//------------------------------//
// That Was My Day 
// Story: The Next in Line. 
// by gmoneywalker 
//------------------------------//

	“I’m sorry Rare…”  You mumble your head hung low as the door to the boutique slams shut behind you.  You cast the shut door one last weary glance, the mare’s words still hanging heavy on your mind.
 
Just… forgive me if I hesitate to hold your hoof for a little while.
 
You run a hoof across your face and repress the urge to groan.  You’d messed up… bad.  You shoot that same hoof a condemning look, a frown worming its way across your face as you give the offending limb a stern stare.  You’d hurt her… your beloved Rarity… and you’ll never forgive yourself for it, and you can’t blame her if she never does either.  Really, her little comment about not wanting to hold your hoof was only a fraction of the chastising you actually deserve.
 
You feel a pit of guilt well up in your stomach as you think about it.  You would have preferred being kicked out, yelled at, struck in retaliation at the very least… but no, true to her namesake, she’d generously forgiven you for your transgression.
 
“Oh Celestia…”  You whisper, clonking yourself on the head with a hoof, hard enough to make it twitch in pain, you deserve that much at least, and if Rarity won’t punish you for what you did… well, you will.  “I’ve got to make it up to her…”  You reach around and fiddle with a strap on your saddlebag, retrieving your bit pouch.  You immediately feel the frown on your face deepen.  You, don’t really have any money… so, buying her something is kind of, well, not going to happen.
 
You feel your ears flatten a little in shame as you place the wallet back in your brand new saddlebag; your guilty conscience alleviated somewhat when you see her special engraving.  It’s a testament of her affection… and you know that, even if she is upset, you’ll work it out.  Rarity’s the first good thing that’s come into your life in a long time, the only thing that’s gone perfect, you can’t… no, you won’t let her slip away. 
 
“First thing’s first…”  You mumble, talking to yourself out of habit.  “Get Rainbow’s books back.”  Your legs finally begin to move as you slowly plod forwards, Celestia’s sun beating down on your from above.
 
You need to get these errands done, and, maybe if you do it fast enough you can talk somepony into giving you some bits in exchange for some quick labor.  You only have enough bits for… maybe a cheap box of chocolates, but chocolates have to come with roses, it’s like, a rule.  You make a quick plan to stop by the town square while you’re out and about, maybe you could put in an hour or two for Applejack.  She’ll probably be willing to throw you a bone. 
 
You feel your step quicken a tad as your mood lightens somewhat, there’s still a niggling little feeling of guilt in the back of your mind, but you manage to push it aside for the time being.  You’ll get these errands run, then come home and throw yourself at Rarity’s feet to beg forgiveness, chocolates and flowers in hoof.  It’s a plan… of sorts, and hopefully the display will be both pathetic and cute enough to put a smile back on your beloved’s face.
 
You get about a block and a half away before a sudden realization hits you…
 
“Where the hell does Ms. Dash live anyway?”
 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

 
“Uh, excuse me, Ms. Can I ask you a question?”  You query, nervously rubbing a hoof along the back of your head as you sheepishly smile at the pony in question, you never did like asking for directions…
 
The mint colored mare sitting at the fountain looks up from her lyre, flashing a smile at you as she ceases the magical plucking of her instrument.  The harmonic tone of the music she’d been playing only moments ago fading away, leaving only the sound of whistling wind and sputtering fountain to resonate throughout the park.
 
You know who this mare is, though; you’re finding it difficult to recall her first name.  Her last name is Heartstrings; you know this because, well, you’d been… seeing her sister Octavia a while ago.  You push away the urge to shiver as more of those unpleasant memories concerning the cellist resurface, instead refocusing your attention on the unicorn sitting upon the fountain.
 
She offers you a gentle nod of her head, her lips curved into a curious, yet kind little smile. 
 
“Well I don’t suppose you know where Ms. Dash lives do you?”  She raises an eyebrow; you quickly move to correct yourself.  “Rainbow Dash I mean.”
 
She smiles in understanding; apparently ponies aren’t used to hearing only one half of the mare’s name.  She reaches out with a hoof and points behind you, and then tilts it up a tad.  You shoot her a confused look before following her point.  It takes you a moment to notice what she’s pointing at, the thick mass of clouds in the distance blending in a little too well with the delicate blue backdrop of the sky.  You also have an excuse in the fact that you’re, for all intents and purposes, half blind.
 
“Ah, suppose I could have guessed that a pony as… subtle, as Rainbow Dash would choose to live in a massive cloud home.”  You say, a small smile spreading across your lips as you hear the mint mare giggle in response.  You turn back to her, a nervous smile on your face as you try to conjure up her name.  “Thank you very much… uh… Lyre?”
 
She giggles once more and averts her eyes, reaching out with her lithe hooves and pulling the musical instrument she’d been holding a little closer.  “Lyra…”  She says her voice barely above a whisper.  She gives one of the middle strings a pluck, eliciting a single harmonious note, as if for emphasis.  “My name is Lyra.”
 
“Well, at least I was close right?”  Lyra smiles at you as she reaches up and brushes a stray strand of her finely combed mane out of her face.  You turn and start to walk down the notched cobblestone path of the park; you turn to look at her over your shoulder, but don’t cease your stride.  “And you play magnificent music!” 
 
You can see her mouth the words ‘thank you’, but you’re too far away to know if she actually said them or not.
 
………………………………………………………………………………………………
 
The walk to the cloud home was a rather uneventful one, you’d made it down the road in good time and the trees dotted along the path helped to shade you from the sweltering summer heat.  This was also accompanied by a nice chilling breeze, which did wonders to help cool you off, you hadn’t realized how hot it’d been until you’d made it to the park, which is quite a ways away from Rarity’s boutique.  Needless to say, you’d been happy for the reprieve.
 
But now, here you are, standing beneath Rainbow’s cloud home, scratching your head while pondering how exactly you’re going to get the blue mare’s attention without making yourself look like a loon.  You can throw things, perhaps, but you don’t necessarily want to run the risk of damaging her home.  You don’t really know how strong the infrastructure is, not very, you assume, considering the house is made of, well, clouds.
 
You scuff a hoof along the cobble ground below and huff, blowing a stray strand of your scraggy mane out of your face with a puff of air.  It’s then then you realize that you’re in need of a manecut, you wonder if Rarity knows how to cut hair, then push that train of thought aside.  You have an immediate problem you should be focusing on.
 
“You see, this wouldn’t even be a problem if I had wings…”  You muse, somewhat bitterly, to yourself.  “Seriously, nature isn’t fair… what can unicorns do?  Magic.  What can pegasi do?  Fly.  What can earth ponies do?  Kick things.”  You let out a noise halfway between a sigh and a growl.  “And I’m no good at kicking things… I’m quite possibly the most useless pony on the face of Equestria.”
 
“Ah, good old fashioned self-deprecation!”  A voice from behind makes the hair on the nape of your neck stand on end.  “That’s something I do way too much, glad to see somepony else has the same problem.”
 
You whip around, only to see a small pegasus mare standing before you, she’s wearing a pair of blue saddlebags, stuffed to the brim with papers and books, quills are poking out of the some of the side pockets.  She smiles at you, before reaching up with a hoof and readjusting her round spectacles, the glasses catch a stray ray of sunlight that reflects and dances across your face, you don’t flinch, but that’s only because it hits you in your blind eye.
 
“Oh, uh, hello there…”  You stutter, somewhat bashfully, you feel... oddly out of sorts talking to this mare.  For… some really strange reason she reminds you a lot of yourself, though you can’t quite put your hoof on why.
 
The mare grins and reaches out with a hoof for a shake; you shrug and meet her halfway.  The pair of you shake hooves.
 
“Nice to meet you, is there something I can help you with?”  You raise an eyebrow, why is she asking that?  “Um, you’re standing outside my home.”  She says, gesturing to the cloud house with a point of her snout, apparently your expression had been asking your questions for you.  “I take it you want something?”
 
You shoot the mare a puzzled look, then cast a glance back towards the illustrious cloud home.  Did Lyra point you to the wrong place? 
 
“Oh, um, I’m sorry.”  You say, your head drooping a little.  “I was looking for Ms. Dash’s place.  I must of uh, gotten turned around somewhere.”
 
The pegasus’ face lights up a little as she chuckles.  “No, you’ve got the right place.  This is Rainbow Dash’s home.”  She places an introductory hoof up to her chest.  “I’m her… roommate, of sorts.”
 
You blush a little at the way she strained the word ‘roommate’, well… you’d figured Rainbow may be a little more… inclined to enjoy the company of a pony of the same sex, but there hadn’t been any real way to be sure.  Up until now, that is.  You’re fine with that, you had friends back in Manehattan that had the same sort of inclination, and you don’t judge ponies based around who they do and don’t love.
 
“Ah, well, good thing I ran into you then.”  The mare tilts her head a little, you grin.  “Recently Ms. Dash was kind enough to loan me some books, I’ve come to return them.”
 
“Oh, you must be her friend’s new coltfriend!”  The mare gently taps a hoof against her forehead, trying to recall something.  “Oh what’s her name… Rarity!  That’s who you’re dating, isn’t it?”
 
You happily nod your head, you’re proud to tell ponies that you’re dating a mare as lovely and wonderful as Rarity.  “Yep, I’m her assistant in more ways than one.”
 
The mare chuckles lightly at your somewhat perverse joke.  “I’ll bet!  So, I’ll take those books off your hooves for you.”

“Oh, thank you.”  You reach over and undo the straps on your saddlebag, reaching in and retrieving the books.  The mare reaches out and takes them from you, cramming them into her already stuffed saddlebags.
 
“I was wondering where these were.”  She mouths around one of the books, sitting on her haunches as she tries to force the thick hardback into the saddlebag.  “Rainbow keeps all her Daring Do novels on a special shelf, and I noticed that it was missing a couple.”  Once she succeeds in stuffing away one of the novels she pulls the second out of her mouth, pushing up her sliding glasses once again as she reads the title, a small chuckle slides past her lips as she does.  “Curse of the Crimson Crystal part two huh?”  She holds up the book for you to see, then smiles.  “Didn’t like the cliffhanger?”
 
You chuckle.  “Are you kidding?  I was about to rip out my mane when I realized it was the end.”  You run a hoof through the disheveled mop that sits atop your head.  “Though, that might have been an improvement.”
 
She joins in on your laughter, her eyes wandering up to your mane then back to your face, glinting with joy.  “Yeah, I’ve heard all the complaints; you’ll be pleased to hear that it won’t happen again.”  Your ear twitches when you hear that, and you feel like you’re on the cusp of realizing something before she stands up and continues talking.  “Welp, that takes care of that, anything else you need?”
 
“Oh, yes actually, she didn’t just give me her books.”  You undo your second pouch and retrieve the stack of papers therein.  The mare’s face turns a slight hue of pink as she takes them from you.
 
“R-Rainbow gave you this?”  She utters, her voice tinted with nervousness.  You nod.  “I was uh… wondering where this went.”  She sheepishly grins and puts the papers away as fast as she can. 
 
“For a rough draft it’s pretty good.”  You quip; the mare’s lips curve upwards into an embarrassed smile as she toys with her glasses again, shrinking away just slightly.  “Though, RD was right when she said it gets a bit… ‘fanservicy’ towards the end.”
 
“Y-yeah…”  She keeps her gaze averted, but doesn’t stop speaking.  “But… as far as that scene goes… do you uh, did it work?”
 
You raise an eyebrow.
 
“I mean, did it get you… um, what’s the proper term for something like this… uh… worked up?”
 
You bite your lip a little, trying to come out with an honest answer that isn’t… dirty.  “It… well, let’s just say that my hospital sheets could pass for a tent by the time I’d finished it.”
 
The mare’s face turns an even darker shade of crimson as she feverishly nods her head.  “G-good… I guess.”  She gives her body a bit of a shake, trying to force away her nervousness.  “So, is there anything else you need?”
 
You tap a hoof against the ground and cock your head upwards as you search the recesses of your memory for anything else you might owe Rainbow Dash, when nothing comes up, you take it as your cue to call it even. 
 
“No, I don’t think so.”  You tell her.  “Thank you very much Miss… uh…”  Your voice dies as you wait for her to jump in.
 
“Ah, don’t worry about my name.”  She says, pushing her glasses up again.  “Nopony ever seems to use it.”
 
You feel your face screw up in thought as a strange realization passes over you.  “Mine either… now that you mention it.”
 
The mare shrugs as her wings spread out, preparing to take flight.  “Hm, that’s odd.  Well, it was nice meeting you, bye.” 
 
“Goodbye Miss, have a pleasant day.”  You and she exchange waves as she flutters away, disappearing inside the cloud home.
 
“Well, that’s one errand down…”  You mumble, turning back the way you came. 
 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

                    
When you return to the park, you can see Lyra still sitting near the fountain, plucking away at her lyre with simple and lithe movements of her hooves, her eyes are shut, and the notes being played only grow louder the closer you approach.  Simple and beautiful, the mint unicorn really is quite good at playing her instrument; musical talent must be in the family blood.
 
You aren’t surprised whatsoever to actually see her, you hadn’t necessarily been gone that long after all.  But what does surprise you, is the sight of a stallion sitting at her right.  He’s of what you’d call fairly average size, no bigger than you are.  At first glance he appears to be an earth pony, but closer inspection reveals two long and jagged scars along his back.  A pegasus then?  Probably lost his wings in some sort of accident, or so you assume.  Which is a terribly sad thing to see, but not entirely uncommon.
                    
His coat is a darkish blue, tainted by hints of steel; it does a good job offsetting his even darker mane, the likes of which he’s running a hoof through at the moment, excitedly mumbling to himself as he scribbles away at some sketch paper, his steel eyes fixed upon the penciled on design as he gnaws on the writing utensil in his mouth.
 
Eventually you get close enough to catch the end of his rambling, your ears twitching as you pick up on his voice.
 
“Okay then… so, the measurement of the curve would be… sixty six.”  You hear the voice of the stallion say, followed by the sound of scribbling paper.
                                                                      
“Um, no, Icarus, it would be sixty nine.”  The mint mare atop the fountain chirps, peering down at his paper.
 
“Heh, sixty nine… Oh, wait, you’re right…”  He quickly spins the pencil around and erases a marking or two, adjusting his measurements.  “Nice catch Lyra.”
 
You can see the mint mare blush a little and look away, the speed of her playing increasing somewhat.  You decide to leave the two ponies be, you’d already thanked the mare for her help before you’d taken off, and you had no real desire to make friends with her pegasus companion.
 
“Um, Icarus, he’s here.”  You stop mid trot as you hear Lyra speak up.
 
“Oh, so he is!”  You hear the stallion speak, dropping his pencil and standing up.  You turn around just in time to see him jam a hoof in your face, looking for a shake.  “Hello, I’m Icarus, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

You raise an eyebrow and reach up, shaking the stallion’s hoof.  “Hi, um, Icarus, it’s good to meet you too.”  The stallion smiles and stands up straight, chuckling a little, his voice is accompanied by the sound of Lyra’s harmonious music. 
 
“Yeah I know, you’re all kinds of confused I’m sure.”  He waves up a calming hoof, taking note of your unsettled expression.  “Just relax; I’m not here to cause any trouble or anything.  I’m just here on behalf of a certain purple unicorn.”
 
Purple unicorn?  Well, there are a few purple unicorns in Ponyville actually, but only one that’s especially noteworthy, you haven’t the slightest idea why she’d send somepony out to talk to you though, as far as you’re concerned, Twilight barely counts as an acquaintance.  Sure she’d saved your life after you’d been crushed by a bookshelf, but she hadn’t really chatted you up since then.
 
“Twilight?”  You query, Icarus nods his head.  “Why?  What does she want?”
 
The blue stallion frowns a tad.  “Well, somepony’s in a bad mood.”
 
You repress the urge to sigh and shake your head.  That had come out a little meaner than you’d meant it to be, you’re still in a somewhat bitter mood.
 
“Sorry, it’s just…”  You sigh and avert your gaze, you didn’t feel like going into any sort of detail concerning your issues at the moment.  “I’ve had a bit of a day.”
 
The stallion nods in understanding.  “Ah, I can sympathize.  Just one of those days huh?”
 
You shrug.  “I suppose you could say that.  So, Twilight, you’re a friend of hers I take it.”
 
Icarus stands up tall; his head held high as an air of pride overtakes him.  “Friend may be putting it mildly; she and I have been going steady for three weeks now.”  Three weeks?  That’s it?  somepony hasn’t had a whole lot of marefriends...
 
Realization dawns upon you, so, seems like you aren’t the only coltfriend that runs errands around here.  "I see, well, that’s good to hear.  She seems like she’d make a good marefriend.”
 
Icarus’ smile grows a little wider.  “She’s the best marefriend I could ever have.”
 
There’s a loud *twong* near the fountain as Lyra misses a note, her lips scrunched up into a bit of a grimace… though, whether that’s the fault of her missing the note, or somepony else callously touting his affections, you don’t really know…
 
“You okay Lyra?”  Icarus asks, genuine concern behind his voice.
 
You can see the mare mumble something beneath her breath, you can kind of read lips, but she’s got her face turned away so you can’t really make it out, it seems in bad taste though.  The mint unicorn quickly regains her composure, her expression morphing back into nothing specific.
 
“I’m… fine.”  She says, her horn lighting up as she continues playing her lyre, there’s a clear affection there, you can tell, but it isn’t really your place to interfere.
              
“Oh, uh, okay then…”  Icarus turns back to you and shrugs his shoulders a little. 

“So, what did Twilight want?”  You ask, getting straight to the point, after all, you still have lots of errands to run.  “Because I’m telling you right now I’m not moving any bookcases.”
 
Icarus sheepishly chuckles.  “Yeah, I imagine you wouldn’t be too keen on that.  As for what she wants, I don’t actually know, she wouldn’t tell me why, just that she wanted to see you.”  He turns his head around and grins as Lyra’s music starts back up again, filling the serene air of the park with equally serene music. 
 
A sudden thought crosses your mind.  “But, how did she know to send you to the park?”  You ask incredulously.  “Only Rarity knows that I’ve left the boutique, and unless you went there, which is a possibility I suppose, there’s no real way for her or you to know.”
 
Icarus shrugs.  “She’s the element of magic.”  He waves a dismissive hoof in the air.  “I’m sure she cooked up some spell or another to find out where you’re at.”
 
Well, that makes sense you suppose.  “ I guess it couldn’t hurt to pop in and see what she wants.”  You hold up a hoof as Icarus opens his mouth to speak, stopping him before he can utter a single word.  “But I’m afraid I won’t be able to do anything that takes a lot of time, I have to get back to Rarity by this afternoon.”
 
The wingless pegasus nods.  “A stallion with a schedule huh?  I’m sure she doesn’t want you to do anything too extravagant.”  He chuckles a little.  “She’s got me and Spike for that kind of crazy stuff.”
 
“Okay then, lead the way Icarus.”  You step aside, allowing the stallion to take the lead, before he does however, he looks back at Lyra.
 
“Coming Lyra?”  The mint mare looks up from her lyre, her mouth morphs into an unsure scrunch. 

“To Twilight’s…”  She bites her lower lip as she considers the thought.  “I-I don’t know Icarus, I’m kind of… well…”  Her voice dies, and Icarus frowns for just a moment.  It vanishes quickly, though, as he brings back the smile.
 
“It’s okay, Lyra.  Maybe you can finish your song some other time, when I can keep listening.  You know I always enjoy hearing you play.  Especially while I’m working.” 

The blue stallion turns to leave, he stops mid spin as Lyra pipes up again.  “W-wait!”  She calls, her voice unusually loud.  “I... I guess I can come with you.”  She shifts her gaze up to Icarus’ face, their eyes meet for a moment and she immediately casts them away.  “F-for a little while anyway.”

 He grins, you impatiently tap your hoof against the cobblestone of the park’s pathway, eager to be getting on with your errands.  It only takes a moment for him to finally coerce her off of the fountain, the two of them standing rather close as they approach.  Icarus looks at you expectantly as the pair reach where you stand.

“Well, go on then.”  He says, pointing with his head down the path.  “We don’t have all day you know.”

You bite your lip and smile, forcing a rather naughty word back into your mouth before it slips out.  “Of course we don’t.”  


.......................................................................................................................................



“Wow Icarus, that’s really funny.”  Lyra chirps up, you can feel the blue wingless pegasus smile from where he stands a good five or six feet behind you, he and Lyra walking side by side while you lead the way to Twilight’s place.

You’d been forced to listen to those two giggle and chat the entire walk, really, you were about this close to bailing out on this trip to the library and finishing up you’re errands.  But, well, you aren’t quite that rude.  You don’t dislike either of them, by any means, but you would really appreciate it if they’d tone down the flirting.

You breathe a sigh of relief as you round a corner and see the tree house slide into view, Icarus and Lyra must notice it as well, because their excited chattering slows to a halt.

“Want to come inside for a bit Lyra?”  Icarus queries, breaking the sudden silence.  “Twilight was making some tea before I left, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind sharing.”

You look over your shoulder to see the mint mare shift anxiously where she stands, her shining golden eyes widening a little in fear as she eyes the building.

“I think I’m fine Icarus.”  She turns to the stallion, who deflates a little.  “I-I had fun on our walk, though.  Could we... maybe do it again tomorrow?”

“Hm well... I have to help Twilight with some experiments tomorrow morning...”  The stallion puts a hoof up to his chin in thought, you see Lyra’s face scrunch up in disappointment.  “But I think my afternoon is free, why don’t you and I stop by your place?”  She smiles up at him, her eyes shining.  “We’ll go down to the park again.  Sound like a plan?”

The mare excitedly nods.  “Y-yeah, I’ll, um, see you then Icarus.” 

The two ponies bid farewell and Lyra takes her leave.

“Sorry about that.”  Icarus apologises.  “Can’t just let her take off without saying goodbye you know?”

It would be rude, but that didn’t mean you were in the mood to sit around in the sweltering heat.  You don’t let your annoyance show though, keeping your expression neutral as you nod your head.

“Don’t worry about it.”  You step aside.  “Why don’t you go in first?”

Icarus responds by striding up to the door and giving it a couple hard knocks.  You can hear the clopping of hooves as somepony on the other side approaches the door.  There’s the tell tale sound of a sliding tumbler and the *shing* of a horn lighting up as the door handle twists.

The door opens with a creak, and Twilight peeks her head out, her lips curving upwards into a smile as she sees the pair of you.

“Icarus!”  She exclaims happily.  “You found him, good job.”

“Yep, he was right where you said he’d be.”  The pegasus motions towards where you stand beside him, you offer the mare a smile and wave of your hoof.

“Hello Ms. Sparkle.  I heard you wanted to speak with me?”

The purple mare nods, opening the door the rest of the way.  “Yes, actually, it’s very important.  But we should probably talk about it inside.  Come on in.”  

Twilight quickly ushers the pair of you inside, and you repress the urge to moan in delight as the cool air of the library washes over you.  By Celestia’s sun, it’s hotter than hell out there.  You wonder if there’s any reason whatsoever for the local weather pegasi to make it so bloody miserable, and it better be a good one, because you’re liable to take your complaints right to their doorstep if it doesn’t cool off in the next couple days.

“Icarus, can I talk to you for a sec?”  You see Twilight pull the blue stallion aside, talking in hushed tones to one another, obviously to keep you from picking up on anything they might be saying.  

You don’t like that, things don’t feel right in the library, the purple unicorn seems unusually tense, you can feel an odd mixture of doubt and worry build up in your gut as you watch the two out of the corner of your vision.  You don’t want to deal with any more problems right now, you have so many already, and you can already tell that whatever Twilight’s about to tell you, it’s going to do exactly that, cause more problems.

Your eyes wander about the library, scanning the shelves to see if there’s anything worthwhile in stock, trying to keep your mind off the impending bad news you’re sure that Twilight is about to dump on you.  But, eventually, your gaze wanders to a spot on the floor, and you immediately feel the color drain from your face.

“That’s... my blood.”  The words slide out of your mouth, no louder than a whisper, a chill shoots up your spine as you stare at the brown patch.  An irremovable stain that remains forever glued upon the hard polished wood of the library floor.

A reminder of the horrid accident that had nearly killed you only a few short days ago.  The dry pool of blood brings back hot flashes of the sight of your broken limbs and shredded body, makes your previously shattered bones and cracked skull ache in remembrance.

It’s horrible, the memories, but you can’t look away...

“Oh gosh!”  You snap out of your horrid memories as Twilight speaks up.  You tear your eyes away from the floor to look at her, her horn alight as she levitates over a thick wool blanket, tossing it over the spot on the floor.  “I’m so, so, sorry.  That must be really creeping you out.”

You look at the purple mare, managing a tiny smile.  “You don’t have to be sorry, I’m the one who should be apologising.”  You let out a weak chuckle.  “I’m the one who bled everywhere.”

“That was you?”  You hear Icarus pipe up again, rudely cutting Twilight off.  “I had to clean that up you know.”

You don’t look back at him, you’re trying to avoid letting your gaze wander back towards the bloodstain.  

Thankfully, Twilight has him covered.  “Icarus!”  She reprimands, the blue stallion holds up a hoof in defeat and rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”  He turns around and starts for the kitchen.  “Get lunch started, give you two some privacy, I’m going.”

You look over to the purple unicorn, she gently shakes her head as her coltfriend wanders into the kitchen, the telltale sounds of clattering pots and pans signaling the start of his cooking.

“Sorry about him.”  Her neutral expression morphs into that of a sympathetic frown.  “I saw your injuries first hoof, I know how bad it was, he doesn’t.”

You shrug.  “It’s okay, to be honest, I don’t remember much about them.”  You grin a little.  “The injuries I mean.”

Twilight nods.  “Well, you were unconscious when I found you.” 

“Good thing too, I woke up while they were wheeling me into the hospital.”  You repress the urge to shudder as you recall the unsettling memory.  “I was in so much pain... good thing they had enough anesthetic.”

“Yeah, I hear that the local hospital has some pretty potent stuff.”  The purple unicorn chuckles a little.  “A few months ago Rainbow had another accident, broke her wing again.  She said the anesthetic they used knocked her right out.”

You nod in agreement.  “I was out pretty fast after they stuck the needle in my leg, but I imagine they used a bigger dose on me than they did Rainbow.  But enough about that, you said you needed to talk to me Ms. Sparkle?”

The unicorn’s face lights up as realization finally dawns upon her.  You don’t necessarily know her that well, but she strikes you as being easily sidetracked.  Whatever she wanted to talk to about couldn’t be that urgent, at least, not urgent enough to keep the pair of you from rambling about anesthesia for the past five minutes.

“Right, gosh, sorry about that.”  She motions for you to follow her with a flick of her head as she starts walking across the room, stopping at a little table near the bookshelves, you recognize it as the same table the pair of you had drank tea at the day you’d met.

“Here, let me get that for you.”  You graciously reach out and pull the mare’s chair out for her, she blushes a little and sheepishly smiles.

“O-oh thanks, I, uh, appreciate that.”  You smile at her demure reaction, apparently even a unicorn as introverted as Twilight liked being treated like a lady every once and awhile.

“Don’t mention it.”  You say, pushing in her chair after she takes her seat.  You walk over and do the same.  “So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

Twilight’s demeanor suddenly grows extremely serious, her expression darkening and her shoulders sagging as she places her hooves on the table.  You felt that pit in your stomach come back again, though, not with as much force.  At least she feels bad about whatever it is she’s about to say.

“Wow, this is... harder than the books said it’d be.”  She mumbles, you frown a little, yeah, definitely not good.  “I...”  She gives her head a single hard shake, as if trying to knock that unsure expression off her face, replacing it with a stern scowl.  “I know what you did.”

Your eyes go wide and your mouth hangs slack.  “W-what!?”

Twilight sucks in another deep breath before she continues.  “What you did in Manehattan... the reason why you left.”

You don’t understand.  “What are you talking about?  I-”

Twilight holds up a single lavender hoof, signaling for your silence.  “Please, don’t bother, I know the truth and nothing you can say will change that.”  Her front legs bend upwards as she lightly taps her hooves together, eliciting tiny *clip* *clop* noises, well at least she’s not being threatening about it.  

You deflate a little, your head drooping, she knows... she knows what you did...  You shoot her a single pitiful look, defeated, your secret’s out, what you’ve done.  Your life is now effectively in her hooves... she could get you thrown into a dungeon, destroy your relationship with Rarity, maybe even get you banished from Equestria altogether if you’re lucky, at least then you’d have as little an impact on Rarity’s life as possible, no chance that your past can affect her future.

“H-how?”  You ask, 

“I’m one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria.”  Her purple eyes dart away for a moment, and you can see her shift uneasily in her seat, the chair beneath her squeaking a little in response to the anxious movement.  “And Celestia’s personal protege, I have access to all kinds of magical artifacts.”  She swallows hard and looks up.  “And that’s all I’m going to say on the matter.” 

Fair enough you suppose, not like you can really go strong arming her for answers, she’s got the upper hoof here.

“Now, I’ll be honest, what you did... and why you did it.”  She sighs, shaking her head a little.  “That... well, to be frank, I don’t care about any of it.”

You perk up a tad at this.  Didn’t care?  Then what’s the point to any of this?

Twilight, as if reading your mind, speaks again.  “But what I do care about, is the well being of my friends.”  The unicorn’s face hardens, and her sparkling purple eyes bore a hole straight through your head and right into your soul, melting away any possible concealment.  

“I won’t let myself hurt Rarity!”  You speak, forcing out the sentence before the unicorn can cut you off again.  “I... I love her!  I couldn’t live with myself if I-”

“Stop.”  Twilight’s voice is gentle yet stern, like how a kind teacher would gently reprimand a student.  It effectively silences you and relaxes you at the same time.  “I know you care about her.  Just.... I want you to tell her.”

“Tell her what?”  You ask incredulously.  “Tell her what I did?”

The unicorn nods.  “Yes.”  

You sigh and shake your head.  “I... she and I talked about it a bit, earlier today.”  Your mind flashes back to that moment on the couch, when you’d promised to come clean about your past.  “I told her I would, but that I’d need a little time.”  Your expression morphs into that of a saddened frown.  “Something like this... it’s important yeah, but, I’m finding it difficult to talk about.”

Twilight nods in sympathy.  “I understand.”  She then crooks her mouth up into a sort of embarrassed smile.  “Whew, huh, that’s was a little...”

You chuckle.  “Heavy?”

The unicorn cocks her eyes up to the right and gently taps a hoof to her chin.  “Well... that’s as good an adjective as any I suppose.  I’m... uh, sorry about keeping you away from, whatever it is you’re doing.”  She smiles.  “I imagine Rarity has you out running errands, else you’d probably be at the boutique.”

Well, you aren’t really out running errands for Rarity, but you see no need to correct the lavender mare, after all, you still have quite a bit to get done.  

“Yeah, and, speaking of which, I’d better get a move on.”  You push your chair out from the table and hop down to the floor.  You turn back to Twilight, a sudden thought crossing your mind, you bow your head low and avert your gaze, nervously scuffing a hoof along the floor in a show of nervousness.  “Um, Miss Sparkle, can I ask you something?”

Twilight perks up a little.  “Sure, what is it?”

“Well...”  You stop and consider your words for a moment, Twilight’s already suspicious over how you treat Rarity, and you have no desire whatsoever to further those suspicions by telling her about your little incident with her earlier today.  “Rarity’s been really great to me since we met, and even better since we’ve... well, become a thing.”  You see the unicorn smile a little at the sight of your nervous display, unbeknownst to her, you respond to the smile, not because you have Rarity on the brain, but because you’re glad to see she isn’t suspecting anything sinister in your intentions.  “And I want to do something nice for her, maybe buy her some chocolates or something.”

“Do you want the name of a chocolate shop?”  Twilight happily suggests.  “There’s Sugarcube Corner, of course, but their chocolates aren’t all that great.  Oh, you could stop by Bon Bon’s Sweet Shop!  She’ll make something and deliver it for you.”  Her eyes go wide as an apparent idea crosses her mind.  “OH!  Maybe you want to make her something yourself!”  Her horn lights up and you narily manage to duck under a hovering book as she levitates it over, throwing it down on the table in front of you.  “I just got done reading all these new cookbooks I ordered the other day!”

You hold up a hoof and nervously chuckle.  “Uh, nooo... I was just going to ask if you know anypony who’d be willing to let me... I don’t know, run an errand for them in exchange for a few bits.”  You anxiously shift your eyes about and rub at the back of your neck with a hoof.  “You know, since, well, running errands is, heh,  kind of all I’m good at.”

The mare blows a puff of air out of the corner of her mouth, which disturbs her neatly combed mane just a tad.  “Nopony likes the cook books...”

“HEY, I like the cookbooks!”  You peer over your shoulder to see Icarus poking his head out from around the bend that led into the kitchen, the blue pegasus has donned a fancy chef’s hat and is clasping a spatula in his left hoof, waving it in the air, as if for emphasis.   

Twilight then shoots the stallion an ‘oh really?’ sort of look.  His eyes widen, as if in shock, before he clasps a hoof over his mouth and disappears back into the kitchen.

You turn back to the unicorn, a bewildered expression on your face.

“He likes to cook, but, doesn’t like to admit it.”  She rolls her eyes.  “It’s weird, don’t worry about it.  As far as your problem goes... well... I...”  She trails off for a moment, a tiny pink blush stinging her cheeks as she averts her eyes.  “I don’t really get out a whole lot.”  

“No, really?  That’s totally surprising!”  You pause for a moment.  “I never would’ve guessed that you, of all ponies, would be reclusive.”

The mare shoots you a nonplussed look.  “Funny...”  It’s then you remember that she holds your deepest secret in her hooves, and you realize that it’s probably not all that great of an idea to upset her.  

“Heh, I was, uh, just joking...”  

“Mmhm... suure.”  She shakes off that frown, some of her smile returns.  “I don’t really know if anypony’ll be willing to pay you for that, it’s a pretty quiet day, the market isn’t all that busy.”  The unicorn shrugs.  “Sorry, but I don’t think your odds of running into anypony that needs work is all that likely.”

You sigh in defeat.  “Figures, it’s not my day today.”

“Well...”  Twilight’s face screws up a little, as if a question is lingering on the tip of her tongue, you offer her the tiniest nod of your head, giving her the go ahead.  “Is any day your day?”

You open your mouth, about to come out with a bitter retort, before you realize something.  “The day I met Rarity...”  You smile, warmth spreading across your chest as your mind fills with lovely images of the white mare you adore. 

 “That was my day.”