//------------------------------//
// Resurfacing 
// Story: The Velveteen Mask 
// by Crystal Wishes 
//------------------------------//

Sunridge Sweets was enjoying a nice lull in activity, which gave Velvet some time to breathe.  She was completely worn out from the rush of students in need of a sugar fix after their first day back at school.  Three of those, two dozen these, five this, and one would you please wait your turn I'm still getting the first dozen special on the house.

"Are you okay, my little delinquent?" Sunbeam chimed from the doorway that led to the back room.  "You're not going to attack anypony, are you?"

Velvet groaned and buried her face in her hooves.  "Not helping, Mom."

Sunbeam giggled as she pranced over to stand beside her.  "Oh, I'm sorry, sugarplum.  I just thought I raised a better daughter than this.  I have to cope somehow!"

"You're not coping, you're delighting in my embarrassment," Velvet muttered, lifting her head just enough to glare.  "Their costumes were really convincing, okay?"

Pepper Ridge leaned through the doorway.  "Dear, stop teasing her."  He moved to stand in between them, putting a hoof on Velvet’s shoulder.  "I think you were brave for trying to protect your friend, even if they were just fillies.  It's the thought that counts."

"That part is how I thought I raised my little filly," Sunbeam said, a sheepish smile on her face.  "I'm sorry, honey.  It's just so unlike you that it's hard to take seriously."

Velvet groaned as she leaned against her father.  "Whatever.  It's over.  I confessed, I paid the fine, and I wrote the letters."  Her ears folded back.  "Can we just pretend it never happened?"

Sunbeam opened her mouth to speak, but a look from Pepper snapped it back shut.  He smiled and said, "If you want to forget it, then it's forgotten."  He kissed her forehead, then pulled away and started to guide Sunbeam back into the kitchen.  "Now, smile for the customer."

Velvet blinked.  "The—"  Her head turned and she caught sight of a stallion staring at her over the rim of his glasses.  "Whoa!"

The sage green pegasus arched one brow.  "That's a terrible way to greet a customer.  I don't think I want to do business after being treated like this."

With a snort and a grin, Velvet waved a hoof at him.  "Oh, Rossby.  Always the charmer.  Do you really want to go elsewhere?"

Rossby Waves flicked an ear.  "No, but I will if this is how you're going to act.  I should take it up with your manager."

"Oh, sure, let me get my manager."  Velvet turned all the way around until she was facing him again, putting on a serious expression.  "What seems to be the problem, sir?"

Rossby just stared at her.  She stared back.  Finally, he groaned out, "Fine, I'll place an order, but only because I walked all this way."

Velvet laughed and slid open the glass door on the back of the display case.  "Great.  What do you want?"

"Red velvet," he replied simply, eyeing the cupcakes.

"What?"  She reared back with feigned disgust.  "He's just a foal!"

His brow furrowed.  "What?"

"I knew you were strange, but I had no idea you would go that far."  She shook her head.  "Sorry, but he's not for sale.  Not on my watch."

"What is wrong with you?"  He pointed at the row of red velvet cupcakes.  "I just want one of those.  You can have a psychotic episode on some other pony."

Snickering to herself, she put one of the cupcakes into a little paper bag.  "Two bits, please."

He stared for a moment, looked at the list of prices, then looked back at her with a soft snort.  "Ugh.  See, this is why you're stupid.  Two bits for one, five for a half dozen?  It just doesn't make any sense.  How do you even stay in business?"

"A magician never reveals their secrets."  She tapped a hoof to the side of her nose.

He rolled his eyes and dropped five bits on the counter.  "Fine.  Make it a half dozen.  I hope you lose money on this sale."

"Of course!"  Packing the cupcakes into a box and putting it on the counter, she put the bits in the register.  "Have a great day!  Try not to rain on anypony!"

"Whatever.  I can do what I want," he grumbled, immediately taking one of the cupcakes out to bite into it.  His tail flicked as he trotted out of the bakery, but Velvet saw his ears wiggle in delight just before the doors shut behind him.

Rossby had one of those 'mystery wrapped in an enigma' type of personalities.  He annoyed most ponies with the way he talked, but Velvet found him endlessly amusing.  After all, he was really just a kid in prep school that looked old for his age.  It just made him kind of adorable, since his feathers were so easy to ruffle.

And speaking of adorable, the definition of it—in the form of a little blue mare—had just walked in with her wheelchair-bound friend.  "Hi, Velvet!"

Velvet smiled and offered a small wave.  "Hey, Azurite, Sandy.  How were the kites?"

Azurite scrunched up her nose as she stormed up to the counter.  "Mr. Peepers got into the tree again!  Honestly, what is with him?"

"It is a very nice tree," Sandy teased.

Azurite huffed.  "Well, we can't always have what we want.  Except me!  I want a cupcake."  She tapped a hoof on a glass.  "No, I need a cupcake."

"Coming right up," Velvet said as she boxed up two cupcakes—Mom liked Azurite, so that meant she got one for free.  "And what about you, Sandy?"

Sandy grinned.  "I'll just have Azurite's Sunbeam Special."

"Hey!"  Azurite huffed and puffed.  "I earned that extra cupcake, thank you very much!"

"Oh yeah?  And what did you do, exactly?"  Sandy leaned back to rest her weight against her wheelchair, grinning wider.

Dropping two bits and snatching the box in her magic, Azurite glared up at Velvet.  "Tell her I earned my Sunbeam Special!"

Velvet reached over to pat her on the head.  "Oh, yes, sweetie, you absolutely earned it.  It has nothing to do with Sunbeam wanting to make sure you stay an addicted and repeat customer."

Azurite gasped and swatted at the hoof with both forehooves.  "Lies!  I earned it!  It's because of my wit and charm and talent!"

"Definitely, definitely.  That's exactly it."  Velvet laughed, then glanced around before leaning across the counter.  "Hey, so, did you take my advice, or what?"

Azurite's ears drooped but her lips lifted into a small smile.  "Umm…  Yeah.  Yeah, I've decided I'm just gonna focus on Soarin."  She shuffled her hooves.  "He's been good to me and for now, I'm going to be good to him.  He's earned that much."  Her expression brightened and she stood up straight and tall—tall for her, anyway.  "Anyway, thanks for the advice!  And the treats!"

"Anytime."  Velvet waved her off as the two mares went over to a table to enjoy their cupcakes and discuss the kite-flying antics of the afternoon.  She, on the other hoof, sighed and put on her best smile to hide the frown she felt inside.

Soarin had been good to Azurite, so he had "earned that much".  Dawn had been good to Velvet, hadn't she?  Always kind, always listening, always willing to do whatever it took to make Velvet happy.  She deserved an apology.  She had earned that much.

Once the bakery had closed for the night, she began the long walk to Dawn's apartment, dread resounding in the echo of every hoofstep.  She didn't want to do this.  She just wanted to pretend none of it ever happened.

But then who would take care of Dawn?  She still didn't have any other friends.  She'd be all alone!  Velvet had to make this apology sincere, because it was.  She had to do her best.  And then she had to hope for the best.

It would be fine, wouldn't it?  Dawn was so sweet and understanding.  Of course, that was before she found out Velvet was one panic attack away from head-butting fillies in the street.  That wasn't exactly the kind of pony that somepony like Dawn should be around.

Well, it was too late for indecision.  She was already standing outside Dawn's apartment, one hoof raised.  All she had to do was knock.  Sucking in a nervous breath, she did just that and then steeled herself for a suspicious look or a judgmental tone.

Instead, when Dawn answered, relief was in her voice and on her face.  "Velvet!"

"H-Hey, cutie."  Velvet shifted from one hoof to the other.  All of the things she had prepared to say vanished like a puff of smoke.  "How are, uh, you?"

Dawn shook her head.  "Forget about me!  What about you?  I haven't heard from you since the, um, the vampony thing, so I was worried you got hurt, or in serious trouble!"

Velvet coughed to loosen the nervous lump in her throat.  "Yeah, about that, I—"

"It's okay," Dawn said, pressing a soft kiss to Velvet's lips, then stepped out of the way.  "Come on inside."  Once they were seated on the couch, she folded her hooves in her lap and smiled.  "You don't have to feel embarrassed about it, okay?  I understand.  Sometimes silly things scare us."

Silly things?  Velvet's ears flicked back, but she pushed that thought aside.  "What, are you scared of something, too?"

Dawn winced, hesitated, then tucked her head underneath Velvet's chin.  "Kind of…  Promise you won't laugh?"

"Cross my heart."  Velvet wrapped one foreleg loosely around Dawn's shoulders.  "It can't be more laughable than what I did, anyway."

After breathing in and out, Dawn mumbled, "Okay.  So... I'm afraid of snakes, but it's not just that.  When I was a filly, we were working in the fields and I thought I saw one right on front of me.  I screamed and called for help, but when my brother and sister ran over, they started laughing because it was—it was just a stick."

Velvet grinned, thankful that their positions kept the expression a secret.  "Aww, that's not—"

"I-I'm not done," Dawn practically whimpered.  "They thought it was so funny that sticks started showing up everywhere, and I screamed every time.  I'd be taking a shower and a stick came around the curtain.  I'd wake up and there'd be a stick in my bed.  One time there was a stick in my boot…  I couldn't stop thinking it was a snake!"

Dawn sighed, snuggled closer to Velvet, and finished, "So… So now I'm scared of snakes and sticks.  I understand being scared of something silly.  And vamponies aren't even that silly…"

Oh, why had she been so worried?  Dawn was the sweetest pony ever!  Velvet tightened her grip on the mare and nuzzled her behind one ear.  "Thanks for understanding, sweetie.  Still, I'm sorry for acting like that."

Dawn giggled and gave a small shake of her head.  "It's okay.  When I realized what you thought was going on, I thought it was really brave.  If they had been real vamponies, you definitely would have saved me, so… thank you."  After a small pause, she asked, "Did you get caught?"

"Caught?"  Velvet laughed.  "I mean, sort of?  I turned myself in.  Sort of."

"Really?"  Dawn jerked away to look up at Velvet with wide eyes.  "How much trouble are you in?  What happened?"

Velvet waved a hoof.  "I explained to a guard what happened, I paid a fine, and…  I wrote an apology letter to the fillies."  Her ears fell flat to the sides and she snorted.  "And they sent a letter back."

Dawn winced.  "How did that go?"

"Oh, great!  Totally great."  Velvet tried not to groan.  "They completely understood."

"But… you don't sound happy?"  Dawn tilted her head to the side.

Velvet raised a hoof to rub an ache between her eyes, allowing the groan to escape.  "Well, you know, they're big New Moon fans.  So when I said that I thought they were vamponies, they took that as a compliment on their costumes.  And then wrote me a five-page essay on why vamponies are great and wonderful and that I shouldn't fear them."

"Five pages?  Each, or—?"

"Each," Velvet said in a low voice.  "The envelopes were basically bursting open when the mailpony gave them to me."

Dawn giggled, then quickly clamped a hoof over her mouth.  "I-I'm sorry, it's not funny."

After a moment of leering at the far wall, Velvet cracked a grin.  "It's a little funny."  She pushed Dawn over and buried her face into the fluffy fur of the mare's chest, breathing in her scent.  Today, it was oatmeal and honey.  "Now, let's stop talking about my embarrassing incident, and talk about something else."

Dawn replied with a sound that was somewhere between a squeak and a moan.  "L-Like what?"

Velvet shrugged and lifted her head to make eye contact.  "I dunno.  Anything new with you?"

"Not really."  Dawn's ears folded back as a sigh escaped her.  "I'm going to visit my family next week and I'm really nervous about it.  They're going to ask so many questions, and what am I going to tell them?"

"Aww, don't worry.  They're your family, right?  And, I mean, you didn't leave on bad terms, so I'm sure it'll be fine."  Velvet kissed the underside of Dawn's chin.  "And if you want to distract them, just tell them that you're sleeping with a Royal Ballet ballerina."

A bright red blush went from Dawn's cheeks to the tips of her ears.  "I-I-I can't tell them th-that!  They don't know I like mares!"  She paused, then added in a mumble, "I didn't know I liked mares, actually…"

Velvet blinked a few times.  "What?  Then why were you at the Mare Contraire?"

"Curiosity?" Dawn squeaked, covering her face with both forehooves.

With a laugh, Velvet tugged Dawn's hooves out of the way to kiss her.  "Celestia, you are the cutest.  I'm sure your family will just be happy to see you if you were this cute with them."

Dawn's nose wiggled, but she relented with a nod and a small smile.  "What about you?  We didn't really get to talk much on our date before it, uh, it got interrupted."

"Me?"  Velvet hummed thoughtfully, scooting back down to rest her chin on Dawn's chest.  "Not too much.  My roommate is taking care of her coltfriend 'cause he's sick, so the condo's been quarantined.  Been spending a lot of time doing bakery work."  She smiled.  "I talked to Azurite today, and it sounds like things are going better with her."

The small smile on Dawn's face faltered.  "Azurite?"

Velvet furrowed her brow until realization struck her and she smiled.  "Right, right.  It's really been a while since we talked, huh?  Well, Azurite is this really sweet mare I met in some… kind of weird circumstances.  I mean, it involved her coming to fight me over her marefriend, so, yeah, weird."  She laughed and shook her head.  "But we're actually kind of friends now."

"Oh…"  Dawn nodded slowly.  "I see."

"She's so adorable," Velvet continued.  "And so much fun to tease!  And Red really seems to like her, so that's a plus."

Dawn's brow furrowed and her voice became soft, almost distant.  "Red…  Isn't he your brother?"

"Yup!  The one and only!"  Velvet gave a wistful sigh.  "I actually didn't get to play with him today.  Shoot.  Maybe he'll still be awake when I go back to my parents' place."

"I-If you want, you could go back now."  Dawn bit her lower lip before she added, "I could come with you, so I could meet Red… and your parents…"

It felt almost like a shock surged through her as Velvet jolted upright.  "What?"  She gave a quick shake of her head.  "Nah, that's okay.  I'll see him later.  Why don't we just have dinner?"

With a bit of hesitation, Dawn nodded, slipped out from under Velvet to get off the couch, and went to the kitchen.  "Okay."

Velvet let out a silent sigh of relief.  Crisis averted!  If she brought Dawn over, her mom would never stop talking about it.  Though it might distract her from laughing about the vampony thing…  Velvet shook her head again.  No, no, that'd do more harm than good.  Who knew what kind of weird ideas Mom would put in Dawn's head.