When Razor Blade awoke the next morning, it took a few seconds for him to realize where he was. ...why am I on the sofa? Oh yeah, that's right, Twilight and I were watching a movie...Must have fallen asleep. No wonder the sofa smells so heavenly; it smells like her. He sat up and stretched, noticing an unusual scent. Immediately, his nose twitched. Sniffing the air, he paused. Is that....food?
As he wandered into his kitchen, he was greeted by an apron-wearing unicorn. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up," Twilight said, smiling at him as she stood in front of the stove.
"What are you doing?" he asked, a bit embarrassed that he'd clearly slept so much longer than she.
"What does it look like I'm doing, silly? I'm making you breakfast," Twilight said with a grin.
He wasn't sure what to say. He stood there, speechless, for a few seconds. He finally managed to say "Wow...That's...really sweet. That's probably the sweetest thing anypony's ever done for me. Nopony's ever cooked for me before..."
Twilight began to walk away from the stove, telekinetically carrying a plate of eggs and toast while shoving Razor towards the kitchen table. "Well, now somepony has," Twilight said with a smile. "You're really cute when you sleep, by the way," she said with a wink as she walked back into the kitchen to put the apron away. Razor just blushed.
After breakfast, Twilight had gone upstairs to take a shower. Razor Blade stayed downstairs to clean up the kitchen, and after that was finished, went to relax in the living room. He lived in a relatively sizable two story house. Just inside and to the left of the front door was the living room with a navy blue sofa and a hunter green recliner. Rarity would probably have fainted on the spot if she ever saw the full extent of his inability to match colors, but he went for comfort over aesthetics. To the right of the door, without a wall dividing it from the living room, was the dining room, and all that separated that from the kitchen was a counter, roughly six feet long. Going straight back from the front door was a hallway on the left side with the laundry room; to the right side was a staircase. Up the stairs were Razor's bedroom, two guest bedrooms, and the bathroom.
Directly behind the sofa in the living room was a large three-panel window. In the distance - about three blocks away - one could see the Ponyville market. Razor stood staring out the window at the blue sky, quickly became lost in his own thoughts.
As Twilight descended the stairs from her shower, she noticed how oblivious her host was. She crept up to him as silently as she could and, when she got close enough, wrapped her fore legs around him from behind. He jumped slightly when she did but quickly put his hooves on hers when he realized who it was and what she was doing.
I know Princess Celestia wants me to write her letters about what I'm learning about friendship, but what about things that I learn about being more than friends? Twilight thought to herself as she buried her face in the cyan coat of the pegasus with whom her infatuation had grown strong.
As he stood, enjoying Twilight's embrace, Razor saw Derpy Hooves land outside his house and deposit a letter in his mailbox. Twilight, too, noticed, and said to him, "Maybe you should see what that letter says. It could be another order for you to fill."
Not wanting to leave the embrace of the beautiful mare, he pretended not to have heard her until she withdrew her fore legs, forcing him to go. He grumbled something about a "stupid mailmare" as he walked to the mailbox. His expression quickly turned to a grin, however, when he turned around after retrieving the letter to see Twilight standing in the doorway, smiling at him.
He couldn't help but smile to himself. He was happy. For the first time in two or three years, he was truly happy, and it was all thanks to Twilight. As he walked back into the house, he sat on the sofa to read the letter. It had no return address. Twilight sat next to him, but made a point of not looking at the letter as he opened it; she wanted to be close to him, but she didn't want to invade his privacy. She simply sat, content with his company, as he read the letter.
To her dismay, however, as he read, the look on his face shifted from one of bliss to one of pain, and, eventually, to one of fury. After a few minutes, he sat, hooves shaking, his face not at all hiding his rage.
"....Razor? What's the matter?" Twilight asked, quite worried about the stallion after seeing his drastic change in mood.
"...nothing. It's nothing, love. Don't you worry that pretty little head," he said unconvincingly. It didn't help that he was still shaking. If he had possessed the magical abilities of unicorns, Twilight had little doubt that something would have either exploded or erupted in flames by now if the look on his face were any indication.
He looked at her, his rage quickly turning to regret when he saw the look of worry upon Twilight's face. Realizing how much his sudden mood change must have upset her, his eyes immediately softened, and he leaned in to kiss her. "Twilight, don't worry. I'm fine, really. Well, mostly fine." He realized as soon as the words left his mouth that they were probably counterproductive; Twilight's still worried face confirmed this. "Would it make you feel better to read the letter so you'd know what it was that upset me?"
Twilight nodded with the slightest hesitation. "Okay," Razor said. "Just remember something, okay?" The mare nodded. "I..." Razor hesitated, suddenly unsure if the words he wanted to utter were the best idea. Buck it. Just say it. He closed his eyes, gathering his nerves. "I...I think I love you, Twilight, and I know for sure that there's nopony with whom I'd rather be right now. Nopony. Just remember that." He dropped the letter on her lap before getting up and walking into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Maybe cider would be better.... he thought. Nah, no maybe; cider would definitely be better right now.
Twilight just stared at the folded letter in her lap, focusing more on what Razor had just said than on what the letter might say. ...he just said he loves me. Well, he said he thinks he loves me. But that's close enough, right? Do I love him? I think I do. Do I? I don't know. I've never been in love before. How would I know what it feels like? I guess I would just know. Maybe there's a book on love? I definitely need to research this. Wait, research love? That's stupid. Okay, Twilight, you're overthinking things. Breathe. Phew. There we go. She looked down at the letter, curious as to what could possibly have made the stallion react the way that he did. She had a creeping suspicion.
Dear Razor Blade,
I know our parting wasn't quite on the best of terms, and I do regret that. I hope you know that I always loved you - I always will love you - and that I never meant to hurt you.
Anyway, I wanted to write to tell you that I will be passing through Ponyville next Friday on my way from Fillydelphia to Los Pegasus. I'd love to see you and talk if you have time. I know there's a lot that we probably ought to talk about, aside from just catching up. Remus and I broke up, by the way, so you don't have to worry about dealing with him. It's been so long since you and I have seen each other!
I hope you'll be willing to see me. I hear you've made quite the name for yourself as a blacksmith in Ponyville.
Best regards,
Flame Knife
Twilight stared at the letter once she had reached the bottom. Now she understood why he responded so negatively; he had moved to Ponyville to escape her and any memory of her, and here she was, bringing those memories back to the surface with this letter. There was one line in particular that bothered her, though - "I hope you know that I always loved you - I always will love you..." Did he still love her? Having never been in love before, Twilight didn't know how long it took for one to "fall out of love" with somepony.
Slowly, she got up and walked into the kitchen. Razor Blade was leaning over the sink, staring at it with enough intensity to melt a hole through it. When he heard her hoofsteps in the kitchen, he sighed. "I moved here specifically to get away from any memory of her. How the hell does she even know where I live?! I FINALLY find somepony who likes me for who I am and who makes me truly happy, and that whorse has to come here and buck everything up!" Razor said, his volume increasing with each word. As he uttered the last word, he turned to the right and threw the glass he had been holding against the wall, shattering it into a hundred pieces. Slamming a hoof into the wall, he said quietly, to whatever deities may or may not be listening as much as to anypony else, "Just leave me alone, damn it...Why can't she just leave me alone?"
Whatever jealousy Twilight had previously felt gave way to pity and sympathy. Clearly, the pegasus was in emotional pain and did not want to hear from or see her again. He turned quickly and held Twilight in a close embrace. For several minutes, he just stood there, holding her close. Finally, he pulled back, regaining his composure, and, after clearing his throat, said "So tell me what you're thinking and feeling. We just had our first date last night; surely you have something to say about my ex-fillyfriend barging into town as if she's welcome here." His town seethed with resentment.
"...it's not really my place..." Twilight said meekly. "That's really just your business..."
Razor extended a hoof and lifted her chin. He kissed her again, and said "Twilight, it's our business. Part of being in a relationship is that my business becomes your business. Especially business of this nature. I want to share my entire life with you, not just the parts that are convenient, so please, tell me - what are your thoughts on the matter?"
Twilight was still not used to the "ins and outs" of being in a relationship, especially with a subject this emotionally charged. She thought for a moment, eventually saying, "I don't like it. I'm...I'm a little jealous."
To her surprise, Razor smiled slightly. "As to be expected. Don't worry, I have no intention of acknowledging her existence, and if she comes looking for me, I have half a mind to run her through."
His words made her feel somewhat better, but she was still quite ill at ease when she thought about the entire situation. She kept repeating something in particular that he had said, however, in which she took great comfort - "I want to share my entire life with you." I guess I'll just have to trust him... she thought to herself. A very small part of her deep down hoped he was serious about killing Flame with a sword, though she knew that it was a terrible thing to think.
In the three days since their date, Twilight and Razor had made it a point to see one another every day, even if only for lunch. Sometimes it would just be the two of them. Other times, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack (or some combination) would join them. With each passing day, Twilight and Razor grew more and more attached to one other.
Apparently Princess Celestia had put in a word about Razor with Princess Cadence because orders soon began coming in not only from Equestria but also also from the Crystal Empire to which Celestia had recently granted political independence, though the two nations maintained a close political and military alliance. With orders now coming from the Crystal Empire, Razor hoped that orders from other nearby nations would follow, as well.
A few days after the letter from Flame, Rainbow Dash came into Razor's shop as he was working on finishing an order of lances for the Crystal Imperial Legion.
"Hey Razor, I was wondering if you had time to do a...custom order for me," Rainbow Dash asked when the blacksmith walked to the front of the shop to greet his guest and customer.
"For a Wonderbolt? What an illustrious career opportunity!" he said with a chuckle. "And, of course, because you're my friend. What did you have in mind, Rainbow?"
"Well," she said, "I was thinking that it would be cool to have some special wing armor. I know the standard suit of armor for a pegasus includes plate armor that cover the middle part of the wings, but I was wondering if you'd be able to tweak that a bit. I have a....rough....sketch of what I had in mind if you want to see it." Rainbow Dash got both increasingly excited and increasingly worried that he'd say no the farther she got into her explanation.
For a few second, Razor simply stroked his chin with his hoof, deep in though. "Hmmm....interesting...." He looked at the pony standing before him and said, "Yes, I think that would be doable. Show me these sketches." He looked over the drawings she placed on the counter before him. "Oh, my, yes, this is quite manageable....Why did I never think of this...?"
The sketches were more like blueprints than anything else, clearly an influence of the various barn and granary blueprints Applejack kept lying around the farm. Standard pegasus wing armor simply covered the middle 80% of the wings, leaving the front tenth and the back tenth exposed. The purpose of this was to allow the wings to fold against the body better. "With some slight modifications and segmenting the armor, this could totally work..." Razor muttered to himself.
Rainbow Dash's sketch proposed extending the metal armor to wrap around the front of the wing, as well, and sharpening the front edge of the wing armor into a serrated blade. This would allow pegasus knights to use their wings as weapons during flight as well as any held weapon. There were legends about the ancient warriors of Cloudsdale and their wingblades, but nopony had yet been able to figure out how to keep the blade durable and effective without limiting wing movement.
"Rainbow Dash, this is brilliant!" Razor Blade exclaimed with an unusual amount of excitement. "Oh yes, yes, yes, this will be splendid!! May I hang on to these drawings? I'll get to work on this right away, just as soon as I finish this order for Princess Cadence."
"Yeah, sure, that's fine. So you think you can do it?" Rainbow Dash asked, afraid to get her hopes up.
"Think I can do it? Rainbow, you wound me. I'm one of - no, THE greatest blacksmith in Equestria," Razor said, no shred of humility anywhere to be seen. "I most certainly can make this, and I suspect I can make it even better than you've proposed." At that, Rainbow's grin exploded across her face. "Let's see, today's Tuesday...I should have this order finished tomorrow morning, and I can just have Derpy deliver it to the Crystal Empre....Come back on Friday. I should have it finished then."
"Alright, Friday it is! Thanks, Razor!" Rainbow said on her out the door. She burst into excited flight to tell Applejack, who would no doubt simply shake her head, constantly baffled by her wife's obsession with "thrill seeking."
Friday morning came all together too quickly for Razor and all together too slowly for Rainbow. Sure enough, he had gotten her custom armor/weapon finished on time, but just barely; he had slept in his shop Thursday night because he had been up until 3 am finishing the forging, much to the dismay of those living nearby.
When Rainbow walked into the shop, her eyes lit up when they landed on the armor stand. "Do you like it? I've decided to call it the 'R-Type Pegasus Battle Platebody,' after you, of course."
"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, it's awesome! No, it's SUPER AWESOME!!!" Rainbow exclaimed.
With a smile, Razor said "In that case, maybe I should add a "Super" to the name somewhere. Not only do the wings move more flexibly than standard pegasus armor because I broke it into more jointed segments, but I made the blade a bit longer than your drawing. That should allow it to cut through the air better, decreasing the speed and agility you have to sacrifice." He paused for a moment to let Rainbow admire the armor. "I was aiming to make it about 20% cooler than what you has asked for."
Rainbow deadpanned and said "That was like two years ago. How does everypony even know I said that? I swear, it's a little creepy...."
Donning the new armor, Rainbow gladly paid Razor (plus a bonus for the ingenious modifications to her request) and trotted away, happier than a foal on Hearth Warming Day.
Quite proud of his latest creation, he had invited Twilight to have lunch with him at his workshop that day so that he could show her the final blueprints while they ate. While they were talking, Razor heard the door to his shop open. Walking back up to the counter, he dusted off his craftsman's apron and greeted the guest, saying, "Good afternoon, what can I-" He cut himself off and just stared at he pony who had walked into his shop.
"Hi there, Razor," the pony said.
"I have nothing to say to you. Leave," Razor said to the woefully familiar pegasus standing before him.
"Please, I just want to-"
"Get out!" Razor snarled, resembling a manticore more than a pony.
Hearing the shouting, Twilight quickly came to the front of the store. When she saw the red mane and white coat, she knew exactly who it was.
"Oh, I see you have a guest. I'm Flame Knife. And who might you be?"
Twilight just stood staring for a moment, not sure how to respond. She glanced over at Razor Blade; he was starting intently at Flame, a venomous snarl on his lips.
"Shut up," Razor said. He walked over and stood next to Twilight, still glaring daggers the unicorn from his past. "I had hoped that ignoring your letter to be clear enough a message, but let me say it so that you can understand; I do not want to 'catch up' with you. I do not want to see you. I do not want to be reminded that you exist. Now get the hell out of my shop, and stay out of my life."
Both unicorns in the shop were standing in stunned silence, Twilight because of the sheer rage in her coltfriend's voice and Flame because of the seething hate dripping from each word that left Razor's lips. She never expected the timid pony she'd trained so well, intentionally or not, to do her bidding and submit to her demands to speak to her with such abhorrence.
After a few long seconds, each of which felt like an eternity, Flame Knife, eyes welling with tears, turned to leave the shop.
"I don't ever want to see you in my shop again," Razor shouted after her just before the door closed. For a moment, he continued to stare down the closed door as if it, too, had offended him. After a minute, however, he simply sighed, sounding much more exhausted than he should have been by two in the afternoon, and walked to the window, flipping the "Open" sign to the "Closed" side.
"I'm...sorry you had to see that side of me, Twilight," Razor said, almost ashamed of his outburst.
Seeing the ghost from his past made Rainbow's concerns all the more real to her. "Please be honest with me, Razor. I am the pony you want to be with, right? You are ready to move on from her and be with me, aren't you?" Twilight's panic was almost palpable.
Any residual bitterness in Razor's face soon softened and melted away when he heard the worry in the mare's voice. He looked at her, his eyes suddenly as gentle as a newborn foal, and said "Sweetheart, look at me." He waited until she was looking him directly in the eyes before saying, "I promise you, I meant every word I said - err, shouted - at her. I don't want anything to do with her. I want that whorse out of my life forever. You've made me feel a joy that I'd forgotten existed in the world. I've never met a mare quite like you, Twilight Sparkle. You've seized onto my heart, and I don't ever want you to let go." He saw tears beginning to form in her eyes, but from her expression, he could tell that it was from relief, not sadness or despair. "I love you, Twilight."
She buried her face in his chest and melted into his embrace as both his fore legs and his wings wrapped around her.
Flame galloped across the market and towards the inn as fast as she could. How could he say those things to me? I know I didn't leave him in the most appropriate way, but...He's never been that cruel to anypony before, she thought as she ran, not knowing quite where she was going, blinded from the tears. Did I do that to him....? And who was that tramp with him? I know I've seen her somewhere before.
She galloped straight past the staff and the other inn guests and up the stairs to her room. By this point, she had managed to stop crying, although she was still in the shock from the verbal attack into which she had walked. She burst into her room and fell to her haunches as soon as the door was closed behind her. She wasn't sure what she felt. Sadness? Hurt? Shock? Anger? Probably a little bit of everything... she thought. Whatever. Forget that ungrateful ass. I tried to make amends, but if that's how he wants to be, then to hell with him. Flame packed what things she didn't need for the night, her mind set on leaving Ponyville the next morning.