A Simple 'no'
….....................................................................................................................................
“Come on in, chocolates are in the kitchen, you know where.” Caramel ushers you inside, and you feel a tiny smile creep across your lips as you march into the living room of his humble abode. Despite the boutique being what you consider your true home, this place will always stick out in your head as a close second.
“Aw!” You flinch ever so slightly as Wind Whistler lets loose a saddened sigh, and you see her march over towards the television set in the living room, her ears laid back and her wings drooping as she watches the scrolling credits displayed on the 24” screen. “I missed My Tiny Human!” She sighs again, shaking her head. “And it was the season finale too...”
You can see Caramel roll his eyes as he leans over towards you. “Ever since she got pregnant all she’s done is eat and watch that stupid show.”
You recoil. “Stupid?” You point a hoof towards the TV. “That show is phenomenal.”
The stallion scoffs again. “Right, I forgot... you’re a fan too.”
You nod your head. “And damn proud of it.”
He chuckles a little. “Yeah, yeah, I’m gonna go get your flowers. Wait here a moment?”
You shrug. “Sure, I’ll nab those chocolates while you’re out.”
He nods, and you watch as he disappears out the backdoor of the house. The gentle clip clop of his hooves dies away as he runs out into the backyard, making a beeline for the garden. Which, you had to admit, was a pretty fancy looking thing. He and Wind Whistler were both rather fanatical when it came to gardening, Caramel was a farmer at heart, even if he only worked at one part time, and you’d always known him as having a bit of a green hoof to go along with that lifestyle.
Wind Whistler, though, always seemed to do it for fun. When you were rooming with them a few weeks ago, you’d caught her in the garden fairly frequently, toying with her flowers. It was probably just a hobby of hers, but she seemed to enjoy it.
While Wind Whistler is busy moping over in the living room, and Caramel is busy snipping at flowers in the yard, you slip into the kitchen. The room in question is rather plain, like everything else in the house, though you mean that in the most positive of ways. The far end of the room plays home to a refrigerator, a stove, a sink, and a countertop. Standard fare, but nice and comforting in its simplicity.
You reach out and clasp the handle to the refrigerator’s freezer, pulling it open and smiling in satisfaction as you spy three chocolate boxes. Chocolate Delights... this wouldn’t make up for what you’d done... she deserves a lot more than a silly box of chocolates and some fresh flowers for how badly you’d wronged her, but you can’t really afford to get her much else, so hopefully that and a heartfelt apology will be enough.
You reach in and pull the box of chocolates free, being cautious to avoid knocking over the other numerous food items within the freezer, and you gently place it inside of your saddlebag, a pang of guilt intertwined with happiness tugging at your heart as you spy Rarity’s special stitch.
You let the door swing closed. You turn around just in time to see Caramel returning from the garden, a group of roses in his mouth. You reach out and take the flowers from him, careful to avoid the thorns as you delicately set them in your opposite saddlebag. The box of chocolates, though far from heavy, was definitely weighty enough to squish the beautiful little buds should you move wrong, and the last thing you want to do right now is ruin Rarity’s ‘forgive me’ gift.
You open your mouth to offer your gratitude, but Caramel cuts you off. “Now don’t go thanking me. Consider it payment for the house sitting you’ll be doing for us here in a few weeks.”
You chuckle. “Alright...” You shift a little on your legs, choking on your words for a moment. “H-hey Caramel?”
The stallion’s smile disappears, caught off guard by your sudden shift in tone. “Yeah?”
Without missing a beat you lash out, clasping your legs around the stallion’s neck and pulling him into a heartfelt hug. After a moment or two of fidgeting, he eventually relents, and you feel him drape a comforting hoof over your shoulder.
“Thanks, for everything,” you say, smiling.
He gives you a gentle pat on the back. “Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for right?”
You let go of his neck, and take a couple steps back, a small smile adorning your lips. “I guess so.” You repress the urge to chuckle as Caramel nervously rubs at the back of his neck, still a little bashful over your less-than-manly show of affection. “Anyway, I should probably run these chocolates over to Rarity’s before they melt in the heat.”
He nods. “That’d probably be a good idea.” The stallion gives his throat a strong clearing. “But uh, the next time you’re gonna hug me... give me a little warning first. Alright?”
You shoot him a sly smile. “What would be the fun in that?” You query, a playful tone coloring your voice.
He answers that question by lightly punching you in the leg. “Get out of here you goof. I’ve got a pregnant mare to take care of.”
…......................................................................................................................................................
“I must say Miss Rarity, these designs are quite exquisite!” Rarity felt a flutter of pride in her chest, Garnet Canter’s compliment bringing a smile to her face. “Possibly the best suit I’ve worn in years.”
The unicorn gently reaches up with her bruised hoof and adjusts her red spectacles. “Thank you very much sir.”
“My pleasure.” He smiles. “Tell me, why is it that I haven’t seen any of your designs in Manehattan? All we have back there is that Madam Tam Tam.” The stallion sticks his tongue out in disgust. “And I’d rather do business with a blind Diamond Dog then buy from her.”
Rarity let out a bashful squeak, she liked to think she was up and coming in the fashion world. But it was true that she still had quite a ways to go, Fancypants’ endorsement didn’t travel much farther than Canterlot, and though that was a major win, there were still many cities in Equestria that had yet to catch even a hint of her work.
“Well...” she starts, a touch of nervousness tinting her voice. “I’ve yet to make much headway there. Fancypants is my endorsement in Canterlot, where you’ll find the majority of my designs, and Photo Finish showcases them rather often, but ponies are usually more interested in her models than what they wear.”
“Really?” The stallion hummed to himself for a moment, his unicorn horn lighting up with a pale crimson glow as he adjusts the tie on his new suit. “I doubt my endorsement would really mean much. I’m far from famous back home, but I might know someone who’d be interested.”
Rarity’s eyes widen. A chance to expand her business? “Indeed?”
He nods. “Yep, he’s a nice fellow.” He chuckles. “For a griffon anyway.” The stallion whipped around, done admiring himself in the mirror, a charming smirk on his face. “Tell ya what, I’ll put in a good word for you, see if he’s interested in meeting the pony that made this!” The stallion jabbed a hoof into his freshly purchased suit, the likes of which Rarity had made a long time ago, but after confessing that she was backed up with orders, Garnet insisted that, rather than have one made, he’d simply purchase one of her older designs.
Rarity smiles appreciatively. “Thank you very much sir.”
The stallion scoffs, marching over and laying a firm but comforting hoof on her shoulder. “And stop with the ‘sir’ alright?” He chuckles. “You’re dating my son, just Garnet is fine.”
Rarity feels a blush tint her cheeks as she averts her shining blue eyes, realization dawning in her head. She’d been making the same mistake she’d chastised you over a few weeks ago.
“I suppose I should send my wife in.” He sighs. “Don’t be upset if all she wants to talk about is our son.” His eyes were wide and apologetic. “She’s been worried sick about him since he left.”
Rarity giggles. “It’s fine, he’s been a popular topic of discussion lately. My friends and I talk about him at length.”
Garnet raised a suggestive eyebrow. “At length eh?”
The fashionista’s eyes widen as she clasps both hooves over her mouth. Her face burns a bright red crimson. “N-not that kind of length!”
He waves his hoof dismissively. “I’m just kidding.” He turns towards the door, looking at her over his shoulder. “I’ll send Petal up, if that’s alright.”
Rarity nods her head. “Absolutely.”
With a flare of his horn and a nod the unicorn exits the design room, his dark red tail gently swishing back and forth as he hums a happy tune. The song fades as he heads down the stairs. Rarity lets loose a sigh, sitting on her haunches and rubbing at her sore hoof.
“So much for getting any answers out of him...” she mumbles, disappointed.
Rarity had been hoping that, given some alone time with your parents, she might be able to glean a bit more information concerning your past from them. Oh, she got some trivial things; some baby stories, (which were absolutely adorable, but not what she’d wanted), some talks about the business practices of running a bank, simple things like that. Any attempt to pry out more specific information was deflected with humor, if not stonewalled directly.
She sighs. “I suppose there’s no pressing the issue then.” There was no point in poking and prodding if she wasn’t going to get any answers, and she didn’t want to run the risk of insulting your parents. She’ll live with this aching curiosity. At least... For now...
Rarity sits up as the door to her design room swings open, effectively dragging her back to reality as Spring Petal walks into the room, the older mare’s soft green eyes wandering about the spacious workspace, a tiny frown on her face as she does so. Rarity cocks her head to the side. Is something wrong? She’s been doing her best to keep the place clean... she hopes your mother hasn’t noticed something upsetting.
“Mrs. Petal?” she inquires, her voice intentionally soft. “Is something wrong?”
The earth pony shifts her gaze back towards the unicorn, her cheeks turning a slight shade of red, embarrassed. “I’m sorry dear. I’m just feeling a little guilty...”
Rarity’s expression took on a look of concern. “Guilty? Why, whatever for?”
The mare averts her eyes, nervously rubbing at the back of her neck with a hoof. Rarity had to repress the urge to giggle... You do the exact same thing whenever you’re embarrassed.
“Well, Garnet told me how busy you are,” she half-mumbles, “and I’m just feeling a little down about having our son’s marefriend take time out of her busy schedule to entertain us.” She bows her head low. “And for that, I suppose I should apologize.”
Rarity offers her a reassuring smile, quickly moving to alleviate Spring Petal’s guilt. “Oh, there’s no need for that!” she spoke, taking a few steps towards the older mare and giggling. “I’d be a terrible hostess otherwise; it’s really no trouble.”
Spring Petal’s gnawing guilt seems somewhat alleviated. “You’ve got such wonderful manners Rarity.” The fashionista felt a flutter of pride in her chest at the acknowledgement as she really does try her hardest to be as respectful and ladylike as possible, but it did oftentimes go woefully under-appreciated.
Rarity delicately reaches up with her bruised hoof, fluffing her mane out and opening her mouth to thank Spring Petal, only for a jolt of pain from the damaged appendage to make her voice die away in a yelp of pain.
The scarred mare recoils, startled by the agonized cry and Rarity’s grimace. “Are you okay?” she asks, taking a few cautious steps forward as Rarity rubs at her sore leg in a soothing manner. “Oh Celestia, what happened to your hoof dear?” Spring petal asks, her green eyes locking themselves onto Rarity’s damaged limb. She’s surprised that she hadn’t noticed it earlier.
Rarity flinches, choking on her words for a moment. What can she say? That you’d assaulted your marefriend after lapsing into a fit? It had been a long time since your parents had seen you, and she wants your reunion to be a happy one; she doesn’t want... this hanging over everypony’s head the whole time.
“I-it’s nothing.” she quickly speaks, conjuring up an excuse as fast as she can. “I just... um, was moving around my equipment and had a bit of a spill. Nothing to be concerned about.”
Spring Petal’s eyes narrow. She isn’t entirely convinced, that’s obvious enough. “Well, try to be careful.” A halfhearted smile spreads across her mangled face. “My son’s clumsy enough, if you’re falling all over yourself nopony’ll be there to look out for him.” Rarity represses the urge to sigh in relief, at least she isn’t going to press the issue.
“Right...” Rarity gently set her hoof back down on the ground, repressing the urge to grimace as tiny jolts of pain dance up and down her leg. “Well, would you like to come into the back closet and see what I have for sale? I think I have just the thing for you!” A flutter of her excitement returns, her passion for everything fashion taking hold.
…...................................................................................................................................................
You suck in a deep breath, trying in vain to steady your beating heart. You shift a little, adjusting the weight of your saddlebags, reaching into your pocket and retrieving your flowers, holding them by the ends in your mouth. Your legs shake with trepidation as you reach for the handle of the door. It’s then you realize it...
You’re scared.
Scared of losing the one good thing left in your life. Scared of losing the mare that you... you can’t live without.
You think back to all those past rejections, every time you’d had your heart stomped on or torn apart. None of those mares even come close to how much you care about Rarity; you’d always cared for them, always enjoyed their affection and returned it in kind. But you’d never loved any of them. Rarity had brought that light back into your life again, gave you a reason to keep going, to see this relationship through thick and thin... And losing her... you don’t know if you can really handle that.
Your leg trembles for a moment, and you feel the temptation to turn around and walk away creep into your mind. Running from this would be so much easier...
“No...” The word comes out muffled, barely audible as you speak it, the flowers in your mouth making it difficult to hear. “No... I’m done running.”
You shake your head, your resolve bolstering as your reach for the door, turning the knob and stepping inside. The cool air of the boutique dances across your body, a delightful change in temperature from the sweltering heat outside. You feel that resolve dampen a bit when you realize you’re alone in the living room - you’d been prepared to sweep her up in your legs, spin her around, and pronounce your everlasting love to the heavens!
Of course... there’s no real reason for her to be in the main room, after all, she’s been chugging away at those orders for the better part of day. And it’s not like you’re a customer, so she’s likely expecting you to return by walking right through the front door. That’s why, rather than be surprised by this turn of events... you’re shocked when you hear a familiar masculine voice pronounce your name.
Your ear twitches, your name sounding alien and unfamiliar, probably because it’s rarely ever used. Even Rarity preferred titles like ‘darling’, ‘dear’, or, ‘gentlecolt’. The only times you can recall her actually saying it are... intimate, and loud, very loud...
You turn, your eyes widening as your jaw goes slack, your delicate flowers tumbling to the ground below. But right now... they’re the farthest thing from your mind.
“D-dad?” The words slither out your mouth as a breathy whisper, sounding as if spoken by some unknown third party. Your mind goes blank, awash with a strange cocktail of emotions.
Your father takes a step forward, a sad glint to his eyes as he smiles. “It’s nice to see you again... son.”
You recoil, your head spinning as the floor beneath you seems to shake back and forth. You blink and unblink your eyes, expecting to see your father fade away in a cloud of oily crimson smoke. Are you dreaming? Hallucinating perhaps?
Your father takes a step forward, his expression awash with concern. “Son... are you feeling okay?”
Your eyes roll into the back of your head as your brain shuts down, the world fading away, morphing into empty nothingness. Your legs give out and you tumble to the hard ground below, oppresive blackness enshrouds you as you fall out of consciousness.
“A simple ‘no’ would have sufficed...”
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Comments galore from the doc, lol
2837272 What're you talking about!?
THERE'S NO COMMENTS FROM GOOGLE DOCS, I-I SWEAR!
lol, I saw that.
the next in line of a long list of mare's who you'd rather forget.
Moar! I demand more of my favorite fanfic! Love the chapter and every chapter before it though! Keep up the amazing work!
Oh hush, Rarity. I'm sure you have made your intentions about that subject quite firm. No need to be so rigid over the matter...
2837928 I guess you could say she's stuck between a rock and a hard place!
2838002
2838002 She just needs to rise to the occasion to prevent her romantic interest from feeling shafted
Neither of those Title Drops went unnoticed
Greeeeeaaaaaat... Now those chocolates are ruined.
New Chapter
Amazing as it always is
I'm happy to see that you finally found time to work on this again! I know that you were working on another fanfic, thus taking time and work away from this one instead. However, that's fine with me. I don't mind. :P
Oh how I love innuendo.
:P
Great to see an update yet again. Keep 'em coming!
... wut?
Just... wut?
I like this story, but this chapter was just full of wut.
Huh... Was wondering what you'd put there...
2766455 Thank you very much
2837746 Gracias amigo!
2838076 W-what? I can't make dirty jokes?
2838584 Not the most subtle of things are they?
2840306
2840433 Thank you
2840965 Thank you for being so patient
2841472 I'll keep trying to chug 'em out!
2842705 How so? I didn't think it'd be that hard to follow
No! Not the perfectly good chocolates and roses...
they will be missed
2846943 Nope
2846943
I don't know. I am just a tad confused.
I think I was just tired.
The missing holes in "my" memory are what is throwing me off, I think. You are doing a great job, sir.
2880516 They may well indeed be stories I have planned
Any clue when there will be another update?
3060189 Not really, the creative process goes where it goes. With school about to start I haven't had a whole lot of time to just sit down and write. I am working on it though, so hopefully not too long of a wait.