//------------------------------// // To Admit Defeat // Story: PonyFall: Australia // by Thunderbug80 //------------------------------// To Admit Defeat April 23, 2012 The next morning we woke up late and found ourselves rushing to make sure we checked out of the hotel on time. There wasn’t much to pack, but it turns out that Pinkie isn’t the sort of pony - or human - to pack things away neatly, and so we spent a good chunk of time searching for things that had been scattered all across the room. We thought we had just found everything when Pinkie called out frantically. “Where is she?” she yelled, rummaging through a bag. “Oh no! No no no no no! Where did I put her?” She dropped the bag on the floor and started opening drawers left and right in a panic. “What’s wrong, Pinkie?” I asked. “What’s missing?” Clearly, it was something important to her. She was now on her hands and knees looking under the bed again. “Come on Pinkie, think. She has to be around here somewhere,” she murmured. She moved her arm back and form under the bed a few times, then widened her eyes suddenly. “Ah ha! I found her!” Fluttershy, Angel, and I watched as Pinkie carefully retrieved an object that had been hidden under the bed by the blanket. She held the Applejack toy to her cheek in a bit of a hug before returning it to the bag that held the other pony toys I had bought for her. She let out a small, nervous sigh and turned back to us. “Sorry about that. I just thought I had lost her...” She blinked and a smile quickly appeared on her face. “Okay! We have everything now. Lead the way, captain!” I led the Equestrians out of the room and downstairs to the front desk so we could check out. A few moments later we were all set, so I took them next door to a restaurant called the iBar, which offered a breakfast buffet for a very reasonable price. I paid the clerk up front and even managed to get Angel’s meal for free. We all grabbed plates and filled them up at the buffet, then found a nice table by the window overlooking the harbour and sat down. The view was almost enough to distract me from my problems. Almost. We ate quietly for some time, but eventually Fluttershy spoke up. “So, um, what are we going to do today?” I swallowed the bite of food I had just taken before answering. “Well, that all really depends on a phone call I have to make,” I replied. “I’m hoping to secure us a place to stay for a while that isn’t going to drain what little money we have left.” Pinkie looked at me. “Don’t you have something you can do to earn some bits?” she asked, leaning her chin on a hand. “You’re pretty big, so I bet you plough fields like Big Macintosh does. Ooh or maybe you deliver heavy furniture! Though I guess you don’t have wings... it’d be a lot easier if you had wings.” She squinted her eyes a bit. “You don’t really seem to be the type to be a royal guard, though you never know. A rock farmer maybe? What do you do?” I scratched my beard. “Well, I don’t really do anything, anymore. I suppose you could say I’m retired.” The looks the Equestrians were giving me suggested that I should explain. “Well, before I met Victoria I earned a good wage working with heavy freight, so you weren’t too far off the mark, Pinkie. I lived a pretty simple life and kept to myself. I didn’t go out to clubs or parties on the weekends, so I just saved up all my money.” “Booooring!” Pinkie exclaimed, then shrunk back at the look I gave her. “Sorry! Go on.” I rolled my eyes and continued. “Anyway, by the time I met Victoria I was pretty well set up financially. After we hooked up, she ended up getting a great office job that earned a lot of money. It wasn’t much longer after that we ended up with an unexpected inheritance from a relative of hers.” I took a sip of coffee. “So when she refused to stop working after she became pregnant with our daughter, it was a pretty easy choice for me to retire early so I could stay home and help raise her.” Pinkie spat out the juice she had been drinking. “You have a daughter!?” Perhaps I had flinched. Whatever my reaction had been, the fact that Fluttershy was staring wide-eyed at me with a hand over her mouth, and the way Pinkie had suddenly become very quiet, told me that they understood. Even Angel seemed distressed. I stared out the window for a while before continuing. “It’s strange how people react differently to things,” I finally said. “Victoria became obsessed with her work. I guess she felt that if she were constantly busy, she wouldn’t have time to think about anything else. Me? I shut down completely. It took months before I could even begin to think about anything else. I eventually tried to mimic my wife’s way of dealing with things and took on a job as a bodyguard.” I looked back at the Equestrians. “It was a mistake. The people I worked for... they weren’t the kindest people around. I did a lot of things for them that I’m not too proud of. Needless to say, I didn’t work for them for very long. The only good thing to come out of it was my friendship with Moey.” None of the Equestrians had moved while I was talking. After a long moment of silence, Pinkie spoke up. “I’m sorry...” she began, but I held up my hand to cut her off. “It’s fine, really,” I assured her. “All of that is in the past. What we need to be worrying about is the future.” I set my silverware down and stood up from the table. “Just stay put for a moment. I need to go make a call.” Ten minutes later, we were all in the car and heading towards the western suburbs of Sydney. Fluttershy had taken the backseat with Angel this time, leaving Pinkie to ride shotgun. Judging by the way she continuously fiddled with her seatbelt, I was assuming she still felt bad about earlier. “Pinkie, I’m fine,” I said, looking at her from the corner of my eye. “Besides, you represent the Element of Laughter, don’t you? You should be happy and cheerful.” “I know!” she exclaimed. “But what you’ve been through is no laughing matter. I don’t know what that cartoon has told you about me, but I do know that there is a time and a place for that sort of thing.” She had a point. All three Equestrians had exhibited behavior that hadn’t been touched on in the show at all. I thought about it for a while before responding. “Well,” I began, “what better time for some laughter than when people are feeling down? We’ve all had a rough time and I know I wouldn’t mind having something to laugh or smile about right now.” Pinkie watched me from the passenger’s seat for a while as we drove onwards. Eventually, she smiled. "I'll think about it," she said. The rest of our trip was quiet and uneventful. Fluttershy hadn’t said a word since breakfast, and Angel rarely spoke anyway, apparently having decided that ‘hag’ was a fairly useless word without any other words to accompany it. Neither of the girls had asked me what my plan was, for which I was thankful. I wasn’t even sure if I liked it, but I would find out soon enough. We had arrived at our destination. I pulled the car into the driveway of a moderately sized brick home. The small front yard was well-kept, with several trimmed bushes under the front windows. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have been certain that someone else, anyone else owned the house instead of the man who did. I put the car into park and unbuckled my seatbelt. “We’re here,” I announced. The Equestrians and I exited the vehicle. I was preparing to lead them to the front door when Fluttershy stopped me. “Um... where are we?” she asked tentatively. “You never did tell us what your plan was.” I turned to face them and indicated the house. “This is why I had to make a phone call earlier. I had to call Moey and ask him a favor. He’s agreed to let us stay for a while.” The color drained from Fluttershy’s face and she turned around and grabbed the car door handle. “Oh, um, that’s great!” she said quickly with a false smile. “You all go ahead. I’ll just, um, sleep in the car. If that’s alright with you.” I pushed the car door closed and met her eyes. “Come on, Fluttershy. I know he has his... bad habits. But we’re in a jam and he’s agreed to help us out.” I saw the look on her face and changed tactics. “Look, the day I let you sleep in the car is the day I admit defeat. It’s only temporary. I’ll... I’ll figure something out financially. But for now we have nowhere else to go. I don’t know what it’s like in Ponyville, but here in Sydney people don’t just let you stay in their homes for free. We’re lucky that Moey agreed to it, so just try to put up with him for a little while.” “Um...” She scrunched her face into a stubborn frown. “No.” Pinkie walked behind Fluttershy and began pushing her from behind. “Come on, Fluttershy. Moey seemed pretty funny to me!” She grunted from the effort it took to move her friend along. “Just give him a chance. Doug said it’s just temporary, anyway. What harm could a few days with Moey do to us?” “A lot...” Pinkie giggled at that, but Fluttershy wasn’t laughing. She seemed determined to not step a foot inside that house. We reached the door and I turned to face her. “Fluttershy... please!” I pleaded. “I’m begging you. Look, I’ll get us out of this situation as quickly as possible. I just need a few days to sort things out. I wasn’t expecting my wife to...” I swallowed. “I wasn’t expecting things to turn out this way.” Fluttershy examined my face thoughtfully for a moment, then closed her eyes and gave a small nod. I gave a relieved sigh and quickly pushed the doorbell before she could change her mind. A few moments later, a voice could be heard through the door. “Hello! You have reached the home of Mohammed Raul Tayaar. If you are with the FBI, CIA, MI5, Interpol, ASIS, FARC or are ex-KGB, please leave a message and then go away. All others please wait and prepare to bear witness and bask in the glory that is Moey.” With that said, the door opened and Moey opened his arms wide. “Dougie! How entirely unexpected it is to see you, my friend. It is good to see that you have finally come to your senses and have come here to convert to Islam, yes? You shall now be spared the horrors of the coming Jihad.” His eyes wandered to the girls. “Oh, be still my beating heart! You have brought the lovelies with you as promised. My friend, a thousand blessings upon you.” He stepped aside and beckoned us inside. “Oh do come in, do come in. It is so good to see you ladies and...” Moey stopped talking as soon as Angel came into sight. He pointed at the former bunny and looked up at me. “What is that?” I gave a strained sigh. “That is Adam,” I said. “He’s with the girls, remember?” Moey placed his hands on Angel’s shoulders and spun the former bunny around, marching him right back out the door. “No. No no no no no! You never mentioned that you were bringing the demon child with you. Did it touch anything? I don’t want to have to burn any of my possessions...” “Moey!” I said, exasperated. “Come on, he’s just a kid. You’re going to upset him.” “A kid? Oh no, my friend.” He dramatically pointed at Angel again. “Look at it! It hungers for my blood!” “Moey!” Angel took that moment to growl and take a kick at Moey, who jumped deftly away. “Ah ha! You see?” He bent down and hissed at Angel. “You won’t be feasting on my organs tonight, you little monster!” “Moey!” Moey finally turned around and looked at me. “What?” he demanded. “If you really don’t want Adam here, I can always take the girls and go elsewhere...” I threatened. Moey moved quickly and put an arm around Angel’s shoulders and led him back into the house. He gave a chuckle as he walked past. “Jokes, my friend! Of course I want this...” he looked at Angel, “child to stay here with me. A friend of yours is a friend of mine, yes?” I rolled my eyes and took Angel’s hand, leading him away from Moey before he could kick at him again. Moey led us to his living area and bade us to have a seat on his sofa. He looked mildly annoyed when we sat in such a way that he could not sit down next to any of the girls, but he quickly got over it and took a seat as well. “So,” he said, looking at us each in turn. “You will need to stay here for... how long?” “A few days at least, if that’s okay with you,” I answered. “I’ve run into a bit of trouble and I can’t stay at the house right now.” Moey raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” he asked. I nodded. “It has to do with our former employer,” I lied. “You know how it goes.” Moey stood up and moved over to a cabinet, where he retrieved a bottle of wine. “Oh yes, my friend,” he said, pouring a few glasses. “I know all-too-well how it goes.” He looked over to the girls. “Wine?” “No,” Fluttershy muttered. “Sure!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Uh...” I began. I wasn’t quite sure how I should phrase what I wanted to say. “I thought you weren’t much of a drinker, Patty?” I asked, hoping she would get the hint. “Where’d you get that idea from?” Pinkie giggled. “That’s just silly. I always serve drinks at parties!” She accepted the glass from Moey. “Thanks!” Before I could get in another word, she raised the glass to her lips and took a drink. I was just beginning to ponder which level of Hell I would end up on for allowing Pinkie Pie to consume alcohol when she scrunched her nose up and looked at the glass, then to Moey, and back at the glass again. “It’s not baaad, but I really think I need some Coke now.” Moey spit some of the wine out that he had just sipped and looked at me incredulously. “My friend, just how much did you tell them about our former employer? Would you like me to go down to Bankstown and pick up some ecstacy too? Perhaps some ice?” He waved a hand at me. “You know better than anyone that we never actually touched that stuff.” “Moey, she meant the drink,” I explained. Moey stared at me for a moment, then looked back at the girls, his grin returning. “Oh,” he laughed. “Did I say something about anything illegal? What nonsense! Of course I would never do anything that wasn’t completely within the boundaries of the law...” “And what do you call what we did for our former employer?” I asked. “Aggressive observation.” “What about making the false passports for them?” I asked, indicating the Equestrians. “Fan art.” “And all the unsuspecting women you have been with?” “My hobby.” I laughed. “Fine, you’re a saint. Do you mind if we use your shower? We didn’t have time for one at the hotel.” Moey’s eyes narrowed. “And what were you doing with these lovely beauties at a hotel?” he asked. Damn it. Not good. “We, uh, had to get out of the apartment quickly. It was too late to give you a call last night, so we just stayed at a hotel.” Well, it was pretty much the truth. After a moment, Moey nodded. “Very well. Yes, of course you may have a shower. Here,” he said, taking Pinkie’s arm. “I will show you the way. Will you need any help?” he joked. “Sure!” Pinkie giggled. “I can’t really reach my back like I used to...” “No!” I yelled, seeing the sudden gleam in Moey’s eyes. “That won’t be necessary, thank you very much. The girls can help each other.” Moey stopped walking and turned to face me. “Help... each other? They will both... at the same time?” I could almost hear his blood pressure increasing. “Surely you would not deny a good friend...” “I absolutely can and will,” I scolded, crossing my arms. Moey rolled his eyes. “Fine! You are a cold man, Douglas Collins. I will remember this in the coming wars. Now, if you ladies would just head this way you can get cleaned up,” he said, opening the bathroom door. Pinkie and Fluttershy went inside and closed the door behind them. Angel took up a position just outside the door as if to guard them from peering eyes. Moey held his fingers up in the sign of a cross at Angel, then shrugged and led me back into the kitchen, where we began to prepare some snacks. “So...” Moey began, as he opened a can of cashews. “You ran into some trouble hm?” “Yeah,” I said. I opened a bag of pretzels and emptied them into a bowl. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.” Moey looked up from the can. “Is it?” he wondered aloud. “You seem to be in hiding, yes?” I didn’t answer. It was a line of questioning that I didn’t want to get into at that moment, but Moey pressed on. “You know, I still keep in touch with some of the guys,” he mentioned, adding the nuts to the bowl. He put a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye. “I can make your trouble go away. You can stay here as long as you like while I sort it out.” “I’d prefer if they weren’t talked to,” I said. “I do need a place to stay for a while, though. If you could let us stay longer...” “Of course!” Moey said, squeezing my shoulder. “What are friends for?” He picked up the bowl and turned away. “I only ask for a small thing as repayment.” I blinked. “What do you want?” Moey turned around and looked at me seriously. “Just give me one night with them,” he whispered. “What!?” I yelled. “Shh! Calm down, my friend!” he said, putting a hand up. “Think about it! Seriously - who are these women to you?” He held up his other hand. “They are nothing to you, yes?” I took a step towards Moey and he retreated a step. “Are you serious?” I demanded. “Yes!” he said, his voice rising slightly. “Of course I am serious! You need a place to stay, I have my needs. It only makes sense, yes?” “No, it does not!” I growled. “I’ve already told you, it’s not like that!” “Then what is it like?” Moey shouted. “Who are these women? Why are you with them? They are nothing to you, don’t you understand? You only just met them!” He slapped his hand on the table hard. “If you are not in love with them, then what else is there?” “I can’t tell you that, Moey...” “Of course you can!” Moey yelled. “You can tell me anything! We know things about each other that can get us both sent away for a long time. There is nothing you can’t tell me!” My breathing became more rapid as my heart rate increased. Neither of us noticed that the Equestrians had come out to see what all the shouting was about. “Just trust me, Moey!” I shouted. “I can’t tell you.” “Look, I don’t care what you do behind Victoria’s back, but why are you protecting them? They’re just whores!” Moey never saw the punch coming. Neither did I, for that matter. My fist seemed to move of its own accord as I socked him in the jaw. His head snapped back as he fell backwards hard onto the kitchen floor. “I am not sleeping with them and they are not whores, you son of a bitch!” A collection of gasps rose from behind me and I turned to see the horrified faces of Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Angel. I had to get them out of there. “Dougie...” Moey called up from the floor. “It’s okay. You can stay...” “No,” I said, shaking my head. “We’re leaving.” “You don’t understand...” Moey said, but I had heard enough. I turned around and walked past the Equestrians and straight out the front door, not stopping until I was in the car with the ignition turned on. A few moments later, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Angel all came out the front door and got into the car. The tires left skid marks as I pulled out of the driveway quickly and sped away. Late that afternoon we stopped at Ramsgate beach. We had all climbed out of the car and were silently watching the waves crash along the shoreline when my phone rang, startling the girls. I briefly pondered ignoring it, but then a thought popped into my mind and I hastily pulled the phone out of my pocket. “Vicky?” I asked numbly into the phone. “Um, Doug?" replied a voice that was far from being Victoria's. "Sorry if it’s a bad time, but it’s John. Listen, I'm kinda having a... oh lord, a parental emergency with Sweetie and I could really use some help.” I glanced over at the girls. Both Pinkie and Fluttershy were focused on the water, but their eyes disturbed me. Every hint of fun and laughter that had once shone in them was gone. I stood up and moved away from the Equestrians, shielding my eyes from the occasional gust of wind that blew across the water. “Doug, if you can hear me, I really need yours, Pinkie’s, and Fluttershy’s help right now," John said, reminding me that I hadn't answered him. "Sweetie needs somepony to talk to about things and I need to know how to deal with her.” My head began to ache, and I wasn't certain that I'd heard what John had said properly. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my fingers into my temples in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure. When that didn't work, I returned my attention to the call. It seemed John was waiting for an answer. Something about Sweetie Belle. “What happened to her?” I asked. “She’s...” John began, but stopped a moment to consider his words. “Well, she’s going through a magical growth spurt... I think. It’s already changed her hair back to normal, turned a tile into a plant, and made my guest house a disaster zo—” “Sweetie’s done magic?” I whispered quickly, cutting him off. I looked back towards the Equestrians to make sure they hadn't heard me. “Yes, but it’s unfocused, she can’t reign it in,” John replied nervously. “Please, can you ask Pinkie and Fluttershy to help? I don’t want her to hurt herself.” "No!" I growled, looking back at the girls again. All it would take would be one more problem for either one of them to break down completely. “No, not Fluttershy. Maybe Pinkie... but... no. She’s dealing with too much... barely holding on.” I didn't realize at the time that I was thinking aloud. All I knew was that now was not the time for this. I focused on the call again. “How bad is it?” “A-aside from what I said before...” John stopped for a moment before continuing. “She’s got a bit of a temperature, bad headaches, and nausea that either comes up as magic or just throw-up. Apple Bloom said Snails went through something similar so a magical growth spurt was the only thing I could think of... but if Pinkie and Fluttershy are under the weather too... Doug, they aren’t all getting sick are they?” “No, it’s fine,” I hastily replied. “They’re not sick but...” I really didn't know what else to say. I couldn't concentrate. Didn't want to concentrate. I just needed a break. “That’s a relief, so that makes Sweetie going through a growth spurt all the more likely. This happened to Rarity too, which is why I was hoping I could talk to Fluttershy since she and Rarity were close friends.” I looked back at the Equestrians again. Fluttershy was watching me. I just wanted to get off the phone and be left alone. “We... can’t. Look, Pinkie and Fluttershy... we've got our own problems right now. I'm sorry, but I don’t have an answer for you, mate. Just...” I paused for a moment. “Just stick together. That’s all you can do.” “Wait Doug! I need...” “I'm sorry,” I repeated and ended the call. I returned to the car and resumed watching the waves with the Equestrians. We sat in silence, nobody moving even as dusk turned to evening and the stars came out to shine. Once the Equestrians had jumped back into the car and gotten settled, I got back into the car as well. After a few moments, I noticed Fluttershy looking at me through the rear-view mirror. I held her gaze for a moment, then looked away in shame. As Fluttershy moved to get more comfortable, I rested my head against the car window and closed my eyes.