Chapter 67: The Best of Me
Rocksalt tossed another newspaper over his shoulder, and for at least the tenth time since he and Bryce had started the dull brown colt missed his mark by more than a yard. But instead of the colt rushing to try and correct his error, he continued to walk on as if nothing had happened.
It fell upon Bryce to pick up the slack. Taking the newspaper, he dropped it on the doorstep. He could tell something was wrong with Rocksalt, he hadn't acted like this since before he went to school. And the day before he was throwing the papers like it was nothing. But now he was missing almost every shot. Bryce had to say something; he wasn't there to correct Rocksalt's mistakes, he was there to watch after Rocksalt.
The next time Rocksalt reached for a newspaper he had trouble pulling it away from the human. "Something on your mind, Kid?" Bryce asked.
With one more pull Rocksalt managed to pull the paper out of his hand. "Nah, ain't nothing." He tossed the paper, managing to get it a few inches off the bull's eye.
"Well, it's something. That's the first good toss you've made all morning."
"Ah'm just real tired. Ah didn't get a lot-a sleep last night."
Bryce bent down in front of the colt. "Look at me," he said as he took his head in his hand. The drowsy look in his eyes confirmed his story, but Bryce could tell he wasn't being completely honest. "Is everything going alright at school?"
Rocksalt shook his head away. "They won't be if I don't finish up. Now are ya gonna help or are ya gonna gab?" He asked as he pulled a fresh newspaper from Bryce's satchel. Rocksalt slung his hoof to the side and released the paper, sending it flying down an alleyway.
They both stared down the alley for a minute before Bryce said, "Kid, even you wouldn't have done that on the first day."
Shooting the human a scowl, Rocksalt rushed over to Bryce. He tried to unsling Bryce’s satchel from around his neck. "Just give me the papers. Ah'll take care of it from here."
Bryce did nothing but watch as he struggled with the strap. He tried hard to hold back from laughing. It was only after the colt began to gnaw at the strap Bryce intervened. "Kid, stop it before you hurt your teeth.
Rocksalt did as he was told, letting out a loud, "Bleh."
"You want to tell me now?"
Rocksalt could tell there was no getting by it. He and his mother couldn't afford to lose his paper route. "You're like a stubborn jackass sometimes, ya know that?"
Bryce gave a smirk. "Guilty."
The dull frown colt gave a grunt. "Ya remember those three guys Ah used ta hang out with? Well one of'em's in my class. And yesterday he told the girls what Ah'd done ta that one girl, Scout or something like that. He told'em how Ah picked on her and how Ah lied to her about if she went up to ya when yous was at Sugarcube Corner Ah'd give her my signed Wonderbolts poster. And Ah didn't."
"So now they hate you?"
"Nah, they stood up for me. Even Almond. But then they turned around and got on ta me about it and said Ah have to actually give it to her, and apologize. They said if Ah didn't then they wouldn't play with me anymore. And Ah don't want ta have to give up them, or my poster."
Bryce let that settle in for a second before saying, "Well, Rocksalt, if you did promise to give it to Scootaloo then you have to do it."
"But Ah don't want to. It's... It's all Ah got left from when my dad... From when my dad still loved me."
"Well, be that as it may, you still promised. And if you didn't want to have to give it up then you shouldn't have put it up for bid."
"I know, but... My dad gave it to me."
Bryce stood up, looking off towards the sunrise. "Well, Rocksalt, I think you have to consider what's more important right now: having two friends who will stick up for you no matter what; or keeping a poster that was given to you by someone years ago, who so easily let you go out of his life."
Rocksalt looked down to his hooves, weighing what Bryce had just said.
Bryce then stood back up. "You just think about that, Kid, but right now we need to hurry and get this done. You still have school and I have somewhere I need to be."
For the rest of Rocksalt's paper route the two boys went along diligently. By the time Rocksalt reached his house he was so worn from trying to play catch up he could have lain down in bed and fallen asleep. But he went into the bathroom, and took his morning shower as usual. When he got finished drying off he went into his room to get his saddlebags. But when he went in there he stopped to look at the poster that hung over his bed.
He looked at it, closely examining every detail. He looked at every Wonderbolt. To every kink in the paper. And most of all to the hoofmarks stamped into it. To him this wide sheet of paper was the most precious thing in the world, second only to his mother, but after what Bryce had said to him he was wondering if it was more important than Pecan and Almond, despite how they bugged the heck out of him.
Rocksalt jumped on his bed, if only to get a closer look at it.
At that moment his mother came in, wanting to see why her son was taking so long. "Rocky, you better hurry up. Your breakfast is going to get cold."
Without looking over to his plump, cream colored mother, he said, "Okay, Mom, Ah'll be out in a sec."
When Whipping Cream saw her son continue to stand on his bed, staring up at his poster, she walked further into the room. "Rocky, is something wrong?"
"Nah, Mom. Ah just haven't looked at my poster in a while."
"Oh. You know, I remember the day you got it. I remember when your father walked off, and you were so worried. But when he came back with that I'd never seen you happier. Do you remember that?"
"Yeah, Ah do. How could Ah forget? Ah mean, just the way those pegasi flew. It was so awesome." Rocksalt looked down to his bed with a sigh. "Makes me wish sometimes Ah'd been born one."
Cream walked over to her son, wrapping a leg over his withers. "I know, Gelati, but to me you'll always be the most awesome son a mother could ever hope for." She hugged the colt into her side. "Now come on, Rocky, school starts in less than twenty minutes." Cream left the room, giving Rocksalt the space he needed to prepare for his day.
Rocksalt, however, stood looking at his bed for a full minute longer. When the minute was up he looked up, and hoped what he was about to do next would be the hardest decision he would ever have to make in his entire life.
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Almost like magic, the oatmeal bath gave sweet relief to the itchy red bumps that spotted Bryce's flesh. After his and Fluttershy's short trip into Froggy Bottom Bogg earlier that morning, this more than made up for it.
Bryce had hated the bog since the first step into the stagnant wetland. But it hadn't been the nonstop croaks of the hundreds of unseen frogs, which were loud, nor the bites that came from the endless swarm of mosquitos, which were relentless, nor the foul, unbreathable humidity they had to walk through. It had been that first step, that first step when he stepped on what he'd thought was solid earth only for it to turn out to be cold, murky, leech infested water. Though Bryce had come out with only a single leech, the sensation of walking through the bog drenched in water made his skin crawl.
But he had continued on, nonetheless, if only to insure Fluttershy's safety. If it had been anypony else the smallest mention of where they were both now would have made him go running back for home. But for her he would suffer through it.
Fluttershy, whose bathtub Bryce was using, couldn't help but feel responsible for Bryce's suffering. When she asked him to come with her to the bog, so she could release the snapping turtle back into the wild, it had only been to pass the time; time that would allow all the day's stalls to open for business.
But now Bryce was itching all over, and Fluttershy couldn't help but feel responsible.
So to try and make up for what she'd felt she had caused, Fluttershy had taken it upon herself to wash the human's clothes. Afterwards she flew to the apple farm, packed up a fresh set of clothes, and flew back to the cottage. When she went inside she saw no sign of Bryce and immediately assumed he was still in the bathroom.
When she knocked on the bathroom door, she called, "Bryce, are you still in there?"
"Yeah," was all he said back.
"I brought you some clothes from home."
She proceeded to push open the door, receiving an instant rebuke from Bryce. "Don't come in here! Just...leave them out there and I'll get them when I'm done."
Fluttershy was a little thrown back by his outburst. He must still be upset with me, she thought to herself. Not wanting to worsen the situation more than she felt she already had, she did as instructed and left the clothes outside the door.
When she reached the kitchen, the buttercup mare's attention was drawn to her pet rabbit, who was waving as he jumped in place. "Huh, what is it, Angel Bunny?"
The rabbit patted his stomach before pointing a paw into his open mouth.
"What's that, you're hungry? Oh, I'm sorry, Angel. I was distracted...by... Maybe he's just cranky because he hasn't eaten yet?" She asked no one in particular. With that being said, Fluttershy decided to try and do something nice for the human. Pulling out a pan, a stick of butter, a bowl, a spoon, and a few eggs, she went about preparing some scrambled eggs.
Through all of this Angel had sat back and watched his caretaker scramble to put breakfast together. With a scowl firmly pasted across his face, he knew one thing for sure: He wasn't getting breakfast anytime soon.
Just as Fluttershy was about to pour the liquefied eggs into the warm pan, she heard a knock at the door.
Quickly pouring the eggs over into the pan, she answered the door. It was Ditzy. "Hi, Ditzy. What brings you here? Do you have any mail for me?"
The walleyed mare shook her head. "No, my route doesn't start for another half-hour. I just come by to see if everything's alright with you. And with Bryce?" At mention of the human Fluttershy's demeanor dampened enough for Ditzy to have noticed. "Did something happen?"
"It's nothing, it's just... I think I may have upset him."
"Are you sure? It could just be you're reading him wrong, which is really easy to do. But if he is the best thing for him would be to let him be by himself to cool off. Mind if I come in?"
The two pegasi entered the living room, taking a seat on the sofa. "So, wanna tell me what happened?" Ditzy asked.
"Well, this morning Bryce came over to help me when I went to the farmer's market. But I wanted to go and release a baby snapping turtle I'd been taking care of. So we went into Froggy Bottom Bogg. And he accidently stepped into the bog."
"Oh no, is he okay?"
"He's seems to be alright, but he hasn't said much to me since then. And whenever he does it's like he's upset with me. And I wasn't trying to force him to come, I just wanted to spend a little more time together. Because when we were in town last week he had to carry everything, and we weren't saying anything then. But now-"
Ditzy cut her off. "Fluttershy, if he looks upset then he probably is. But from what you've told me I can say with certainty he's not mad at you, just from being wet."
"But he's in the bathroom right now taking a bath. And when I tried to go in there he yelled at me."
"When you say he's in a bath to him that's not the same as being wet. He's wet when he's in the bathtub, but when he's wet it's something different. And second, this isn't easy to say, but with Bryce's kind... Let's just say the males of humans are a bit different... Down there..."
"Different? Different how?"
"There's a reason he wears pants. His...male parts don't have a place to tuck inside to outside of the, ahem, bedroom."
It took Fluttershy a second to understand what Ditzy meant. "Oh my... So you're saying his... That would have been embarrassing for him."
"Hey, chip up, Fluttershy. I'm sure he wouldn't have gotten upset with you over a misunderstanding like that. Embarrassed, sure, but not mad. I mean, who hasn't ever embarrassed somepony they like?"
This helped to lift the yellow mare's mood, if only a little.
Just then, Ditzy smelt something foul blow past her nose. "Fluttershy, you weren't cooking anything before I came in, were you? Because I think it's done."
When Ditzy said that Fluttershy began to smell it too. Darting her eyes over towards the kitchen she saw a small column of black smoke rising up from the stove. "Oh no!" She cried as she flew over to the oven. Turning off the stove eye, Fluttershy took the pan and dropped it over into the sink, running water into it for good measure.
Ditzy flew over, turning off the faucet. "Fluttershy, what's wrong."
"It's nothing. I was just trying to do right by Bryce today and make him some scrambled eggs for breakfast. But I got distracted."
"Hey, come on, Flutters. It's not so bad. I'm sure he would have liked them."
"I know, but they were for him. And now they're ruined." Fluttershy looked down to her hooves, disappointed she'd let her lose track of something so important.
Ditzy slung a fore leg over her friend's withers. "Don't worry about it. There's still time. Besides, now you can make his eggs the way he likes them."
"He...doesn't like scrambled eggs?"
"I'm sure he does, but he's the kind of pony who prefers the same breakfast every morning: Two fried eggs sandwiches with a glass of milk."
"He does? I didn't know that."
"Well, it's not really common knowledge. I've just known him long enough to know that."
Fluttershy let out a sigh. "It's seems you know him more than I do. How could he like me and not you?"
"Oh ho, so he finally spilled the beans, did he?"
"No, I just have a feeling is all. A warm feeling from the bottom of my heart that lets me know." Fluttershy gave another heavy sigh. "But that's another thing you knew before I did."
"Sure, I know a lot about him, Flutters. But that doesn't mean we would be a good couple. I mean, if I let him live with me I doubt my daughters and I would have a roof over our head to go home to. I'm not saying I don't like Bryce, I do, but we would never do any better as a couple than we would as friends. To me, he needs somepony who'll be patient with him. Somepony who will be forgiving, no matter what asinine thing he may say or do. And most important, somepony who can not only bring out all his good qualities, but improve them to heights he even doubts are within his grasp. But that's not me, Fluttershy. That's you."
"And don't worry about not knowing him yet. I'm sure after you both spend some more time together you'll notice things I couldn't see unless you told me. But I will say this: When it comes time to tell him something it's best you be open and direct with him; he doesn't read subtle hints very well." Ditzy walked down towards the hallway, stopping to look back to the uplifted pegasus. "How about this, while you go on and fix his breakfast I'll see if he's ready? Try and buy you some time if need be."
Fluttershy returned Ditzy's question with a heartwarming smile. "If you want to. I don't want my problems to keep you if you need to get to work."
"It's no problem with me. I can spare a few minutes to help out a friend." When Ditzy reached the bathroom door she gave a knock.
From within, Bryce said, "I'll be out in a minute, Shy. I'm just finishing up."
"Bryce, it's Ditzy. Are you decent?"
There was a short pause before Bryce replied, "Sure, Ditz, come on in."
Ditzy opened the door, finding the human in only his pants and underwear. He was busy dabbing the contents of a bottle of calamine lotion over the red welts and bites that littered the parts of his body that hadn't been covered with clothes. "Sheesh, those look nasty."
"Well, trust me, they do. I got them when we went into the swamp or bog or whatever the H you wanna call it."
"I heard. She also said you fell in the water."
"Yeah, I did. To tell you the truth if I hadn't gone in for her I would have broke down right there."
"I'm more surprised you didn't myself," Ditzy said, remembering all too well what had happened with Rainbow Dash and the infamous raincloud incident.
"Well, I mean, I was more concerned about keeping her safe. What if there had been a fully toothed alligator or a pack of timber wolves or something worse? I'd want to be there for her."
"I'll say. Though I doubt there would be anything worse than those two things in a bog."
"Maybe. But I'm glad the mosquitos came after me instead of her. They hurt, but I made sure I took down as many of those blood-suckers as I could. It might mean nothing, but they got what was coming to'em." Bryce turned around in place, trying to position his back in the mirror. "Ditzy, you don't see any on my back, do you?"
"Nope, looks like you got'em all covered."
"Great, thanks." Bryce placed the calamine lotion back in the medicine cabinet, then threw his shirt on. Turning to Ditzy, he asked, "Well, how do I look?"
It didn't take Ditzy long to reply with, "You look like a human who had a bad run-in with a swarm of mosquitos."
Bryce gave a smirk. "Well, you're not wrong."
Not long after the pair walked into the kitchen, finding a pair of fried egg sandwiches and a glass of milk at the head of the table. "What's all this?" Bryce asked.
"It's nothing. I just made you breakfast to thank you for coming with me this morning."
"Well, I don't know how, but you guessed my favorite." He took a seat at the offered place.
As Bryce began to pull the crusts off his first sandwich, Fluttershy asked, "Do you want any breakfast, Ditzy?"
"No, I've already eaten. Anyway, I need to get going. Through rain or shine after all. You two have fun today." Ditzy went out the front door.
As Bryce continued to eat, Fluttershy took a seat next to him. "Are you feeling any better since your bath, Bryce?"
"I do. I hope you don't mind if I used your calamine lotion though."
"Oh, it's no problem. It's there for bug bites, isn't it?"
"Well, yeah. And thanks for the clothes and the breakfast. I'll try and be quick."
"No, no, you can take your time. The farmer's market isn't going anywhere."
By now Bryce had finished his first sandwich and had moved on to his second. "Well... What about you? Aren't you going to eat?"
"Well, I-" At that moment Fluttershy's stomach let out a loud groan. She looked to Bryce with a blushing grin.
"Well, when I'm done here I'll cook you some eggs."
"It's okay, I can take care of it."
"No, I'd prefer to do it, to make it up to you."
"Why? What do you have to make up for?"
"Well, mostly for being myself towards you." A short silence fell through the room, only broken when Bryce said, "I'm sorry about that, Shy. I just have a thing when it comes to surprises and being wet. And I hated you seeing me like that. But that doesn't make up for how I acted, though, does it?"
For the next few seconds Bryce took bites out of his sandwich. Just when he was on his last few bites, Fluttershy reached forward and wrapped her fore legs around his neck. Though Bryce enjoyed the yellow mare cuddling close to him, it came as a surprise. "What's this about, Shy?"
She whispered in his ear, "Just my way of saying I forgive you."
Bryce had wanted to say something back, but anything he could think of didn't sound right. And when he tried to speak the words became tangled up in his throat. Instead, he decided to accept it. As he held on to what was left of his sandwich, he gave a smile.
When Fluttershy was finally able to unhook her hooves from around Bryce, he said, "Shy, I didn't want to say anything, but is something burning in here?"
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For the most part, Bryce and Fluttershy's day at the farmer's market went by a lot smoother than it had the week before, with the lack of having to carry two forty pound bags of feed being only a small part of it.
The biggest upside to the previous Wednesday was how much more talkative the two had become. What they had said wasn't of great importance, but it was better than nothing. If anything it made them closer.
Despite the late start, they managed to procure all of the animal caretaker pegasus's groceries well before noon. And since they weren't very hungry after having a late breakfast they decided to walk around for the rest of the morning. After about an hour of walking around aimlessly they decided to grab something small to snack on, and they'd happened to come upon the local nut sellers stand.
"Hello again, Bryce," Kernal stated at his and Fluttershy's approach. "And hello, to you as well, Fluttershy. What brings the two of you around these parts?"
"Well, we're looking to find something to tide us over until lunchtime," Bryce answered. "Got anything that can do that?"
"I believe I just might," Kernal said in his Trottingham accent. "In fact, I have something new my wife would like customers to try." Sneaking behind the stall, the chestnut stallion returned with two small paper bags. Bryce and Fluttershy each took a bag.
Placing his hand inside, Bryce felt something sticky. Pulling out, he brought up a pecan that looked as if it had been drowned in caramel. "Well, it looks good. It doesn't appear she burned the caramel this time, so that's a plus." He popped it in his mouth, finding it difficult to pull his teeth apart. After taking a few bites Bryce swallowed the morsel. "Well, they're good, but tell her to lay off the caramel by...a lot." Fluttershy nodded in agreement, having the same trouble in getting her portion to go down. "But I doubt she would want to hear that I'd said it," Bryce finished.
"I can understand what you mean, Bryce. Cocoa may be a bit headstrong, but without her, she and I wouldn't have two beautiful girls to call our own. I'll relay it to her, nonetheless, but say it came from an anonymous source."
"Right, that would be for the best. Well, thanks for these, Kernal."
"Wait, Bryce, could you hold back for a second?" Kernal said, raising a hoof. "I don't know if I should be asking you this, but do you know anything about cooking a proper meal? I only ask because mine and Cocoa's tenth wedding anniversary is in two weeks, and on that day she and I have a PTA meeting we must attend. And to contribute, the twins want to cook us dinner. I can admire their dedication, but I don't want them doing so without a grown up about. I trust they can cook, but not enough that they would make the best of choices if something were to explode or what have you."
"Well, I do. But do you really want me to come into your house, cooking your dinner, and slipping out without leaving any trace I had ever been there?"
"I wouldn't ask this of you, but the girls do have their little hearts set on this. And from all the pointers you've given have been very helpful for my wife, even if she doesn't know it's from you."
"I'm sure I have, but I don't want to get anyone into trouble. I like you, and I like your daughters. But if your wife found out I might not ever get to see any of you again."
"Excuse me," Fluttershy finally stated, oblivious to the whole ordeal. "But what did Bryce do that your wife wouldn't trust him?" It didn't take long for Bryce and Kernal to explain what had happened. When they were done the yellow mare had to cover her mouth. "Oh my, she wasn't hurt, was she?"
"No, no, no," Kernal said, trying to quell the pegasus's fears. "In fact she turned out quite well. Well, except for maybe being as wild as a buck in the proper season. And her sister, to put it in a way you could understand, adapted a manner not much unlike your own, Fluttershy. But you would think Pecan would have been the one, but no, it was Almond. And Pecan's had her mother saying words I don't want to translate into Equestrian."
"But surely she knows it was all an accident. Bryce would never hurt anypony like that."
"In her own way, I'm sure she does, but she can be as stubborn as a mule; no offense to mules themselves."
"Okay, guys, I think we get the point," Bryce butted in. "But Kernal, I still don't know if I should do this." He looked to Fluttershy. "What do you think, Shy?"
"Why ask me?"
"Well, I want your opinion on this. Because I want to, but I'm afraid it'd only make the situation worse."
"Well, um... Do you think she would find out?"
"I don't know. All it wold take is one misplaced word and it'll hit the fan."
"Maybe, but what if after she does find out, and after trying what you made she likes it? It's a possibility." Fluttershy took a second to ponder the situation. "Bryce, I think you should. You want to after all. And it would at least show you don't feel bad about her as she does about you. I don't know if it would work, but it's worth a shot, isn't it?"
The entire time Bryce had been wiggling his toes in his usual way. After a few renditions of this he looked to Kernal. "Kernal, if she thinks I should, then I'll do it."
When the chestnut stallion heard this he gave a smile from ear to ear. "Ha, smashing! I knew I could count on you."
"Yeah. But if anything happens I'll take the blame for it. I'm the one she's after, not you or the girls."
"I doubt things could go too pear shaped. I'll make sure she and I leave with enough time for you and the twins to finish up. And don't worry about the ingredients, I'll supply it all. At least now I'll have the time to find a proper anniversary gift for Cocoa."
"Well, I might be able to help with that, too. But I need something from you first. I'll need a picture of you and your wife; preferably one from your wedding. And I also need a picture of Pecan and Almond. The more current the better."
"If you need those things I might be able to oblige, but it will have to wait because I don't have anypony to watch the stall."
"Well, I'll be in town tomorrow so I can get them then."
"That should work."
After saying their good-byes, Fluttershy followed Bryce through town. "What do you have in mind you need pictures for, Bryce?" She asked.
"Well, more or less as a backup plan. If my cooking doesn't manage to win her over then hopefully this will work as a peace offering. Do you remember seeing the figure I'd made in my room?"
"I do, yes."
"Well, what I have in mind will be a lot better than that. But I'll need to get better tools, because the little whittling knife I have won't cut it."
Soon after they came upon a small shop. From the sign Fluttershy understood it was a craft's store. When they both entered, they heard somepony off to the side say, "Good afternoon, is there anything I can help you find today?" As if they had rehearsed it. When Fluttershy looked over she found a sunset orange unicorn busy painting something she couldn't quite see.
"Hey, Needlepoint," Bryce said to the stallion.
When Needlepoint heard Bryce, his first response was to freeze up, releasing the small paintbrush in his magic. "Bryce, wh- what are you doing here?"
"Well, I came by because I have a wood project I just thought of and I need something more than a whittling knife to-"
The orange unicorn came over, drawing Bryce's gaze. "That's nice to hear, but I'm afraid I can't sell you anything right now, because I'm..."
"I'll just be a minute," Bryce refuted. "All I need are some-"
"Yes, but as I said I can't sell you anything right now," Needlepoint said, still drawing Bryce's gaze towards him. "I was about to close for lunch."
"But I have the money."
"I'm sorry, but you will have to come back later. I have very strict hours."
Bryce gave the unicorn a dead stare. "Strict hours?"
"Yes, well, I like to take the time to work on things, away from the prying eye."
"Well, I'll just be a minute." Bryce took a step towards the back of the store, and came to the dead stop at what he saw. With his poor distance vision he had his doubts, but after taking a few steps forward it confirmed what he saw.
Sitting up on a shelf, right above the wood working tools were his little Raritys, each painted to match her colors perfectly. And sitting next to them was a small plaque that displayed the price: 45 bits each.
Bryce heard Needlepoint come up behind him, but didn't turn back to look at him. "What are those doing here?" Bryce asked.
"The wood working tools? They've always been there. Ever since the day I first-"
Bryce finally looked back to Needlepoint, trying to hold back his rage. "You know what I mean! Where did you get those? Who gave them to you?"
"I- I got them from somepony... S- somepony you wouldn't know."
"Bulls shit! I made those," Bryce stated, pointing a finger towards his chest.
"No, it's the truth. If they looked like anything you made then it is meerly coincidence."
"Coincidence?" Bryce rushed over to the shelf.
Needlepoint followed closely at Bryce's heels. "Bryce, what are you doing!?"
When Bryce reached the shelf he grabbed one of the Raritys up at random and shoved into Needlepoint's face "Is the shield mark on this one's bottom right hoof a coincidence!?"
"There's nothing there," Needlepoint stated without pause.
Bryce gave a scowl. "Bull-!" But when he pulled the figure back to see for himself, Bryce saw what Needlepoint said was true. All four of the mini fashionista's hooves were blank. Bryce began to rub at the indicated spot with his thumb, thinking it had been covered up. But nothing came away. Placing the figure on its side on the shelf, he looked under the same hoof of every Rarity figure present. But they were all blank. The only noticeable scratches along their surface were from the etched out eyes and the diamonds in the cutie mark, and that was all. Other than that there was no shield to prove Bryce had made them at all.
After checking the final little Rarity, Bryce placed the figure down on the shelf on all hooves. Breathing heavily, Bryce said, "I'm sorry. I was sure..."
Needlepoint gave the human a smile. "It's quite alright. If anything they are quite beautiful. Maybe not as beautiful as the model, but still very beautiful."
"Yeah, they are. If you see the one who made them tell'm they did good work."
"I'll be sure to relay the message," Needlepoint said as he rearranged the little Raritys with his magic. "Now, if you would be so kind, I would like to close for lunch."
As Bryce and Needlepoint walked to the front of the store, Fluttershy asked, "Bryce, about the shield you said would be on the rear-right hoof, it wouldn't happen to be split vertically down the middle, would it?"
"Yes, Shy, it would."
"I only ask because the two over here have a shield just like that where you said it would be." Fluttershy said from the table Neddlepoint had been working at when she and Bryce had entered.
When Bryce and Needlepoint heard the mare say this, the former gave a scowl down to the latter. "Really? What a coincidence."
Needlepoint attempted to make a run for it. But Bryce acted fast and stepped on the unicorn's tail, causing him to fall forward on his belly.
Bryce called to Fluttershy, "Shy, throw me one of those, if you would be so kind."
Taking the figure that had yet to be painted, she tossed the mini Rarity to Bryce. Bryce caught it out of the air and immediately looked to the underside of its back right hood. "Well, I will say this, the one who made these did do good work." While still keeping Needlepoint on the floor, Bryce brought the figure down to the unicorn's eye level, giving him full view of the split shield. "You want to explain this to me?"
When Bryce allowed the sunset orange unicorn to stand, he was having trouble containing himself. He had to think of an explanation fast. With a shaky voice, he said, "That could have been put there by anypony. As far as I can tell it is all chicken scratch. Again, this is all coincidence."
But one look at Bryce's face was enough for Needlepoint to tell he had him dead to rights. With a smirk, Bryce said, "Coincidence?"
What happened next was something neither of the two present ponies could expect. Grabbing the zipper on his shorts, Bryce unzipped it, spun around on his heels, and lowered his pants enough for Bryce's buttocks to be thrust into Needlepoint's field of vision.
Both ponies were beyond words. Not only for what Bryce was doing, but because of what he had laid bare. Right there was the irrefutable evidence anypony would have needed. Imprinted onto Bryce's flesh was the mark that had been with Bryce since the day he was born, and had since been placed onto every wooden figure he'd made since he first started widdling: a red shield, with a flat top, a pointed bottom, and parted vertically down the middle.
Still holding his smirk, Bryce said, "You can kiss this coincidence."
Neither Fluttershy nor Needlepoint gave an answer aside from a stammered words.
When the front door opened everyone looked back to see who it was. It was Ambrosia, who carried a pair of to-go boxes on her back. "Hey, Dad, I got us some..." She stopped midstep at the scene before her. "Bryce...?" She finally asked.
Without turning around to properly look at his former coworker, he gave a wave. "Hi, Ambrosia."
She stared at Bryce, Fluttershy, and her father a few seconds more before she started say in a slow voice, "What the BUCK IS GOING ON HERE!?!?!?"
"Well, that is a good question," Bryce said as he pulled up his shorts. "What are the figures I made for you doing here?"
Ambrosia shot her father a glare. "You see, Dad, I told you this would come back to bite you in the flank."
"Ambrosia, this is not the time."
"Wait, Dad?" Bryce asked stunned. He looked to Needlepoint. "You're her...?" He looked to Ambrosia. "You're his...?" He looked back to Needlepoint again with a stare that would make the devil flinch. "You sent her to do your dirty work!? You cowardice bastard!"
"Don't you talk to my dad like that!" Ambrosia scolded.
Bryce went back to the papyrus colored mare. "And you helped him!?"
"Look, I didn't want to help him, but he's my dad."
"Well, you still did it. You didn't even like them, did you?"
"You have no right to question my daughter," Needlepoint interjected.
"Piss off!" Was all Bryce had to say to the sunset unicorn. "You say you don't like me, then you say I do good work. And then this? You're so on the the fence you don't even know what side you're leaning on." He turned back to Needlepoint. "And you stole my figures, painted over them, and then tried to pass them off as someone else's work. What the H!?"
"I didn't steal anything. Ambrosia gave them to me, who I might add you gave to her in the first place. I've stolen nothing. And second, you left me no other choice."
"Yeah, and this is why. You're selling them like they're a novelty item, not a piece of art like you say they are. And the price? That's just pure avarice."
"You act as if running a business such as this is a turn key operation. Before those figures the only business I had was from schoolfoals and old mares who come here to buy yarn so as to make magnificent gifts for their grandfoals. And in the end these foals don't give a damn how much work their grandmothers put into it, all they care about is getting it. My daughter and I were just staying afloat before this, but with these we have a chance that it won't all fall down past our ears."
"Well, how much work do you think I put into making them? I work for hours to make one. And now look at them: whitewashed and done up like some girl you have to pay to love you. And your new customers, I bet they're all just a bunch of sex crazed colts, not very long into that special time of life where their voices crack and their balls drop. And then there's that new scent in the air, coming from that one little flower they didn't notice until now."
Hearing that was enough to make Ambrosia scoff. Fluttershy on the other hand decided she had better step in before either one of the males could say another word.
Fluttershy stomped her hoof, cutting off whatever would have been said next. "I've heard enough from you both," she said as she came between them. "Mr. Needlepoint, I agree with Bryce on how you've treated his figures. He must have put long hours into them. And then you tried to make out as if he were lying about making them to begin with."
"You can say that again, Shy," Bryce added in.
Fluttershy gave Bryce her signature Stare, forcing him to keep silent. "And Bryce, what you did and what you said was no better. Being angry is understandable, but what you did to prove yourself was very inappropiate. And the words you said could be hurtful to the wrong pony."
She stepped out of center in order to see them both. "Now I want you both to stop bickering, because it's not going to get either of you anywhere. I'm sure if you will just talk this out in a calm, appropiate, sensitive manner you can think of someway where everypony gets their fair share."
Both males stared daggers at each other for a few moments before Needlepoint said, "I suppose you were correct in saying I whitewashed your art, Bryce. And not giving you due credit was wrong. I only painted them because it was what my customers wanted. But I guess such things would be better left to the artist to decide."
"Well," Bryce began, "You did do good. I mean, they were good before, but you were able to paint them in a way I can't do. You picked out the perfect colors, and did it without crossing colors over one another. In a way, someone could mistake it as Rarity herself."
To this Needlepoint gave a smile. "No, Bryce, you do me too much honor. If it weren't for you making them in the first place I would have had nothing to paint."
"Yeah, but if you had left them as they were I couldn't have seen them like this. I can do line but I can't do color."
"I guess in a way we complement each other, if only in terms of art."
"I guess so."
For a while they said nothing back. It wasn't until after Needlepoint repositioned himself on his hooves that he said, "Bryce, I hate to say this now, after all that's been said, but without your figures I'm afraid Ambrosia and I won't survive. Before your figures we were up to our ears in debt. Ambrosia, despite my reservations, had gotten a job as a construction worker to try and help ends meet. But when she was fired the money went with it. And it took all her severance just to keep the debt collectors at bay. But if we can't get enough money soon then we will both be back in the same pit as before."
"If you're going to ask me to make more figures then the answer is no. I'm not going to allow what happened to those happen to any more I may make. But I do have something that may benefit us both. I propose that if you can find me commissions then I'll make more of my whittlings."
"I can understand that, Bryce, but if you don't make figures what will I have to demonstrate your work?"
Bryce raised a hand. "I'm getting to that. If you provide me with the tools I'll make something so great you'll want to replace that." Bryce pointed across the room to Ponet's painting of Needlepoint's color palette stained rump.
Needlepoint looked back to the human, uncertain if he should take him up on his offer. "I don't want you aiming for something that's may be out of your reach. Your work is grand, but what can you make that you place Ponet in your shadow?"
"That I'm not going to tell. If you trust me, then I can promise you that we'll both come out for the better." Bryce held out his hand to the sunset stallion. "Do you you trust me?"
Needlepoint was hesitant to take Bryce's offer. If what Bryce said were true, then the business they would receive would be beyond his imagination. But if Bryce turned out to be wrong, then Celestia herself would not be able to save him and Ambrosia from financial ruin from which they could never recover. But if he declined Bryce what other choice did he have?
"I trust you, Bryce." Needlepoint placed his hoof into Bryce's hand, and gave it a shake. "But if you expect me to simply give you the tools you need then I'm afraid I must charge you for them, in the event things do turn south."
Bryce gave a nod. "I understand. And I do have the means in which to do so. But there is one thing I will need from you personally. A picture. One you hold most dear to your heart."
"That I can provide, if you will allow me a moment."
While Needlepoint went to his craft table, Ambrosia came over to Bryce. "Bryce, I'm sorry for being a part of all this. I was against this from the very beginning, but what he said was true. You see, a few years ago my sister, who was a unicorn, wanted to go to Canterlot to study magic. And my dad couldn't say no, so he let her go. But because of how expensive it was we got a lot of debt fast."
"Well, what happened with her?"
"To tell you the truth, we don't know. All we know is she up and disappeared from all of creation one day. We only found out when the school sent all her belongings back here. And since we can't afford to take a trip there we don't know anything else. And Dad..." Ambrosia looked over her back to see if her father was still busy. When she saw he was she beckoned Bryce to come in close.
Taking a knee, Bryce did as she wanted, and listened as Ambrosia said, "Our dad thinks it's all a lie, and that she's still in Canterlot. He thinks she decided she was too good for us and decided to cut off all ties. To tell you the truth, I don't know if he's right. My sister would never have done this, at least not without telling me."
"And yet she did, Ambrosia," Needlepoint said from behind the papyrus mare. He held out an old photograph to Bryce, one that had a corner torn away. "Will this this do?"
Bryce looked the picture over. In it he could see they were at the train station, with Needlepoint in the center, his hoof wrapped around a much younger Ambrosia's neck. He could see the sunset stallion's other leg go towards the other part of the photograph, only to end at the tear. Bryce found it hard to believe how happy the pair was in the picture compared to how they were now.
Bryce gave a second nod. "This will do."
"Good. Now if you will come to the register we will either transact a blessing or a disaster."
After paying for the tools, Bryce and Fluttershy made their way for the door. As they went out, Ambrosia called, "Bryce, wait. I need to tell you something first." Bryce turned back to hear what she had to say. "I did think the dolls you made were good. And just so you know, despite how much my dad wanted them, I never gave him the first set you made for me. They're in my room right where I left them, untouched by anypony but me."
Bryce had listened to the papyrus mare, and gave a nod when she was done. "Thanks, Ambrosia, that...means a lot." With that said, he and Fluttershy went out the door.
When Bryce and Fluttershy had made their way outside of town, Bryce was finally able to ask, "Shy, was what I did good? I know what I did before was bad, but did I do good after that?"
Fluttershy was slow to answer. "I really can't say if it was good or bad. I think it depends on if you can come through with what you promised. But I will say this: everything you were able to say afterwards made me proud. You were able to say all you said without running away or bottling yourself up inside yourself or being impolite."
To this Bryce gave a soft smile. "Well, I was really only able to do it because of what you said, Shy. I mean, if you hadn't been there to come between us we wouldn't have been able to say anything nice. But I guess that doesn't completely make up for what I did say and do, does it?"
Just then, Fluttershy came to a stop, which Bryce followed suit soon after. Turning back to the buttercup pegasus, he asked, "Is everything okay, Shy? Did we forget something?"
Without saying a word, Fluttershy used her wings to come to Bryce's level. Once she was at his level, she wrapped her hooves around him.
Immediately Bryce felt his heart beat faster in his chest. It was the same feeling he'd felt that morning when they were at the breakfast table, and to him it held the same meaning as before.
But this time he wasn't going to just sit there and take it. This time he was going to give back.
Taking his part of the groceries in one hand, he used his free hand to give Fluttershy a hug back. While still holding her, he whispered to the yellow mare, "Thank you, Fluttershy."
They didn't let go until Bryce deposited her at her cottage. And after a long drawn out good-bye, Bryce parted for the apple farm.
Along the way, Bryce looked to the photograph Needlepoint had lent him, and was already beginning to form the image he was about to make inside his head. This would take time, much longer than any figure he'd made before, and he would need zero distractions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the sight of the human coming up the dirt path, Thunderlane felt his blood run cold. The entire morning, with constant encouragement from Rumble, the slate grey pegasus had waited along the road that led to Sweet Apple Acres for this moment, and now that it was finally here Thunderlane felt he could die from sheer terror. He wanted to run, to hide himself, but he knew if he did that Rumble would never forget it. So as Thunderlane waited for Bryce to reach him and his brother, he breathed air deep into the lowest fathoms of his lungs in preparation for what he was about to say.
And when it came time to say those three words that filled his mouth with bile, Thunderlane could only get out, "Bryce-" before Bryce stated, "Not now, Thunderlane," and walked past.
Thunderlane did nothing, except watch as Bryce walked away, not bothering to look back to the pair of pegasi. He didn't do anything until Rumble poked him in the thigh, saying, "Lane!" Causing the older pegasus to run ahead of Bryce.
"I just wanted to say-"
"I'm busy!" Bryce scoffed and went onwards, not slowing down for a second.
Thunderlane again took a position along the side of the road ahead of Bryce. "Can I just say one-?"
"No, you can't!"
After Thunderlane let Bryce pass by the third time now, he looked back to Rumble, who looked just as confused as he was. But Rumble didn't remain this way for long. Shaking his head, and furrowing his brow, the light grey pegasus colt ran after the human, and came to a stop right in his footpath.
This time Bryce came to a stop, as well. "Rumble, move! I'm busy!"
"This won't take long! My brother has something he wants to-"
Seeing Rumble had no intention to move to the side, Bryce walked around him.
But Rumble wasn't going to let Bryce get away easy. He ran after Bryce, and came to a trot that matched his stride when he reached the human. "Can you stop for a second, Bryce? I'm sure whatever you've got is important, but Thunderlane and I want you to hear this."
Through their entire exchange, Thunderlane hadn't moved. But when he saw his brother cross over to the Apple family's property, and watched as Bryce’s mare-sized dog come running towards the pair, he ran after them. He had seen how intimidating this dog could be, and if what he thought was about to happen were so, Rumble was in danger. Which meant he was in danger, because if something happened to Rumble their parents would do worse to him.
But when Thunderlane crossed the line over into the property the German shepherd changed course, and came directly for the slate grey pegasus, his lips parted and teeth bared.
When Thunderlane saw Corn coming he skid to a halt, which caused him to lose his balance and fall down. Unable to get back on his hooves, Thunderlane dragged himself away from the dog. But when he could tell his efforts would be futile, he rolled onto his back and prepared for the inevitable.
But when Corn reached Thunderlane he came to a stop, as if sensing a line only he could tell were there. For a minute Thunderlane didn't notice this, not until he came to the realization he had been holding his breath. From behind the golden-yellow canine he could see Bryce had stopped, and was speaking with his brother. Even if they were yelling Thunderlane couldn't have heard them; not over the sound of his own heart and the barks Corn was now making.
After a few minutes Bryce and Rumble stopped speaking, and began to look deep into each other's eyes. Instantly Thunderlane's thoughts went back to the day he'd called out Ditzy, how Bryce had brought him down to earth, and how the latter had managed to take away his flight with his inky black stare. And now he was doing it to Rumble.
Thunderlane wanted to do something, but he knew if he moved \ the large dog that was barking at him would tear him to shreds.
It had all looked grim, until he heard Bryce yell out, "CORN, SHUT UP!!!"
It was enough to make Corn stop barking, but he still continued to growl over Thunderlane, preparing for the nice, plump horse-chicken he and Winona would be having for supper.
Bryce yelled out again, "CORN!!!"
The German shepherd, with his lips still parted, looked back to his boy.
Bryce pointed towards the farmhouse. "HOME! NOW!!!"
For a second Corn stood his ground, but then looked back to Thunderlane, snapped at him once, and headed towards the house, not once turning back.
Once Corn was out of sight, Bryce walked over to Thunderlane. When he was standing over him, Bryce said, "You have two minutes. Speak."
Thunderlane got to his hooves, and tried to sound out the words, but only managed to let out a raspy tone.
In this time, Bryce opened the front casing of his watch. "You have ninety seconds."
"I... I... I want to say I'm s- S- I'm so- so-"
Without looking up from his watch, Bryce said, "Seventy-five seconds."
"I... I'm s- Sorry... Okay? I'm sorry for everything I did, and for everything I said bad about you."
"Sixty seconds," Bryce stated, not giving any indication he'd heard what Thunderlane had said.
Thunderlane continued on. "I- I know it was wrong of me, and I shouldn't have done to you what I did." Thunderlane didn't know how, but the words all poured out of him. He admitted to Bryce all he'd said and all he'd done. He even admitted to having stalked him, and watching almost every move he made. When Thunderlane was done, he had to catch his breath.
But it had all seemed to have been in vain when Bryce closed the casing on his watch, looked Thunderlane straight in the eye, said, "That's not going to get you your flight back," and walked off in the direction of the barn.
For a second Thunderlane was dumbfounded. He didn't remember all he'd said, but what he did remember was the truth. When he registered what Bryce had said, he stood up, and ran after Bryce. "Wait, you can't just say that. I apologized!"
"You did," Bryce said, not looking back. "But that's not going to get you your flight back. Now, leave me alone."
"But...I wasn't doing it for that."
"I know. You did it for your brother. Rumble told me. Very noble. But you were still doing it for yourself, even if not wholly. It won't work. Go away."
"How can you act like what I said did mean anything?"
"It did, but I'm busy."
By now Rumble had caught up to his brother. "Lane, you said you were sorry. That's all I wanted."
"No, Rumble, this is about something more. I'm- I'm going to prove to you I'm not making it up when I say he took my flight."
"Lane, come on!"
Thunderlane hadn't noticed, since his attention had been on Rumble, but Bryce had stopped, causing Thunderlane to collide with the human's legs. Bryce looked down to Thunderlane, and said in a straight face, "I didn't take your flight away."
"Then how do you explain this?" Thunderlane flapped his wings, and got no result except from the dirt that was blown about.
"You just don't know how, that's how I explain it." Bryce turned back and opened the barn door.
Gritting his teeth, Thunderlane took a deep breath, and said the one thing he was certain would get him killed. "I know how you moved the barrel of peanuts."
Immediately Bryce froze, with the edge of the barn door held in his grip. He began to grip the edge hard.
Rumble looked to his brother, unsure of what to make of it. "Lane, what are you talking about?"
Before Thunderlane could explain, Bryce turned around, and while pointing into the barn said, "In here. Now!"
Without knowing why, Thunderlane did as Bryce had told him. Taking shaky steps, the slate grey pegasus entered the dark inside of the barn. Rumble tried to follow inside, but Bryce got in his way. "You stay out here," he said in a low, deep tone. "This won't take long." Bryce then entered the barn, shutting the door behind him.
From the outside, Rumble heard something scratch along the inside of the door. Once it had stopped Rumble tried to push open the door, but found it held shut.
Rumble began to panic. From the way Bryce had looked just now, with his eyes as black as coals, he feared the worst was about to transpire. Taking to the air, he began to look around for a way to get inside.