"Lovely, I think those noodles are done." Measured said as he walked into the kitchen.
Looking down, Lovely noticed the pot boiling over. Casting her magic around the pot, she moved it off the burner. Floating the strainer over the sink, she turned an apologetic look at her brother. "Sorry, guess I was daydreaming."
"Let me guess, it was about that stallion you met at that party?" Measured asked drily as he took a seat at the kitchen bar counter. He propped his head up on both forehooves and sighed. "The dreamy one?"
Dumping the pot into the strainer, Lovely picked up an individual noodle and threw it at Measured's face. Irritatingly, he caught it in his mouth. "Al dente, looks like I saved it just in time."
Narrowing her eyes at his cheeky grin, she picked up the strainer to shake out excess water. "You're in an awfully cheery mood today."
"Sue me." He teased. "I'm not a grump all the time."
"Yes, you are." Lovely said casually. "So this is incredibly suspicious behavior for you." Tossing the noodles into a bowl, Lovely grabbed the olive oil and spread it liberally over the noodles to keep them from sticking. Grabbing a wooden fork, she tossed the noodles and glanced over at Measured, who was actually smiling . "Spill the beans, Mez, or I'm going to eat all this by myself."
"Oh, so your stallion is in to big fillies, eh?" Measured asked impudently.
Unused to such jokes from her serious sibling, Lovely turned to face him fully, noodles left alone. "Measured, what under the sun is going on?"
Relenting, Measured came around the counter and took the lid off of the sauce-pan. Taking a whiff, Measured turned off the heat and brought out plates and silverware to set the table. "I...met somepony."
Lovely clapped her hooves excitedly. "Who's the lucky mare? What does she do? Is she a unicorn? Is she pretty?"
"Lovely, get a grip." Measured said, table set. Levitating over some wine from the rack near the table, he popped the cork and poured a glass before Lovely could say anything.
"You're supposed to wait for the food." Lovely said, two plates trailing behind her in her magic. Setting them down, Lovely looked across the table in barely-controlled anticipation. Measured took a rather long pull on his glass and looked back at her. "What? I don't even get a name?"
Sighing, Measured went for the wine glass again, but Lovely's magic took hold of the glass before his could. "That's rude, you know." He said crossly.
"You can't hide behind alcohol forever. One minute you're practically floating in here. Then I question you and you turn back into mopey Messy."
"Fine, you want a name?" He asked loudly. Lovely glared at his sudden volume. Measured looked down at his plate and muttered. "Barley Roll."
"Barely Toll? What, is she a bellringer?" Lovely asked, confused.
"Not Barely Toll, Barley Roll." He replied.
Odd name for a filly, Lovely thought. "So what does she--"
"He's a cropduster." Measured answered.
"Oh, well that's nice enough. How do you meet a cropduster in Canterlot?" Lovely asked, twirling some noodles onto her fork.
"I met him at a farmer's market." Lovely's ears pricked toward Measured, but her gaze remained on her food. Measured continued. "He's from Ponyville, but recently came up here to help with his sister's bread business."
Digesting this information, Lovely took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. Wiping her mouth, Lovely stood up from the table and walked around to her brother. "Mez, just one question."
Eying her movements, Measured answered nervously. "What's that?"
Without warning, she blasted him backward magically, toppling him onto his back. Standing over him, she pressed her nose against his. "WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME YOU WERE GAY? I WROTE A STILTED, HACKNEYED BOOK AND YOU JUST LET ME SUBMIT IT LIKE THAT TO A PUBLISHER? DOES MY CAREER MEAN NOTHING TO YOU? I TRUST YOU WITH EVERYTHING, MEASURED PROSE!"
"Lovely! I didn't even want to admit it to myself! The whole time I read your manuscript I thought I was going to explode. I almost wish I had." He turned away from her with the admission.
Backing away, Lovely let her brother scurry to his feet before she pounced on him with an incredibly tight hug. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Need...air...Lovely!" Measured gasped out around her shoulder in his neck. She kept her forehooves on his shoulders, but backed up enough to let him breathe. "Please don't tell father."
"As if you need to tell me that! But, you should. The holidays are coming up, Mez, and if father can't find it in his heart to be there for you and your...coltfriend, then it's better to know it for sure rather than worry and wonder."
Measured shivered. "I'll think about it, Love."
"Just don't start drinking before you show up to the family dinner, okay? You'll have me, mom, and your studly stallion." Lovely said, finding her way back to her seat.
Righting his chair, Measured looked up suddenly. "What do you mean, mom?"
Lovely lowered her fork and smiled. "When I released my first book and mom found out, she let it slip that she'd support either of us if we were...that way. She thought I was, actually."
"Mom thought you were..." Measured said, not quite able to bring himself to say it.
Lovely nodded. "Yeah, but I assured her that my fascination rested solely on stallions."
"So, you think she'll be okay if I tell her that I...am fascinated with stallions too?" Measured asked, sitting back in his chair.
"I can't promise you it'll be pretty with father. He has some attitudes that have been held for quite some time. But mom wouldn't love you any less, Mez. I'm sure." Lovely turned her attention back to her food.
Measured looked thoughtful, then followed suit. Halfway through his plate, he wiped his mouth, took a much more reasonable sip of wine and piped up again. "Lovely?"
About to take another bite, Lovely took a second to speak. "Yeah?"
"Thank you." He said quietly.
"No problem, Mez." She said with a smile.
Taking a moment to pour herself a glass, she had a thought. "Mez?"
"Yeah?" He asked, resisting his own glass of wine.
"Next gay book, you're consulting. Got it?" She demanded.
He smiled widely. "Okay, sis."
***
"Mom, dad, this is Second Story. Second, this is my mother Purple and my father Rhymed Prose." Lovely said, introducing her parents and stallionfriend.
"A pleasure, ma'am, sir." Second said as he shook hooves with the Prose parents.
"Second Story? Are you a writer as well?" Purple asked.
"No, ma'am. I'm an architect. Well, architect in training. I'm apprenticed with Fine Structure of Structure and Sons."
"Quite impressive. I've heard good things of Fine Structure." Rhymed said with a smile. "Now, Lovely, I'm sure your brother mentioned whether or not he'd be attending tonight." It was a statement, but Lovely knew the kind of answer her father wanted.
She smiled in spite of her nerves. "He said he had to pick some...thing up on the way. Probably wanted to treat us to a special vintage."
Rhymed sighed. "Your brother does have a soft spot for wines. I'd worry, if I didn't know I'd raised him better."
"You know Mez, everything he does is in moderation." Lovely said, scrambling her brains trying to figure out a way to change the subject.
Luckily, Purple made it easy. "Well, we can wait a bit longer. Why don't we all go to the living room and I'll get some cocoa going?"
As Purple puttered around the kitchen, Rhymed heaved himself into a recliner. Lovely gestured at the love seat, Second sat closer to Rhymed and Lovely sat next to Second.
"Where did you do your schooling?" Rhymed asked.
"Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I've lived in Canterlot my whole life. My family has been here for six generations."
"Impressive. What do you do for Structure and Sons?"
"Check calculations, mostly. I'm learning a lot about what customers want and what they need. The Structure Sons are considering a move to Baltimare. There's a lot of renovation and upgrade work around here, but they really want to sink their hooves into fresh dirt and design from scratch."
"I bet. Good news for you, eh? Maybe it'll be Structure and Story before too long." Rhymed laughed. "You know, I think I have some pictures of how Canterlot looked before it was built up like it is now, if you're interested?" Second nodded. "Be back in a flash." Heaving himself up, Rhymed went down the hall and through a door.
Like clockwork, Measured and Barley walked in just as Rhymed left. Levitating a tray of drinks, Purple caught sight of the pair.
"You brought a friend, Mez?" Purple asked innocently. Lovely jumped up and gave Measured a hug. Unsure of what else to do, Second stood.
"Yes." Lovely shoulder bumped his and Measured corrected himself. "I mean, no."
Purple's eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"
"Mom, this is Barley Roll. Barley, this is my mother, Purple Prose."
Barley's wings fluttered against his sides nervously as he bowed. "Pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
"Likewise. Now, Mez, let's get this straight. Who is Barley to you?" Purple asked.
"Mom, he's my...stallion...friend."
"As in, a special somepony?" Purple pressed.
Measured swallowed drily. "Yes, ma'am."
Everyone shifted nervously as hoofsteps approached. Lovely gave Mez a reassuring smile. Barley gave him a quick side wing-hug. "Who's this?" Rhymed asked as he approached the gathering in the living room.
Measured cleared his throat and stepped forward. To his credit, Barley stepped forward with him. Lovely liked him already. "Dad. This is Barley Roll. He and I are...dating."
The room went silent. Rhymed's look of interest turned into shock, and then settled into a frown. Measured tried not to let on that his insides were twisting themselves to pieces, but Lovely could practically feel the unease radiating off of him. Finally, Rhymed spoke. "You know how I feel about this."
"I do, sir." Measured confirmed.
Rhymed looked into his son's eyes. "The holiday season is stressful enough, son. I didn't need this, too."
Measured gave out a hollow, shaky laugh. "You didn't need this? Well, I'm sorry I'm such an inconvenience."
"Measured, it's bad enough that he's a stallion, but a pegasus on top of it all."
"What's wrong with being a pegasus?" Barley asked, incredulous.
"Nothing at all! I'm sure you’re a very nice pony, but there's no way I could approve of this."
"What are you saying, dad?"
"If you're serious about this, Measured..."
"Did you think I did all this as a joke?" Measured spat back.
"You could have had the decency to keep it to yourself and away from my home!" Rhymed replied.
"What was I going to say when the inevitable questions about settling down came up?" Measured asked angrily.
"I don't care! Lie! Anything's better than this disrespectful display! And in front of your sister and her special somepony..."
"What about my special somepony, dad? Don't we get any respect?" Measured asked, tears in his eyes.
"How am I supposed to respect this? How am I supposed to feel about my family line ending this way?" Rhymed responded.
"I can adopt. I could get a surrogate mother."
"Great! Non-blood and procreation outside of your marriage! This is supposed to make me feel better? Bad enough that you choose to do this! Go ahead and do what you want with my family's name. At least your sister had the decency to put a fake name on that smut she wrote!"
"Dad!" Lovely cried out in anger.
"Rhy, this is your son." Purple interjected. "This season is about accepting all types of ponies. We set aside petty tribal problems centuries ago."
"To survive, yes. We live among the other ponies. To mingle with them? The Prose family line descended straight down from unicorn to unicorn. That's how our name's survived. Throwing away all of that or tarnishing it with this immoral behavior? I can't accept it." With that, Rhymed turned back around and down the hall. A door slammed behind him.
"Mez...I'm..." Barley started, but Measured shushed him.
"No, this is my fault for even bringing you here. I knew he'd react like this."
Purple turned to face Measured. "It'll take time, Mez--"
"No. He's never going to accept me like this mom. I-we have to go. I just can't...right now." Barley nodded and followed Measured out the door.
Lovely turned to Second. "Happy Hearth's Warming."
Second twitched a smile. "Should we go as well?"
Purple nodded. "I think that'd be best. I'm sorry about all of that. We're usually quite pleasant to be around on the holidays."
***
"It's all my fault." Measured said monotonously.
"For the last time, Mez, no it isn't. They'd been having problems since you moved out. Probably before that, but they just got worse about hiding it over time." Lovely reassured him. She looked on from her seat on the recliner. Measured had thrown himself over the arm of the couch and hadn't moved since.
"I was the last straw." He countered.
"No, dad was the last straw. His horrible, antiquated ideas. His behavior at Hearth's Warming. You know the dolls mom sews for us each year? He tore your up that night. Mom was so livid with him she went to the attorney's office the next morning."
"Is that supposed to help?"
"Of course! Can't you see who's really to blame here? You can't help but be who you are! Father is so against that he would cut you out of the family. Mom wouldn't allow that! Please, Mez, give yourself a break."
His likely dire response was cut off by knocking at the door.
"You haven't given Barley his own key yet?" She asked as she stood up.
"Tell him I'm not home." Measured said grumpily.
"Have you even spoken to him since that night?"
"Why would he want to talk to me?"
"I don’t know. For some reason, he seems to be in love with you! Maybe I should disabuse him of that notion."
"Would you?"
"Oh, no. You want to cut ties with him, you do it. But, let me remind you that you thought he was worth it enough to come out to father and I know Barley wasn't the first stallion you ever laid your eyes on."
She went to the door and let Barley in. "Maybe you can get him out of his sulk."
Throwing herself back into the recliner, she lifted a magazine and pretended to read as her brother and his special somepony spoke.
"Are you mad at me?" Barley asked, finally breaking the silence between them.
"What? Why would I be mad at you?"
"You haven't spoken to me since that night." Barley reminded him. Lovely gave herself a point for getting that right.
"They're getting a divorce, Bar. My parents are divorcing because of me."
"It’s not your fault!" Barley and Lovely said at the same time. They looked at each other. Lovely smiled at him and mentally gave him another point. Barley smiled back.
Barley looked back at Measured. "I see your sister has been on your case about that too?" Measured nodded. "Good."
Measured snorted rudely.
"Well, if you're not going to listen to reason, maybe you'll listen to this." Barley pulled a box out from under his wing. "Measured Prose, I knew I loved you when we met and that feeling has only grown in the time we've been together--"
"Wait!" Lovely interrupted. Stunned, both stallions turned to look at her curiously. "How long have you two been dating?"
"Almost a year." Barley answered. Measured buried his head under a throw pillow.
Lovely set the magazine down with a slap. "Mez! You let me publish that book when you'd been gaying it up with this stud?"
"I wasn't ready to tell you!" He said, although it was somewhat muffled under the pillow.
"I'll kill you later." She looked to Barley. "Continue."
Blinking, he turned back to Measured. "Right. Head back up, you prat. If she throws something at you, even if you deserve it, I'll block it with my wings." He said, poking Measured's unguarded underside. Lovely made a note of that weakness.
Barley sat in front of Mez and opened the box. From Measured's expression, Lovely could tell what was inside. "I've lost my train of thought." Over the ring box, Measured glared at Lovely as Barley scratched his head in thought. "Oh, whatever. Will you marry me?"
"I don't deserve you." Measured said.
"Then let me spend the rest of our lives together proving to you how much we deserve each other." Barley replied.
"I'm not exactly easy to live with." Measured admitted.
Barley snorted. "You need to talk to my sister. You seem to have a rather inflated notion of my character. I assure you, I'm pretty hard to live with at times too."
"This is supposed to convince me?"
"This floor is harder than it looks, Mez. Say yes already."
"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." Measured said finally.