distance between them, beginning to perform rescue breathing.
Mere centimeters away from Rarity’s mouth, she coughed, sending water straight into Ryan’s face, causing him to jump from shock and stumble backwards, falling back into the swimming pool. He went under, but resurfaced quickly, and again climbed out of the pool, making his way back over to Rarity. He noticed she was still unconscious, but, after checking, saw her breathing was back to normal.
Carefully, Ryan picked her up, letting her lean against his chest, and began to walk back into the house. He took the key from underneath the flower pot on the windowsill, unlocked the back door, walked inside,closed the back door and, quietly, made his way to his bedroom.
Once down the hall, he made his way into his open bedroom and placed Rarity down on the bed. Grabbing a blanket, he made his way back over to her, only to stop and think for a moment.
“It was quite cold out, and the pools heater wasn’t on, not to mention she was unconscious... Her body probably wasn’t ready for the sudden temperature change... So, I have to strip her down to her first layer of clothes...” Ryan pinched the tip of his nose and sighed “This just got very awkward, very fast...”
Carefully and cautiously, Ryan began to undo the buttons to Rarity’s blouse.
“Why this woman had to get dressed to go into the basement is beyond me...” He mumbled to himself
Upon reaching the last button, he paused for a moment, pondering. “I hope to God this woman has a bra on... I think I do anyway... Christ... I’m so torn...” Ryan swiftly slapped himself across his face. “Control yourself Ryan! Victoria could be freezing to death right now...” Ryan placed his hand on the still unconscious Rarity’s arm for a few seconds, before removing it.
“A little cold, but I’m not taking any chances. I don’t know if I should be enjoy-shut up hormones!”
Swiftly, he undid the last button and began to remove the blouse. Much to his relief, Rarity had a bra on. He continues to remove the blouse and, once that was done, took off her high heels, and finished off by unzipping her skirt and removing it.
Once that was done, he moved her underneath his duvet, making sure that she seemed comfortable. He then grabbed another blanket and draped it over her, folded her clothes up and brought them into the laundry room, and placed a towel on the end of the bed.
Ryan then sat down on his couch and began to read, keeping an eye of Rarity in case she woke up or needed some form of help.
It took a little over three hours for Ryan to notice slight movement in the bed as Rarity burrowed deeper into the duvet and the tell-tale signs of someone sleeping began to crop up. Satisfied he had done his part, he looked at the time.
“Six in the morning... no point sleeping now... guess I’ll get started on breakfast.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So... You were about to give her mouth-to-mouth... And she coughed water into your face... Causing you to jump backwards into the pool?” Doug asked raising an eyebrow.
“Yeeees?” Ryan answered somewhat reluctantly. “In fact, I should go check on her. Food’s in the oven.”
“Uh... No comment...” He sighed and turned back to the oven. He then realized he was thirsty, and turned back to the fridge to get some Sunny D. He stopped when he saw Pinkie standing next to him with a glass already full.“Yay! Pinkie is best pony!”
Camron spat out his drink all over Doug at hearing this. “Pinkie...? As in Pinkie Pie?”
Doug breathed in heavily, and began talking,“Yeah! Oh, right! You weren’t there... Well you were there, but you were out cold thanks to Ben. Afterwards, Ben suspected them, then we found out Isaac took a piece of hair from Pinkie to find out if it was real, and turns out... It was! And then the girls admitted that they were ponies! Then... I sorta don’t remember much afterwards... I think I fainted after figuring Penny was actually Pinkie... My head still sorta hurts...” he finished, panting a bit after talking for so long without a pause.
Camron and Derpy just stood there staring at him for a few minutes. Finally, Camron just shook his head out of his daze and said, “So... The girls are actually ponies?” Doug just nodded furiously.
Camron gawked at him for a few seconds before sighing, “Doug... What did I tell you about getting into my stash again?”
Doug just stood still, staring at him for a moment, then replied, “Dude... I haven’t gone near that shit for over a month, you kno-”
“HI CAMRON!” Pinkie seemingly appeared out no where from above Camron’s line of sight, shouting at his face. This surprise caused him to jump backwards, falling out of his chair onto his rear-end.
Camron just sat there for a few seconds, before laughing to himself. “Yup... That’s definitely Pinkie.” He got up and began resetting the chair when he froze. ’If Pinkie is real... Then Debby is...’ Camron thought to himself, and he looked up to see Ditzy giggling with her eyes crossed. “So... You really are Ditzy...?” He said, pointing a shaky finger towards her. She nodded in response, still keeping a smile.
His eyes began to feel wet, and he soon found himself crying in joy. His favorite pony was now real, and right in front of him, smiling at him. He grabbed Ditzy and hugged her tightly, as if he never wanted to let go.
A moment later, he reluctantly broke the hug, well-knowing of how awkward it might have become since it past the limit of the “two mississippi” friendly hug. Nothing more was said as they sat back down at the table next to each other, eagerly awaiting the food.
Next to the table were Kasper, Vinyl, and Rainbow. They all just sat down, not really saying much.
“Oh, hey guys. Nice to see you’re all awake!” Doug greeted them all with a smile and a goofy wave.
“Need. Coffee.” Kasper’s face was devoid of any emotion. Vinyl and Rainbow looked similar. The three were not morning people.
“Oh. Uh... I guess I could try making you some-”
Doug was cut off by Pinkie practically materializing out of thin air with three cups of coffee on a plate in her hands. “Here ya go!”
All three of them grabbed their coffee almost simultaneously, and chugged it down, perking up instantly.
“That. That was exactly what I needed.” Kasper sat down in his chair, Vinyl sitting next to him.
“Yeah, I’m not really a morning person.” Vinyl shrugged. “I’m usually out all night. Coffee is my best friend. Ever.”
“Yeah, I usually sleep all day, but then I can’t really sleep at night...” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head, chuckling awkwardly. “Hey, where’s everyone else?”
“Ryan went to check on Rarity,” Doug pointed to the doorway, “and everyone else is asleep or something.”
“Wait, did you say ‘Rarity?’” Kasper cocked his eyebrow, a small grin tugging at the corner of his lips.
Doug blinked, and then realized Kasper didn’t know either. “Oh, yeah, turns out that the girls are all actually ponies. We found out last night.”
Kasper smiled triumphantly, and pushed his glasses up his nose. “I knew it. They all acted like the ponies we all know and love. So ‘Torrie or should I say ‘Vinyl Scratch?’”
“Was I really that obvious?”
“Yes. You were.”
Suddenly, loud footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. At first everyone thought it was Ryan stomping down the stairs, but then, Kyle walked into the kitchen. Nobody dared say a word. He gave a small nod to Doug and Kasper, but outright ignored the girls.
“Uh... Kyle?”
“Yeah, Doug?”
“Are you...” Doug bit his lip, looking for the right words. “Well, are you OK?”
“Oh yeah. I’m perfectly fine. No fictional creatures here or anything. I’m perfectly fine!” Kyle let out a dry laugh, and looked at the oven. “Huh. Breakfast ain’t ready yet.” He reached into a cabinet and grabbed a box of pop-tarts. “Looks like I’m eating these then.”
Kyle walked back towards the doorway, but Rainbow stepped in his way, forcing him to stop.
“Hold it, buster. You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what your problem is!”
Kyle frowned, put the pop-tarts on the counter next to him, and shoved Rainbow out of the way, making her fall to the floor. He picked the box back up, and went back up to his room, leaving everyone in shocked silence.
“... Um...” Doug let out, barely being able to speak.
“OK, somebody better tell me what his problem is, right now. I’m sick of him being such a jerk.” Rainbow stood up, and brushed herself off, an angry flame burning behind her eyes.
“Well...” Doug fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably. “I really don’t know if he’d want me to tell you...”
“Ah, it’s fine, he won’t know if anybody tells!” Rainbow hopped into her seat. “I’m all ears.”
“Well...” Doug rubbed the back of his head, not knowing how to word this. “Kyle had a friend. A really close friend. Like, a girlfriend. She’s... Gone now. And every time he gets really mad, or really upset in general, he starts thinking about her and gets really depressed.”
“Whaddya mean? Did she move away?” Rainbow tilted her head, her curiosity rising.
“She... Died.” Doug’s expression darkened as Rainbow gasped in surprise.
“Oh... I- I had no idea, oh man I’m sorry for making you say that, I just- Darn it...” She slapped herself on the forehead. “I... I don’t know what to do now. I feel bad for being so mad at him.”
As if on cue, Ben burst into the room, his eyes glazed over, his blood/alcohol levels triple the limit one man should be able to take. “WAZZAP BITCHES? WHERE THE FUCK IS THE FUCKING FOOD?”
He pulled a chair out for himself and plopped down on it. “WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH ALL OF YOU FUCKERS? YOUR FACES ARE ALL SHIT AND FUCKIN’... FUCKIN’... GAH!”
He grabbed onto the end of the table and flipped it over in frustration.
“That...” Kasper blinked, his mind still trying to wrap around what just happened. “Was an unexpected change of pace and completely unnecessary. Good morning Ben.”
“AW SHADDAP YOU STUPID DANE. I WANT MORE OF YOUR CHEAP ASS BEER. YOU GOT ANY CHEAP ASS DANISH BEER?”
Vinyl took off her glasses and glared at Kasper. “You had cheap beer to give away and you didn’t tell me?!”
“HE’S DANISH. DANISH PEOPLE ALWAYS HAVE ALCOHOL. ALL THE TIME.”
Kasper shrugged. “I can’t argue with that logic. Sadly.”
Vinyl crossed her arms, and looked away from Kasper in mock-disgust. “We can’t be friends anymore. You didn’t share your booze.”
“But- But-”
“STOP TALKING ABOUT BUTTS FAG. I’LL SHARE MY FUCKING BOOZE WITH THE FUCKIN’ DJ IF SHE IS GETTING SO MUCH OF A HARD DICK ABOUT IT. FUCK.”
“Oh God, he’s drunk again...” Doug put his head down on the table, and let out a frustrated moan. “This morning keeps getting better and better...”
“Oh, turn that frownie-wownie upside-downie, Douggie-wuggie!” Pinkie again materialized out of thin air to cheer Doug up.
“OK. That does make me feel better.” Doug raised his head, a smile on his face now.
“Who’s making all that noise...?” Isaac walked into the kitchen with Twilight, the two looking like they’d just woken up...which they had.
“I’m used to not getting much sleep, but this is...” Twilight yawned, and rubbed her eyes. “This is ridiculous.”
“Hey, don’t blame us, blame Ben.” Kasper pointed to the drunken wall of meat. “He’s shitfaced.”
Isaac facepalmed. “Oh no... Not again.”
“And on top of that, Kyle came down and kinda... Pushed me down. I got in his way.” Rainbow shrank in her seat a little bit, small bits of guilt nipping away at her inside.
Isaac rubbed his face, and sat down at the table. “Alright... We’ll worry about him later. For now... Where’s Ryan? I’m starving.”
“NO FUCKING CLUE. I THINK HE’S BONING RARITY.”
Doug’s eye twitched slightly. “He’s checking on Rarity. She fainted last night, so he helped her to bed.”
“HE STRIPPED HER NAKED AND FONDLED HER TA-TAS. THAT’S WHAT CHECKING UP IS IN RYAN’S MIND. BONING.”
Doug sighed, “Ben, if you weren’t so goddamn strong and so goddamn drunk, I would bitch slap you.”
“HAHAHA, I’M STRONG AND DRUNK AND YOU CAN’T DO SHIT ABOUT IT! WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
“Isaac, I believe this is your specialty. Can you fix him?” Kasper put his head into his hands.
“ISAAC, YOU DO THAT AND I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOUR PEACE AND QUIET WILL BE BROKEN BEYOND HUMAN COMPREHENSION. LIKE RYAN BONING RARITY.”
Isaac walked to the refrigerator, and pulled out a bottle of Kasper’s beer. He held it in front of Ben’s face, shaking it a bit. “Benny want a drink?” Ben nodded furiously. Isaac led him to the basement and threw the bottle downstairs, which resulted in Ben trying to follow, only to trip up and tumble all the way down. Isaac slammed the door shut, and locked it. “That should leave him disoriented. Besides, his gym is down there... Along with his workout booze. Oh well.”
“ISSAC, YOU CLEVER SON OF A BITCH. DON’T EAT MY FOOD OR I WILL RIP THIS DOOR OFF AND USE IT AS A FOOD PLATTER.”
“Love you too, Ben!”
Everyone clapped as Isaac walked back into the kitchen He bowed. “Thank you, thank you.”
“OK. Now that that’s taken care of... We need to get our food.” Vinyl hopped out of her seat. “I’ll go get Ryan.”
“Wait, do you even know where it is?” Kasper stood up along with her.
“... No I don’t! Show me the way, alcohol-hogger.”
“...that’s it, I’m coming up with a nickname for you later...”
Kasper led her to Ryan’s room, and they both opened to door to see a surprising sight. Ryan was laying on his bed, Rarity cuddling him like a teddy bear.
“Uh... Ryan?” Kasper stumbled to find what to say next. “What’s going on here?”
“Don’t. Ruin. This. For me.” Ryan hissed at them, but Rarity stirred in her sleep.
“Hmm... Sweetie Belle... That’s not how an oven works...” Her eyes snapped open, and she shot up from her laying position. “Goodness! That... I hate that dream... Wait...” She looked to where she’d been laying, then to Ryan... Then back to where she’d been laying, and then back to Ryan... “Was I...?”
“Yes.” Ryan slowly nodded. “Yes you were.”
“I’m... Terribly sorry.”
An awkward silence followed for a few minutes, until it was broken by Vinyl clapping her hands together. “OK! Awkward moment over! Ryan, get your butt downstairs. We’re hungry.”
“You could just take the food out of the oven, you know.”
Vinyl shook her head. “Nope! Too lazy! Downstairs. Now.”
Ryan slowly got out of bed, and wiped his face with his hands. “Do you not know how to operate an oven?”
Vinyl shook her head again. “Nope! I live off of takeout and instant noodles.”
Ryan stared at her for a second. “You remind me of... Well, most of the others living here.”
Kasper shrugged. “But I thought you loved having the mom-role in the house Ryan.”
Ryan shot a glare at Kasper. “In that case, I’m allowed to smack you...”
“Yeah yeah yeah. NOW THEN! Downstairs to the kitchen!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the kitchen, Ryan hadn’t gotten the food out yet.
“But I’m DYING of hunger!” Vinyl put the back of her hand on her head. “Lights... Fading... Need... Breakfast...”
Ryan shook his head. “Not until everyone else is at the table. Besides, It’s not done yet.”
“UGH! You and your politeness are gonna starve me to death!” Vinyl put her elbows on the table, and her chin on her hands.
“I for one think it’s sweet that he’s waiting for everyone before he serves the food.” Rarity nodded in approval.
“Sweet or not, I’m hungry...” Vinyl grumbled under her breath.
A few minutes went by without any conversation, until Marcus and Fluttershy walked in. Marcus looked like he’d just been hit by a train, but Fluttershy looked perfectly fine.
“Mornin’ everyone.” Marcus scratched his side. “So, what’s on the menu?”
“Well, I’m making a traditional Irish breakfast.” Ryan smiled, thinking about how wonderful his native foods taste.
“Oh. OK then. I was kinda hoping for eggs or something, but...” Marcus trailed off, decided to just drop it, and sit down.
“Well, I don’t really mind. I’m fine with whatever you’re making, Ryan.” Fluttershy smiled to him, but then looked back to Marcus fearfully. “Uh, I mean, if that’s OK...”
“Nah, it’s cool. Better than nothing.” Marcus shrugged. “Hey, where’s Ben, anyways? I need to get him to take his medicine-”
A loud crash was heard from the basement. “REMEMBER WHAT I SAID? FUCKING FOOD.” Ben was back in the kitchen in seconds. “BEN HUNGRY. BEN WANT FOOD. NOW MOTHERFUCKER, NOW.”
Twilight simply stared at Ben in shock. “How did he break that door down...? Wasn’t that made of mahogany?”
Isaac rubbed his eyes, stress starting to nip at his mind. “You try telling him that. Ben looks strong, but he’s a lot stronger than he looks.”
“THAT’S RIGHT. I’M LOOKER THAN I STRONG. OR... WAIT... FUCK.”
Fluttershy let out a small “meep,” and shrank in her seat a bit. Marcus slapped himself on the forehead, and stood up. “OK Ben. Medicine time. Now.”
“NO, FUCK YOU. I DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ PILLS. I’M PERFECTLY DRUNK- I MEAN- FINE. SAME THING, REALLY!”
“I’m not giving you any more of my booze, Ben.” Kasper shook his head. “Not until you learn to drink responsibly... Like me... You know what? Forget I ever said anything.”
“I DON’T NEED NONE OF YOUR STINKING DANISH BEER. I GOT MY OWN BOOZE.”
Ben sat down, smiled like an idiot, and then slammed his face down on the table. He started snoring seconds afterwards.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Ben.” Doug mocked an announcer’s voice. “Hey, wait a second, where’re Coal and Applejack?”
“Coal is probably at work, and Applejack is probably still asleep.” Ryan shrugged. “They had a pretty late night, what with the big reveal and all that.”
“Makes sense. I would be tired, but I’m used to not sleeping.” Kasper yawned, and rubbed his eyes. “Even though it does have its side-effects...”
“I still feel really tired...” Rainbow let out a loud yawn, put her elbow on the table, and leaned on her hand. “I don’t think I got enough sleep at all.”
Vinyl took off her glasses, and stared at Rainbow. “How?! Don’t you sleep all day?”
“How can I when you blaze your wubs all over town?!”
“... Shut up.”
Applejack walked into the kitchen, and stretched out her back. “Mornin’ everyone. What’s on the menu?”
Doug shrugged. “Something Irish. Ehm... That’s where Ryan is from.”
“Sé!” Ryan said, overhearing the conversation. “Is é mo bhaile bunaidh na hÉireann, ach bhog mé anseo ceithre bliana tar éis bhuail mé na buachaillí ar an idirlíon.”
Silence filled the room while everyone, humans and ponies alike, stared at Ryan. Doug muttered, “How rude...”
“I spoke in Irish ag-” He was quickly interrupted by Pinkie.
“Oh my gosh! Is é sin mar sin iontach! Tá cónaí orm i Ponyville!”
More silence, this time with jaws on the floor. “Pinkie... How do you know Irish...?” Doug attempted to close his mouth, but he was too shocked.
“På samme måde jeg lærte at tale dansk!” She looked at Kasper, who now had wide eyes. “Silly fillies!”
“WHAT THE HELL IS EVERYONE SAYING?!” Marcus shouted after jumping up from his chair, tearing at his hair in frustration. “ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKERS, DO YOU SPEAK IT?!”
“Oi! None of that language, mister! Or no breakfast for you...” Ryan deadpanned. This shut Marcus up, and he slowly sat down, mumbling incoherently.
“Okay! We got sausages, eggs, both plain and scrambled, bacon, black and white pudding, cereal, milk, apples, bananas, for those crazy people, toast, omelettes, french toast, pancakes, waffles, syrup, milk, OJ, AJ, both the beverage and in person... Er pony... uh whatever, salad, assorted fruits and vegetables, fried potatos, rice, specially for Marcus, oatmeal, and Pinkie don’t say anything,” Pinkie quickly lowered her hand and closed her mouth. “We’ve got a liquid that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea, something that’s supposed to wake you up in the morning, the natives call it ‘Coffee’, and finally, what you’ve all been waiting for...
Ryan stopped his rant and looked back at Doug, Kasper, Camron, Issac and Marcus, all waving their arms in the air, making a quiet choir sound.
“Damn that’s hard to say...” Ryan mumbled. “And nice touch with the Heavenly Choir guys, really emphasized the greatness of Banana Bread.”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP.” Ben lifted his head up. “I’M SLEEPING. ASSHOLES.” He then slumped it down back onto the table.
“Right well, ladies first I suppose.” Ryan proceeded to move over to the oven, about to take the plates out, before stopping after he had remembered something.
“I just remembered something!”
"That this plot is horrible?" Ben mumbled in his sleep.
Ryan stood up, and took the objects off of the frying pan atop the burners.
“I just sorta winged it, you know?” He said showing the girls the objects, at which their eyes widened in surprise.
“Hay. Fries. Seems kinda simple really. Just took some hay, bundled it together and fried it. Viola! Try some, and see what it’s like.” Handing one to each of them.
“And another thing.” He said, opening up and reaching into the fridge, pulling out a covered plate, and setting it down on the counter.
“I give you...” He pulled off the cover, revealing its contents. “Daisy sandwiches! Now, I don’t know if you can eat this, what with your human form, but i thought I’d give it a shot anyway, you know, for shits and giggles.”
Rarity’s eyes lit up at the familiar sight. “Oh! Darling, this looks simply wonderful! How long have you been such a brilliant cook?”
Ryan blushed a little, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, I’ve been cooking ever since-”
“HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP. AND SERVE. FUCKING. BREAKFAST.”
Both Ryan and Rarity jumped from this outburst from Ben, who got up from his seat and stumbled over to the stovetop.
“I’M FUCKING HUNGRY. GOD. STOP TALKING LIKE SOME KIND OF FOUR MOTHERFUCKING STAR GORDON RAMSEY RESTAURANT AND GIVE US SOME FUCKING FOOD.”
If Kyle were there, he’d have agreed in full. Ryan simply just backed off and put down his kitchenware. “Fuck it. Go ahead.”
Rainbow clasped her hands together. “Finally! I thought that he’d never shut up! I’m starving!”
Doug just shut up, not wanting to get in the middle of this. “BY GOD, THE FOOD. IT SHALL BE GLORIOUS. HAND IT TO ME!” Or not.
“Nope. You all shout at me? Get it yourself.” Ryan just got his own plate of food and slumped down into his chair.
Ben took a him-sized plate and put a mountain of food on top of it. The table rumbled when he slammed it down. “BEN HAVE NUMMIES. BEN HAPPY.”
“Wait.” AJ scanned the table, and noticed that someone, or rather, somepony, was still missing. “Where’s Lyra?”
“Here...” Lyra shambled into the kitchen, looking absolutely terrible. Her hair was frazzled, she had bags under her eyes, and she looked like she could barely stand. “What did I do to myself...?”
“I’m going to assume Ben showed you his favorite part of his room?” Isaac leaned down on the table, sure that he was right.
“Yeah... I think I have the worst hangover known to mankind...”
“HI LYRA. LIKE THE BOOZE?”
Lyra flinched at the volume of Ben’s voice, but then realized he’d referred to her by her real name. “Wait, you mean...”
“Yeah yeah yeah, they know we’re ponies. Big deal.” Rainbow shrugged, and went back to tearing away at her food.
Lyra groaned, and sat down without another word.
“So! What’re we all gonna do today?” Pinkie tried to strike the conversation back up.
Doug decided to pipe up, “Well. Most of us have work today. And those of us who don’t usually go out applying for jobs. I’m still waiting for a reply from mine though.” He paused to finish chewing on his food. “So, I’m free for today. How’s about we all hang out at the mall? Marcus has to work there later on anyways.”
“But, we were just at the mall yesterday. Is there nothing else to do in this town?” Rarity asked.
“How’s about a picnic at the park?” Pinkie suggested with a grin on her face.
“Sure! That sounds great! I’d like to see more of this world, anyhow.” Twilight agreed.
Fluttershy nodded with a small smile on her face. “That sounds nice.”
Rainbow had just finished her daisy sandwich by then, and brought up the issue about Kyle. “Should I go ask Kyle? We need to do something to cheer him up.”
“Yeah... Come to think of it. That would probably be a good idea.” Ryan paused for a moment. “Be careful, though. If he’s still in a very pissy mood, I’d suggest trying later. We’re leaving in maybe an hour or so, so you have time.”
“Yeah... I’ll go ahead and check on him now. Wish me luck.” She said with a nervous chuckle.
Rainbow stood up from the table, and walked back upstairs towards Kyle’s room. Once she reached his door, she hesitantly knocked. She held the third knock back in fear of getting shouted at and told to go away. But, what happened next hit her by surprise.
A ragged voice came from the other side. “Come in... The door’s unlocked.”
She opened the door slowly to see Kyle sitting on the edge of his bed, looking very tired. Not just sleepy tired, but tired of life. His eyes just emitted sadness and pain. She couldn’t help but pity him.
“Are you... OK?” She struggled to think of what to say, hoping she wouldn’t set him off.
“No...” He rubbed his bloodshot eyes of any leftover tears. “No, I am not OK. Not at all...”
“Doug... Told me what happened.” She braced herself for the impending rage.
“He did...? I guess it’s for the better, really.” He let out a dry chuckle. “Then you know why I’m so... Fucked up.”
“Sorta... He didn’t really get to tell me who she was, or anything. Do you wanna...” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head, not sure if she wanted to continue. “I dunno, talk about it?”
“... I think I should. Sit down.” He patted the spot on the bed next to him. Rainbow sat down. “Well, for starters: Her name. Rose Velicity Shannon. Love of my life. We were only sixteen, yes. All sorts of people told me ‘it’s just young love’ and that it would die out after High School. I told those people to piss off, of course. We really did love each other, and to anyone else, it was obvious. I’d always end up with a smile on my face when I looked into her deep blue eyes...”
He stared off into space, and a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, before he shook his head, that dark, defeated look returning.
“But that’s all in the past now... She had a really weak constitution. She used to get sick a lot, but I’d always be there for her. She always got better. But... One day...”
Tears started welling up in his eyes, the pain of the memory building on him.
“One day, she got sick again, and it was way worse than any other time. She had a constant fever, and she was as pale as a ghost. I stood by her, and that’s all I did. I didn’t do anything to help her... Nothing. I just sat there, watching her slowly die. This went on for a week. I swear, I never left that hospital. The nurses even started bringing me food from the vending machines. But... That fateful day. She looked worse than usual. It went on as normal, us chatting about this and that into the evening. Then. she asked me to come in close, and gave me one last kiss, and said ‘I love you.’ Then...”
He paused, and started shaking, tears beginning to flow. He buried his face in his hands, letting out small screams. He eventually let go, and hugged Rainbow, crying into her shoulder. She hugged him back, hoping to give him some comfort.
“It’s n-not fair...” Kyle took a deep, wavering breath. “Why couldn’t i-it have b-been me...?”
“It’s OK... Hey, she would have wanted you to live, right?”
Kyle let go of her, and wiped his eyes and nose. Tears kept coming, but the worst of it was done. “You’re right... I just... I want her back. So badly. She was what made me, me.”
“I... Guess so...” Rainbow rubbed her shoulder awkwardly. She’d never really been in a relationship.
“You’ve never been in love, have you Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow blinked before dropping her jaw. “Did you just...?”
“Use your real name? Yeah... I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, it’s just... Being a lawyer makes you want to be logical a lot, and magical talking ponies? Pretty illogical. The fact that your existence, which should be impossible, was proven otherwise right in front of me sorta made me... Snap. I got really mad, and when I get mad, my mind makes me think of... Her. And the combo of all that anger and depression made me act like I was acting. I’m sorry for being such an asshole...”
“No, it’s cool. Really, it was my fault for just getting all mad at you without even trying to find out why you were acting like that.”
Kyle and Rainbow stared at each other for a few minutes, before bursting out into laughter at how ridiculous they’d been acting.
“So...” Rainbow stuck her fist out. “Friends?”
Kyle returned the brofist. “Friends.”
