//------------------------------// // Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 7 // Story: Tugging at Her Heartstrings // by neutralmilk //------------------------------// Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 7 -neutralmilk “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Tonight?!” your voice is several notches above what it should be considering the size of your apartment. Despite this, you still feel you should be screaming louder. “You expect me to be ready for this whole thing in a few hours?!” Bon-Bon steps to the living room and plops onto the couch. Finally, she twists her head to face you. A frown is plastered on her face, her eyes showing no remorse. “Listen. It’s now or never. If you didn’t do this tonight, you’d just try to back out at some other point.” “But… But…” you can’t help but stutter – trying to formulate some sort of counter. Your mind races, nothing coherent can even form in your rattled brain. She turns back away from you and flips on the television. “Hurry up and go get dressed or whatever. You gotta pick up Roseluck, remember?” She waves a hoof dismissingly at you as she flips through the channels mindlessly. With that, the argument was over as fast as it had begun. Any possible response would be ignored outright, so you sigh and slink to yours and Lyra’s bedroom to find something appropriate to wear to a concert. As you fumble through your closet looking for something to wear to your mock date, you briefly consider just not following through. How hard could it be to not go get Rose? You muse to yourself. This, as you finally find your outfit, throw it on, tie your shoes, and look in the mirror. Despite your hesitation, you’re fully dressed and prepared to go. At least on some level, you agree with Bon-Bon and ultimately decide it was time to follow through. You step into the living room once more, though for some reason you feel different. Almost as if this were the final time you were seeing this room before some dangerous mission. Though, to be fair, this was most certainly a dangerous task. “How do I look?” you ask, striking a pose for Bon-Bon to give a final appraisal. One of Rarity’s less awkward fitting outfits would ultimately have to do as your more standard dating clothing didn’t exactly follow you to Equestria. If only, if only… She slowly turns from the television and peers over the couch, her icy blue eyes scanning your physique. She purses her lips in thought and finally nods in agreement. “For you, you look pretty good.” A relieved smile crosses your face from the back-handed compliment. From Bon-Bon, this was premium praise. “Well then… I guess I’m off.” Before you leave, you take the time to rummage around the couch for your keys – remembering that they landed somewhere in the vicinity earlier. “Hey, before you do,” your roommate started. “I got some of advice for you.” Her voice was tinged with a surprising amount of concern. “Yeah? What’s that?” Fumbling around behind the couch cushions your hand finally grasps something metallic. A victorious look on your face, you pull your keys from the ominous abyss that resides within your living room furniture. “Whatever you do, make sure that everypony thinks that your ‘date’ is real, ok?” You give the earth pony a bewildered look. “What do you mean?” “Well it kinda just came to me. But you gotta keep it realistic. Keep the plan between you and Rose. If somepony asks you what’s up, say you’re out with her for real. You don’t have to make it all gooshy-gooshy romantic but make it real. A lot of us ponies are friends here. It’s a small town. If ponies start finding out that you’re just faking it as part of some larger crazy plan to get Lyra back, then somepony might tell her.” You nod in agreement. “I gotcha. Cause then the plan wouldn’t work.” Bon-Bon looked you straight in the eyes, frowning. “Well, yeah. But there’s more. At least with the plan the way it is, she’ll see you having fun with another mare and do everything in her power to make you hers again. You know, reignite the flame or something?” “Ok, I get it.” Rising from the floor, you place your keys in your pocket. “But if she caught wind of something sinister like this she’d be totally pissed. If she heard that you were conspiring to win her back through lies and deception… She’d drop you like a hot rock. All of this?” Bon-Bon motioned around the apartment. “All of it would be over.” The walk through Ponyville is ultimately unexciting, yet you’re still full of panic. Bon-Bon’s words rung in your mind. The threat of ponies seeing you and questioning you made your head spin, but the plan was so far along it was seemingly impossible to stop now. Your eyes trace the buildings and a perpetual sweat is on your brow, despite the cool air and your meandering pace. As you approach the square where Roseluck’s flower stall usually stands you cannot help but slow your pace even further – dragging on every second and resisting the inevitable. Despite your best efforts, you do manage to arrive and apparently just in time. Hidden from her line of sight you watch Roseluck move her flowers off the top of the counter and slide them underneath – presumably into some sort of locked cupboard. Despite living in Ponyville for some time now, it’s still mildly amusing to watch earth ponies move things with their teeth. One of Rose’s potted hyacinths tips awkwardly in her grip, sending a handful of dirt onto her face and otherwise pristine raspberry mane. In surprise she drops the pot onto the ground, breaking the clay and scattering the dirt amongst the, well, other not previously potted dirt. She coughs quickly and spits a bit of dirt onto the ground then averts her gaze to the mess. Sighing, she bends down to pick up the broken bits with her teeth. You can’t help but pity her situation and step in to help. “Hey Rose.” Clearly surprised, she jumps in her spot, a small squeak escaping her lips. Her eyes rocket up to meet yours, and suddenly a small blush appears on her face. “W-what are you doing here?” “Well, it’s a bit of a story…” you start, bending down beside her. You grab the first piece of the pot you notice and stop, feeling Rose’s gaze on you. You turn to find her off-green eyes looking deeply into your own. “Ok, hotshot.” Her voice is warm, sweet. “I’m waiting.” You sigh. It was now or never – and never really wasn’t much of an option. “So, remember when I came here earlier today?” A wide smile crosses Roseluck’s still slightly dirtied face. “How could I ever forget?” “Well…” your voice trails off. In the meantime, you pick up another piece of the pot in a desperate attempt to steady your shaking hands. “I was thinking tonight would be a great time to… well…” “Say no more.” Rose continues to smile. She closes her eyes for a second and takes a deep breath. “Tonight will be perfect. I just need to finish closing the stand. And,” she pauses, rubbing a hoof through her mane and sending a clod of dirt to the ground. “And I guess I need to stop by my place and get cleaned up a bit.” She laughs momentarily before lowering her face to the ground once more to a grab a shard. Her teeth clasp around a piece which she raises expertly to the counter. It drops with a soft “plink.” “Hey, let me take care of this.” You cover the ground before her with your arms. “I don’t want you cutting yourself on these. Plus,” you hold your hands up and wiggle your fingers maniacally. “These make it muuuuuch easier.” Carefully you pick up the larger pieces of the pot before starting to scour the dirt for small shards and fragments you may have missed. Rose rolls her eyes and rises to her hooves. She casually attempts to wipe the dirt from her face and mane. “Well aren’t you my hero?” She turns back to her stand and picks up another potted plant, carefully lowering it to underneath the counter. “I mean, I could put these back down on the ground if you want.” Slowly you place a piece of the pot on the ground in front of her. “Since you’re going to be rude and all…” A small chuckle escapes her teeth, shaking the plant in her mouth. “Do that and you’re going on the date yourself.” She gently nudges you with her forehoof and smiles gently. “Speaking of which, where are you taking me?” “Well there’s a concert tonight at the Sugar Shack… Some band called “Eversteer” or someth-” “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” She interrupts you, putting a hoof in front of your face. “The Eversteer? ‘Equestria’s Only 100% Angus Beef Rock Band?’ The legends themselves are here in Ponyville?!” Her face is filled with awe, eyes wide with excitement. You raise an eyebrow. “So, you’ve heard of them too?” Rose’s jaw drops noticeably. “Heard of them? I live by them! Oh my Luna, don’t tell me you aren’t a fan! “Well, to be totally honest. I haven’t heard of them until today.” “You can’t be serious. You don’t know any of their songs!?” You attempt to think back to any music discussions you’ve had with Lyra in the past. As far as you can remember, they never came up once. Your elongated silence signals this clearly to Roseluck. She sighs heavily. “You don’t know ‘Farmer of Mine’? Or, maybe, ‘I Will Bovine You a New Life’?” Her eyes are pleading you to recognize the titles, but your mind draws nothing but blanks. “’Santa Mona-curd’?!” she looks manic now. You shake your head, the names mean nothing to you – except for being mildly amusing puns. “No. No, no, no…” her voice trails off, despondent. “You can’t tell me you’ve been in in Equestria this long and never listened to ‘Wond-herd-ful!’ I refuse to let this happen!” Roseluck hurriedly grabs the last plant off the counter and practically throws it underneath and somehow locks the cupboard underneath with her teeth in the same beat. She turns to face you, still kneeling on the ground with a handful of pieces of the broken pot. “Ok, we’re done here. Now follow me home. I refuse to go on a date with somepo – I mean some... human that doesn’t know what real music is.” She turns away from the stand and starts off, leaving you behind with a dumb look on your face. “Well then. This is definitely going to be interesting…” you mumble to the open plaza. “Hey, you coming or not?” Roseluck’s voice calls from a surprising distance away. She flips her raspberry mane out of her eyes and makes a face, urging you to hurry. “Oh, yeah, sorry!” You jog to catch up to her and walk (at a surprisingly brisk pace) alongside the earth pony all the way to her home. “Ok, so before we go in, I want you to know that I do have a roommate.” Roseluck sighs at this. “Seems like a lot of ponies have roommates around here.” You state bluntly. “Well excuuuuse me for not having enough bits to have my own place.” Rose raps her hoof on the door quickly, sticking her tongue out at you as she does so. She waits for a minute, her ear pressed to the door. “Ok good, it doesn’t sound like she’s home.” Finally, she goes for the doorknob and opens the door. “She’s that bad, huh?” Remembering Bon-Bon’s ominous warning from earlier, you fight to avoid showing your immense relief. “Huh? Oh, no, no, no.” Roseluck smiles. “Colgate and I have been friends for years! It’s just that… well… If she knew I was bringing over company in, you know, this capacity, then she’d never let us live it down.” She shakes her head slightly. You can barely make out a blush on the mare’s face. “Anyway, we won’t be that long. I just gotta clean myself up, really. Don’t want to look all dirty for our big date.” With that she winks at you playfully. You find it impossible not to blush back as you desperately try not to look at soft smile. The door opens wide, revealing a lovely home – far larger than your apartment. The entrance is small, though it leads to many different rooms and a staircase – for some reason strategically blocked off by plastic chains. Roseluck catches you looking at the stairs and sighs. “Yeah, don’t ask. Colgate’s room is up there.” Suddenly, in a louder voice she shouts: “Hey Colgate, you home?” The only response was from the slight echo in the lofted second-floor. Other than that, silence. Rose’s eyes meet yours. “Can’t blame me for being too careful.” She says matter-of-factly. “Ok, here, come with me.” She turns right and leads you to a large living space adorned with a floral print couch and several small end tables with floral arrangements on them. The room smelled lovely – as if it were perpetually Spring and the rest of the world didn’t realize. “It’s beautiful! I’m guessing your design?” You ask, stepping into the center of the room. Roseluck is beaming with pride. “I’m not just a flower salespony, you know. I got some serious skills.” She puffs up her chest sarcastically. “Yeah, no joke!” You walk to the end of the room towards a closed door. “What’s back here?” you ask, reaching for the doorknob. “Hey! Whoa, slow down there!” Her voice is panicked. Surprised, your hand shoots back to your side. “That’s, well…” Her voice trails off. “My bedroom…” An immediate tension fills the air, knocking whatever normalcy in the room out entirely. Awkwardness seems to be the new norm. It feels like forever passes before you finally can force yourself to step over to the couch and plop down. She edges by you and opens the door. “I won’t be long, promise.” She flashes you a smile, telling you all is forgiven and closes the door behind her – though doesn’t last for long. She quickly opens it a crack and pokes her head out. “Oh, and no peeking.” Her face is full of mocking. You fail in your attempt to hold back a laugh. “Well I mean now you put the thought in my head. Great.” Roseluck rolls her green eyes. “Creep!” She winks and shuts the door with an audible click. Your time on the couch is peaceful, yet still entirely unnerving. The sound of movement from behind Roseluck’s door is entirely expected though you cannot stop your heart from racing. What was once an abstract plot hatched by Bon-Bon was now your reality. You were not only in her home but were waiting to take her on date. A fake one, granted, but the reality was sinking in. If this failed… Your mind tried to wander, but the surprise sound of a door opening and closing from upstairs made you jump in your seat. Your mind becomes blank. Though Roseluck was still maneuvering in her bedroom, murmuring occasionally to herself, there was something stepping down the stairs. Or, more realistically, somepony. It was only then that you remembered that Rose had a roommate. Colgate.