CHAPTER 28
"Well, that wasn't anywhere near as stressful as I thought it would be." I let out a yawn, and flopped down on the bed. Pinks wasn't home yet, so I decided to hit the sack early, even though it was only in the earlier hours of the evening. "I wonder exactly WHEN I should pop the question... I think I'll give it another few weeks. It seems a bit too soon, now. Especially after the fiasco involving Pinkamena... I wouldn't really call that a fiasco though. Hm... I wonder what exactly Pinkamena would think of all of this... Wait, Pinkamena is another pony who shares a body with Pinks... Meaning she saw, heard, and felt it all when Pinks and I..." I shot up from the pillow. "AGH! GROSS!" I put my hooves on my temples and tried to force the thought out of my head, but the thought stuck, and transpired into a mental image. "Ugh... Well, I guess I just need to deal with it..." I let myself fall back into a laying position. It was a weird way for ponies to sleep, but I always found it comfortable. I stared up at the ceiling, letting my thoughts wander, thankfully causing the horrible scene playing out in my head to fade away. "Marriage, huh? Being together in one of the strongest bonds between two ponies, for the rest of our lives... Living together, laughing together... Loving together... Seems nice. We could even have foals... Heh, oh all the trouble they'd get into..." Suddenly, I heard the door slam open, and then shut, and Pinks pounced on top of me, a huge smile plastered on her face. At first, I almost started freaking out, thinking she'd heard me thinking aloud.
"Who'd get into trouble?" I chuckled a bit, and sighed with relief.
"Nopony, Pinks... Just thinking about something. Something wonderful." Pinks giggled, and gave me a quick kiss, before rolling off of me and onto her side of the bed.
"And what is this 'something?' Do you have something you want to tell me, lover boy?" I felt myself go pale. "Oh crud. She DOES know!" She noticed me go pale, and then frowned. "What is it? Tell me, please. I won't get mad at you, no matter what it is." Oh great, now she thinks I'm doing something wrong behind her back.
"Oh... Uh... Well... It's... It's a surprise! Yeah, that's it! You'll see what it is soon, don't worry." She smiled again, content with my answer. "PHEW! Crisis averted!"
"Well, whatever it is, I love surprises, and I'll love this one even more..." She snuggled up to me a bit, and wrapped her hooves around me, and I wrapped mine around her.
"Why?"
"Because it's from you." She nuzzled my chest a bit, giggling the whole time. I started rubbing her back, and I rested my head on top of her pillow-like mane. It was very comfortable. I was feeling a bit sleepy, but whenever I felt Pinks' breath slow down to signify that she was a sleep, I started feeling much more groggy, until I fell asleep, too.
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Chomp chomp chomp
"Ngh... Gummy, could you chew a bit quieter, please?" I rolled over a bit, and checked the clock. It was seven in the morning. Gummy was eating unusually loud, and it must've woken me up. "Wait... He can't be eating. We don't feed him until later!" I jumped up, and saw Gummy on the floor, chewing on black fabric... And right next to it, was a box with Rarity's name on it. "OH NO!" I managed to get Gummy to stop, but it was too late. My tux was torn to shreds. "Aw MAN! Are you KIDDING ME?!" I put my hooves over my eyes and groaned. "Of all the lousy luck I could have..."
"What's wrong, Shadow?" Pinks hugged me from behind, and it made me feel a little better.
"Nothing... Gummy just ate something I needed, that's all." Pinks lightly gasped, and then walked over to Gummy and picked him up.
"Gummy! Bad alligator! Don't eat Shadow's things... What'd he eat?" Uh-oh.
"Quick, THINK OF SOMETHING!" I was drawing a blank, so I did what I do in that kind of situation. Improvise. "He ate my- Uh- Formal wear. I had Rarity make some for me just in case we- Uh- get invited to a- Uh- really fancy- Uh- Party?" I smiled sheepishly, hoping she would buy it. She had her suspicious look on. "Oh dear." But, she gave me her trademark toothy grin, and nodded her head, almost violently.
"Good idea! You never know when something's gonna happen! Only I do, thanks to my Pinkie Sense!" Ah, the famous Pinkie Sense. Random spasms or twitches on her body, and something happens. "Right now my Pinkie sense tells me you're planning something romantic." D'OH! "Derpy eyes, followed by chattering teeth!" Great. She knows when I'm planning something. That only makes this a million times harder.
"Ehehe... Um... IGOTTAGOBYE!" I bolted out the door, not really knowing where I was going or what I was doing. But, I didn't want her finding out. "I guess I could check on the ring..."
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Knock knock knock. Spike opened the door, and smiled when he saw me. "Hey Shadow, how's it goin'?" I frowned.
"Gummy ate my tux. Now I gotta get Rarity to make me another, and I don't wanna make her do too much work. She's planning the wedding, after all." Spike smiled at this.
"That's a really good idea. Rarity is really smart, and really romantic. Combine those two, and you have the perfect wedding planner!" He threw his arms up in the air for emphasis, and I chuckled a bit. He was exaggerating a bit, but his little crush on Rarity can be the culprit for that.
"Yeah... Hey, is Twilight here? Is there any progress on the ring?" Spike frowned a bit, but then tried his best to perk back up.
"Well... She's been studying really hard-" I heard a pony slam their hooves on a desk in the library.
"EUREKA!" It was Twilight, and it sounded like she'd learned something in her studies for my ring.
"Uh... Never mind, Shadow. She's got it. Come on in." I walked past Spike, and Twilight was going full gallop towards the door, but skidded to a halt right in front of me.
"Shadow! I was just about to come see you! Come with me, and we can get your ring!" I smiled ear to ear.
"FINALLY something goes right..." I followed her up the stairs and to her room, where everything was shoved out of the way, asides from a table in the very center with a rock sitting on it, which I assumed was going to be transformed into my ring. "Awesome. So... You're gonna transform it now?" Twilight smiled and nodded.
"Now stand back, and keep quiet... I need full concentration, as this is a new spell to me." I nodded, and trotted back a bit. Twilight's horn began to glow, and a purple aura surrounded the rock, which levitated into the air, and started shaking. The shaking was mild at first, but slowly grew more and more violent as the seconds ticked by. Twilight grimaced, and started to sweat. I had half a mind to make her stop, but she asked me to be completely quiet, so I did. Eventually, there was a bright flash, and I was blinded for a second. When I came to... There was a large burn mark on the floor where the table and rock were.
"Uh... Twilight? What happened?" Twilight frowned, and dipped her head a bit.
"Sorry Shadow... I need to keep practicing." I frowned a bit, but shook it off and gave Twilight a hug.
"It's alright, you just practice. I can be patient. Thanks for at least trying. You're a good friend." Twilight hugged me back. Her coat was a little uncomfortable from the sweating, but I didn't mind.
"Sure thing, Shadow. Thanks for being understanding." We broke the hug and said our goodbyes, and I walked back to Sugarcube Corner, feeling more and more dejected as time passed.
"Why do I get the feeling that fate is gonna slap me across the face every time I attempt to prepare for this?"