//------------------------------// // Chapter 12, Hey Grandma, Meet My Coltfriend! // Story: Mechanic Hearts And Postage Stamps // by Ebony Runwick //------------------------------// Ebony hopped off the carriage and opened the door for the two inside, Adhesive thanked her before helping Circuit down as well. “Do you think she’ll like me..?” He asked nervously, Ebony held back a snicker, the white stallion glared at her. “Relax Adhesive, she’s going to love you.” Circuit let out a soft snort, lightly hip bumping the other stallion. “I could bring home a convicted serial killer and she’d just be happy I finally found somepony, so stop worrying so much.” The gray stallion opened his mouth to say more, but his words were cut off as the door to the bright pink house flew open. “I see you out there you rats! Get off my lawn before I sh-” The old mare paused, blinking her pale blue eyes at the group. “Why, is that you Circuit? Oh! I thought you wouldn’t be here for another hour! Come in before y’all catch a cold or something.” Ebony smiled and immediately began to walk into the house. “Thank you ma’am, a pleasure to meet you.” Adhesive blinked before taking a deep breath and following the others into the pink home. He gulped and licked his lips in anticipation before mentally heckling himself. This is Circuit's Grandma, he said she’d love you, so quit worrying! “It’s a good thing I recognized you when I did, otherwise I would’ve shot you to bits.” The mare chuckled softly, setting her shotgun back in its place before ushering them inside. The inside of the house was...Well, to put it frankly it barely looked like they were in a house. It was more like they’d stepped into a large, exotic garden. Everywhere, even sprawled across the furniture, was plants of every kind imaginable. The floor was covered in a soft, moss like plant while the walls were covered in ivy. The special lights shining down from the high ceiling made it look as though the whole place was bathed in warm sunlight. “You must be Adhesive, right? Circuit has told me nothing about you.” The mare shot a pointed glare at her grandson. “I wanted you to get to know him for yourself gram.” Circuit let out a soft huff, rolling his eyes. Circuit’s companions both marveled at the home, it was beautiful, strange but beautiful. Ebony wandered off towards one wall to inspect the ivy leaving Adhesive to fend for himself with ‘gram’. “Uh yeah, you must be Willow Wisp. Circuit has told me nothing about you except for the fact that you’d be happy that he’s not alone anymore.” “Well, of course I’m happy about that! I thought the stubborn thing was going to be alone forever. I kept trying to set him up on dates but he always told me ‘No grandma I’m married to my work, I don’t have time blah blah blah.’” Willow lowered her voice slightly as she imitated Circuit, said stallion letting out a snort as he lightly shoved her. “Hush you, I don’t sound like that.” Adhesive playfully bumped his hip with his own. “Yes, you do!” He let out a laugh as Ebony snickered, finally being noticed by Willow. “Oh, and who is this lovely lady? I’d guess marefriend but you’re already taken Circuit, and also far too gay to be straight so...Neighbor? Friend?” “Best friend, I’ve been the one practically keeping this idiot alive for the past few years. Idiot never even uses the kitchen, good thing I know how to cook or he’d be a goner.” She smiled when Adhesive let out a laugh at her little joke. “True, and a good cook at that right Circuit?” “Speaking of which..” Circuit looked over at Ebony, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Ebony, why don’t you come to the kitchen and help me whip up something for lunch? That way Adhesive and Willow can take the opportunity to get to know each other more.” She shrugged then nodded. “Yeah alright, let's get your ugly mug into something useful eh?” The mare teased with a smile. Adhesive chuckled before looking back at Willow. “So, anything I need to know about Circuit? You gonna show me baby photos or something?” “No no, that part comes later.” The mare grinned at him, brushing her long gray mane out of her eyes as she picked up her gun again. She sat down in one of the chairs, polishing the weapon with a nearby rag. “I may be an old mare Adhesive, that much is obvious, but if you hurt my precious grandson I won’t hesitate to shoot you. And trust me, they’ll never find your body. After all, why would the police come looking at a sweet old mare like me? You got that?” She glared at the stallion, her sharp blue eyes filled with something that could almost be described as malice. Adhesive nodded slowly, his blue eyes wide and his entire body shaking in fear. “Y-ye-yes m-ma’am…” He gulped. “Good.” Willow chuckled softly, settling the gun off to the side in favor of pulling out a scrap book from under her chair. “Sit sit, now that the threatening part is over, it’s time for baby pictures.” She patted the seat next to him, flipping the book open. “Hurry, I wanna get started on this before Circuit figures out and starts yelling.” The white stallion blinked but smiled and sat next to the old mare with a smile on his face. “This should be good, if he’s handsome now I bet he was absolutely adorable then.” “Oh he was the cutest little thing.” The mare chuckled fondly as she flipped through the pictures, stopping next to one of a little Circuit proudly holding up a makeshift looking toy robot. “Oh, this one’s one of my favorites. It was one of the first things Circuit ever built. He was so proud of himself, even gave the toy a name. Something like Copine or...Cepin or something…” “His name was Copain grandma and I told you not to show Adhesive those pictures!” Circuit yelled from the kitchen, poking his head out so he could shoot a glare at the elderly mare. Adhesive let out a laugh as well as Ebony, both found this absolutely hilarious. “I knew you made at least one robot as a child Circuit ya ol’ grump!” The changeling hybrid teased from the kitchen, earning a snicker from Adhesive. “Love you babe, you were adorable, still are~!” “Oh shut it before I smack both of you.” The stallion huffed as he slipped back into the kitchen, leaving the two to continue looking through baby pictures. Willow cooed over each picture, occasionally stopping to tell a story about them. She stopped however as they reached a family picture, sighing softly as she looked over the large group. All the ponies in the picture were classy looking unicorns, save for Circuit, who was the small scruffy looking earth pony standing off to the side. Adhesive tilted his head and furrowed his brows slightly before gingerly taking the album from Willow’s hooves. He looked closer at them, the older pair, the parents he figured looked tall and above everypony else. While the children in relative order were also so, save for Circuit. Circuit wore his normal adornments, steampony kind of thing, while the rest of his family wore expensive and classy preppy clothes. The green maned stallion ran a hoof gently over the picture of his coltfriend. “...He looks so sad…” “Yeah….Yeah, it was tough for him growing up.” The elderly mare let out another sigh as her eyes scanned over the photo again. “His parents….Well. I think this is a conversation you and Circuit should have. It’s not really my story to tell.” The stallion nodded before biting his lip. “..Is this why he didn’t want me to meet them?” Wisp nodded, carefully taking the photo book back from him so they could finish looking through the rest of the pictures. “It’s probably for the best. I love my daughter and her husband but...Well, they’re not exactly the friendliest ponies. Best to just stay away from them, at least for now.” She attempted to smile comfortingly at him, lightly patting one of his hooves. He nodded before sighing and hanging his head slightly. “Before he agreed to let me see you we, well we had a fight. I thought he was embarrassed of me, but now I fully understand that Circuit was just protecting me from the ponies who tormented him his whole life.” The stallion wrapped his hooves around himself in a vain attempt to comfort himself. “Oh sweetie, you’re going to have to get used that I’m afraid.” The white coated mare let out a soft chuckle. “Circuit’s a sweetheart, but he’s absolutely rubbish when it comes to talking about himself. Especially when it comes to matters that involve his feelings.” “I heard that!” Circuit snapped from the kitchen, though his voice lacked any real bite. Adhesive let out a chuckle before looking back at Wisp. “You know, at first I was terrified of meeting you, but now I’m really glad. Especially since you’re not trying to kill me, that’s a pretty good result in my book.” The mail stallion smiled at the older mare with a kind look in his eyes. Willow laughed, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Honestly, I’m impressed he managed to find a nice stallion like you. He’s not exactly Mr. Social, now is he?” “Again, I heard that! Literally I’m only a few feet away I can hear everything you’re saying in there!” His coltfriend let out a soft chuckle. “No, he’s not. But he is a kind and sweet, talented and amazingly created. I love him, more than I can express in words. Circuit is the reason that I keep going in all honesty.” “Awww..That’s so sweet. You two are so precious.” The mare chuckled softly, reaching over to gently pinch one of Adhesive’s cheeks. “So, when can I expect a happy announcement~?” She teased lightly, pinching his cheek a little more before pulling her hoof away. The stallion’s white face went bright red in a matter of nanoseconds, and he promptly began to babble like an idiot. “I de woh dah… Uh… I mean, I don’t know I-I’ve thought about it y-yes but I-I don’t know if Circuit is ready f-for something like t-that… W-we’ve only b-been together about a year…” “Oh relax, I’m only teasing~ I am expecting you two to get married eventually though, don’t think you’ll get away with not getting hitched! That goes to you too Circuit, I know you can hear me in there!” “Hm? Did you say something? Sorry I can’t hear you I’m too far away.” Circuit yelled back, the stallion’s voice practically dripping with sarcasm. Adhesive buried his face into his hooves in embarrassment. “Oh Luna he heard me…” Willow laughed and slapped the stallion on the back, her hoof connecting with a surprisingly large amount of force considering the fact that she looked like such a frail mare. Adhesive let out a gasp from the force of the slap and was propelled forward and curled up a bit on himself. “Celestia you’re strong…” He laughed, smiling at the mare. “Oh trust me hun, you haven’t seen nothing yet.”