Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 – Chapter 8
- neutralmilk
It couldn’t be anything – no – anypony but Colgate.
Though surprisingly soft on the hardwood stairs, the unmistakable sound of hoofsteps could be heard lightly echoing through Colgate’s upstairs loft. Your eyes are plastered on the entrance of the living room and you hope that out of every room in the home, Colgate would choose not to enter this one. Despite sitting frozen in your seat, sweat forms on your brow and you wonder if the sound of your nervous breathing is truly as loud as you think it is.
A thought continuously plays in your head as Colgate’s steps on the stairs grow closer to the first floor. Bon-Bon had warned you to play your date as real in front of anypony you saw – but you had so far lucked out. And if Rose’s roommate would just turn away from the living room, your luck would continue.
Unfortunately, it appeared that your luck had run out. The tip of an ice-white mane with a dark blue streak slowly begins to appear in the doorway, though the mare it belonged to was still missing from view. You hold your breath in a final act of desperation, praying to Celestia, Luna, Zeus, Thor, Mr. Rogers, and any other celestial being that popped into your head that they would grant you this single mercy.
Alas they did not.
“Rose, you home?” Colgate steps into the room, her voice surprisingly soft. “I thought I heard you call my na-” Her eyes meet yours and she immediately becomes stone. Her deep blue eyes grow wide in surprise. Clearly, she had not expected to see someone sitting in her living room – pony or human.
The silence is deafening. Perhaps in part due to the perspiration dripping down your back, you find that your mouth and throat are sandpaper. Your heart begins to race and you cough hoarsely in your first attempt to speak. You desperately try again to come up with something to say and fight off the urge to flee the house entirely.
“Um… hi… Colgate?” you offer, your voice cracking slightly under the immense weight of awkwardness.
Success!
Colgate still stands, petrified. Somehow, it appears Colgate replaced herself with a statue, as you cannot discern that she has taken a single taken a breath or blinked since she entered the room. No other words come to your mind – in fact, your mind is completely blank. Panic begins to set in. Finally, she gulps audibly and opens her mouth slowly. “W-what are you doing in my house…?” Her voice is full of fear. And, honestly, you can relate.
The tension now is absolutely unbearable. You want so badly to bear your tribulations to her, despite this being your first real meeting. There is nothing more in the world you want more right now to quell Colgate’s fears and reveal the entire truth: Lyra’s coldness, Bon-Bn’s plan, everything. But you’re too far gone to give up now. Carefully, you consider your words before speaking.
“Well…” You begin, adjusting yourself in the couch. You find it immensely difficult to meet her eyes so you instead settle on glancing about the room as if looking for a hidden escape route. “I’m the human that lives with Lyra and Bon-Bon. I’m friends with-”
“I know who you are,” Colgate interrupts. It’s becoming clear her immediate anxiety is beginning to be replaced with anger. Despite the softness of her voice, there was a distinct strength of will behind it. “But why. Are. You. Here.” Her voice punctuated this perfectly, and with each word her face grew more and more into a snarl.
You put your hands up instinctively, cluelessly, as if this would somehow show your innocent intentions. “I’m here with Roseluck!” Your voice betrays your fear, which seems to lighten Colgate’s trepidation. She takes a deep breath and blinks a few times, as if she had suddenly realized that her eyes were unblinking this entire time.
Her mouth opens for a few seconds before she finally speaks again. “Rose never said anything about you coming over…” Colgate’s voice is noticeably less agitated now, though she is clearly hesitant.
“Well,” you admit, rubbing the back of your head. “Truth be told, this really kinda sorta just… happened. I don’t think either of us thought this was in the cards today…”
Colgate takes a cautious step into the living room, although still distant from you. Her eyes remain locked onto yours. Her gaze is as icy as the dark blue in her eyes. “What exactly are you two up to?” she asks.
You can hear Bon-Bon’s voice in your head, urging you to stick to the plan – to keep it real. This was your first true roadblock, and it was time to hit it head on.
“It’s gonna sound kind of crazy, but we’re,” you sigh, defeated. “On a date.” Those last words tasted toxic as they came out of your mouth. You feel an overwhelming urge to stand up and leave, but you know that you’ll follow through with the plan regardless. It’s not like you could come up with any better ideas. Besides, Rose was already committed to the date.
Colgate’s eyes widen to a point that is almost comedic. Her shock is palpable. “Are you telling me that…” Her voice fades as she look you in the eyes. “That you and her are… well…”
“Yeah. This is our first date.” You nod slowly and try to force a smile to your face and not a grimace.
Colgate stands frozen once more, her mouth slowly opening to an almost comedic degree. After what feels like several minutes, hours, or years (you really can’t be sure) she finally explodes.
“ROOOOOOOOOOOOSE!” her voice is like a gunshot, breaking the silence.
Before you have a chance to react, Roseluck bursts through her bedroom door in a panic, her mane disheveled and damp from a shower. “Sweet Celestia, what’s wrong?!” Her eyes quickly settle on her roommate – her mouth still open wide from her previous outburst. Hurriedly, Colgate shuts her mouth and turns her full attention to Roseluck.
“Colgate… I thought you weren’t home…” Roseluck pauses, trying to think of something else to add but is clearly at a loss for words. She looks to you for guidance, but you can do nothing but stare back at her. It quickly becomes clear to Rose that she missed something.
Seemingly oblivious to Roseluck’s discomfort, Colgate starts. “Imagine my surprise when I come downstairs only to find a complete stranger sitting in our living room.”
Roseluck sighs. “I called your name when I came in. If I had known you were here, I wouldn’t have invited them in… I’m sorry if it made you uncomfor-”
“Don’t worry about that, we talked it out.” Colgate interrupted. She took a large step towards you and the cream-coloured mare. Roseluck tries to avoid Colgate’s gaze, but it appears to fail as if her glare is hypnotic. You never expected this sort of quiet intensity from somepony who lives with Rose. “What I really want to know is what the hay is going on?”
Oh crap!
Your brain is practically screaming at this. You never had a chance to tell Roseluck the plan! Yeah, she seemed fine with the fake-date, but you never had the chance to tell her about the need to keep it REAL. And since this was her best friend and roommate asking, what’s to stop her from telling the truth?! With one slip of the tongue, Roseluck could jeopardize the entire mission! If Colgate knows it’s a fraud, she could tell so-and-so who tells somepony else who incredulously tells the Mayor of Ponyville who makes a major announcement to the Princess who writes in the entire sky that you tried to manipulate Lyra into falling back in love with you!
Ok, perhaps it wouldn’t be that dramatic. But the point still stood that if Roseluck told the truth now, the entire plan would be at the mercy of the hot-tempered, yet icy-maned mare.
It’s impossible to relax while you wait for Rose’s response. You eye her for any sort of bluff while Colgate does the same. Slowly, your “date” starts to blush as she fiddles with her still-wet mane.
“Well, I guess you caught us.” Her voice is soft, almost embarrassed. It’s an entirely different side from the Rose that you spoke to almost daily. “I really was going to tell you, but it happened really fast today.” Colgate’s face is still, anticipating the answer to her question.
Roseluck smiles, finally. “We’re going on a date tonight!”