//------------------------------// // Ch. 16: "If It's Not One Thing..." // Story: The Dawn of a bright, new life. // by Hallowedsoul //------------------------------// Chapter Sixteen “If It’s Not One Thing…” When morning came, I awoke… in my bed for once. My pajamas were wadded up and pinching me in places, but when I tried to move to clear them out, I felt a strange weight on my left side. When I looked at what it was, my heart about stopped. Twilight Sparkle was sleeping soundly next to me, one arm draped across my chest. Judging by the fact that we were both still wearing our sleepwear, I came to the conclusion that nothing had happened. ‘If anything had happened, you probably would have been awake for it.’ Nica chimed from inside my head (glad that whole business is over with, though I still feel kinda sorry for her) ‘Don’t. Like I said, I’ve made peace with my decision and I’m content to be like this. Still, it was nice to get out and stretch for a change.’ My mind contemplated how early it was and my body responded with “too damn early”, to which my mind agreed wholeheartedly. Besides, I was in bed with Twilight (‘Alert! We have a potential sex joke inbound!’ Hush, you) and I didn’t want to ruin the moment by getting up. However, Terra chose that time to come in the room. “Good morning, Leon.” She said softly and I noticed she was wearing her work uniform that Rarity had made for her “I just wanted to let you know that I will be spending a couple of weeks at Carousel Boutique; Rarity’s going to Canterlot soon to work on new dress ideas and to make a new one for Twilight.” “Probably for my birthday…” Twilight murmured sleepily. “Oh, she also wanted me to pass along her gratitude for asking Princess Celestia to accommodate her in the palace.” “I’ve already told her it’s no problem, I’d do the same for any of my friends; you included, Terra…” “Oh.” Terra said, blushing slightly “I’m glad you consider me your friend, Twilight, thank you. I should get going now; I’ll see you later, Leon.” “Okay, Terra, just be careful.” I replied just as sleepily “Call me if you need anything.” And with that, Terra exited the bedroom, closing the door behind her. I proceeded to remain in that special bit of bliss between sleeping and waking. ‘Hey Leon, I think something really important was just said there. You should probably boot up that brain of yours and figure out what it was.’ There was a hint of humor in Nica’s voice. I groaned inwardly, but decided to do as asked, though I mourned the loss of that special bit of bliss I’d been in. I opened my eyes blearily and stared at the ceiling while my brain began the start-up process and analyzed the data it had just received. I swear to God, I thought I could hear that stupid freakin’ tone that comes with a dial-up connection (‘it ain’t just you. I’m hearing it as well and it is annoying the hell out of me’). And then what Twilight had just said hit me. Her birthday was coming up… very, very soon. “Ah, crap…” I groaned, which caused Twilight to lift her head and stare at me sleepily. “What’s wrong, Leon?” She asked, to which I sighed. “Your birthday is approaching… and I don’t have a gift for you yet.” I replied. Twilight just gave a small giggle, followed by a yawn. “It’s alright. You’ll come up with something, and I’m sure it’ll be lovely...” She murmured, laying her head back on my shoulder. I decided I could deal with it once I was ready to face the world. ‘Oh, please. You just want to stay in bed with Twilight.’ Nica chided, but then I swore I heard a light bulb go off ‘Well, since you’re in bed with her, you could-’ “And I’m up.” I groaned, removing my body from Twilight’s embrace, much to her displeasure, and stood from my bed. I stretched and ran my hands through my hair, glad to have my body back. Then I went to the master bathroom (which was downstairs) and conducted bathroom business, namely a shower. I exited the bathroom in a cloud of steam wearing my pajama bottoms and drying my hair off with my towel and went upstairs to change. I ran into Twilight on my way up, who’d changed into a spare set of clothes she’d taken to keeping around my place, and she blushed at the sight of my bare chest (oh yeah, she hasn’t seen me like this yet), which caused me to blush as well, but fortunately I could hide it because my face was already flushed from my shower. “I suppose since we’re dating you might as well get to see what RD got a look at a couple of months ago.” I said, though I was thoroughly embarrassed. ‘Dude, you totally meant for her to see you like this.’ Never said otherwise, Nica, but it doesn’t stop me from being embarrassed. “I see you… keep yourself in good shape…” She murmured. After a long and awkward moment, I coughed and she gasped in realization as she stepped to the side to allow me to pass. As I did though, she gave me a quick peck on the cheek (I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but kisses from Twilight are amazing) which I returned with a smile. Once I was dressed in my standard affair, I went downstairs and into the kitchen to cook breakfast for Twilight and I, all the while trying to decide what I should get Twilight. She loved books, but I wasn’t sure which ones she already had. I could get her jewelry, but I wasn’t sure she’d appreciate it as much. ‘Leon, you’re going down the same path all boyfriends go down so I’m gonna give you the wisest piece of wisdom you’ll ever hear; she will love whatever you give her.’ “I know, Nica, but I also want it to matter to her.” I replied audibly, needing to hear myself think for once “It wouldn’t mean as much if I just got her a hallmark card and called it a day; I need effort to go with it as well. It needs to say ‘I truly care about you and this is how far I’m willing to go to prove it’.” ‘Wow, Leon.’ She replied, genuinely impressed ‘I think I’m gonna leave the sage wisdom to you from now on.’ “Don’t be ridiculous, Nica. That was good advice; I need to be making this a priority so anything that keeps me focused on the task at hand only helps me.” I replied casually, stirring the eggs so that they wouldn’t burn. “Are you talking to Veronica, Leon?” Twilight asked, taking a seat at the table. “Yeah, she’s just giving me some help.” I said as I tipped the eggs onto our plates. I pulled the toast out of the oven and spread some butter lightly over the four pieces before also putting them onto the plates and taking them to the table. “Is she behaving herself?” Twilight asked slyly. “’No.’ Jury’s still out on that, Twi.” I chuckled. We ate our breakfast in relative silence. Once we were finished, I stood to take our dishes to the kitchen, but Twilight merely smiled and her horn glowed with a magenta light. Our dishes levitated off of the table and flew to the kitchen, where I heard the water turn on for a moment before shutting off again and the sound of dishes setting themselves up to be washed was heard. “Show off.” I said and Twilight giggled. “Not really, that was pretty basic magic for me.” I was about to retort with something witty when her phone started ringing. She took it out of a pocket on her vest and looked at it before answering with a smile. “Good morning, Spike.” She said, and then her face became surprised “The new shipment of books came in today? Okay, set it to the side for now, I’ll be there in just a second.” And she hung up her phone, giving me an apologetic look. “Go do what you need to, Twi.” I said, giving her a gentle smile “I gotta go shop around anyway and it’ll be difficult to do when you’re hanging around me all day.” She smiled, walked around the table and gave me a hug as well as a quick kiss before stepping away from me and teleporting home. “Now…” I murmured, putting a hand up to my chin in thought “What to get Twilight for her birthday?” ‘Well, you could always-’ Nica began but I interrupted her. “Unless that suggestion is appropriate, you should keep it to yourself.” ‘You’re no fun, Leon. I mean, I practically set the two of you up to have-’ “Nica…” I said warningly, and I heard her sigh in defeat. ‘Alright, I’ll be serious about this. Why don’t you try calling her friends?’ “Hmm, Applejack wouldn’t be able to keep a secret to save her life, Pinkie Pie is not much better because she tends to run at the mouth when she’s excited, Rainbow dash would suggest ‘something awesome’ while not being descriptive and Rarity would recommend something extravagant, though she’s got other plans right now so she’s non sequitor anyway.” I said, listing off each mare “That leaves Fluttershy. I’ll need you to be paying very close attention to what she says, Nica. I may miss something on accident.” ‘Why, because she’s cute as a button and her shyness is just plain attractive?’ Nica teased. “No, because she’s so freakin’ quiet when she speaks.” I replied exasperated “And even if I wasn’t seeing Twilight, Fluttershy would be the last mare I’d consider dating; there’d be less romance and more me trying to protect her from the whole damn world, and I really don’t want that.” ‘Y’know, some guys get off on being a knight in shining armor for a woman, Leon.’ “There’s being a knight and then there’s being overprotective and with Fluttershy, I’d just be overprotective.” With that, I took my phone out of my pocket and selected Fluttershy’s number. After a couple of rings she answered. “Hello?” She said and I had to strain my ears to hear her. “Hi, Fluttershy, it’s Leon; I was wondering if you’re busy.” “Oh, not really, I’m just taking care of my animal friends and tending my garden today.” She replied “Did you need some help, Leon?” “Yeah… I need some ideas on what to get Twilight for her birthday and I was wondering if it’d be alright if I came over and talked to you about it. Do you mind?” “Oh goodness, no. Though I don’t know how much help I’ll be, you are most certainly welcome to visit.” “Okay, thanks Fluttershy.” I said, but then an idea occurred to me “Hey, do you mind if I bring a friend?” “…It’s not Vinyl, is it? She scares my animals whenever she visits.” “No, I have a different friend in mind; she’s kinda new in town and doesn’t really know anypony, plus it’ll be a good opportunity to spend some time with her, if that’s okay.” “Oh, of course, Leon. Feel free to bring whoever you want… just not Vinyl.” “Thanks, Fluttershy, I’ll let you go now. See you in a little while.” “Goodbye, Leon.” And we hung up. ‘Fluttershy? Not liking somepony? I think the temperature in Tartarus just dropped a few degrees.’ “You know how Fluttershy gets about her critters, Nica.” ‘Yeah, but still… she all but said that Vinyl Scratch isn’t welcome in her home! That’s some juicy gossip material right there, Leon!’ I dismissed Nica as I scrolled through my list of contacts until I found Sakura’s number and dialed it. She answered after a couple of rings. “Konnichiwa, Leon-sama!” She chirped into her phone and I smiled. “Good morning, Sakura; are you busy today?” “Nope. Spectra-sama gave me a couple of days off. Why do you ask?” “I was gonna go over to a friend’s house to ask her for some help and wondered if you wanted to come with me and hang out?” There was an uncomfortable silence before she answered. “Is she okay with it? I won’t be imposing, will I?” “If she isn’t, she can get over it. Besides, I’ve already asked her if I can bring a friend and she said yes.” “Okay… tell me where you want to meet and I’ll be there as soon as I can.” “There’s a road leading out of town and to the Everfree Forest. Do you know where it is?” “I think so. I’ll meet you there in roughly thirty minutes.” “Alright, see you then, Sakura.” “Later, Leon-sama!” And we hung up. I walked over to the door and put my shoes on, followed by my hat, new coat and messenger bag. I was about to walk out the door when I remembered something and hurried upstairs to get my iPod which I’d left connected to my computer to charge. Once I had that, I exited the house and went to where I was to meet up with Sakura. I sat on a bench nearby and listened to my iPod while I waited for her, waving at the various ponies who walked by. Some wandered over and chatted with me for a few minutes (Lyra was currently attempting to seduce me away from Twilight, but after what happened during estrus, I was extremely wary of her. It’s not to say that I won’t ever hang out with her again, I just won’t do it alone). Eventually, Sakura showed up and waved excitedly to me. “Ohayō gozaimasu, Leon-sama!” She called out; hurrying over and giving me a small, polite bow “It’s good to see you again! Are you not with your marefriend today?” “No, but we’re going to see one of my other friends about some advice for a birthday present for her, and maybe help out a little around their home.” I replied, giving her a small bow of my own “She lives on the edge of the Everfree Forest, where she tends to various animals.” “She must be a very brave pony, Leon-sama!” Sakura said, her voice full of awe, and I chuckled a bit. “You could say that.” I replied with a small smile on my face, and we began to walk down the road towards Fluttershy’s house. After a moment, I noticed Sakura was holding a bag. “What’s in the bag, Sakura?” I asked her to which she gave me a small smile. “It is customary where I’m from to bring a gift when invited to someone else’s house; it’s our way of saying we appreciate and respect them for accepting us into their home.” She replied cheerfully. As we approached, she looked at Fluttershy’s home curiously. “I did not expect to be seeing so many… tiny houses around it.” Sakura said “I was thinking it would be full of training dummies and covered in weapons.” “Nah, Fluttershy would faint in such an environment; she’s not really into conflict that much.” I replied with a chuckle and Sakura looked at me curiously. “That’s… not what I had in mind.” She said, crestfallen, but then her face perked back up “its okay, her home looks so cute, I bet she’s a really nice pony.” “Only a fool would bet against you, Sakura.” I laughed “Fluttershy’s a little timid, but she’s the kindest pony I know.” When we got closer, I could see Fluttershy going from house to house giving food to the various animals that lived there. I called out to her and waved when she turned to look. She waved back at me, but then saw Sakura. She flew over quickly and examined Sakura closely, causing the fox-girl to blush a little. “Oh my, I’ve never seen somepony like you before; you must be an Inari Fox.” Fluttershy said, then turned her attention to me “Is she the friend you told me about?” “Yeah. Fluttershy, this is Sakura; Sakura, meet Fluttershy. She takes care of the animals around Ponyville and provides veterinary and pet-sitting services for the ponies in town that have pets.” I replied. “Ohayō gozaimasu, Flutter-san.” Sakura said, bowing politely to Fluttershy, causing the pegasus to blush. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sakura.” Fluttershy said, her voice quiet “Do you mind me asking what it is you do here, if that’s okay, I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to…” Sakura smiled at Fluttershy “Of course, Flutter-san! I’m a receptionist for Aurora Hall, the new night club in town.” “Oh my… are they treating you well there?” Fluttershy asked, her expression worried “I’ve heard those places can get a little… rough, sometimes…” “Of course; Spectra-sama would never allow any of us to come to harm, and he makes absolutely sure to maintain as much order in his establishment as possible.” She replied happily, and I smiled to myself. Sakura was about to say something else, but then suddenly remembered her bag. She gave a small squeak and hastily removed the item, placed it on the bag and held it out to Fluttershy with both hands. It was a rather ordinary looking melon, except that it looked very fresh. “I’m sorry, Flutter-san! Honno o shirushi de gozai masu ga.” She said hurriedly, with a bow “I hope you’re not upset with me for not showing the proper respect…” Fluttershy and I looked at her in genuine surprise. Fluttershy glanced at me curiously, to which I shrugged and inclined my head towards Sakura and after a moment’s hesitation, she reached a hand out to take the melon. I coughed, getting Fluttershy’s attention, and cupped my own hands together as if to say “both hands”. Fluttershy promptly raised her other hand and accepted the melon from Sakura, who looked extremely grateful. “Thank you, Sakura, but you don’t have to be worried about upsetting me.” Fluttershy said, giving the fox-girl a sweet smile “Although this melon looks delicious. Would it be alright if we ate it with lunch?” Sakura nodded and Fluttershy immediately flew inside to put it away. When she came back, she turned her attention to me. “Now, Leon. You said you needed help getting Twilight a birthday present?” She asked me to which I nodded. “Yes. I’ve listed off some ideas, like getting her a book or jewelry, but I keep running into a wall in regards to if she’ll actually appreciate it.” I said, blushing slightly and both girls giggled. “Leon-sama, it doesn’t matter what you give her, as long as it comes from the heart.” Sakura replied and Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “Sakura is correct, Leon. I’m sure that whatever you give her will be lovely and she’ll be happy with it because she knows you put so much thought into giving it to her.” “Still…” I said, blushing “It wouldn’t hurt to have a general idea of something she’d like. I really want it to be special, because…” I stopped myself, realizing I was about to say ‘because she means so much to me’, but both girls giggled having caught it anyway. “Well, I don’t know much about what Twilight likes, but I’ll tell you what I can.” Fluttershy said, giving me a gentle smile. So Sakura and I spent a couple of hours talking to Fluttershy and helping her with some of her chores (Sakura turned out to be great with animals; the birds could scarcely leave her alone for more than a few seconds). Once everything was done she led us inside and served us tea, all the while talking to Sakura about where she’d come from. Sakura spoke highly of her homeland, but was reluctant to talk about her time in Fillydelphia, saying only that she “never wanted to go back there”. Fortunately, she perked right back up as soon as she started talking about her job, giving a glowing report of her co-workers and her boss. I could tell she really, truly loved working at Aurora Hall and I understood how she felt a little. When you enjoy the job you do and the people you work with make you feel welcome, it starts to feel less like work. Unfortunately, Fluttershy didn’t have any better ideas of what to get for Twilight, either so I was stuck on that point. Oh well, I still had a couple of weeks and I was gonna be spending more time with Twilight anyway, so maybe I could pick something up that way. The day wasn’t a complete loss; Sakura was extremely happy to have made friends with Fluttershy, who told her she could come and visit the animals whenever she wanted because Sakura had been so good with them. She was also happy to get to hang out with me, perhaps the first real friend she’d made since coming to Ponyville. However, as we were returning to town I heard a shrill scream and turned to see a baby carriage shooting straight toward a sharp drop-off at a frightening speed. “Oh no, Leon-sama!” Sakura gasped, pointing at it “That poor foal is in terrible danger! We should do something!” “We’ll never get there in time to stop it, Sakura.” I replied calmly, but I saw that the drop-off would send the carriage more-or-less towards us “Sakura, let’s fan out to either side and be ready to catch the carriage when it comes flying off the cliff. This might hurt a little, but-” I was cut-off at the sight of a rainbow trail shooting towards the carriage, with Rainbow Dash grabbing the carriage and digging her hooves in. It took a second, but she was far enough away that the carriage managed to come to a stop inches before it would’ve fallen off. The ponies that had gathered around us all cheered for Rainbow Dash, who looked sheepish for a moment before bowing and waving to the crowd, but then she looked in the carriage and gasped. “Oh no!” She called out “There’s something wrong with the foal!” There was a collective gasp from everypony around us (‘Oh hey, there’s Twilight and her gang, sans two pegasi.’ Nica stated casually and when I looked, there she was indeed. She caught my eye and waved while I tipped my hat to her). “She’s not cheering for everypony’s favorite hero!” RD called out with a smile, holding the foal up high, which caused the crowd to cheer again. Twilight and the others walked over to Sakura and I, with Twilight taking hold of my arm and drawing in close. We saw Rainbow take the foal back to her mother, but just as she was handing her over, she caught sight of some photographers taking pictures of her and, to my great irritation, practically shoved the small foal into her mother’s arms, who gave Rainbow Dash a rather cross glare before walking off with her child. The cyan pegasus began striking various confidant poses for the photographers. “There just aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe Rainbow Dash’s awesomeness!” Scootaloo stated, looking upon the pegasus with admiration while wearing a multi-colored wig. “I can think of a few new ones.” Twilight piped in, her expression dubious. “An' ah bet ‘modest’ ain’t one a’ them.” Applejack deadpanned, to which all but Pinkie nodded to in agreement. “Well…” Twilight replied calmly “She is kind of awesome.” There was something weirdly familiar about this scenario but I just didn’t know what it was. I shrugged and proceeded to introduce them all to Sakura, who seemed a little embarrassed to meet so many different ponies all at once (and was shaking nervously in the face of Pinkie Pie, though she seemed to like Rarity and Applejack quite a bit). I decided it was probably just Rainbow Dash being Rainbow Dash and left it alone while I hung out with my friends.