As Singer and Violet's new adventure in romance began to come into fruition, they'd had to work on not being so distantly awkward around each other when it came to physical contact. Sure they would share the occasional hug now and then, but prior to becoming an official couple, they often fought the urge for nuzzling and cuddling with each other. But now, things were different. The awkwardness was gone, and while it was still going to take some time to get used to, it felt wonderful to be in each other's company.
They were glad that they didn't have to hide it anymore. They'd finally convinced themselves and each other that they belonged together, and they sure wished that they'd done this much sooner. But the past was the past, and they both agreed to move past it all. They were together now, and nothing was going to get in the way of them sharing their special bond.
While at Violet's house one evening for a celebratory dinner, the two were often caught in the glances of Violet's father, her little brother, and also Singer's parents, who had attended the dinner as well. It had been a long time coming, and they were glad to finally see Singer and Violet come together and be happy. Singer's mother, Belle, in particular had always believed that they would be together one day and she was right, after all she was a mom after all. She watched the two of them talk, sitting on the living room couch, while they patiently waited for everypony else to get their food first. It's not like they didn't mind.
"Hey Violet, do you wanna..." asked Singer as his stomach began to growl, while they waited for everypony else to fix their plates.
"Get something to eat?" she finished, as hers did so as well. "Yes."
"Wait right here, I'll get both of our plates."
"Thank you, sweetie!" her cheeks flushed red when she said that. It was going to take a little time to get used to calling him that. But Singer didn't appear to be fazed by it all, he just smiled back at her before going to the table.
"They're finishing each other's sentences..." said Briefs. "How corny."
"Do you mean to tell me that you and Belle didn't do the same thing when you two got together?" smirked Violet's dad.
Briefs stumbled over himself when he tried to respond. "Well... we..."
"....may have done it once or twice?" finished Belle as she beamed.
"Don't encourage him, dear..." Briefs responded with a deadpan.
Violet's father only chuckled in response. For him, it brought back memories of when he and Violet's mother were married before her unfortunate passing. He looked at a picture on the wall of the two of them as a young couple. He sighed, but not sadly. He had long since come to a sort of peace since she passed. He was more happy for his daughter, now. His 'little Violet' resembled her mom so much, not only in her features and appearance, save for the colors of her fur, she also reminded him of his late wife's personality and character. She was so much like her mother in many ways. Though he missed his wife, he was proud of the mare Violet turned out to be.
Rain trotted over to Violet while Singer was getting food for both of them. "So... are you two going to hug and kiss all the time, now?" Colts say the darndest things.
Violet giggled, as she smiled at Singer. "I think so, Rain. As much as possible."
"Oh brother..." he rolled his eyes. "Mushy stuff..."
"It'll happen to you too one day, mister."
"Yeah, we'll see..." he remarked.
This made everypony in the room laugh, and Rain's cheeks flushed bright red.
"I'm going to go back to eating now..." he said as he went back to the table to finish eating his food.
Singer returned to the couch and placed their food on the end table next to them, but motioned for Violet to follow him.
"Don't worry, it won't take but a minute." he said. "I just want to tell you something real quick."
Violet duly nodded and followed him outside to the back yard to a picnic table made from the cloudy surface outside. It was still barely daylight outside, but bright enough to where Singer could see what he was doing as he pulled out his old journal. Violet smiled when she saw it.
"This is ours." Singer said of the journal he'd had since he was a young colt. "I want us to use this journal to write about our new adventures together. That is, if you don't think that it's too cheesy..." Singer folded his ears back, as he awaited her response. He didn't have to wait but a few seconds for it.
"I think it's sweet, and a really nice idea." she said sincerely and with a smile. "I would be more than honored to share a journal with you."
Singer beamed, then turned and pulled a feather off of his wing and pulled an ink pot out of his saddle bag. "I'd kind of like our first journal entry to be together."
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" she said as she took the feather turned quill and prepared to write. "What should we say?"
"I'll start." He said as he assumed the floor.
"It's been a long and bumpy road to get where we are. Heartache and pain ensued, but we overcame it. Though some of the time was spent apart, we came together in the end and joined in a special bond that was always there." He stopped and put the quill down. "Do you want to put something in now?"
"I don't know if I can top that, but I'll give it a try" she said as she took the quill. "Deep down, we've always known we were meant for each other. It's shown through all we've been through. But the journey hasn't ended yet, it's only just beginning, and I look forward to sharing it all with the stallion I love."
"Same here, but with the mare I love..." Singer wrote after Violet had finished, after which the latter kissed the former. "You know, if we don't be careful we're going to end up being as mushy as a certain other couple I know back in Ponyville, scratch that two really nice couples I know back in Ponyville. I'll introduce you to them sometime, they're really good ponies."
"I'd like that. Besides I need to keep close tabs on you now. Just to make sure some other mare doesn't try to take you away." she giggled.
"Not going to happen, Vi." Singer smiled as, out of his saddle bag, he pulled out the contract that they had made on the day they first met.
"You still have that old thing after all these years?" Violet said with tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"It's not just an old thing anymore, Vi." Singer said. "It's one of my most prized possessions. It's a symbol of our friendship, but I do believe it needs a few modifications now, since... well, we're more than friends now."
"I agree." She wiped the joyful tears off of her face, and hugged him.
"I wonder what they're doing out there" said Rain peaking out the window from inside.
"Why not give them a little privacy, huh?" said Belle as she closed the blinds on the window. "Let's see if your dad will let you have any more cake."
A knock on the door disrupted the laughter and conversation between the two dads, who had finally found something to talk about in the cliche dad's favorite topic, sports. "I wonder who that could be." said Briefs, breaking the conversation they were having to acknowledge the knock.
"I'll get the door" said Violet's father.
When he opened the door, he saw a darker red pegasus stallion with brown dreadlocks, big black sunglasses on, and a thick brown beard.
"Anypony call for Bob Marely?" joked Violet's dad.
"Fender?" said Briefs. "Is that you?"
"Right you are, Big Bruh!" he said entering the house and giving his brother a bear hug. "Good to see you after all these years, dude!"
"Good to... uh... see you too." said Briefs. "But it's only been a few months since I last saw you."
"Oh, really?" he said. "Sorry bro, I must have been to one too many parties since then."
"This is your brother?" inquired Violet's dad, with his eyebrow cocked.
"Unfortunately..." confirmed Briefs. "I think he's had one too many, if you know what I mean" he said before turning to his brother. "Come on Fender, let's get you out of here." Briefs deadpanned as he guided his brother out the door and started for his home.
Belle walked into the room shortly after to see what the commotion was.
"Apparently your brother-in-law is back in town." Violet's dad said before Belle could ask. "Kinda makes me wonder what's in store for me when Singer and Violet get married and I have to come to all of the Case family reunions."
"Our family is kind of an acquired taste, you'll get used to us in time." Belle said. "Now if you want to meet crazy, you should meet my side of the family."
"I think I'll pass on that." he chuckled. "You know, you've got a pretty great son. I know this, because my daughter wouldn't be swept off her hooves for just anypony."
"I know. Violet is a good friend of mine, and I raised Singer to do the right thing. They are both great kids, and I can see them being happy together."
"My little filly is all grown up." said Violet's dad, letting a prideful smile form on his lips.
"And what a fine young mare she's turned out to be." complemented Belle, as she walked over to the kitchen window again and looked outside to see Singer and Violet snuggling underneath the sunset. "I love those kids, and I can't wait to see where this new step in life leads them."
Outside, Singer and Violet still sitting at the picnic table, the former wrapped his wing around the latter and pulled her as close as he could get her. "At least we got to see the sunset tonight" he said.
"No random rain clouds this time, thank goodness." said Violet, thankfully.
"Sure is beautiful, and I'm not just talking about the sky."
"You know, I think you're going to make a fine coltfriend, Singer. You always know just what to say to me."
"You're definitly a keeper as well" he chuckled as he kissed her forehead.
.....
As if being trapped inside the mind of this musical pegasus wasn't bad enough, now he had all of this gushy romance crap to put up with as well. The purple furred, orange-maned Singer look alike figure sat on a chair inside Singer's mind. It had chosen a door inside his mind that led to a void so it could be alone to think about it's next move, and how to escape it's prison.
Finding a way to kill the pegasus wasn't an option, as it could mean death for the both of them. So that was out of the question. The only other option would be to somehow lure Singer into a place where it had visited before. Within the Castle of the Two Sisters lie a mirror, a mirror that would solve it's problem for good. This would be the gateway to it's freedom! It smirked and then let out a boisterous laughter as it conjured up a blank sheet of paper, and began to write down ideas for a plan to get Singer to go to this place, so that way he could once again return to the mission set forward by his master, who he hadn't seen in years.
"Soon my master, soon I'll return to you and with the items you seek...." he paused for a dramatic effect, creating an explosion behind him thanks to the free range of things he could do inside the mind of the pegasus. "The Elements of Harmony!" If there was one thing that he and this pegasus had in common was their shared enthusiasm for theatrics.
It wouldn't be easy, as Singer had little to no idea that it was inside his mind, nor did he act like he even feared it. It certainly showed after the latest attempt to scare him, Singer snapped back. It would have to think of something clever, before it's self went mad dealing with the goofy, half-witted thoughts of the pegasus that it had endured up to this point. Though it could have been argued that this particular character may have already been mad from the beginning. It just knew that it wanted out, and that time was beginning to run out. Or had it already?
.........
Deep in the Everfree Forest, the fortress was quiet for the most part. Everypony that resided within were either asleep or on guard duty. Precautions were made just in case. After all, there were unspeakable acts of anarchy going on behind these walls. How they had gotten away with it for as long as they have remained a mystery to this day.
The halls of the fortress were livened up a little bit as hoof steps could be heard coming. The hoof steps belonged to a silver furred pegasus, with a spikey silver mane, wearing a cape and a guard helmet, who was walking towards his masters' quarters to address recent progress to him. This stallion was his second in command, and while older than many of the other ponies who worked under his master, he was among the most experienced and most trusted of the entire clan of criminals that resided in the walls.
The doors that led to the big boss's quarters opened wide, by the levitation of one of his hoof maids. The seasoned officer entered when given the clear. The pony in question was lying in his bed, covered by his bedding as he was prepared to go to sleep. He had a bowl of grapes at his side that he had been eating before he would fall asleep.
"Master, I apologize for the inconvenient timing, but I have a report regarding one of our scouts. With permission, I wish to address this to you."
The master was a tall elderly stallion, who'd kept his figure from his youth well intact. Even his teeth and mane were still natural. He was a brown unicorn stallion, with baggy eyes, a small white beard as well as a long white and grey mane and short tail. This tyrannical unicorn nodded his head allowing his loyal servant to proceed.
"Thank you, Lord Barber" he began courteously. "Our scout, Thunder Clap, has been returning back with nothing to show for at least the past five times he's been out. We have reason to believe he's using the time he's been given to settle personal vendettas. I was able to overlook it the first few times, but-"
"You mean to tell me that you let his failure go unpunished?" inquired Barber.
"No, no, of course not!" he replied. "I have sent him to you before and you've sent him out with a beating. But this stallion is hard pressed to learn his lesson, I'm afraid."
Barber rubbed his beard with his hoof, as he briefly took time to think of what command to give. It didn't take long. "The next time he comes up empty handed, stick him in the dungeon with the other prisoners with no food or water for three days, and we shall see if he fails us again. And if he does return with something, and he comes back late it had better be something good, or the same punishment applies."
"And if he runs away?"
"Send one of your best troops to capture and kill him on the spot. A deserter is a possible traitor, and we cannot have that happening. Not after all that I've worked so hard to build."
"Duly noted, master. Should that scenario come to be, I shall take the responsibility of finding and killing him, myself to ensure that it gets done right!"
"Excellent." The elderly stallion had a sinister smile appear on his face for an abrupt second, before returning to his serious facial expression. "Is there anything else? If so, please state your business quickly. I am growing tired and am ready for sleep."
"There is something of good news, Lord Barber."
"What is it? Tell me!"
"One of our magical trackers has uncovered something that might be of interest to you near Ponyville. The energy signals emitting from somewhere within the town have lead to one of your magical seeker drones that you sent out in search of the Elements of Harmony, years ago."
"How is that possible? There's no way that they could have lasted this long unless..." he paused, and chuckled. "Unless one of them has entered the mind of one of the ponies within the town." His chuckles turned to laughter, which descended into a calm whisper. "Clever, it's as if they've developed a mind of their own."
"Any orders, sir?"
"Let us wait and see what will become of this, first. No need in sending out one of our guards to go searching for something that is decades old without knowing for sure. Especially since our spies have indicated that the Elements are sadly no longer up for grabs. These horrible failures of experiments aren't exactly first priority as of right now. We shall wait this one out until further notice."
"As you wish." he said with a bow.
"Things are finally looking up for us, Wingo." Barber smiled in an evil fashion. "Let the games, begin!"
.......