Widget stirred restlessly as the light coming in from the window attempted to penetrate his eyelids. The sound of birds chirping outside reached his ears, causing him to groan and throw a pillow in an attempt to silence them. It failed utterly and hit the wall with an unceremoniously soft thud. It’s too early for this. Widget rubbed his temples, easing the throbbing pain that was building up. Slowly getting to his hooves, he lazily made his way to the kitchen, where a steaming hot pot of coffee was waiting for him. Grabbing a mug of the bitter brew and adding a shot of whiskey, he sat down in the living room and sipped the sweet nectar of the gods that would make the pain go away.
Empty bottles and glasses were strewn about, invading the normally organized living space. The throbbing in Widget’s head slowly receded. Ugh… why did I drink that much again? He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Oh, that’s right...
Widget sat at the bar, absent-mindedly drinking from his glass of whiskey. Bon Bon and Berry were chatting about the weather for the next week. However, Widget couldn’t focus on anything; he was feeling pain in his heart that he had thought forgotten. His mind ran around in circles, trying desperately to figure out why he was feeling the way he was and coming up with nothing at every possible turn. Widget grunted and took a large swig of his drink, staring at the empty glass in his hoof.
“Widget!”
The ice cubes in the glass shook as a hoof pounded the counter. Widget blinked and looked up at the hoof, covered in a light purple coat. Tracing the hoof back to it’s owner, he stared blankly at Berry’s stern face which was creased with focus, her eyes scanning his with concern.
“I said, ‘are you ok’?” Berry bit her bottom lip and stared into Widget’s eyes.
Widget blinked a few times, looking over at Bon Bon, who was rubbing her hooves together nervously and looking at him as if he were going to fall over any minute. Widget took a deep breath and sighed, nudging his empty glass with a hoof. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just need to go.”
“Are you sure?” Berry had a concerned and disbelieving gaze.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I just need some rest. I’ve been a bit busy lately so work’s been getting to me,” Widget lied, removing himself from the barstool and leaving a few bits for Berry.
“Do you want somepony to walk you home? I could… if you want,” Bon Bon said as she traced circles on the floor with her hoof.
Widget shook his head and gave both mares a weak smile. “I’ll be fine. I should probably just get right to bed anyways. I’ll see you two later.”
Widget heard hoofsteps following him as he walked out the door. “Hey, Widget!” Bon Bon called out. Widget stopped in his tracks. Bon Bon shuffled her fore-hooves as she looked at him. She bit her lip as her ears splayed back.. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then. I’ll be over to pick you up at ten o’clock. Sound good?”
“Oh yeah, that’s fine. Just ring the doorbell when you get to my place. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Widget gave Bon Bon a short nod as the mare returned to the inside of the bar.
Widget stumbled into his house and fumbled around for the lightswitch. The clock chimed ‘eleven o’clock’ as he managed to find the light switch. Well, I’m not getting any sleep like this. Widget walked over to his cabinets and took out a bottle of whiskey. He unscrewed the cap and drank straight from the bottle as he plopped down onto his chair. Picking up a picture album from a nearby open box, he opened it and flipped through it’s contents. He stopped on a page that held a picture of a teenage light blue colt and a teenage white unicorn mare standing closely together with smiles on their faces. When will I learn? I can’t let that happen again; it was just too painful the first time. Widget sighed, tipping his bottle up and drinking the contents freely.
Widget rubbed his forehead as he woke up in his chair. He stared blankly at the open picture album on the coffee table which was surrounded by the empty liquor bottles. Holy hay, how much did I drink? Widget picked up the bottles and deposited them into the trash as he stumbled around the room. He cursed as he tripped over a stray bottle on the floor. A bottle of liquor and six beers... I should really be in the hospital right now. At least it’s not like the treehouse incident though. Waking up in the hospital is not a pleasant experience. Widget shook his head in disbelief and walked to the bathroom to get ready for the day and clear his head from the hangover.
Several hours later, the doorbell’s chime caught Widget’s attention as he finished cleaning up the mess from the previous night. Throwing the last bottle into the trash, he walked down the stairs and opened the front door, revealing a light-yellow cream colored mare with a picnic basket. Widget smiled and waved at her. “Good morning, Bon Bon.”
Bon Bon smiled, fiddling with her hooves. “Good morning. Are you ready to go?”
“Go? Go where?” Widget raised an eyebrow, mentally smirking. Today should be fun.
Bon Bon’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped. “You know, the place you agreed to go to today. I reminded you about it last night, and you told me to stop by?”
Widget scratched his chin, looking up at the sky in contemplation. “Hmmm… I don’t know…”
Bon Bon’s lips quivered slightly and water was pooling in her eyes. “But, but…!”
Widget smirked and giving her a playful nudge with his hoof. “Oh c’mon, do you think I’m that terrible of a pony? I wouldn’t forget a promise like that.”
Bon Bon scrunched up her face as she gave him an intimidating glare—or at least that’s what it seemed like she was trying to do. “You’re mean.”
Widget chuckled at her behavior, unable to contain himself, provoking a red tint growing on the mare’s cheeks. “Yes I am.”
“You shouldn’t play around like that. I thought you forgot like the first time we hung out together.” Bon Bon’s posture had dropped as she sat down on the ground in front of him, her ears pulled back and her eyes downcast.
Widget’s expression sobered up at that, a sad smile gracing his features. “Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to do that. I explained about the dragon’s fire right?”
Bon Bon nodded weakly, which he took as his signal to continue. “Well, I haven’t had any dragon’s fire since then, right? So there wouldn’t be any excuse as to why I would actually forget a promise, would there?”
She bit her bottom lip and glared at him for a moment. Widget could feel her piercing gaze in that moment, sending a cold shiver down his spine. Bon Bon released her gaze with a drawn out sigh, a look of resignation on her features as she looked into his eyes. “Just don’t do it again, ok?”
Widget nodded, his ears splaying back as he realized how badly he had hit her with his jest. “Ok, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you angry.”
“Apology accepted.” Bon Bon nodded, her ears perking up as her lips curled upwards into a wide smile. “Now c’mon, let’s go, Mr. Slowpoke!”
She stuck out her tongue at Widget, who laughed and followed her to the park in silence. The park had an open field of grass on which quite a few ponies enjoyed the warm sunny day, some with their families and friends, and others content to spend the time alone under a tree. Looking around, Widget spotted the small forest to the right. “Why don’t we go for a little walk first? The park seems to be a bit… crowded, today.”
Bon Bon glanced at the park, filled with ponies, and nodded her consent. Widget took the lead and wove through the forest path as he looked about the scenery with awe. Bon Bon caught sight of his foalish fascination with the forest. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
Widget grinned sheepishly, turning his attention back to Bon Bon. “Sorry, didn’t mean to space out there. I’ve always enjoyed nature in its element and it’s usually places like these where I feel the most comfortable.”
“Oh, really?” Bon Bon replied. “Did you take a lot of trips into the woods when you were a foal?”
“Yeah, my grandpa would take me out camping at least once a year, sometimes more. It was so peaceful. I have a lot of good memories from the woods.” Turning his gaze upwards, he exhaled softly as fond memories of camping with his grandpa passed through his mind. A flicker of light from the edge of his vision catching his attention, Widget turned to look at the source. Bon Bon strode next to him, her pink and blue mane bouncing lightly as she basked in the scattered sunlight. Her white-cream coat glistened as her hips swayed from side to side, their roundness sparking a white-hot feeling in Widget’s body. No! What are you doing?! Get your head out of the gutter! Shaking his head to clear his mind from thoughts of questionable origin, he turned his attention back to the path.
“What about you? Did you do anything special with your family when you were a foal?”
“Hmm. Well, I remember cooking a lot with my mom. We would make all kinds of things.” Bon Bon held a hoof to her muzzle as she giggled. “Actually, this one day my mom decided to show me how to make some hard candy. She had been keeping the recipe a secret until then, and I had begged her to let me help someday. So we made the hard candy, and I was in total bliss. And when it finished, we shared it with the rest of my family to try it. When I saw their approving smiles, I was so excited that I didn’t even notice I earned my cutie mark!”
Widget chuckled, glancing over at Bon Bon. He replied in a teasing tone, “Somehow, I don’t doubt that in the slightest.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bon Bon pouted, her cheeks puffed out in indignation.
Widget only laughed harder at her cute display. He winked at her as he replied in a playful tone. “Only that I can imagine a very cute, happy little filly version of a certain pony I know who looked like she just won first prize in the Canterlot Games.”
Bon Bon’s pout quickly turned into a sheepish smile, faint traces of a blush on her face as she looked away. “Oh. Ok, then.”
Bon Bon’s tone had softened as she focused on the path ahead while sneaking a few glances over at Widget when she thought he wasn’t looking. He just smirked and turned his gaze forward. What do you think you’re doing? Widget paused, looking up into the sky as his thoughts drifted. Painful memories mixed with happy ones, a mix of emotions fighting for dominance. Closing his eyes, Widget took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, quieting his mind. Two forces stood out from the rest: the need to protect himself, and the growing desire to feel a deeper connection with another pony.
A sound broke him from his light meditative state as he opened his eyes and found Bon Bon looking back at him. Blinking, he noticed the blank stare she gave him. “Um, sorry. Did you say something?”
“I asked if you were ok.” Bon Bon’s mouth curved into a small frown, her brow wrinkling slightly.
“Oh. Yeah, I’m ok. Sorry about that, lost myself in thought.” Widget trotted up beside Bon Bon and continued the walk along the path.
The treeline opened up to a circular clearing with a small creek to the far left. Widget let out a deep breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding. Widget gave Bon Bon a small smile. “We’re here. How about we get lunch set up?”
Bon Bon’s brow was creased, her eyes scanning his features. She nodded and placed the blanket from the basket she was carrying in a partially shaded area of the clearing. Sitting down, Bon Bon passed Widget a wrapped sandwich and some fruit, and poured him a cup of tea from a thermis. “Here you are, I hope sandwiches are ok with you.”
“Thanks, Bon Bon, it looks delicious.” A hopeful look adorned Bon Bon’s face as she bit her bottom lip lightly in anticipation. Mentally chuckling to himself, Widget took a bite of the sandwich. It was a tulip sandwich, which always had a smooth and mellow flavor, but there was something different. The mellow flavor had a kick to it that Widget couldn’t place. It was a nice compliment of spices and oils that were mixed together in a blend. “That’s pretty good! What kind of condiment did you put on these?”
Her face lit up with excitement, her hooves happily clapping away. “Oh, good! I was hoping you’d like it. I made it myself from a couple of different spices and herbs with some salad oil as the base.”
“Mmmm. Well, it’s great so whatever you did, keep doing that!” Widget soon found that his hooves were empty. His ears perked up when he heard Bon Bon giggling. “What is it?”
Covering her muzzle with a hoof to stifle her laughter, she pointed to Widget’s face. Confused, he looked behind him but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “What is it? There’s nothing behind me, is there? No ponies are making funny looks at me behind my back, are they?”
Bon Bon stifled her laughter; grabbing a napkin she leaned over and wiped his muzzle. “There.”
She smiled as she removed her hoof to make sure she had taken care of the mess. Widget coughed into a hoof and gave her an awkward smile. “Thanks…”
Bon Bon blushed and retreated to her seat as she twiddled her hooves. “Sorry about that, I just…”
“No, don’t be sorry! I’m the dummy who couldn’t figure out what you were trying to say earlier.” Widget smiled at her and took a sip from the tea that had been placed before him. Seriously, what the hay? Normally I’m more alert than this! Widget ate the apple in silence, while Bon Bon she ate her sandwich. As he ate, he contemplated the reason why he let his guard down. This wasn’t the first time this week he had dropped his guard, and it was starting to bother him. Widget’s eyes widened mid-bite as he came to a strange realization. Trust. Its been so long since I could openly trust mares. Or rather, its been a long time since I chose to trust them. But why now? Was it the move the Ponyville? A false sense of security? Widget was pulled out of his internal reflection before he could get to any real answers.
“So, I heard that somepony came and made a scene earlier this week when you were at Carino’s with Berry. I asked her about it, but she said it wasn’t her place to say anything…” Bon Bon said as she looked at Widget questioningly. Widget sighed, cracking his neck as he prepared for the inevitable.
“And I’m guessing you’d like to know what happened?” He asked. She simply nodded in response. Widget took a deep breath, paying attention to his heart rate as he prepared his explanation. “My ex-marefriend came to deliver a commision from her father. Things got a little heated, she left, then Berry and I left.”
Bon Bon nodded, her ears splaying back half-way. “Why did she come to deliver the commission? Couldn’t he have just mailed it to you?”
“The thing is, I didn’t exactly give him my new address. So he apparently sent his daughter to look for me.” Widget snorted. “Flattering really; I didn’t think that my work was in that high of demand, but he was always a pony who valued his standing business relationships. Didn’t even bring up my relationship with his daughter after we had broken up. He just came in and acted like nothing had changed.”
“So, why did things get ‘heated’?” she asked.
“Well, we kind of had a bit of a history…” He continued to explain to Bon Bon his past with Twinkleshine, glazing over the one-night stands.
After he had finished his story, Bon Bon scratched her chin as she processed the information. She looked up with a determined gaze as she finished. “So… is Berry your new marefriend?”
“Huh!?” Widget’s eyes grew wide, his jaw dropping stupidly.
Bon Bon looked down at her hooves as a blush bloomed in her cheeks. “Well, the rumors said that Twinkleshine asked about your new marefriend. And since Berry was the only one with you at the time…”
“Wha!?” Widget blinked. So that’s what this is all about then? Chuckling, he found an unamused mare glaring at him. “No, she isn’t my marefriend. We were out on a friendly lunch, just like you and me right now. Twinkleshine jumped to assumptions and tried to provoke me.”
Bon Bon winced slightly, her ears splayed back. It only lasted a moment until her posture visibly relaxed. Her shoulders rolled back; her mouth curled upwards slightly as her ears shifted back to their normal position. The question that was bothering her had been released, expelling the pent-up tension. Widget couldn’t help but feel a bit of respect for the mare. It took some guts to ask something like that.
Bon Bon caught Widget’s attention and said. “So, who is your marefriend then?”
“Um…” Widget blinked, his eyes widening. “I don’t… have one.”
“Oh.” Bon Bon looked down at her hooves. “Are you interested in anypony in particular?”
Widget clenched his teeth, his heart-rate rising as he looked around for a way out of answering the question. Normally, a well thought out answer was necessary in these situations. Unfortunately for him, his mouth seemed to open before his brain could stop it. “I might be… Why?”
Where in Tartarus did that come from!? Widget mentally face-hoofed. And who am I interested in!?
“Who?” Bon Bon had ignored the question in his statement, her eager eyes begging him to continue.
“Um…” Use your brain, c’mon! Widget rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. “I can’t say for sure. My thoughts are all over the place right now. I’ve been focused on getting my shop up and running, so I haven’t been able to look into it too deeply yet.”
Obvious stall. Widget just focused on breathing. He held a hoof to his chest as his heart beat faster with each breath. His mind was in a swirling vortex of emotions and thoughts that consumed him, sweat dripping down his face. Why did I say that?! Do I like somepony? And when did this happen!?
Bon Bon gave him a concerned look. “It’s ok, if you don’t want to talk about it, I understand.”
Widget didn’t hear her, his mind spiraling in on itself. It was all happening again. First Twinkleshine, and now… now this. It was too much; his past was coming back to haunt him in ways he never wanted to imagine. The mares were the same as before, just as he was the same gullible stallion. He never really changed, even after the move. He’d have to move again, change his name this time to get it right. Everything that he worked for, gone—Just like that.
Widget’s eyes focused on the mare in front of him. Her expression had grown worried and her mouth was moving. Widget couldn’t concentrate on the words, but the sound of her voice was comforting as his thoughts spiraled out of control. It sounded like she was speaking incoherently to him; nonsensical combinations of soothing sounds reaching his ears.
Breathing proved to be difficult as his breaths became short and ragged. A light film of sweat coated his body. Widget gasped as he came to a realization. I do like them.
Them. It was Widget’s only thought as he came crashing back into reality, his focus shifting to the cream-colored mare before him. She reached out her hoof, which was quickly repelled by his hoof. An apprehensive look appeared on his muzzle as he looked at the offending hoof. She simply continued to talk, her voice finally becoming audible as his heartbeat and breathing began to slow, returning to a healthy rhythm.
“It’s ok…” Bon Bon said.
Widget could only stare at Bon Bon as her words repeated themselves over and over, spoken in a soothing and calm voice that tugged at his heartstrings. I like them.
Widget closed his eyes and inhaled deeply while holding it for the briefest of moments. He collected all of his emotions into this one breath. As he let it out, he felt a heavy weight being lifted from his body. Opening his eyes slowly, he could only give a small smile in appreciation for the mare who had done her best to calm him down.
Both ponies sat there in silence, allowing the moment to pass. “Thanks, Bon Bon, I appreciate that.” He chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly with a hoof. “I guess I was kinda lame there for a minute. Sorry about that.”
“It’s not a problem at all!” Bon Bon exclaimed, smiling warmly at him. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not right now, but…” Widget sighed as he looked at her. “I promise to talk to you about it as soon as I can.”
“It’s fine.” Bon Bon gave him a reassuring nod. After several moments of silence, she spoke. “So, what’s your favorite kind of food?”
Widget burst out laughing, holding his chest with both hooves as he fell backwards. “That’s the most ‘left-field pitch’ I’ve ever heard! I’m impressed!”
Bon Bon puffed her cheeks, a blush forming as she narrowed her eyes at him. “Well, you do it then!”
Glad to see I didn’t put too much of a damper on things. Widget recovered from his bout of laughter and pulled himself back up. “Alright, how about you tell me more about your time at school?”
Bon Bon’s eyes sparkled at the new subject, all too eager to move past the awkward experience they had just gone through. Together, they swapped stories from their childhood. The time seemed to go on without notice. Soon, the sun was dipping down past the tree line. “...and then Berry and I were grounded for a whole month! Definitely worth it though.”
Widget laughed as Bon Bon’s happy expression was written all over her face. “You two seem like you were quite the mischievous little fillies back in your day.”
Bon Bon smirked. “I suppose we were, although I don’t think that Berry ever grew out of it…”
“Yeah, I figured that much already.” Widget chuckled. He looked over at the descending sun and frowned, checking his watch to confirm his suspicions. “Wow, we’ve been at it for a while now! We should probably head back to Ponyville. I don’t want to get caught in the woods at night even if it is safe enough.”
Bon Bon nodded and the two of them gathered the remains of the picnic and left the forest. The pair walked through the empty streets in a comfortable silence. Widget glanced over at Bon Bon as they reached her house. “I had a great time today. I’m glad you invited me out.”
“I did too,” she replied. “See you soon.”
“Yeah, see you soon.” Widget waved as he made his way back to his home, not bothering to look back as he left her fence.
Widget trotted at a decent pace through the streets of Ponyville. He reached his home and walked inside. Locking the door behind him, he sprinted up the stairs to his living area and slumped down against a wall. His worries and thoughts had returned full-force, making his mind and heart a battleground. He sat there on the floor and stared off into space. “What the hay am I gonna do?”
The question hung in the empty air and permeated the silence of his home.