//------------------------------// // Chapter 26: Decision Day // Story: My Overbearing Aunt // by Sketchy Changeling //------------------------------// December 23rd. It’s been three weeks since winter break started, and the snow began to fall around the second week. We even got a huge amount of snow last night, and I could see some of the weather ponies managing the snow that was covering the roads. I still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that weather wasn’t a naturally occurring thing in Equestria. But I can’t be distracted by something as trivial as the weather. Today was the day. The day that I had to make my decision on which mare I wanted to be with. Either it was gonna be Rarity, or it was gonna be Octavia. These past three weeks have been incredibly nerve-wracking for me. As this day came closer and closer, I grew more and more nervous and anxious. I tried as hard as I could to calm myself down so that I could make my decision. Sometimes I would distract myself by working on my present for Auntie Celeste, which was coming along nicely, if I do say so myself. The only annoyance was that whenever I finished working on it, I would have to tape it to the underside of my bed again, and I’ve had one too many close calls with Celeste because of it. Other times, I would talk to Luna about it. While I did fear that she’d be uncomfortable with me talking about it so often considering the fact that we used to be romantically interested in each other, she insisted that she didn’t mind and that she would offer whatever moral support she could. Moral support can only help so much, though. It was quarter to twelve. I had skipped breakfast in exchange for putting the finishing touches on Celeste’s gift. “Okay… It looks like I’m just about… done!” I cheered as I put the last detail on the gift. I then turned to look at my bed with a look of dread on my face. “Great. Now I have to put this thing away… again,” I said to myself. I picked up the frame and put it in a plastic bag. I then got my roll of tape and crawled under my bed to attach it to the underside one last time. Once I had it attached and I crawled out from under my bed, I let out a sigh of relief. “There, now I’ll just take it out tomorrow morning and wrap it.” Just then, my stomach started to rumble, cruelly reminding me of the fact that I hadn’t eaten breakfast. “Man, I really should get something to eat,” I said, and then I looked up at my bathroom door. “I should probably take a shower first, though.” With my overnight body odor extinguished and a clean set of clothes on my back, I left my room and started on my walk to the dining hall. As I walked through the corridors, I saw some of the maids setting up Hearth’s Warming decorations, as they have been doing since last night. When I got to the dining hall, I saw that it was one of the most, if not the most decorated room in the entire castle. “Whoa…” I said in awe as I got my food. Auntie Celeste was really pulling out all the stops for this Hearth’s Warming Eve party. After I ate my fill, I went back to my room to think. I had several hours before I had to go over to the school and tell Rarity and Octavia who I’ve decided to be with. I never told them that I’d be making my decision today; I really didn’t want to turn this into some sort of competition for my affections, so they didn’t even know that I planned to visit them today. I tossed around in my bed, trying to come to a decision, but I was too distracted by what would happen when I chose one over the other. It was unavoidable: once I made a choice, the mare I didn’t choose would have her heart broken, and I kept thinking about how each mare would take it. Especially Rarity. In the months that I’ve known her, I’ve learned that sometimes, Rarity doesn’t take rejection very well. Whenever she would have one of her episodes, she’d lie on her bed crying and wailing while she binged on ice cream. It was never a pretty scene. However, while I didn’t want to put Rarity through that, I couldn’t choose somepony for the sole reason of keeping them happy. That wouldn’t be fair. I had to go with the mare that I felt the deepest connection with, but I couldn’t figure out which mare that was. I was just about to let out a yell of frustration when I suddenly heard a knock on my door. I quickly composed myself and cleared my throat. “Who is it?” I asked. “It’s Auntie Celeste!” a cheery voice answered from the other side. “Come in,” I said as I rubbed my head. Not a second later, my door opened and Auntie Celeste walked in, taking a seat next to me. “How’s my precious nephew doing?” she asked. “I’ve been better,” I answered. “Oh right. Today’s the big day, isn’t it?” I nodded my head. “Well, have you made a choice?” “See? That’s the problem. I can’t! I’m trying to look at this objectively so I can come to a decision on who I want to be with, but I can’t! There are too many things to consider!” My aunt said nothing. Instead, she simply chuckled. “This isn’t a joke, Auntie!” I said. “I’m having a serious dilemma here!” “I’m sorry, sweetie,” she chuckled again, “but this is so unlike you. You’re starting to act like an old student of mine.” I gave her a confused look. “What do you mean?” “I mean you usually don’t look at things this analytically. As a matter of fact, you rarely think of the consequences. You just do whatever you think feels right.” “Can you skip to the part where you actually say something that helps me?” “Don’t take this as though I’m making fun of you, Marcus. While you don’t usually think about things this much, it’s not really your fault. It’s simply in your nature as an artist,” Celeste explained. “I know this is a hard decision for you to make, but you can’t put too much thought into this. All that matters is what your heart feels.” I took in what she just told me, and then I sighed. “And what if I don’t know how my heart feels?” My aunt simply chuckled again and said, “You’ll know.” “I’ll know?” I repeated. She nodded. “When the time comes, you’ll definitely know. Like I said, don’t put too much thought into it. Just let it come to you.” “That’s the best advice you can give me?” “It’s the only advice I need to give you,” Celeste smiled as she pulled me closer to her with her wing. She then leaned closer to me and kissed me on the forehead, and I instinctively moved away from her. “Can you not?” I said, annoyed. “What? I can’t kiss my nephew anymore?” “But you kissed me on my forehead! Don’t you know how degrading that is?” “Oh, stop being dramatic,” she said as she rolled her eyes. I tried to rub the kiss off of my forehead, but Celeste used her magic to hold my hand in place. “Ah, ah, ah, don’t even think about it, Marcus,” she said as she waved her finger in front of me. I furrowed my brow and used my free hand to poke Celeste in the snout, and she instinctively scrunched her face. “Stooooooooop!” she whined as she released her hold on my hand and covered her muzzle. “I hate when you do that!” I scoffed. “No you don’t.” Just then, my phone started to ring, and when I checked the caller ID, it was Rarity who was calling me. “Alright, you need to go,” I told Celeste, who merely rolled her eyes as she got up and left my room. Once she was gone, I answered the phone. “Hello?” I said. “Marcus, darling! How are you?” “I’m just fine. Things are a little hectic around the castle today with all the preparations for tomorrow’s party.” “Sounds like you could do with some fresh air.” “Are you saying that you have something planned?” “Well, Octavia and I have been talking, and we thought it would be a good idea for the three of us to go ice skating tonight.” I raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t the rink close early on Sundays?” “Yes, but Vinyl knows the owner, and she was able to pull some stings for us. We’ll show up at seven-thirty tonight and he’ll let the three of us in. We’ll have the whole rink to ourselves!” “That sounds great! So I’ll meet you by the rink at seven-thirty, then?” “It’s a date,” the mare giggled. “We’ll see you tonight, darling!” The phone clicked as Rarity hung up, and I tossed my phone onto my bed. “Well, this changes plans a little,” I thought. “Looks like I’ll just have to tell them at the ice rink tonight. Well, at least the fact that we’ll be spending time together will soften the blow a little.” By the time I had gotten to the rink, it was seven-twenty-eight in the evening. The sun had already gone down due to the fact that it was late December, and the streetlights kept things visible for everyone out in the city. It was deathly cold that night, so I wore three layers of clothing, a hat, a pair of gloves, and a scarf to keep myself warm. As I waited for Rarity and Octavia, I let out a yawn, and I could see my breath dissipating into the surrounding air. Even with my ridiculous amount of clothing, I still felt the low temperature eating through each layer I had on, and it annoyed me to no end. In case it isn’t already obvious enough, I don’t like the cold. Thankfully, I didn’t have to endure it for too much longer. “Yoo-hoo! Marcus!” I heard someone call from behind me. I turned around and saw Rarity and Octavia approaching me. Unlike me, they didn’t have on as many layers of clothing as I did, and I had to admit that I was enjoying what I was seeing. Rarity was wearing a white jacket with a faux mink collar and cuffs, and she looked… quite poofy in those. She also had on a pair of tight, black pants and black knee-high boots, which kind of turned me on, because her luscious lower body curves were put on display as if for the sole purpose of my amusement. To top it off, she had on a white pair of earmuffs. As for Octavia, she had a long, black coat with black pants and low boots. She also wore a knit cap over her head. A bit more modest compared to Rarity, but I liked it. “A little overdressed, aren’t we?” Octavia giggled. “Says the one with a layer of fur covering her body,” I retorted. When the clock struck seven-thirty, the skating rink owner, a pale blue pegasus mare, showed up at the door. “You guys Vinyl’s friends?” she asked. “Yes,” Rarity answered. “We talked over the phone.” “Oh right. I recognize your voice. Gimmie a minute to unlock this door.” The mare took out a key and opened the door for us and let us in. “I can only give you guys an hour, though, so make the best of it, kay?” “We will, thank you,” Octavia said as we walked in. Once we were inside, we found three pairs of skates set down on a bench in the lounge area. “Looks like Vinyl thought of everything,” I said. “But how in Equestria did she know our shoe sizes?” Rarity asked. “Vinyl has a way of surprising others like that,” Octavia chuckled as we took off our shoes. “I don’t think we have to use the lockers, either, considering the fact that we’re the only ones here.” “I suppose you’re right,” Rarity shrugged as she and Octavia put their purses on the bench, and then we all removed our coats and tossed them on the bench, too. “Have you ever been ice skating before, Marcus?” the earth mare asked me. “A few times, but I haven’t gone in a while. Hopefully I’ll remember what to do.” “Well, I’ll stay close by in case you start to fall,” she told me with a wink. I then heard Rarity struggling to get her skates on, and I gave her a concerned look. “You okay there?” “Oh, don’t mind me, darling. Just trying to get these skates on.” She struggled for a few more seconds, but then she let out a sigh of defeat. “Okay, maybe I need a little help…” I chuckled and got on my knees in front of Rarity as I helped her get her hooves into the skates. Rarity could be so helpless sometimes, but I couldn’t deny that she was rather cute. A cute, dainty damsel. As I recalled all my memories with her, I realized how much I spoiled her, and how much she spoiled me. We were always giving each other gifts, or kisses, or loving embraces. A lot of our relationship revolved around spoiling each other, but none of it felt empty or hollow. I guess that’s why she’s the element of Generosity. When I successfully slipped her hooves into the skates, I buckled them for her and jokingly wiped fake sweat off my brow. I then looked up to see Rarity bent over, looking down at me with lidded eyes. “Oh, Marcus, you’re such a big help,” she crooned. “I can always count on you to come to my aid when I need it.” I found myself speechless as she practically gazed at me, and my eyes drifted down to her chest as it hung in front of me, held back by her black sweater. Those low, hanging, marshmallow-like cushions of hers… so enticing… Can’t… look… away… “What are you staring at, darling?” Rarity asked with a smirk as she brought her face close enough for her snout to touch my nose. “N-nothing!” I lied as the sweet perfume she was wearing made its way into my nostrils. The unicorn merely chuckled. “You know you don’t have to lie to me, sweetheart. When it’s you, I don’t mind if your eyes wander a little.” She chuckled again and placed her lips upon mine, giving me a deep, five-second kiss. “Um…” I said stupidly as the kiss ended. “You are so adorable!” she giggled, and then I heard somepony clear her throat. “How about we get on the ice,” Octavia interjected. “We only have an hour, after all.” Was there a hint of jealousy in her voice? Nah, I’m just imagining things. Octavia, Rarity, and I got onto the ice rink, and while it took us a second to get used to the ice, we quickly got used to it. “Ah, it’s nice to go ice skating every now and then,” said the unicorn, “but I really should invest in my own skates. These tacky rentals are throwing off my ensemble.” Octavia and I rolled our eyes with smiles on our faces, and while we were distracted, Rarity took my arm and pulled me with her as she zoomed past Octi. I had to get myself together a little when she caught me off-guard like that, and once I had regained control, I looked at Rarity as she gracefully skated around the rink with me. “You’re being a little possessive today, aren’t you?” “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, dear Marcus. I’m just taking advantage of our time alone.” “It’s not just us here, you know.” Was that rapid skating I was hearing behind me? “For now, it is,” said Rarity. “No it isn’t!” Octavia interrupted as she zipped by, taking me with her by my arm. “You don’t mind if I steal him for a moment, do you?” “Whoa!” I exclaimed as I almost lost my balance again. “Sorry, love,” Tavi apologized as she skated with me, “but I can’t have Rarity keeping you all to herself. I love you just as much as she does.” “I thought you guys weren’t fighting over me.” “Who says we’re fighting? We haven’t come to blows yet.” “Yet!?” All of that sense of reassurance flew out the window the moment she said that. In a flash, a scenario of my two mares getting into a catfight crossed my mind, and it was a horrific yet somehow arousing thought. Nevertheless, I shook that out of my mind quickly. I was starting to lose it, and I didn’t like it. Just then, I felt something wrap around my other arm, pulling me away from Octavia. I ended up next to Rarity again, and I saw that she used her scarf to pull me back to her. “To answer your question, Octavia,” she smirked, “I do mind, so I’ll be taking him back, thank you very much.” “Guys, I’m getting dizzy…” I skated with Rarity for about a minute, and then I was suddenly lifted off the ice. “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” I shouted as I was carried by… Octavia!? “Man… earth ponies are strong…” I thought. “Don’t worry, love. I won’t drop you,” said the mare. “Fine, you win, Octavia!” Rarity called, but then she grinned. “I know when I’m beat, but don’t keep him for too long!” Octi laughed victoriously as she continued to carry me bridal-style around the rink. “Can I come down?” I asked. “Being carried like this is degrading.” “Of course, Marcus,” she told me as she slowed down. “I’m bringing you down slowly, okay? Be careful.” I chuckled. “You sound like my aunt.” I got my first skate on the ice with now problem, but when my second skate hit the ice, I started to stumble, and I inevitably fell down, taking Octavia with me. I fell on my back as she fell on top of me and practically blasted the wind out of my lungs on impact. We slid across the ice for a bit, and then came to a stop, and I closed my eyes as I waited my head to stop spinning. “That could’ve ended better,” I groaned. I opened my eyes, and I saw Octavia on top of me, her chest squished against mine. Even though her sweater was pretty thick, the feeling of my aching chest was soon replaced by the comforting softness of my mare’s bosom. Her black, silky mane hung down from her head, caressing my cheeks as I stared at her. “Okay… maybe this isn’t so bad…” I thought. “Staring again, I see,” the earth mare smirked as an intoxicating aroma hit me. Was she wearing perfume, too? It wasn’t as sweet as Rarity’s, but it was just as, if not more effective at mesmerizing me. The fact that I was looking right at Tavi’s big, magenta-colored eyes didn’t help much, either. “Did you have to be so aggressive?” I asked. She merely chuckled. “I guess you bring out the best and the worst in me,” she crooned. “There must be something about you that makes me so adventurous.” It was true. As I got to knew her, I found that Octavia did have an adventurous side. Whenever we were alone, she would always do something I wouldn’t expect from somepony that seemed to be so reserved. The haunted house, the ropes course, and to a certain extent, the photo shoot we had with Photo Finish… Although I still think that Photo Finish had some kind of spell cast on us. I don’t care that she was an earth pony, there was some sorcery afoot that day. Sure, we didn’t spoil each other, unlike my relationship with Rarity, but Octavia was not only a beautiful mare, but going out with her has brought surprise after surprise my way. She was a quiet mare at times, but you know what they say about the quiet ones. “I’m actually rather glad we’re in this position,” the earth mare whispered pressed her snout to my nose, “because now I can do this.” Octavia locked lips with me as we laid there on the ice, her hands caressing my face, as she did so. I wrapped my arms around her and returned the kiss at first, but then I felt an increasingly cold sensation on my back and stopped kissing her back. “What’s wrong, Marcus?” she asked. “As much as I like kissing you, Octi, I think I’m gonna get frostbite if I stay on this ice for too long.” “I concur,” Rarity added as she skated towards us. “You’ll make Marcus catch his death of cold, Octavia!” “Sorry, sorry,” she said as she got off of me and helped me up. With Rarity and Octavia’s little “competition” overwith, they took turns skating with me, and then for the last ten minutes, the three of us skated together, with me in the middle, of course. Just then, we heard the rink owner’s voice played over the PA system. “Alright, you three. Hour’s up.” “I guess we have to leave now,” I sighed. “Well, we made the best of our time,” said Rarity. “Let’s get our stuff and put away the skates.” Octavia added as we left the rink. With our skates put away and our coats back on, we headed back out into the freezing cold, and to our surprise, it was snowing. “I didn’t know that there was a snowfall scheduled for tonight,” said Octavia. “It does look rather lovely, though,” Rarity sighed. This was it. I had to tell them. I had held off for long enough. I had to tell them who I was going to choose… And yet I wasn’t sure. After all that, I was no closer to figuring it out than I was when I first admitted my feelings for them. Both of them made me feel loved in their own special way. I was attracted to them for different reasons and they had personalities that I thought were wonderful. Rarity’s gentle spirit or Octavia’s adventurous one… I just couldn’t pick! Just then, I heard a familiar voice in my head “You’ll know…” Auntie Celeste… she told me that I’d know when the time came. I looked at Rarity and Octavia, and I felt… something. I didn’t know what it was, but if I had to compare it to something, it would be similar to a magnetic force, a magnetic force that I felt with one of the mares, and it was drawing me towards her. I knew which mare I wanted to choose. I took a deep breath and looked at the both of them. “Rarity… Octavia…” “Yes, Marcus?” they answered. “I think I’ve been keeping you guys waiting for too long. I need to make a decision on which one of you I want, and I think I know who I want to choose.” Both mares’ eyes visibly widened, and they looked at me intently, the nervousness in their expressions clear as day. This was it. The moment I chose who was going to be my marefriend. … “Octavia.” The earth mare gasped and I saw her put her hand to her chest to stop her heart from pounding. “Me?” she asked in disbelief. “Why?” “Well, I really like the different sides of you. Around others, you’re a prim and proper lady, and that’s already very attractive, but when it’s just us, you show a more adventurous side that I really like.” I looked at Rarity and saw the hurt look on her face. Her eyes welled up as she had a look of sheer disappointment and disbelief on her face. “Rarity, I… I’m really sorry.” The unicorn shook her head as it hung down, not wanting to show her face. She even sniffled a little as tears began to fall from her face. “Oh, no,” I thought. “Here it comes.” Rarity then spoke in-between quiet sobs. “I don’t need an apology,” she said emotionlessly, but then, she raised her head and looked at me with an expression I didn’t expect to see. She was smiling. “I’m just glad you’re with the mare that makes you happy,” she told me. I stared at her, speechless. “Y-you mean… you’re not mad?” “Of course not, Marcus. I am disappointed, yes, and I was really hoping you’d pick me, but I had prepared for this.” “Prepared?” Octavia asked. “In my experiences with romance, there’s one thing that I’ve learned when it comes to waiting for someone to come clean with their feelings.” “What’s that?” I asked. Rarity smiled. “Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.” The mare sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m just glad you’re with a mare that really loves you, Marcus, but, if I may ask… could you do me one favor?” “Anything.” “…Can I have one last kiss?” I looked at Octavia, and she nodded her head. “Don’t worry about me. Go ahead.” With that, Rarity and I held each other one last time, and we leaned in to give each other our last kiss together. We stood there in each other’s embrace as the snow fell, making the most of our final romantic moment together. We both tried to savor it as much as we could, and we held the kiss for over a minute before we separated, our final spark fizzling away. “Thank you,” she told me. “No problem,” I told her, and then I looked at her and Octavia. “You two want me to walk you back to your room tonight. We can keep each other warm.” Octavia and Rarity looked at each other, and then they looked back at me and nodded their heads. “We’d love that,” said the earth mare. I hooked elbows with both mares as they got close to me, and the three of us walked to the school together in the falling snow. Finally, after weeks and weeks of uncertainty, I finally felt at peace with my love life, and the three mares that I had to choose from narrowed down to one. Despite the fact that I had to break the hearts of both Luna and Rarity, they still loved me, and they were happy that I was happy. I was really lucky to have them in my life.