Halfling

by Dee Pad

Chapter 1 - Life's Unexpected Surprises

Silence.

Something that was all too familiar in the Changeling Kingdom. But it was not the sort of silence that allowed one to find peace and be at ease. It was uncomfortable—no, more than uncomfortable; it was depressing, the air still and stagnant, void of any pleasantries. It was the type of silence that allowed one to ruminate on their past and the things they've done. The silence brought with it the memories of the mistakes that have been made and where one has ended up because of them.

Such was now the life of Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings.

The queen sat, motionless, inside her private chambers deep within the caves of the changeling hive. Despite how far into the cavernous catacombs her chambers were, she still had a view of the outside world via a gash in the wall of the room, too small for a changeling to fit through, but large enough to have a decent view of the outdoors beyond.

Not that it was a comforting view. Her "window" looked out into a valley located in the dead center of the mountain range that the hive was built into, surrounded on all sides by rocky cliff faces and overshadowed by depressing, grey cloud cover. Even the valley itself was devoid of anything pleasant. No grass, no flowers, and the only trees that were there were long dead, leafless and petrified. The ground was nothing but solid, grey stone, cracked and jagged.

But by far the most distinguishing feature of the valley—and also the reason why the changelings didn't spend much time there, if any—were the skeletons of countless creatures that were strewn about the entire place. One could hardly take a single step without hearing the sickening sound of snapping bones beneath their hooves. Thus they had named it The Boneyard. It was not a place where changelings could live, but more like a garbage dump, a place for changelings to dispose of their victims after they've had their fill of flesh. Of course, such meals were few and far between; it was very likely that the valley was covered in the bones of more changelings than anything else, the many bugs that had starved or frozen to death in the unforgiving ecosystem of the Changeling Kingdom, or even those that had been cannibalized by other desperate changelings. The countless remains of centuries worth of dead changelings was more than enough reason not to spend any prolonged time there.

And Chrysalis had to stare at it every night.

She tore her eyes away from the wretched sight, not needing any further reminders of her failures. She turned back to her chambers, electing to lay upon her bed.

Unfortunately, the view within her chambers was not much more pleasant. Despite what one would think the room of a queen to look like, her chambers were nothing more than a hollowed-out hole on the inside of a mountain; certainly not befitting royalty. Her "bed" was nothing more than a slab of rock covered in dead grass and leaves to at least offer some comfort. Aside from that, there was nothing. It was certainly a far cry from her throne room, which at the very least was large and imposing.

The only other thing in her room that there was to look at was a large leaf laid next to her on the bed. Upon it were less than a dozen red berries, an apple that was already starting to rot, and the carcass of a small rabbit. The latter was a rare luxury, even for the queen, and she was lucky to get that. Over the past year, it seemed like fewer and fewer of her subjects still respected her enough to deliver food to her. Had she not known who had delivered it, she would have been surprised that they hadn't kept the rabbit to themselves and simply not told her about it. Even still, she had barely touched her meal. She simply had no appetite as of late, as surprising as that sounds. No changeling in their right mind would turn down a chance to stuff their face with food were it presented to them.

But then, Chrysalis wasn't exactly in her right mind at the moment.

"Your Majesty?" came a deep voice from the entrance of her quarters.

Chrysalis lifted her head in an effort to look at least somewhat presentable, though she knew that wasn't necessary given who it was.

At the entrance was, of course, another changeling; a male much larger than your average drone, though not quite as tall as the queen. He was adorned with a spiky, dark blue helmet and matching chest piece, signifying his position as a member of Chrysalis's personal guard. His mane was completely concealed underneath his helmet, but the long, bright orange hair of his tail was in full view, looking clean and well-groomed for changeling standards. He stared with his piercing, deep purple irises, waiting patiently for his queen to respond to his address. There was a distinct look of concern in those eyes.

"Do you need something, Wraith?" Chrysalis asked, sounded slightly perturbed.

Wraith, becoming aware that his presence had disturbed the queen, offered a slight bow in apology. "Pardon the intrusion, Your Highness, but I simply wished to know if you needed anything else."

Chrysalis turned away from him, laying her head back down onto the bed. "No."

Wraith grimaced slightly at the reply. Obviously she was upset about something, but knew it was not his place to inquire without warrant, lest she become angry with him. However, it was only now that he noticed that she had hardly touched the food he had brought to her a little while ago.

"You haven't eaten your meal. Are you ill?" he said, his voice sounding more inquisitive than worried.

"I'm not hungry," was all she said, hoping that would suffice and she could return to her privacy.

"To say you aren't hungry is to say fish are not wet. I have a hard time believing that."

"Are you just going to stand there until I admit that something's wrong?"

Wraith held a hoof over his chest, bowing his head. "I would consider it my solemn duty as your captain to console you if you are distressed, Your Majesty. If you have grievances, I have ears."

Chrysalis stayed silent for some time. After about a minute or so of waiting, Wraith assumed that she had elected to keep her thoughts private, and so turned to leave.

"Am I a good leader?"

Wraith stopped just as he stepped through the archway. Her voice was quiet when she spoke up, barely intelligible, but still audible enough to catch his attention. "Your Majesty?"

Chrysalis sat up straight in a similar manner to how she would sit upon her throne. She looked Wraith dead in the eyes, her own eyes looking almost desperate for reassurance. "Am I a good leader?" she repeated at a slightly higher volume.

Wraith reentered the room, satisfied that she had decided to open up to him. He answered her question with steadfast loyalty in his tone. "You are the greatest leader the changelings have ever had."

Chrysalis scoffed at his response. "That doesn't quite answer my question. The changelings don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to rulers. Being the best leader the changelings have ever had does not equate to being a good leader."

"You were almost successful in dethroning Princess Celestia and taking it for yourself. Our past rulers cannot claim such accomplishments."

"Keyword: almost," Chrysalis said with a sigh, brushing her long, dull blue mane out of her eyes. "If it weren't for my own hubris I'd be sitting on Equestria's throne right now. Twilight Sparkle even found me out and I still would have gotten away with it. But one little mistake ruined years of planning and preparation." She looked up at Wraith, her eyes full of regret. "If only you had been there with me, Wraith. Perhaps things would have gone differently."

"I was needed here," the armored changeling reassured. "One of us needed to stay behind to ensure the changelings who elected not to participate in the invasion did not panic and do anything rash."

"I guess it doesn't matter now," Chrysalis said with a sigh of resignation. "The damage has been done. Not only were many of my subjects killed in the skirmish, but with each passing day the rest of them lose more and more respect for me. I'm beginning to think I'm no longer fit to lead them."

"Then you need to earn their respect and loyalty once more. Perhaps another siege is in order," Wraith suggested.

"Have you not been listening?" Chrysalis snapped in frustration. "My previous plan was years in the making; I'd been preparing, performing reconnaissance and learning as much as I could, so that my first attempt would be successful. Now Celestia knows we're out here. She's prepared for us should we ever strike again. My failure may have cost the changelings their only chance at a life without struggle."

She lay her head down, overcome by her own shame and disappointment, and her voice went quiet. "I've been feeling my power draining for some time. Even if I could stage another invasion, I'm nowhere near as powerful as I was before; I'd be no match for Celestia this time without the respect of my subjects to strengthen me."

Wraith took a step forward, his expression curious. "Then do you intend to step down as queen, Your Majesty?"

"I don't know," she responded in a quiet murmur. "I don't want to, but I may have no other choice. If I relinquish my throne, what will I do with myself then? And if I don't, I have little doubt that it would not be long before my people staged a coup in an effort to crown a new and better leader. Either way, there'll be no place for me within the colony anymore. It's already been more than a year since then. I fear my time as queen of the changelings may be winding down." Chrysalis rolled over, turning her back to Wraith. "Leave me. I need to think about this."

Wraith bowed obediently, taking a few steps back toward the entrance. "As you wish, My Liege." With that, Wraith exited the Queen's chambers, leaving her to mull over her thoughts in private.

Chrysalis simply lay there, the only sound being her deep, remorseful sigh. She wished beyond hope that she'd be able to come up with some way to restore her people's faith in her, but the only thing that occupied her mind was how big a failure she was and the consequences that would come with it.

"You're what?!"

The peaceful atmosphere within Ponyville's Golden Oaks Library was suddenly shattered, and Twilight Sparkle—rather, Princess Twilight Sparkle—sat there at the table in the foyer with mouth agape and a shocked, uncomprehending gaze. The subject of her disbelief sat beside her; a somewhat nervous and embarrassed pegasus, even more so after seeing the newly-crowed alicorn's reaction to the news she had just shared with her. Twilight was curious when the mare, with her pearl-white coat and bright crimson mane, had requested to have a private conversation with her. It's not as though she hadn't sat down and had tea with her before, but this time something seemed to be bothering her.

And now she knew exactly what, though knowing didn't make it any more believable.

Winter Maple, with her cheeks flushed slightly, held a hoof gently against her abdomen. "Pregnant," she repeated quietly.

Twilight's expression changed none. Again, even hearing it a second time made her reaction no different than the first. It was just fortunate that she hadn't been taking a sip of tea when she told her, otherwise her guest would have inadvertently gotten a face full of it. "But you're... And he's... You aren't... What?!"

Winter wasn't really surprised by the princess's response. After all, she herself had to come to terms with it as well. "I know. I was just as surprised as you, believe me."

Twilight took a deep breath, finally managing to compose herself and level out her thoughts before starting the laundry list of questions that were rapidly piling up in her head. Her first question was admittedly a little invasive, but she needed to narrow things down. "Have you been... using protection?"

Winter blushed deeply at the question. "Um... Well, I didn't think it was necessary. We've been together for over a year now and I didn't get pregnant, so I just thought it wasn't possible."

Twilight was hesitant to ask her next question, as it required a little tact. "It, um... It is Shade's, right?"

Winter was appalled by the question, clearly feeling a little insulted. "What?! Of course it is! I'd never cheat on Shade!"

Twilight held her hooves up defensively. "I-I know that! I just... had to make sure."

Winter breathed a sigh. "It has to be Shade's. He's the only person I've ever, you know... 'been with.'"

"I get that, but it doesn't make it any easier to believe." Twilight ran a hoof through her mane, her shock turning to curious fascination. "This is just crazy. I mean, a pony and a changeling? Who even thought we'd be genetically compatible?"

"And that's kinda one of the reasons why I came to you: should this even be possible?"

"Well, clearly it is. It's not so much about 'how,' but rather 'why.' Why is a changeling able to impregnate a pony?" Twilight tapped her chin in thought, eventually shutting her eyes tightly and humming to herself. "Come to think of it..."

Winter waited impatiently for Twilight's thoughts.

"...I do recall Princess Celestia having a theory about changelings. She said that she believes that, many years ago, changelings may very well have been ponies themselves, but changes in their environment, or perhaps even corruption by dark magicks, caused them to become the creatures that we know now. If her theory is accurate, then it's possible that the changelings still possess some pony genes in their D.N.A. Even so, it's amazing that those genes managed to linger for what must have been hundreds—even thousands—of years. After such a long time, I'd have thought those particular traits would have become diluted in their gene pool." Twilight opened her eyes again, giving Winter a smile. "But I guess, given the evidence, Princess Celestia's hypothesis may actually hold water. You're basically living proof, Winter. Or rather, your foal is."

"Oh. Well, glad I could help," Winter muttered.

Twilight, noticing how Winter didn't exactly look like she was feeling better about the situation, decided to try and lift the mood. "Why don't we try and move away from the shock and confusion, hm? You're having a baby, Winter! This is amazing! How far along are you?"

"Huh?" The pegasus was a little caught off guard by the conversation's sudden shift in tone. "Oh, um, a little over a month, I think."

"Really? That long and you haven't told me until now?"

"Well, there's been a lot going on. I only found out just a few days before we went to the gala, then you got coronated shortly after. You've had a lot on your plate recently."

Twilight conceded the point. "I suppose so. In any case, I'm happy for you. Congratulations."

Finally, Winter managed a smile, albeit small and a little forced. "Thank you."

"So I take it I'm the first person you've told about this, otherwise I have a feeling the news of a half-pony-half-changeling foal would have spread pretty quickly."

Winter rubbed one of her forelegs. "Yeah, but I think Princess Cadance might have figured it out, too."

Twilight waved a hoof with a dismissive grin. "Oh, don't worry about that. You can trust her. But taking a step back here, your foal is half-changeling. This is pretty big news. You're going to be the mother of the world's first pony-changeling hybrid! Your kid could be famous!"

Winter's apprehension only seemed to heighten when she heard that. "Uh, yeah, I guess you're right. I haven't really thought about that."

In contrast to the pegasus, Twilight was excited by the idea. "Just think about what this could mean for the relationship between ponies and changelings. Perhaps a cross-species child could help improve people's view of changelings. As much as I hate to admit it, there are some people out there who aren't too happy to hear that changelings live amongst us."

"Trust me, as somepony who's dating one, I'm well aware of that," Winter groaned.

"At the very least, I can only imagine how Shade feels about this. How'd he take the news?"

Winter shied away, lowering her head slightly in shame. "Um... Actually, that's the other reason I came to see you. See, I haven't... actually told him yet."

Twilight was taken aback. "What?! Why not?! He's the father of your child! Don't you think this is something he should know as soon as possible? You should have told him before you told me!"

"I can't tell him!" Winter shouted.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, her mouth opening to say something else, but she had a hard time finding the words after a response like that. "Why not?"

Winter sighed deeply, brushing away a few strands of her mane that had fallen out of place after her little outburst. "Because I'm afraid of how he'll react."

"But you have to tell him. This isn't the sort of thing you can hide for a long time. He's going to find out eventually. And what's he going to think when he learns you've been keeping this from him?"

"I-I know. But what if he doesn't like this? What if, when he finds out, he gets scared and leaves? He may have been living here for a year or so now, but he's still getting used to his new life here. This is a big change. What if it's too much for him to handle?"

"I guess there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Twilight stated frankly. "Ultimately, the decision is yours. I can only offer my suggestion, and I suggest you tell him."

Winter's ears folded back. "I just don't want him to leave me. I don't want to just drop this kind of responsibility on him."

Twilight leaned forward, staring Winter dead in the eyes. "Winter, look at me."

The pegasus did as she was instructed, the worry and fear in her eyes clear as crystal.

"Shade loves you. The only reason he's even here right now is because of just how much he loves you and how much you love him. I have no doubt in my mind that Shade would do everything in his power to support you during this important time in your life. If anything, I think this news is more likely to keep him around than it is to scare him off, because he would never want to leave you to deal with this responsibility alone." Twilight leaned back again, but didn't break eye contact. "Now, what are you going to do?"

Winter sat in silence for a few moments, staring into Twilight's steadfast eyes. Even if she wasn't a princess now, Twilight still commanded a lot of authority. And she was smart. No doubt any advice from this mare was worth taking to heart. But somehow, even knowing that did not alleviate Winter's worries. Deep down she was still scared.

"I-I..."

Twilight raised an authoritative eyebrow at Winter's reticence. Despite the alicorn's words, Winter was starting to feel like she wasn't being given a choice in the matter.

"I only want you to do the right thing, Winter," Twilight said, her voice more comforting than her expression.

The pegasus bit her lip, then breathed a defeated sigh. "I'll try and talk to him. But I have no idea how I'm going to bring something like this up."

Twilight nodded. "It's understandable to be afraid. I just trust that you're smart enough to make the right decision." The princess smiled at Winter. "I know you two can get through this together. And whatever happens, you have friends here to support you as well."

Winter managed to small smile, running a hoof through her crimson mane. "Thank you. That makes me feel a little better. Sorry about dumping all this on you."

"Oh, it's no problem at all," Twilight laughed. "If anything, it's good practice. As a princess, I'm going to have to listen to the problems of the people and help them in any way I can, right? So maybe I should thank you."

Winter stood up, leaving her half-empty cup of tea on the table; it was probably cold by now anyway. She took a deep breath as she prepared to leave, knowing that when she stepped out that door she'd be inching ever closer to having the conversation that she dreaded. "Well, I guess I'll be going then."

"Good luck," Twilight bid her with a wave as her guest stepped out the door.

Winter let out yet another sigh as she closed the library door behind her. She took a moment to compose herself, staring up into the clear, blue sky above. The weather was certainly not complementing her mood today. Despite it being a bright, sunny day with barely a cloud to be seen, or even a breeze of wind, Winter felt like she was going to be sick. Whether that was a result of her "passenger," or the nervousness she felt about the situation she was in was difficult to determine.

She managed to start walking away from the library, though she had no idea where exactly her hooves were taking her. She knew Twilight was right; she had to tell Shade about this eventually. There was no way she couldn't. But at the same time, she was terrified of how he would react. Would he be supportive like Twilight said, or would he attempt to distance himself from her to avoid having that responsibility dropped on him out of nowhere? She still wasn't entirely certain what her decision was, but she figured her hooves were about to decide for her. Either she was walking straight home, or heading towards Horte Cuisine's café. Shade was at work at the moment, so if she found herself going there, she knew she was ready to talk to him about it. It was about lunchtime now anyway; perhaps she'd catch him on his break.

As she feared, however, she saw the café come into view. Winter gulped pensively, trying to argue with herself to find some excuse to put this off, but all that came to mind were Twilight's words telling her to do the right thing. But the "right thing" in her eyes was whatever made Shade happy, and at this point in time, she couldn't determine what that was. At the same time though, could she really live with herself if she hid this from the person she loved most? She was going to talk to him regardless, otherwise she wouldn't have brought herself to the café. Hopefully, this was, in fact, the "right thing." She'd find out in due time.

As Winter approached the café, she noticed that there was quite a crowd. The outdoor dining tables were full, and the line of people yet to be seated extended past the door, spilling outside. The usual peaceful atmosphere of the establishment was completely overpowered by the sound of countless conversations from the seated customers and impatient ones still waiting in line. Winter couldn't remember the last time she saw the place this busy.

The pegasus noticed somepony attempting to squeeze past the ponies clogging the doorway, resulting in some rather rude comments from the frustrated customers. But upon emerging from the door, the individual was not actually a pony, but rather a changeling dressed in his waiter's uniform. Normally the sight of her lover would elicit an involuntary smile from the pegasus, but at this particular moment, it only heightened her anxiety.

Shade looked rushed. After he had squeezed out of the doorway, he hurried over to a nearby table carrying a platter of food for the couple seated there. It was miraculous that he hadn't dropped anything given the difficulty of movement. The moment he gave the couple their food, he scurried over to another table, removed a notepad from his breast pocket, and began taking the orders of another group at an adjacent table. If his hurried movements weren't enough indication that he was in a rush, his dark, navy blue mane was looking more scruffy than usual and sweat gleamed visibly on his face and neck.

After finishing jotting down the new orders, he started back towards the door to drop it off, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Winter figured this was her best chance. Without really hesitating, she quickly trotted forward. "Shade!"

The changeling turned around at the sound of the melodic voice to see his beloved pegasus. "Oh, Winter. Hi."

As was his custom when she came to see him at work, he gave her a quick kiss. Winter had definitely gotten used to kissing a set of lips that were accompanied by a pair of long, sharp fangs, but she wasn't overly fond of the taste of sweat on them currently.

This was it. She was standing with him, ready to talk about this. It was just a matter of actually starting the conversation. Winter cleared her throat, trying her best to decide what words to use to begin. "Shade, can we talk?"

Shade barely had time to really consider her request before answering. "Look, now's not really a good time. We are swamped today. And on top of that, one of the other waiters didn't show up and we don't have anypony to fill in for him. It's been nonstop all morning. I haven't even been able to take a break yet, and it's not likely I will." He began backing up toward the café again, in a hurry to get back to work before he got in trouble for slacking off. "Listen, I've gotta get back to it. I might be working a little late tonight, but we can talk when I get home, okay?"

"Oh. O-Okay..."

"Great. Love you!" And with that he pushed his way back into the restaurant and disappeared.

That didn't go as planned. Winter just stood there for a few moments, thinking over what this meant. She finally worked up the nerve to tell him, but now this. To her mind this looked like an out, a sign perhaps suggesting to her that she shouldn't tell him.

But she wasn't quite out of the woods yet. This was simply a case of delaying the inevitable, as Shade was going to be expecting a talk when he got off work. At the very least, this gave her time to think this over and figure out how exactly to break the news to him. Until then, Winter figured she may as well head home and wait out the clock.

But the walk home felt longer than usual, perhaps because she was unconsciously walking slower in hopes of putting it off even longer, although no matter how slow she walked, she couldn't slow the flow of time. When she made it home wasn't going to affect when Shade made it home. And when Shade made it home...

Winter shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind of her worries. Maybe that's what she needed right now, to just take her mind off of all this. Just go home, have something to eat, maybe have a nap or something. Maybe, just maybe, if she actually managed to relax a little, she could approach this rationally and with a level head.

So that's what she was going to do.

When Winter made it home, she stepped inside and went straight for the kitchen. Admittedly, she was a little hungry; it was lunchtime after all. Perhaps a good way to clear her head would be to try something new. She did buy a cookbook a few weeks back, and she found it sitting on top of the microwave, took it down, and opened it up, flipping through its pages for something that looked good, but wasn't too complicated. So she picked something out, and gathered up everything she needed.

Even though she'd been practicing, Winter's cooking skills hadn't really been improving. Either she used the wrong amount of something, or she undercooked the food, or overcooked the food, or burned herself on something. No matter what amount of effort she put in, she'd always manage to overlook something. Of course, Shade was always there to help her clean up any mess she made. What did it say about her skill—or lack thereof—that Shade, a changeling who had spent his whole life living in the wild and surviving off of very little, someone who had only a little over a year to become accustomed to pony technology, had managed to become a better cook than her? Maybe it was just because he worked in the food service industry. At least, that's what she told herself to make herself feel a little better about it. But she had vowed to become a better cook, which is why she'd been practicing. But how long it would take to actually see some improvement was anypony's guess.

All in all, her plan seemed to be working. The longer she stood there cooking, the further away her mind got from her previous worries. Right now, she was too focused on making sure she didn't burn anything, and when something went awry—which would happen more than once—she'd try something else. Surely she'd eventually stumble upon some meal that even she could cook. The only downside to this was, even though she was thinking about her upcoming chat with Shade less and less, now she was getting frustrated with her cooking. But in her opinion, this was the lesser of the two and something she dealt with on a regular basis, so it was the more preferable option.

As time passed by, dishes piled up, and ruined meals got thrown out, Winter finally had a chance to sit down and have a break. She pulled a chair out and sat at the table, her final attempt at her lunch sitting in front of her, although now it may be more accurate to call it supper; she'd been cooking for hours and it was actually past supper time by this point. Celestia only knows how many failed dishes wound up in the trash due to her less-than-stellar skills, not to mention the mess she'd made of the kitchen itself as a result. But, at the very least, she had made something, even if it was simple.

Just as Winter was about to serve herself some supper, she heard the front door open, and her heart nearly stopped. There was only one person it could be, and suddenly, thinking about that, it seemed the last few hours of trying to take her mind off of things had all been for naught. She could already feel the sweat beginning to bead on her head and her face getting warm. Even her appetite, which had been steadily getting stronger the longer she cooked, had diminished in an instant. She leaned off of her chair a little to peer out through the living room and the porch.

Sure enough, Shade had come home, and in even worse condition than he was when she saw him earlier. His mane was completely damp with sweat and matted to his head, and his eyes looked tired and glazed, like he'd have trouble focusing on anything. He was utterly haggard. He didn't even say a word when he came in and simply dragged himself over to the couch and flopped down onto his stomach, resting his chin on the arm of the couch.

Despite her trepidation, Winter felt it necessary to tend to him and see if there was anything he needed, so she stood up to walk into the living room, looking at his tired face. He seemed like he was ready to fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

"You okay?" Winter asked tenderly. "You look a little worn out."

"Understatement of the year," he muttered with exhaustion.

"Do you need anything? I'm guessing you're probably hungry."

Shade let out a quiet groan. "Just give me a few minutes."

"Okay. Just let me know when you're ready. I made supper."

The changeling managed to open his eyes a little, giving Winter a look that passed as cautious curiosity in his current state. "Really?" There was a little more concern in his voice than perhaps he had intended. He hoped his tone hadn't insulted her, but he knew she was well aware of her sub-par culinary abilities.

He sniffed the air to locate the food's aroma. He smelled something, but it didn't really smell like anything he was familiar with. Secretly, he was hoping she wasn't trying to get too ambitious with her cooking; who knows what sort of disaster that would incur?

"What is it?" Shade asked.

Winter sighed a little, shrugging with her disappointment. "Mac 'n' cheese."

Shade's eyes managed to turn to the kitchen sink. He certainly wasn't surprised to see the mountain of dirty dishes piled up, as such was the norm when Winter tried to cook something. But something as simple as macaroni and cheese?

Winter could read Shade's expression, despite having to see through his exhaustion. "It... wasn't my first choice. But I had to settle for something simple after... well, that," she said, pointing to the pile of sullied pots and pans. She let out another disappointed sigh. "Still managed to burn it, though. Left it in the oven a little too long."

Shade shut his eyes again. "That's fine. I'll have some later."

Winter nodded, leaving Shade to rest as she returned to the kitchen to have her supper. She scooped out a large serving of macaroni from the glass baking dish and piled it onto a plate, taking a seat and digging in. She paused for a moment when the first bite made a loud crunch in her mouth from the over cooked cheese, but soldiered through it and continued eating.

But as she ate, her mind returned to Shade. How much longer would it be before he asked about what she wanted to talk about? It was only a matter of time before she'd have to tell him. Was she just supposed to sit there in anxious suspense for him to say something?

Winter swallowed another mouthful of burnt macaroni and cheese. She inhaled a deep breath through her nose, and exhaled through her mouth. Twilight was right; she couldn't put this off any longer. Shade needed to know. And she was going to tell him. Right now.

Winter pushed her chair out, the legs scrapping loudly against the tiled kitchen floor. With determination in her eyes, she trotted toward the living room. She was going to look Shade straight in the eyes and say—

"I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Winter halted just before she made it to the living room. She looked to see that Shade had rolled over onto his side, facing away from her and letting his legs dangle limply off the couch.

"I've never been so freaking tired," he said, his voice almost trailing off. "I didn't have a single moment of rest today. It was never-ending. Take an order, deliver order, pick up food, deliver food, rinse and repeat. All. Damn. Day. And apparently it's going to be that way all week. The restaurant's booked solid. Sometimes I just don't understand how you ponies do it. All this work and responsibility coming at you without warning. It's only been one day of this kind of work and I'm already totally drained."

Winter's ears folded back upon hearing that. It was like he knew what she was going to say. If a simple, exhausting day at work was putting this much strain on him, how could he handle the news she was going to share with him?

Winter turned away, the doubt in her mind more prevalent than ever. Shade had made her life so much more wonderful since he had entered it. Was it really fair to just lay this on him now when he was clearly already so stressed out?

But she had to, right? It was the right thing to do.

Winter took another deep breath, steeling herself. "Shade..."

He didn't respond.

Winter raised an eyebrow, walking around the couch to look at him. His eyes were closed and he was breathing softly through his mouth. He'd fallen asleep.

After all of this, it seemed as though fate itself was telling her to hold off just a little longer. For what reason, she couldn't hazard a guess.

Winter made a quick trip upstairs, bringing back down with her a thick quilt, tossing it gently over Shade as he slept. She then went back to the kitchen to begin cleaning up the mess that she'd made.

As she filled the kitchen sink with soapy water, she looked back at her sleeping lover, dozing soundly on the couch. She knew he had to know, and she'd tell him eventually. It was the right thing to do, just not the right time.