//------------------------------// // Chapter 19 // Story: The Things He Carried // by Makerofthebuttswagger //------------------------------// Mares were so confusing. Within the hour of Luna's encounter, Toby found himself being dragged off to Rarity's home, which apparently doubled as a boutique. The trip there had been an experience - it was then he had realized that he had never shown himself publicly before then. The whole way he received a mixture of awed, curious, and even frightened stares from the pony passerby. Now pair that with the fact that Rarity and Fluttershy had been acting like a bunch of giggly children since Luna had talked to him. When the company of three arrived at Rarity's place, she instantly began dressing him up. This was extremely confusing, but Toby decided to swallow his frightened instinct to run and lock himself in his house for the sake of friendship. "Okay... so tell me again - what does this day mean again?" Toby asked. "You guys have done nothing but squeal and whisper whenever I've asked you about this." "Yes, yes, of course, darling," Rarity hummed, clearly not paying attention to anything he was saying. Toby frowned. "Hmm... did you know that lasagna is just spaghetti-flavored cake?" "You don't say..." "Did you know that a female ferret in heat will literally die if she doesn't mate?" "I knew that," Fluttershy put in, who was watching Rarity frolic about with a multitude of different fabrics. She giggled as she watched her hold up a roll of purple silk and compare it with the human. Toby, who was forced to pose with his arms straight out, sighed. "Rarity, you already have my measurements. Can you please stop making me hold this pose?" "Hmm... no, that doesn't accent your hair..." "RARITY!!" Toby hollered, making her tumble backward. "Can you just please tell me what's going on!? Why are you doing this??" "Oh! Well, I was just going to fashion you a tuxedo - no pun intended," the white unicorn giggled in rely. "You must have one - it's Hearts and Hooves Day, after all." Toby gave her a dull look. "Okay, one - I still don't know what that means. Two, do I really need a tuxedo to go bowling??" Rarity froze for a split second, then immediately began to back off slightly. "Oops, hehe... I guess you're right." "Well, it's about time you payed attention to what I'm trying to say," Toby grunted. "Do I have to keep posing, then? I don't want a tuxedo, they're expensive." "Pfft," Rarity replied, smiling up at him. "I'm not going to charge you for any of this - what's your favorite color, darling?" "Er - you're not?" Toby asked, blinking. "Also, purple." "Thank you, darling, and of course you don't have to pay," Rarity hummed as she levitated a couple rolls that were differing shades of purple from a shelf. "I see this as a challenge!! ...Well, that, and I have a bit too much material to work with." "How can you have too much material if you make a living doing this?" Toby asked, raising his eyebrows. "My home is only so big," Rarity replied, placing the fabric rolls next to her sewing machine. "You should see my bedroom - I can barely move around!" "Aha," Toby replied uncomfortably. "Um... you all still haven't told me about this 'Hearts and Hooves Day' yet." "You don't know what it is!?" exclaimed Rarity indignantly. "I've only tried to say it a kajillion times," Toby muttered grumpily. "Why, it's the only day of the year that glorifies romance!!" the diva-ish mare squealed, pressing her hooves to her cheeks as a starry, far-off look took residence in her eyes. "It's by far the most adorable holiday of the year!!" "I think we had something like that back in my world," Toby observed. "It was called 'Valentines Day', but in my opinion it was only for simpletons." Rarity gasped. "How could you??" "I haven't had the best experiences with romance, so pardon my lack of enthusiasm," Toby deadpanned. Making her angry expression to fall. "Oh dear... Toby, I didn't mean to -" "Forget it," Toby interrupted. "I'd rather not talk about it." "Why dwell on the past, though, when you have a potentially exciting future ahead of you?" Rarity asked, regaining her excited energy again. All this mushy stuff seemed to give her unlimited hyperactiveness. "What are you talking about?" Toby asked, racking his brains for a possible answer. As a hazy image of Luna came to mind, it dawned on him. "No - no! Luna and I are just friends - she's establish - I mean, we've established this!!!" "See, Fluttershy??" Rarity giggled gleefully. "I told you! He does like her." "Whatever," Toby grunted, wishing this extremely uncomfortable topic to change. But what if she was right? Was he actually attracted to her? Every time he looked at her, his heart seemed to miss a beat. Every time she laughed at one of his quips, his stomach gave a lurch. Every time they talked, he couldn't get enough of those blue eyes... A massive chill ran down his spine, as if someone had come up from behind and poured a bucket of ice-cold water down his back. Rarity was right. Toby ran a hand through his hair. Now that he had actually been honest with himself, he found a multitude of mixed emotions, fear being the most dominant. Was this actually happening? Was it because Luna showed him who she really was, and how they weren't so different? She had become by far his best friend since she began counseling him in his dreams, but the last thing he wanted to do was ruin the friendship he had with her... Besides, he would never forget what happened the last time he fell in love. The memory would stick with him for as long as the universe would endure. "... Besides, Fluttershy, you never try anything new," said Rarity, who had been rambling to Fluttershy during Toby's brief train of thought. "I think your dear Angel would look absolutely dashing in a tuxedo... after all, I am starting to get comfortable with this biped clothing design - even familiar, I daresay... Toby, darling, you can take a seat." The sudden fact of being addressed gave the human a start. He smiled at Rarity gratefully and made for the red sofa next to the door, and sat next to Fluttershy. "I don't think Angel would like that very much..." Fluttershy replied with a grimace. "Nonsense!" Rarity chuckled. "I believe the little one would be ecstatic to be presented as sentient being he wishes he was for once... Toby, what do you think?" "Oh! Er, what she said," Toby said hurriedly, gesturing to Fluttershy. He hadn't been listening; his mind was too preoccupied on the night ahead of him. Luna came by his home as the sun began to set that day. It wasn't a huge ordeal (partly because Toby was home alone, meaning there was no one else there to make it one), but Luna seemed to have a cheery attitude. They began their trip to the bowling alley immediately, with Luna leading the way. Her attitude helped with Toby's nerves, which seemed to intensify by a thousand times since he had last seen her. Probably because he knew the uncomfortable truth. It wasn't only the fact that he didn't want to ruin anything that made him anxious - he hadn't forgotten their differing anatomies. He would have never thought he'd be attracted to a pony; he would have considered it downright bestiality a couple weeks ago. Was it still the same if the pony in question was sentient? "Toby, you're quiet this evening," Luna observed as they left the forest. "Is something wrong?" "Me? No," Toby replied quickly. Luna stopped and looked at him suspiciously. "Toby... you can tell me. I know that look - something's on your mind." Toby gave her a hard look, then looked at the ground. "Fine. You got me - I'm just a little confused, that's all." "Would you feel comfortable elaborating?" Luna asked, softening her gaze. Toby forced himself to look into her eyes. "I'm - I'm just curious... we could have gone bowling together, yet we're going today. On Valentin- erm, Hearts and Hooves Day, of all days. Why?" Luna's expression was completely neutral as she looked him in the eye. "I needed a friend to spend the evening with - I would have liked to spend time with you for longer, but Tia decided it would be fun to go on a small self-guided tour of Equestria to see what Hearts and Hooves was like in other places. On top of that, she has been pestering me to find my special somepony ever since we retired, and I was in dire need of a break as well as a friendly, unobtrusive friend." "Oh," Toby replied. So she was trying to get away from the lovey-dovey stuff. Cool. "Won't there be couples spending the evening at the bowling alley, too?" "Undoubtedly," Luna replied with a snort, "But they are none of my concern. Now, come, while the night is still young!!" She froze. "The moon - oh, horseapples, I almost forgot!!" Her horn lit up, and the celestial body of the night rose into the starry sky. Despite his slight disappointment, Toby grinned slightly at her antics and followed his friend. It wasn't every day that you watched your friend casually raise the moon. "AHA!! My score has been doubled!!" Luna cried gleefully as all of the pins in the lane had fallen victim to the lunar pony. "... Again," Toby grumbled. "Seriously, how on Earth is it possible to bowl this good when you don't have any fingers??" "I'm just a natural," Luna replied teasingly, sticking her tongue out. "Besides, what are fingers?" "These," Toby answered, holding up his hands and wiggling them. "Fascinating!! I would think they would give you an advantage, though," Luna quipped, bumping her flank against his side. "I've n-never been one for sports, okay??" Toby stammered angrily, his face turning a deep cherry red. He stepped up to the ball return and collected his ball. Then, with all the concentration he could muster, he let loose his fury on the pins. He looked up, panting, and groaned as he only saw two meet their doom. "You have another try, Toby," Luna pointed out. "For... redemption?" "Har har," Toby grunted as he waited for his ball to return. After he had grabbed it from the machine, he half halfheartedly rolled it towards the pins. He then turned to go back to his seat, not caring enough to watch. "Oh!" Luna cried, her eyes transfixed on the lane. Toby looked around and found that he had achieved a spare. Luna wrapped him up in a hug and said, "Look at you! See? You can bowl!!" "Okay, for the record, I still stink," Toby rasped, since he had barely enough air to speak in Luna's grasp. "It was pure luck, so stop being so ridiculous." The game went on fro what seemed like an eternity, with Luna winning each frame unopposed. As Toby finished his last turn in the final frame, he looked around at Luna. "What was my score?" he asked as he put up his ball. "Luna, did you hear me? Luna?" Luna was clearly not paying attention; she was closely watching a young stallion and mare in the neighboring lane cuddle in their seat. She had a far off look in her eyes. "LUNA!" "What? Huh?" Luna gasped, clearly startled. "Wh-What was the question?" "I wanted to know what my abysmal score was," Toby deadpanned. "Are you gonna tell me, or are you gonna start a magazine on 'Ponyville's Cutest Couples'?" "Your score was forty-three," Luna replied, blushing furiously. "Mm-hm - and what was yours?" Toby replied, raising an eyebrow. "One hundred and twelve." "Hmm, a sixty-nine point win. Nice," Toby grunted. "I didn't know I had lost that bad. Adds insult to injury, doesn't it?" "Oh, Toby," Luna replied, giving him a slight hug. "You'll hate me for saying this, but it's just a game." "Not when you lose," Toby joked, earning a well-deserved cuff of the wing from Luna. "Should we leave?" "I feel like three solid wins should suffice for now," Luna agreed in a mock-noble accent. "Can it," Toby replied, rolling his eyes. "I get the point." It was roughly eleven o'clock when the two left the alley, earlier than half of the couples present. It felt strange, being awake with Luna this late at night - he always saw her in his dreams, but almost never awake anymore. It did not take the two of them long to leave town, and as they entered the Whitetail Wood they found themselves silently observing the dark scenery around them. It was strangely beautiful; normally Toby imagined a forest at night to be eerie and insidious, but instead the woods around them were full of life - crickets calling out for their long-awaited partners, owls hooting softly in the branches above, and the fireflies that gleamed like miniature stars of their own among the dark background. As they walked, Toby recognized how he was now picking up on any small details about Luna - the way she walked, the way she beamed at his clever jokes, her tinkling laugh, her eyes when she talked about something she enjoyed, the earrings she wore that night that were barely noticeable... Wait - she never wore earrings. "Those are nice," he found himself saying, pointing to her ears. Luna beamed, coming to a halt. "You noticed??" "Well, yeah - er, I just happened to look that way..." Toby muttered. "They just looked pretty on you is all." Despite the lack of light, Luna blushed deeply. "You - you think so...?" It was as if a cascade of ice washed into his stomach. "W-Wait! I m-meant that they just looked good on you - crap, that's not wh-what I meant either - what I m-meant w-was... you know what? Never mind. Leave it to me to make a compliment sound weird." His attempts to brush off the awkward moment did not go unnoticed. Luna gave him a queer look, opening her mouth several times to say something, but closed it again time after time as whatever she wanted to say died in her throat. Finally, they reached the clearing in which his house resided. The two walked silently up to his front door, taking in as much of the night atmosphere as they could. Alas, it was clearly time to part ways. "Well..." Toby yawned, reaching for the doorknob. "Thanks so much for taking me. It was fun to spend time with you, even though I lost so many times. Sleep well!" He smiled at her, and she seemed to hesitate for a moment. Toby, however, didn't wait for a response, and began to open the door. It was only halfway open before a blue aura halted its progress. "Wait," Luna said in a strange tone. Toby turned around and noticed that she hadn't moved and inch. "Is something wrong?" Toby asked. "No - no!" Luna replied quickly. "It's just - just - did you mean what you said earlier?" "Er - a-about the earring?" Toby stammered. "I mean, of course - they were pretty..." "No - that's not what you said," Luna said, now with a strange expression. "You - y-you said they look pretty on me... do you think I'm pretty?" "I - I don't -" Toby stuttered. Luna quickly looked at the ground. "You didn't have to answer, I-I was j-just curious... I-I'll go..." Toby's eyes widened. "N-No! Luna, I meant it!!" Luna froze on the spot and looked up at him. "S-Serious?" Toby nodded, gulping. He then looked away, feeling absolutely terrified. "I-I'm sorry, I just don't want m-my emotions to come between our friendship, and I-I don't want you to th-think differently of me, I just -" A pair of fuzzy lips pressed up against his own, shutting him up wholly and completely. It was brief - only a couple seconds - but when Luna broke it off, it was clear she meant every millisecond of it. "G-Goodnight, Tobias," Luna stammered giddily. "I shall see you tomorrow? I-If you want to, anyway, I don't m-mean to intrude!" "Y-Yeah, th-that would be awesome," Toby replied in a weak, far-off voice. Luna beamed, blushing even deeper (if that were even possible) and disappeared from view in a flash of light as she teleported away. Toby stared at the place where the mare had disappeared, and pinched himself. Yep. Still awake.