The Next in Line.

by gmoneywalker

What could go wrong?

Your eyes slowly start to open, agitated and bloodshot, thanks in part to both your lack of sleep, and the early morning sun. You start to roll over, eager to shield your gaze from the harsh light of the sun, only to find yourself held in place by a lithe pair of hooves wrapped affectionately around your neck and shoulders. You look over to see Rarity lying next to you, an expression of bliss on her face as she holds you close. You roll over to face her, the sun fading from your sight and allowing all of her features to slowly slide into focus. And, well to put it bluntly, she looked like a mess. Her makeup was smeared, her hair frizzed out and unkempt, her fur matted and sweaty, etcetera etcetera. But still, it’s not like that was a surprising sight, not after the night you’d both had.

You slowly brush a stray strand of her silky purple mane out of her face, a noticeable smile spreading across her lips at the touch, you then lean in and give her an affectionate kiss between the eyes, savoring the touch between your lips and her skin. You can feel her hooves tighten around your body and she pulls you in just a little closer, placing her head on your chest and using it as a sort of makeshift pillow, letting out a delighted sigh as she does so.

You grin and allow your eyes to close once more, absently running a hoof up and down her back, sweetly caressing her body as you both bask in the warmth of the morning sun, it’s orange glow slowly starting to filter into the room little by little as the minutes ticked by. You don’t fall back asleep however, partly because you want to enjoy this moment, basking in the afterglow of the perfect night with the mare you loved, but also because you were afraid that if you did you might awaken to find that this had all just been some kind of cruel dream.

Rarity elicits a soft giggle as you give the softest of pinches to her lower hip, grinning at the cute little sound your marefriend had made. Hm, that was odd, it still kind of felt strange to call her that. But it was true now; Rarity was your marefriend, your beautiful, kind, lovely, marefriend. Maybe it only felt strange because the knowledge that you and Rarity were together now hadn’t really managed to sink in yet. That seemed all the more feasible the more you thought about it. After all, if a day ago somepony told you that you would be sharing a bed with the mare you adore after a night of making love you’d have called them crazy.

You feel Rarity shift just slightly in your embrace. “Darling, what time is it?” Her voice comes out weak and exhausted, though at the same time satisfied and content.

You open your eyes and scan the room, waving your blurry vision around to try and find a clock of some kind. Thankfully, perched on the far end of the room is a tiny timepiece made of wood and stone, sitting alone atop a glass coffee table. You strain your already exhausted eyes in order to read the numbers on the clock. It appeared to be around six or six thirty, give or take a few minutes.

“Six thirty Rare,” You mumble, eagerly returning your heavy head back to its welcoming and supportive pillow.

You hear Rarity groan in aggravation, her hooves tightening around you and resettling her head upon your chest, like a foal whose parents were trying to take away a favorite toy.

“Something wrong Rare?” You ask with concern, eager to help put her at ease.

“Yes…” The mare groans, her tone pouty. “Now we have to get up.”

Those words fill you with disdain, get up? That’s the last thing you want to do right now.

“Aw, do we have to?” You query, with a voice of disappointment that matched her own.

You can feel her deflate slightly as she lets out a sigh of defeat. “Yes, unfortunately our chariot is scheduled to leave in about an hour or so.”

“Oh, that’s a tad early don’t you think?”

You hear Rarity chuckle ever so softly, releasing you from her embrace and looking up, smiling playfully as she runs a hoof up and down your chest, spreading a warmth throughout your entire body as she stares longingly into your eyes.

“Well, I didn’t expect to be kept up all night by such an expert.” You blush slightly at the compliment and what it entailed. You knew it couldn’t have been that great, you were sure you knew how to please a mare, but ‘expert’ seemed like a bit of a stretch.

You lean in and give her a kiss on the lips, one she eagerly receives, before pulling back and shooting her a grin. “Now who’s the adulatore?”

Rarity doesn’t reply to that, she only smiles and starts to slide out of the bed, turning back to you with a heated and hungry gaze. “Come now darling, we should have a shower.”

You raise an eyebrow. “We?”

The fashionista nods, her unkempt mane giving a slight bounce in response to the movement. “Why of course, who said that there was a one pony limit on such things?”

That was all the encouragement you needed…

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You’re abruptly yanked out of your gentle snoozing as the chariot gives a violent shake, giving you a startle and nearly causing both you and Rarity to tumble out of the seat you’d both been sharing. You mumble a sorry to the exhausted mare as you start sitting up, giving your tight neck a pop or two and taking a peak out of the window. Outside you could see the tiny buildings and shallow dirt roads of Ponyville, a few colorful mares and stallions walking about outside, casting a curious gaze or two towards the regal chariot that had just landed in the center of town, before quickly trotting on by.

You look down to see that Rarity had once again fallen asleep, the poor thing looked so exhausted, she’d managed to spruce herself up some before you had left, but the sloppy makeup and deep bags underneath her eyes were still clear indicators that she hadn’t gotten enough rest. You didn’t look much better, probably worse to be honest, you’d managed to get a shower in and that was about it, you’d quickly left the bathroom as soon as it was over so Rarity could spend what little time was left before the pair of you set out to clean herself up, knowing that was more or less what she wanted to do.

You ever so gently prod at the slumbering mare, she opens a tiny slit in each worn out blue eye, you could tell by that look alone that she wasn’t going anywhere without a little help. You hop out of the red velvet of the chariot’s seat, then you gingerly start to slide your head underneath her body, whispering quietly for her to hold on so she didn’t fall. She doesn’t reply with words, but you can feel her dainty hooves slide around your neck and hook together, solidly locking her in place. You repress a grin as the rest of her body slowly follows suite, feeling a gentle weight added to your back and a deep warmth as her body presses against yours.

You take a moment to adjust to the newfound weight as Rarity settles atop your back. Not that she was heavy mind, Rarity was a pony that watched what she ate, so she was effectively as light as a feather, and you were an earth pony, so you were naturally stronger than the average unicorn or Pegasus anyway.

You check one last time to make sure that Rarity is secured, before slowly taking your first few steps out of the chariot; you blink a few times at the site you’re greeted with, five curious pairs of eyes staring back at you. Your mind blanks for a moment, then you recall that these were Rarity’s friends, come to greet their friend during her homecoming no doubt. You smile sheepishly as each of them continue to stare, apparently not expecting the sight they were greeted with.

After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence you mumble an ‘excuse me’ and start slinking past them, the group of friends parting as you make your way towards Rarity’s boutique. The whole while you can feel ten eyes burrowing into the back of your skull, trying to pay them no mind you quickly reach down and pull the spare key to the front door out from underneath the potted plant nearby. The cool metal of the key catching the sunlight and giving a faint sparkle as you hold it tightly in between your clenched teeth.

As you insert the key into the lock you can hear a loud *click*, quickly returning the key to its rightful place and pushing the door open with your forehead. Before you can step inside however you feel Rarity shift on your back, gently snuggling your neck with her snout as she lets out a contented sigh.

“You know, I might have to start doing this more often.” She says, and you flinch in surprise as she ever so gently starts to nibble on your ear. “I kind of like being the one on top…” You feel your cheeks start to burn as a few poorly repressed snickers are heard from behind.

You waste no more time getting into the boutique. Quietly letting out a sigh of relief as the door swings shut behind you. The air inside was nice and cool, the air conditioning and shut blinds helping keep the entire establishment comfortable while you and Rarity were gone. It was also incredibly dark inside, save for a stray ray of light or two that peeked in through the blinds, that wouldn’t be a problem, the boutique had been your home for the past couple of weeks, and you were rather familiar with its layout by now.

You can hear Rarity let out another little sigh. “It’s good to be home…” She mumbles into your neck.

“Yeah, it is.” You agree, a sense of realization coursing through you…now that you and Rarity were together, this truly was your home now. And that knowledge felt…nice, it was nice to know you had a place here, with Rarity. Even when you had a house it didn’t feel like home, not really, maybe that was because you didn’t have anypony else to share it with, that was no longer the case, wherever Rarity was, that was your home now.

You give Rarity’s hoof the tenderest of caresses, grinning as you feel her hug you a little tighter. “Why don’t we go back to bed?”

“Mm, that sounds lovely.”

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“You know, I might have to start doing this more often.” Twilight’s ear gives an involuntary twitch at the sound of her friend’s voice, feeling a slight blush come to her face as she watched the fellow unicorn reach up and take the stallion’s ear in her teeth. “I kind of like being the one on top…” Nearby she could hear Rainbow snicker, stealing a glance to her right to see the pegasus holding a light blue wing against her mouth, repressing the laugh that was bound to come.

She can see the stallion below twitch just slightly and she feels the faintest hint of sympathy as his face turns a bright red. Rarity was so out of it she couldn’t even tell that her friends were standing less than five feet away. Or maybe she did know…Twilight ponders that. What if her friend made that comment intentionally? It was certainly a less than subtle way to let them know that the date had gone well, though something so brazen seemed incredibly out of character for the fashionista.

The bookworm is brought out of her thoughts as the door the stallion was trying to open slams itself shut, clearly he would not be paying them any more mind.

“Well…” The unicorn stated with a forced chuckle. “I guess that means Rarity’s date went well.”

Rainbow finally lets her repressed giggle free, sniggering loudly. “I’d say it went better than ‘well’, I mean did you hear that!? ‘I kind of like being the one on top.’!” Rainbow did her best impression of Rarity’s posh accent, before letting loose a few more cackles, wiping a stray tear out of her eye and sighing contentedly. “Oh, that’s friggin classic.”

“Ooh, are they gonna come back out soon!?” Twilight’s gaze was drawn towards the sound of her Pinkie Pie’s bubbly voice, the bouncing ball of sugar hopping around excitedly. “I want to throw them a ‘happy get together you’re the bestest new couple ever’ party!”

“Ah don’t think so Pinkie Pah.” Applejack spoke, the orange farm pony adjusting her hat so it cast a slightly larger shadow over her freckled face. “From tha look o’ thangs, ah don’t think we’ll be seein’ Rare anytahme today.”

Twilight nodded her head. “Agreed, well I guess we should be on our way then. Anypony care to join me for tea?”

The bookworm was hoping to have Rarity come over, more or less so she could get the fashionista to speak with Spike, it was getting increasingly difficult to keep him in the dark, two weeks had gone by and the dragon hadn’t seen hide or hare of his affection. And he was starting to wonder why, unfortunately for Twilight Spike wasn’t as young or dumb as he may have seemed. Sooner or later he was going to find out Rarity wasn’t exactly single anymore, and she was hoping that having the unicorn be the one to tell him would help cushion the blow. Apparently that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon, or at least not today, still she had an open spot in her plans for the day, might as well have somepony else fill it.

However, it seemed that this open spot would remain so, as one by one her fellow friends declined the offer. It appeared each were busy with their own things today, Fluttershy had to feed the chickens, Rainbow was going to pay Scootaloo a visit, Applejack had apples to buck, and Pinkie was going to do…whatever it was Pinkie does. So Twilight bids her goodbyes and heads towards home, thinking of things she could possibly do with her newfound free time.

Well, Spike did forget to put those new books away this morning, I guess I could do that. With a plan in mind Twilight heads towards the library, already categorizing books in her head.

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You awaken to the smell of cooking food, the delicious scent wafting about the bedroom like an appetizing cloud. And you can hear the clinking and clanking of pots and pans as somepony moves about the kitchen downstairs, you allow your eyes to slowly lift upwards, craning your neck to the right, unsurprised to see an empty place in the bed. Of course, if Rarity wasn’t the one cooking who could it be? You look up and squint, it was surprisingly dark in the room, you hadn’t been asleep that long had you? You look over towards the grandfather clock at the far end of the room, barely able to make out the time.

“Two…fourtyish?” You mumble, not quite sure if you had guessed correctly though unable to double check. Well then it certainly shouldn’t have been so dark, you look around until you see the red velvet of the curtains. “Oh, well that explains it.”

It appeared that the blinds had been shut; Rarity must have done that so the sun didn’t interfere with your sleep. You smile at that, it was nice of her. You quickly get out of the bed, stretching your stiff limbs and surpressing a yawn. You still felt kind of tired, the extra hours of sleep had been refreshing, though not incredibly restful, and you figured nothing less than a whole night’s rest was going to kick you back in gear, but for now it would suffice.

Rarity’s bedroom door swings open with a creek, and you feel your mouth start to salivate as you sniff at more of that delicious scent, you didn’t know what was being made but you did know that it smelled positively divine. You quickly turn towards the stairs, swiftly, yet cautiously, trotting down them. You can feel your stomach grumble in anticipation of an actual meal, after all you hadn’t eaten anything last night…or well…nothing considered food anyway.

As you near the bottom of the steps the sweet sound of Rarity’s voice filters into your ears, she was humming a beautiful tune, the tone upbeat, light, and filled with glee. The sound brings a smile to your face and you find yourself heading towards the kitchen with a lightness in your heart and a faint bounce to your step. Your silver locket swinging around your neck in response to the movement, jingling with every rapid prance, when you reach the kitchen however you’re surprised to find that it’s not alone in its occupants. Sitting at the dining table, occupied by a coloring book and a juice box is Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s younger sister.

You were surprised to see her, though it wasn’t an unpleasant surprise. After all, despite the filly’s rather destructive personality she was still cute and funny in her own childlike way. That and you hadn’t seen her for about a week and a half, not since Rarity had you babysit while she worked on designs, you two had spent the better part of the afternoon playing with coloring books and stickers. Something you’d enjoyed to an almost shameful degree, but what was the point of being an adult if you couldn’t be childish from time to time?

“Oops…” Sweetie’s high pitched voice drags you out of your thoughts, your eyes falling to the spilled juice box now lying sideways upon the floor, a purple pool of liquid slowly spilling out upon the tile. The filly flinches slightly as her older sister turns around, clearly expecting some kind of reprimand. However to both your and her surprise Rarity just continues to hum, levitating over a washcloth and approaching the spot, the smile never leaving her gorgeous face as she wipes up the spill.

“There we are, totally spotless.” Rarity sings, giving her sister a small pat on the head. You spy Sweetie Belle out of the corner of your eye, the filly’s eyebrow raised as she gives her sister a bewildered look, surprised by this odd display of affection. Clearly the younger sibling wasn’t used to seeing her sister in such a cheery mood. “Oh, splendid, you’re awake!” You see a sparkle in Rarity’s blue eyes as she approaches, smacking her lips against yours, causing you to moan your surprise into her mouth. You hadn’t been expecting such a…warm welcome.

You blink once or twice as Rarity pulls her cherry red lips away, any and all words you may have had stolen away by her kiss. You hear Sweetie Belle giggle at her spot near the table, but neither you nor Rarity pay the filly any mind.

“I decided to cook today darling.” The unicorn says, smiling affectionately at you.

“Oh did you? I thought that was my job.” You playfully reply.

Rarity giggles and rubs her nose against your own. “Not today it isn’t, consider this your first official day off.” The unicorn gives you another kiss, though this was only a peck. “Consider it a thank you for taking me on such a splendid date.”

You give her a cocksure grin. “Well, I think a day off would do me some good. So, what’s on the menu today princess?”

Rarity leans in and pecks you one last time. “I love it when you call me that.” She flashes you one last grin and turns around, heading back towards the stove. “I went down to Applejacks a few days ago and picked up a box of apples, and I was in the mood for something sweet so I threw together an apple pie.” You can see her horn light up with a faint blue aura as the stove opens up, that delicious smell growing ever stronger as she retrieves the freshly cooked pie, you can hear your stomach growl in response. Rarity giggles at the sound. “I see somepony’s hungry.”

You blush and scuff a hoof against the floor. “Yeah, I uh, could use a bite to eat.”

You can see Rarity grin as she levitates the pie with her unicorn magic, signaling with a point of her head for you to take a seat at the table. You quickly do, hopping up in the seat next to Sweetie Belle; she’d already taken your usual spot, that being the place next to her sister, but you didn’t mind. All you wanted right now was to get your hooves on a piece of that pie.

“Hi mister!” The little foal greets you, still scribbling away in her coloring book.

You smile down at her. “Hi Sweetie, what’s up?”

The filly puts down her crayon and smiles up at you. “Not much, mom and dad are going to a party or something tonight so they dropped me off here.”

“I see, so, are you glad that school’s out?” You ask, fully aware of what her answer was going to be.

Sweetie gives you an enthusiastic nod. “I sure am, now the crusaders can spend twice as much time searching for their special talents!”

You and Rarity exchange grins at Sweetie’s display. “Yes, well, let’s hold off on the crusading until we finish dinner.” The unicorn says her horn lighting up as she cuts several slices out of the pie, serving each of you a piece before retrieving one herself.

You lick your lips in anticipation as you eye the steaming pie, bending down and taking a mouthful of the delicious food, your taste buds exploding with flavor. By Celestia, that had to be the most delicious thing you ever tasted, and you couldn’t wait for more.

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You let out a contented sigh as you lean back on the couch, feeling your full stomach settle as you shift and move; that had been delicious. You fail to fight back a smile as you hear Rarity’s angelic laugh in the kitchen across the way, her sister’s voice quickly following, it was good to hear them getting along. Once dinner was over Rarity and Sweetie decided to work together to help clean up the kitchen, you’d offered to help but it seemed like the fashionista wasn’t going to hear it, insisting that you actually enjoy your day off. You hadn’t even tried to argue further, knowing full well it would get you absolutely nowhere.

So, you opted to finally finish off that Daring Do novel you’d been reading, you were currently halfway through the last chapter and you couldn’t wait to see how the final showdown between Daring and her lifelong enemy Ahtouzoul came to a close, it appeared that Ahtouzoul had the upper hand, he’d beaten Daring down and was now holding her at arm’s length over a pit of lava, when Daring reached into her back pocket and!

*Bang*

*Bang*

You look up from your book, turning your gaze towards the front door.

*Bang*

*Bang*

“Would you be a dear and get that?” You hear Rarity ask, her voice sounding distant and distracted, clearly she had her hooves full.

You shut the novel with a snap, blowing a puff of air out your nostrils to show your frustration. Quickly hopping off the couch and trotting towards the door. “Always has to happen right when things are getting good.” You mumble underneath your breath, reaching out and securing the golden doorknob between your teeth, giving it a twist and pulling it open. “Welcome to Rarity’s Carousel Boutique how may I help you?”

“Well, good to see you too I guess.” Your eyes go wide and you feel your mouth widen into a grin as your brain kicks into gear and you actually recognize the pair of ponies standing before you.

“Caramel, Wind Whistler! It’s good to see you guys!” You greet both the earth pony and Pegasus in turn, quickly ushering them inside.

“Mm, smells like apple pie in here!” Wind Whistler remarks as she steps inside, her nose pointing upwards as she gives the air a few petite sniffs. “I don’t suppose you have any leftovers?”

You raise an eyebrow; Wind Whistler wasn’t usually one to ask for scrap. “Sorry, we just finished it off.”

The turquoise Pegasus lets loose an exasperated sigh. “Dang, Caramel we’re stopping by Sugarcube Corner on the way home so I can get some pie.” The Pegasus then brings a hoof up to her chin, as if in thought. “I wonder if they’ll put peanuts in the crust if I ask…”

You shoot Caramel a questioning look that asks everything for you, he nervously chuckles and swipes a stray strand of his carefully combed mane out of his eye. “I’ll uh, explain in a bit.” He quickly murmurs, just loud enough for you to hear, before stepping inside and casting a curious gaze about the boutique. “So, this is where you’re staying huh?” He nods. “It’s nice.”

You open your mouth to respond, but are cut off as Rarity enters the room.

“Oh dear, customers!” The fashionista’s lovely voice draws your attention, and you look over just in time to see her emerging from the kitchen. “I’m terribly sorry to keep you waiting; I was busy in the kitchen.”

“Oh, it’s no problem ma’am.” Wind Whistler replies, walking over to meet Rarity half way. “I’m Wind Whistler, this is my coltfriend Caramel.” The Pegasus points towards the tan earth pony, who was standing next to you by the door. “We’re friends of your…assistant right?”

Rarity’s face lights up with a smile. “Oh, I see!” She turns an inquisitive blue eye upon you. “Well, I didn’t know you had so many friends dear.”

You scoff lightly at Rarity’s comment, her chiding tone of voice obviously meant to tease, not upset. “Well it’s true I’m not very social, but I owe these two a lot.” You look over and smile fondly at Caramel. “These guys are the two that let me stay with them after my house burned down.”

The earth pony shrugs. “Hey, it was the least we could do.”

“Ah, I see, well friends of yours are friends of mine darling.” Rarity replies, smiling at the two in turn.

Caramel leans in. “Darling huh?” He queries, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Not now!” You hiss, feeling an edge creep into your tone, Caramel had made it very clear two weeks ago that he wasn’t exactly fond of your attachment to Rarity, you hope meeting Rarity today will help prove that she is as lovely and kind as you like to make her sound, but you knew Caramel pretty well…he wasn’t a pony that could be easily swayed.

“So, is there anything I can help you with today?” Your beloved asks, her voice gentle yet professional, clearly she was ready to do business if that’s what your friends had come here for.

You notice Caramel’s mouth forming a ‘no’ shape, before his significant other cuts him off.

“As a matter of fact there is.” The blue mare says, and you can hear Caramel’s mouth close shut with a clack, the reaction brings a tiny grin to your face, if what Caramel said at the bar was true he absolutely hated it when Windy, that’s what he liked to call her when nopony else was around apparently, cut him off. It was supposedly something she did often and it ‘drove him friggin crazy!’ to quote him directly. “You’re a fashion designer correct?” Rarity nods politely. “Well, I’m in need of a wedding dress.”

Both yours and Rarity’s eyes go wide, though yours from surprise and hers from excitement.

“Oh a wedding dress!” Rarity exclaims, practically trembling with enthusiasm. “Why, this is so marvelously splendid!” The fashionista trots over towards Wind Whistler, grabbing the Pegasus’ hoof and dragging her towards the stairs. “Come dear, we must get your measurements right away!” The unicorn shouts before the startled mare can get out a word. “This will be so magnificent!”

You can still hear Rarity enthusiastically chattering away as she heads upstairs, her voice slowly fading away into gentle murmurs as she gets farther and farther away, before it’s entirely snuffed out after the slamming of her work room door.

Slowly you crane your neck back towards Caramel, who was sitting on his haunches with an embarrassed look on his face.

“Wedding dress?” You inquire, your teasing grin rising and your eyebrow following suite.

Caramel averts his eyes and he slowly scratches his left leg with his right, a nervous tick he had. “Well, cat’s out of the bag now isn’t it?” He says, followed by a tiny nervous chuckle.

You nod. “Yeah, it is. So when were you going to tell me this?”

You notice the earth pony swallow hard, his eyes persistently glued to the floor. “Well, today actually…I just hadn’t gotten around to it.”

You chuckle lightly and take a few steps closer to where your friend sat, sitting down next to him and giving him a pat on the shoulder with your hoof, he flinches slightly at the contact. “Why are you so embarrassed? I’m happy for you; Wind Whistler is a great mare.”

The earth pony shifts uncomfortably and takes a couple deep breaths, clearly trying to relax himself. “It’s not the fact I’m getting married that’s got me all worked up, though I’m sure it isn’t helping…there’s another thing, I should probably tell you.”

Your ear gives a tiny reflexive twitch to show your interest, eager to hear whatever it was he had to say.

“Wind Whistler is uh…” You see the stallion swallow a lump in his throat, and he fidgets slightly underneath your stare, clearly whatever he had on his mind was pretty important. “…She’s pregnant…”

You blink once, then twice, had you really just heard that? Wind Whistler…pregnant? But that wasn’t supposed to even work, not with her condition.

“Are you sure?” You ask, as gently as you can, you didn’t want to run the risk of upsetting Caramel even further; he had every right to be as confused as he was. “I thought she was-”

“Yeah so did I…” He shakes his head, like he was in disbelief. “But, then she started getting sick, throwing up and stuff, so we took her down to the hospital and…” Another shake, “According to them she’s got a little filly or colt growing in there and I just…” Caramel’s head hangs low and he lets out a depressed sigh. “I just don’t know what to do.”

You put a comforting hoof on the stallion’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t get too worked up, what’s the problem, doesn’t she want a baby?”

Caramel lets out a brief chuckle. “Want a baby? Hell, she was practically bouncing off the walls when we got back home.” You’re pleased to see a tiny smile etching its way onto his face as he fondly recalls the memory, depression was not a mask that fit him well. “But, I’m not worried about her…I’m worried about me. I mean, a week ago the thought of being a father never even crossed my mind, I’d gotten so used to the idea that it just wasn’t going to happen that I never expected something like this. But now that I have a foal on the way…I’m worried.” His dark blue eyes look into yours, and you can see him silently pleading for your help. “Do you think I’ll be an alright dad?”

Tightening that comforting grip on his shoulder you feel your face go tight as you give him the sternest look you can muster. “Caramel, we may not have been friends for a very long time, but I can tell you this, you will not be an alright dad.” The earth pony recoils slightly at this, clearly not expecting such a statement. But you had expected that, your lips curving into a grin as you pull him into a tight hug. “You will be the best damn dad Equestria has ever seen.”

At first the earth pony bristles against the unexpected embrace, clearly not expecting such a gesture, but after a few moments he slowly reciprocates, patting you on the back and letting out a tiny chuckle.

“Alright, let’s not drag this out, I am getting married soon you know.” You both share a laugh and separate from the hug, scooting apart from one another.

There’s a moment of silence that follows as Caramel allows your comforting words to sink in, that jovial light hearted air returning to him as he sits next to you, patiently waiting for his fiancé to return.

“So, I don’t suppose I get to be best stallion by any chance?” You query, giving your friend a playful bump with your hoof.

Caramel’s smile widens. “Heh, sorry, Big Mac’s beat you to it.” You feign a look of disappointment, though you weren’t really upset at all, you had expected that answer. “But you can still be one of my stallions of honor.”

You chuckle. “Thanks, I appreciate it. How far along is Wind Whistler?” You were curious to know, after all, there didn’t appear to be any real signs.

You can see Caramel’s face screw up in thought, like he’s contemplating what to say. “Well, two weeks, that’s the last time we…you know.”

You nod; a brief moment of silence follows before a light of realization flick on inside your head. Two weeks ago…the day you’d left the house, you had heard the noises from the night before, distinctly recalling the squeaking of the bed and hushed moans from the room over. The noises had been enough to keep you up the majority of the night. That’s when it actually hits you…you had essentially been there the night those two had…inseminated. It was a strange feeling, like you were a kid that had been witness to something he wasn’t quite prepared to see. It was a piece of knowledge you could have gone your entire life without, and you find yourself regretting the question you’d just asked.

You give a rapid shake of your head, like you were trying to force that information away. “Well, I suppose that explains the cravings.” You mumble absently, more to yourself than to anyone else.

You hear Caramel blow a little air out of his nostrils, snorting as he recalls some of the mare’s most bizarre of desires. “You don’t even know the half of it. I think I’ve spent more time at Sugarcube Corner these past two weeks than I have at home.”

“She’s got quite the sweet tooth huh?”

“No, it’s not the only reason we go. Mr. and Mrs. Cake have been really helpful over the past couple weeks.”

“Ah, I see, well it’s nice of them to help out.”

“Yeah, they’re good folks.” Caramel’s head turns toward you, wearing a curious expression upon his face. “But enough about me…” You repress a building groan; you knew exactly where this was going. “So you and this Rarity gal, you’re a thing now?”

You shake your head positively. “Yeah, I suppose that’s one way of putting it.”

“When?” You look over at him questioningly. “You know, when did it happen?”

You fidget slightly where you sit, suddenly eager to be up and off the floor. “Yesterday,” The word comes out slightly strained, having said them while in the process of stretching your now stiff legs and back, slowly you start to meander about the room, eager to be off your flank for a while. “We went on a date in Canterlot.”

Caramel’s eyes follow you as you move back and forth around the room, more or less pacing to help release some of that built up tension in your legs, sitting on the floor wasn’t exactly what you’d call comfortable.

“So you confessed then?” Caramel’s voice is filled with a sort of concerned curiosity, like he wanted to know yet was afraid of the answer at the same time. “Told her that you love her?”

You stop for a moment, a warm grin splaying across your features as fond memories from yesterday filter into your mind, the show, the tango, the night sky, making love with the mare of your dreams…it all seemed so unreal when you thought about it, like something out of a cheesy romance novel.

“Greetings Princess Luna, would you kindly rejoin us back on Equestria?” Caramel reproaches his voice thick with an irritated tenor.

You look back at him, your mind yanked out of its pleasant haze. “Hm? Oh right, uh yeah, I told her.”

The earth pony raises an eyebrow. “And what did she say?”

You feel another grin come on, stealthily dragging your tongue across your lips, recalling the sweet taste of Rarity’s mouth pressed against yours. “Well, she didn’t really say anything, but I’m pretty sure she feels the same way.”

The earth pony’s eyes roll hard, clearly he didn’t really grasp what you meant by that, but he didn’t really need to as far as you were concerned. “Yeah well, I suppose she seems nice enough.” You shake your head, it wasn’t exactly the response you would have liked, but you’d take what you could get with Caramel.

“Very good, shall I be expecting you tomorrow?” The sound of Rarity’s distant voice catches your attention, and you hear several muffled thumps as both she and Wind Whistler make their way down the stairs.

“Oh absolutely, are you free around noonish?” You hear the Pegasus ask curiously. “That’s when I get off of work.”

The two finally make it to the bottom step, and you see Rarity nod her head. “Of course, and if your ever in need of baby clothes do stop by, I haven’t had a chance to make anything like that since the Cakes had their children.”

Caramel gets up off the floor, stepping aside as his fiancé took her place beside him.

“We’ll keep that in mind Miss Rarity.” The turquoise Pegasus’ eyes flash upon you. “Oh, one last thing, you wouldn’t mind being our house sitter in a few weeks would you? We’ve got to go tell our families that there’s a little one on the way.” Wind Whistler reaches down, affectionately stroking her belly as a warm smile spreads across her face.

“Of course, you guys can count on me, just stop by before you go to let me know.”

The mare nods. “We will. Come on hun, let’s go to Sugarcube Corner.” The pair of them turn, making their way towards the door. “Oh, I wonder if we pay a little extra they’ll be willing to put chocolate syrup on top…”

You can see Caramel’s shoulders sag as he sighs in frustration knowing full well he’ll be spending even more bits than usual on this apparently routine trip to the sugary shop. His significant other, having caught attention of his sudden change in demeanor, rears up and gives the earth pony a stern look.

“What!? You’re not willing to pay a little extra to fill the tummy of the mare carrying your child?” The mare’s words drip with venomous indignation.

Caramel scoffs at the accusation. “Wha- of course not! It’s just we’ve been going there an awful lot you know and none of the stuff they sell is healthy…”

“Are you saying that it’s making me fat!?”

“No no! You’re pregnant Windy; of course you’re going to gain weight! A few pies isn’t going to change that.”

“I cannot believe you! If you and I weren’t in public right now I swear I’d-”

You roll your eyes as the mare’s voice cuts off into a muffled bunch of swears and threats, the pair’s shouting continuing beyond the door you’d just shut.

“Great, now their arguing…” You mumble absently, recalling many a sleepless night in Caramel’s home. Once those two got at each other’s throats, nothing short of a miracle would get them to stop.

“Ah yes, it’s a typical stage in any relationship darling.” You perk up at the sound of Rarity’s voice. “One day you and I might be screaming at each other in the town square.”

You chuckle at the unicorn’s cheeky tone. “I’m looking forward to it.” You reply, sarcasm coloring your voice.

There’s a mischievous glint in Rarity’s eye as she steps forward, gently draping a dainty hoof around your neck. “So am I…” You feel your heart rate quicken as she leans in, bringing her cherry red lips up to your ear, it gives a slight twitch and a series of cold tingles runs up and down your spine as her hot breath blows against it. “Especially if it results in hot, angry, make up sex…”

Your cheeks start to burn and your heart starts to thump against your chest, you could barely believe what you’d just heard. Something like that seemed so, callous, so brash, so open, so…was she nibbling on your ear?

“Or…we could skip the angry and make up part.” She gives another little bite to your ear, sending another chill down your spine. “Just a thought…”

To say you like where this is going…would be the understatement of the century.

“Um, sis, am I interrupting something?” The tiny voice snaps both you and Rarity to your senses; the mare quickly releases her teeth, hastily whipping around and giving her wide eyed sibling a guilty look.

“Oh, of course not Sweetie Belle!” This sentence is accompanied by a halfhearted laugh. “I was just um…” You see the unicorn bite her lip as she searches her mind for an excuse, her dark blue eyes wandering back over to you, running you over as if you’d somehow provide the key to getting out of this predicament. “Fixing his mane!”

“Fixing his mane?” The foal asks incredulously.

“Why yes of course! I mean look at it.” The unicorn begins to poshly fuss with your haphazard mane, attempting to lay it flat. “It’s all so wild and crazy! Why it makes me wonder how he even takes care of it.”

You feel a sudden pang of self-consciousness, you tried to get it to behave, you really did. But you swore that this rebellious mop you called a mane had a mind of its own. Normally it wasn’t an issue, ponies didn’t seem to mind one way or another how your mane looked most of the time, but having Rarity fuss with it now made you rather aware of how unkempt it must seem to a pony as refined and delicate as her.

“Well, um okay then.” Sweetie says. Both you and Rarity share a hidden sigh of relief thanks to the knowledge that the filly would not be pressing the matter. “I was just gonna ask if you’d want to help me color…” Sweetie lightly scuffs a hoof along the carpet floor, looking slightly dejected. “But if you want to hang out with your coltfriend that’s fine.”

“Oh Sweetie Belle of course I’ll color with you.” Rarity replies, her voice sweet and caring. “I’m sure you don’t mind?” She asks, turning her head to look back at you.

“Oh no don’t let me stop you two from having girl time.” You reply. “I have a book to finish reading anyway.”

Sweetie’s face lights up as her sister starts towards the kitchen. “Oh great! I saved the best pictures for you sis!”

“Oh why thank you Sweetie Belle that’s very kind.”

You smile as the sister’s disappear into the kitchen, chattering and giggling as they enjoy one another’s company. Seeing this brought back memories of your sister, and made you long to see her again…you give a shake of your head, trying to clear away those thoughts, you weren’t in the mood for feeling homesick. You spin around and trot towards the couch you’d been lounging on earlier, eagerly picking up the open novel and clambering back atop the soft cushions.

“Okay Daring…let’s see how you get out of this one.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Unacceptable, intolerable, impossible, just…just no! This couldn’t be, it couldn’t end this way! Not like that! There had to be more, it couldn’t just cut off, there was so much left unexplained, so many threads that needed tying up! This just couldn’t be true, you must have missed something, maybe you skipped a page or something.

….

….

….

No, that was it, you couldn’t believe it.

It was a cliffhanger…the book ended…on a bucking cliffhanger.

You let loose a puff of air from your nostrils, snapping the book closed in a violent manner, you couldn’t believe that this was how it ended. How on Equestria could the author have thought that leaving Daring dangling over a pit of lava would make a good final paragraph? There were so many plotlines that didn’t go anywhere, so many things left unresolved; it just seemed like a huge blemish on an otherwise amazing book.

With a disheartened sigh you skim over the front cover one last time. Daring Do and the Curse of the Crimson Crystal, below was an artist’s rendition of Daring and her nemesis Ahuitzotl, glaring at one another as they both reach for a large red gemstone.

“It should read, Daring Do and the curse of the crappy cliffhanger.” You fume bitterly. “At least then I would have been expecting it.” You flip the book over, skimming through the plot synopsis and…wait a moment. You bring the book a little closer to your face, that way you could read the abnormally small text imprinted along the spine of the book.

Daring Do and the Curse of the Crimson Crystal, the rerelease of the first book in the most popular series of this generation, this copy includes a special author’s note and a brand new piece of cover art to match the style of later releases.

So this was only the first book, maybe that was why it had such an awful ending, perhaps the author hadn’t expected it to become so popular, or maybe this was her first book and she didn’t think twice about providing any closure, you imagine that the ending was a sharp point of critical ire for quite some time, you hoped that the author wouldn’t pull something like this with any of her later installments.

“I wonder if the library has the next book…” You wonder aloud, you knew Rarity didn’t have it; you’d been in there earlier today to retrieve this book and hadn’t spotted any other Daring Do novels. Apparently they weren’t really her thing.

Your eye wanders towards the clock ticking away idly above where you sit, the time reading four twenty. Well, it should still be open, I could check at least. You think, hopping off the couch and heading towards the kitchen, you wanted to let Rarity know you were taking off for a few minutes.

“Do we really want to make her mane green darling?” You repress a chuckle at Rarity’s question, practically able to hear the cringe her face was making, the fashionista had told you about that little event, when the traveling showmare had come to town and magicked her hair a turgid green. Luckily the magic didn’t last more than a day, wearing off by the next morning, that didn’t mean she was over the fact though, one day of being not fabulous was one day too many for her to handle. Ever since then she had an extreme distaste for green manes, more than she already did anyway.

“I like green though.” Sweetie Belle’s chipper voice states and you round the corner just in time to see her stare up at her sister with big round eyes. “Do you really want me to change it?”

You notice Rarity’s shoulders sag as she lets out a tiny sigh, the wooden kitchen chair beneath her creaking lightly as she readjusts her weight upon it. “Green is fine Sweetie.” The unicorn’s blue eyes light up as she spots you in the archway leading to the kitchen. “Hello dear. Do you need something?”

You smile and shake your head. “No thank you; I just wanted to let you know I’m popping out for a few minutes. Try and walk off some of that pie.” You grin playfully at the fashionista. “Which was positively delicious if I do say so myself.”

Rarity giggles at that, the angelic tone brings a lightness to your heart. “Well if you must, I’ll be here when you return, so long as nothing comes up.”

You smile at her, nodding your head and turning around, heading towards the boutique’s main door. You couldn’t wait to get to the library.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A deep growl emanates from the pits of Twilight Sparkles’ empty stomach, the purple unicorn groaning aloud as she was reminded yet again of her growing hunger. She’d gotten so caught up in her organizing that she’d missed lunch, again. She sighs, her eyes wandering over towards the pile of books nearby, the numerous tomes stacked into a literal mountain of paper and ink. It would take at least another hour to get the rest of them put away.

The lavender unicorn sighs as her stomach growls again; she didn’t want to wait an hour for food. And she didn’t want to bother with making any herself either, she’d read multiple cookbooks over the years, but never really managed to put any of that knowledge to good use, she’d tried once or twice, usually with rather disastrous results. There was a reason Spike did most of the cooking. And she didn’t feel like it was right to steal what little free time he was allotted today to make her a daisy sandwich.

“I heard Pinkie and Applejack were making muffins today.” The unicorn mumbles to herself, a habit she’d developed over the years to keep herself company, years of being cooped up in a tower with nothing but books and a purple dragon for companions will do that to you. “I bet they’d be willing to slip me a couple freebies if I stopped by…”

With a plan in mind Twilight gets up from her spot on the floor, her horn lighting up as she levitates over a pair of colorful saddlebags. “SPIKE! Come down here please!” The unicorn could hear the purple dragon groan, mumbling something rude underneath his breath and stomping down the stairs, it wasn’t a reaction she was surprised to see. He’d been in a rather foul mood for the past couple weeks, no doubt due to lack of visits from a certain fashionista.

The purple dragon pokes his head out from around the bend near the bottom of the stairs, the green spike atop his head jiggling slightly as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He must have been in the middle of a nap. Twilight thinks.

“Yeah Twi?” He asks his voice thick with fatigue.

“I’m going down to Sugarcube Corner for a bit. Want anything?” The unicorn asks with a cheery smile, maybe a nice sweet would help unsour her friend’s bitter mood.

Spike fights off a yawn and moves down the last couple steps. “You know, one of Pinkie’s rainbow cupcakes would be awesome right about now.”

Twilight grins and nods. “One rainbow cupcake coming right up.” She turns towards the door, trotting about halfway across the room before she hears Spike call for her to wait.

“Hey if you want I could finish up organizing those new books you bought.” The baby dragon offers, motioning towards the mountain of hardbacks the unicorn had organized. “I still kind of feel bad for forgetting to do it this morning.”

Twilight shakes her head. “No that’s alright Spike, that new shelf hasn’t been nailed in yet.” Twilight had recently ordered a brand new bookshelf from Canterlot a few weeks ago, the longer Twilight stayed in Ponyville the more books she was going to need, and though the library had been fairly well stocked upon her arrival it was still pretty bare compared to what the unicorn was used to. She’d slowly set about expanding the library, this new shelf of ancient tomes would be the first in many additions she was planning. “And if you go climbing all over it who knows what might happen. And I don’t want to come home to find a dragon pancake waiting for me.”

Spike huffed playfully. “Fine, but I’m helping when you get back, whether you like it or not.”

Twilight chuckled. “If you insist, I’ll be back soon Spike.”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The door behind you shuts with a gentle slam as you make your way out of the boutique. You look about with strained vision, the glaring sunlight stinging your eyes and forcing you to squint, slowly the familiar sights of Ponyville begin sliding into focus, smiling fondly at the picture before you. You were growing more and more used to stepping out of a building to find the shallow and quiet dirt roads of Ponyville, rather than the busy and bustling streets of your home town.

It was hot out today, though not unbearably so, not like the day you’d been running errands for Rarity. Summer was still in full swing it seemed but thankfully the weather team managed to get a hold of the heat and make it at least somewhat tolerable, baking the residents of the town you worked for probably wasn’t good business practice. You notice Ponies bustling about, each heading somewhere with a different goal in mind. Across the way you could just barely make out the deep southern drawl of a certain farm pony, and a curious glance in her direction shows that Applejack’s standing outside of Sugarcube Corner, advertising muffins it looked like. You look over towards the growing crowd of ponies for a moment, tempted to go and investigate, but decide against it. After all, the most important thing on your mind right now was getting your hooves on that second Daring Do novel.

You turn towards the left and start walking, exchanging polite greetings with the occasional passing pony as you make your way towards the library, not really thinking too hard about it, back home the city was so large that it had taken years to learn all the various streets and alleyways, but Ponyville was barely a fraction of Manehattan, and you’d had the layout down pat by the third day.

You feel a smile come on as you jovially trot down the street, humming a quiet tune to yourself as you enjoy your day. It felt good to be outside, you’d been cooped up indoors for so long, working with Rarity in the boutique as your wounds healed, that you didn’t really have much time to just, go and be by yourself. You loved spending time with Rarity, that much was undeniable, even more so now that you two were romantically involved, but everypony needed a little alone time every now and then.

“MAIL CALL!!!” The dopey voiced shout catches your attention, and you look up just in time to spy a rapidly approaching grey figure from above. You quickly step to the right as the speeding grey shape rockets towards the ground, slamming into the dirt below and knocking up a huge cloud of dust, you wave a hoof around to try and get rid of the cloud.

Derpy...You think with a tiny chuckle and shake of your head, say what you would about the cross eyed Pegasus, but at least she knew how to make an entrance.

The mail mare scrambles to her hooves, wobbling slightly as she tried to find her balance upon quivering legs. She stares at you with a scrunched up smile, one golden eye meeting with yours, and another branching off to stare at something else.

“Hi!” Derpy chirps, her smile growing wider as she waves a hoof at you.

“Hello Mrs. Doo.” You greet her, as formally as you would any other mare, this wasn’t the first time you two had bumped into one another, on your first day here she had ended up crashing into the roof of your freshly purchased house. You were rightfully upset at the time for sure, but once you’d learned of Derpy’s condition you’d been quick to change your tune. Not like it mattered anyway, after all that poor house was nothing more than a pile of scorched earth now.

The Pegasus reaches into the brown bag hanging limply from her side, retrieving an envelope.

“You’ve got mail.” Derpy says, holding out the letters for you to take.

You reach out and gently grip the envelope between your teeth. “Thlank ju.” You mouth around the paper, careful not to slobber over it.

“You’re welcome.” She says, flapping her wings to start propelling herself into the air. “Bye Mister.”

You quickly spit the letter into a free hoof, smiling up at her and waving. “By Mrs. Doo, tell the family I said hi.”

She replies with another dopey smile and a wave before flying off, no doubt the mare still had some deliveries to make. You look down at the letter in your hoof, scanning it to see if there’s anything special to make note of. As it turns out, there is, the return address is one you are rather familiar with, it’s the address of your family estate back in Manehattan.

You feel yourself filled with a sort of homesick feeling as you stare at the envelope, as well as a deep sensation of guilt, the last time you had exchanged letters with your family had been over a month ago, the month when you had promised to write a letter to them once a week…you hadn’t. If your mother was here right now she’d probably be giving you an earful about how important it was to keep your promises, and if your father was here he’d probably be giving you an earful about how wrong it was to upset your mother.

You picture them sitting at home for the past month, waiting impatiently for their son to send them just one letter to confirm his safety, only to be met with an empty mailbox every week, that pit of guilt in your stomach grows ever wider. You realize there’s no time to waste, Daring Do could wait for a few more minutes, the least you could do right now was to read whatever was inside.

You look around, hoping to find a shady spot to sit while you read your letter, off in the distance you spot an unoccupied bench, resting in the shadow of a nearby tree. Quickly you trot over and take aseat, shifting your body into a slightly more comfortable position.

You carefully grip the top of the envelope between your teeth, securing the paper tightly and giving it a terse tug, tearing open the envelope with an obnoxious ripping noise, you spit out a few flecks of paper stuck to your tongue, grimacing in disgust at the taste. You take one last deep breath and prepare for the ink based verbal thrashing you knew was to come, you knew from experience that when you promised your mother something it better damn well be done, lest you be spending the next couple weeks nursing a wounded pride.

Eventually you gather up enough courage to retrieve the letter, placing it down next to where you sit on the bench so you could read it. And the very first line is enough to make your blood run cold…

MISTER, you and I need to talk! You gulp hard…by Celestia…there they were...those terrible, awful, evil words! Brief flashes of all the awful things that have happened to you as of late flash through your mind, all of those events…had been preceded by…those words…You can feel an icy chill run through your veins, and your hooves lock in place out of sheer terror. It seemed that sometimes…those words…would be the cause of physical harm, and sometimes they would be the cause of emotional harm, you had no way of knowing which it might be.

A thick and heavy drop of sweat spirals down your face, and you scan the area around the bench, twisting and turning your head every which way in search of anything that might be cause to harm. After a few more minutes you can feel the thumping of your heart begin to slow, and can feel the adrenaline coursing through your body begin to mellow, confident enough that you weren’t in any immediate danger.

You look down at the piece of soft white paper in lying on the bench next to you, and you gulp hard as you realize that you were still obligated to at least try and read your mother’s letter…minus the very beginning of course…as a matter of fact maybe you should rip it off, yeah, that sounds like a good idea. You meticulously nip and bite at the top corner of the letter, eventually succeeding in ripping off the chunk that had that vile phrase written upon it, growling like an agitated dog as you spit it out on the dirt road. Now, with that out of the way, you figure it’s time to actually read this letter.

Greetings from your mother, you know, that mare who raised you and loves you and cares for you more than anypony else in the world? No, not doing it for you? Well how about this? I’m that mare you promised to write to once every week! The mare who TRIED teaching you that a good stallion keeps his promises. But I guess that lesson didn’t really get through that thick skull of yours did it? Ugh, figures, you are a lot like your father after all.

You stop for a moment and shift uncomfortably upon the hard wooden bench beneath you. Feeling that deep sense of guilt still gnawing away hungrily at your gut. Your mother sure was good at hitting you where it hurt, you are almost tempted to stop reading, after all you’d been in extremely high spirits as of late and the last thing you want right now is for your mother’s berating to truly sower your mood. Then realize that’s possibly the most plotholeish thing you could do, and continue reading.

But, I digress, you are a grown stallion after all and I’m sure you are very busy with whatever it is you’re doing in that tiny town you mentioned in your last letter. Ponyville was it? Well, whoever thought of that wasn’t exactly a creative one but I’m sure it’s a very fine place. I’m sorry I was so cross during the opening of this letter, but you must understand, it’s scary to think of my child out all on his own in the big scary world. I keep waking up in the morning and expect to see you downstairs eating breakfast with your sister, or to hear a mare creeping out of your window when she hears me coming down the hall, and yes I do know about that girl, quite the mouth on her. You feel a blush sting at your cheeks, you thought that nopony knew about that whole thing…you’d been so careful.

Good thing it didn’t work out with her, why don’t you actually try and find a good mare while you’re away? You smile; you couldn’t wait to tell her about Rarity. And it’s so strange how quiet the house is during the day, I don’t think I’ll ever grow used to the idea of you not being around…but I understand why you left, and I don’t blame you, after what happened you needing a little away time is perfectly understandable. But still dear, if you need anything, bits, clothes, or anything of the sort don’t be afraid to ask. I know you want to prove to yourself that you don’t need our family’s wealth but it’s not like we’re in short supply around here.

But enough of that, I wanted to tell you that your sister finally got her cutie mark yesterday. She got it while trying out for the summer swim team, it was so cute to see her running around the house, showing it to anypony she could find, she even stopped and told that old butler Witherspoon about it, you know, your father’s friend? She even went up to your room, she didn’t admit it but I think she wanted you to know as well, she knows you’re gone of course, but I think she was just caught up in the moment. That last comment brings a sort of sad smile to your face; you were happy for your sister but sad that you hadn’t got a chance to be there for such a pivotal moment in her life. Your father misses you as well, he spent the first couple weeks of your absence locked in his study, and you know he’s upset when he cancels his business meetings. He’s slowly started to get on I think, but he still misses you dearly.

So please honey, write to us once and a while, it doesn’t need to be once a week or even once a month, just be a dear and let us know you’re alive and well.

I love you; we love you, and remember, you’ll always have a home to come back to.

You sigh heavily as you finish the letter, feeling a tightening in your chest and a stinging in your eyes as your mother’s final comforting line really hits home. And you stifle a rising sob, you felt like crying, though you didn’t really know why. Maybe it was just nice to know that they cared so much, or maybe you were just being emotional, you didn’t know which it was and you didn’t really care all that much. However, you did know that it would be incredibly embarrassing to break down in the middle of town; you were already known as the new city stallion that had no bits, no home, and liked to hit on every mare he saw, you didn’t want to be known for random emotional breakdowns as well.

You made a mental note to pick up some paper and ink on the way home from the library, you had about a month worth of letters to write.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

*Bang*

*Bang*

*Bang*

Your hoof strikes the heavy oak door leading into the library, you didn’t really know if Twilight would appreciate you just barging in. The unicorn did run a public building after all, but it also doubled as her home, you figured it was a better idea just to knock. Your ear twitches as you hear the distinct sound of movement on the other side of the door, what you guessed was someone coming down the steps.

That must be Twilight now. You think, it would only be a matter of moments before she unlocked the door and stuck out her…small… scaly…head…wait what? Your jaw hangs slack and you feel your head tilt to the right as you examine the tiny creature standing before you, you’d never quite seen anything like it. It’s tiny body was supported by two stubby legs, the green spikes on its head wobble back and forth as it moves around, its lips are pulled back to reveal two rows of shiny white teeth, it’s big round eyes staring back at you from inside the doorway, giving you a rather dirty look.

“Hey, if you take a picture it’ll last longer pal.” The creature says dryly, snapping you out of your trance.

“Oh um, I’m very sorry.” You reply sheepishly. “Is Twilight Sparkle home?”

The purple creature shakes its head. “You just missed her, she ran down to Sugarcube Corner to grab a bite to eat.”

Damn, seemed like it’d be just a little longer before you could get your hooves on that book. “Oh, any idea when she’ll be back?”

The scaly creature gives you a strange and insinuating look. “No, why, are you gonna ask her out or something?”

You repress a laugh, it was a cute little implication, but you only had eyes for one mare in Ponyville. “No, no, I’m taken. I was just hoping to check out a book that’s all, but I guess I can come back later.”

“That’s all? Well I can do that for you if you want.” He says, opening the door a little wider and ushering you inside. “Come on in.”

“Oh alright then.” You say, quickly stepping into the spacious library, shutting the door behind you with a quick flick of your hind leg.

“What book is it you want?” He asks, heading over towards the desk to your right, hopping onto a stool opening a thick logbook of some kind, you figure it’s probably a list of what books the library has in stock.

“Well it’s the second Daring Do novel, the first was Curse of the Crimson Crystal, so I’d imagine it would just be that with a part two at the end or something.”

The creature’s claws start flipping through the book, and you can hear some of the old pages crinkle and crackle at the disturbance, a few moments go by as he searches before he speaks again. “You lucked out pal; Rainbow Dash just returned it a couple days ago.” The logbook closes with a snap and he hops out of the chair, heading towards one of the many filled bookshelves at the far end of the library. He returns with a thick hardback in his clawed hand, holding it up for you to take.

You bend down and secure the book between your teeth, smiling with satisfaction at the knowledge that you’d finally know what the actual conclusion to Daring’s first adventure would be. You set the book aside, smiling down at the scaly guy in front of you.

“Hey, thanks a lot er-”

“Spike, my name’s Spike.” You feel as if a light is turned on inside of your head as he says that name, and you recall Rarity telling you about Twilight Sparkles personal assistant, you feel like kicking yourself for not realizing this sooner.

“Oh, so you’re Twilight’s personal assistant right?” You ask.

“Yup,” Spike responds with a shake of his head. “Twilight hatched me from my dragon egg years ago, we’ve been together ever since.”

Oh, so he was a dragon? You suppose that makes sense, though you would never of guessed, you’d never seen a dragon in real life, you’d read about them in books and seen a picture or two but they’d always struck you as giant hulking beasts, Spike must have been rather young, at least in dragon years.

“I can see that she’s stocking up.” You say, motioning towards the gigantic stack of tomes you’d spotted upon entry.

Spike’s eyes follow your gaze and he lets out a wistful sigh. “Yeah, Twilight always wants more books.” The dragon raises a claw and holds it over his mouth, repressing a yawn. “To be honest I’d rather just put them all away right now and be done with it, I haven’t managed to get a wink of sleep for two whole weeks.”

Your eye wanders over towards the empty bookshelf, and a smile spreads across your face as an idea comes to mind, Spike seemed like a nice kid, maybe you could give him a hoof?

“Well, how about you and I do it?” You suggest. “Twilight wouldn’t mind would she?”

Spike seems slightly surprised by your suggestion, his clawed hand wandering up to rub at his chin as he ponders the idea. “No, so long as we organized them correctly I’m sure it’d be fine, we’ll have to nail that shelf in first though. That’s the whole reason she won’t let me do it by myself, it’d be too dangerous for me to go crawling all over it without somepony there to make sure everything’s alright.”

You nod. “Well if you’ve got the tools I’ll do it.”

Spike smiles, happy with the idea that Twilight would be pleased to see the new shelf stocked and organized by the time she returned. “Sure thing just give me a sec.”

You grin as the dragon scurries upstairs, and you hear gentle scraping noises as his tiny clawed feet slide across the hard wooden floor, maybe it would be good idea for Twilight to put in some carpet, Spike’s claws must be murder on the sheen. A few quiet moments pass by as Spike digs around for the necessary materials upstairs, during this time alone you find yourself wandering over towards the bookshelf, eyeing it over curiously. It was tall, huge even, big enough to hold dozens more books than the ones Twilight had set aside. You also realize that the purple unicorn was right to keep Spike away from it, had he gotten a little too curious the shelf would have been large enough to squish him flat.

He’d wind up as a dragon pancake. You think, repressing an inward chuckle as you picture what a dragon pancake might look like, then the strangeness of the situation finally hits you, you were about to help a dragon, organize a bookshelf. You had to assume that not many ponies could make a claim like that, even if it was a rather dull claim in and of itself.

Yep, just organizing a bookshelf with a dragon…what could possibly go wrong?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Hlokay, thlat thould do ith.” You speak around the hammer lodged in your mouth, cautiously making your way down the ladder you and Spike had propped up against the bookshelf. You’d just finished pounding in the last nail, and it was time to start organizing.

You spit the hammer out onto the floor, feeling around your mouth with your tongue as the dirty taste of the wooden handle is left behind, that was one problem with being an earth pony, in order to complete pretty much any task you had to wrap your mouth around something unpleasant.

“Gee, tasted that bad?” Spike asks from where he stood near the stack of books, he was currently busy lining books up in the correct order, so he could hand them up to you without long waits in between each book.

You stick out your tongue and run it along your right leg, trying to rub the taste away. “Well, it wasn’t tasty that’s for sure.” You reply after finishing.

“Yeah I bet, how does your kind even function anyway?” Your eyebrow raises as you give the young dragon a questioning look, it wasn’t like racism was a big deal in Equestria, but the insinuation that you couldn’t get on with day to day tasks due to being an earth pony wasn’t exactly pleasant. Spike seems to pick up on some of your negative vibes and is quick to change his tone. “I didn’t mean it like that! I was just curious like, how do you earth ponies and Pegasi even, ya know, comb your mane and stuff?”

Your half tempted to say something rude in response, but you know that Spike didn’t really mean anything offensive. And you’re about to tell him that all it takes is a little extra hoofwork, before he looks up from the stack of books and frowns.

“Eh, maybe I’m asking the wrong guy.” You feel a touch of embarrassment crop up as your haphazard mane is once again brought to the forefront of your attention.

“Alright kid enough with the comments.” You tell him playfully, having no intention of upsetting him but still letting him know you’d had enough of his insinuations. “Are we ready to start stocking this thing or what?”

Spike gives the stack a quick once over, checking to see if anything was out of place. “Looks good, okay let’s start with the bottom rows here, then one of us can climb up while the other hands them books.”

You nod, sounded like a good enough plan to you. A few minutes of silence go by as you and Spike focus solely on the task at hoof, but eventually the cloud of silence growing around the pair of you becomes a little too oppressive, so you take it upon yourself to help break the ice a little, Spike seemed as good as any other kid, despite being a dragon, and you didn’t see any harm in getting to know him.

“So Spike, been in Ponyville long?”

You can see him nod out of the corner of your eye. “Yep, been a couple years since Twilight and I came here from Canterlot, what about you? Twilight and I go out quite a bit and I don’t recall ever seeing you anywhere.”

You pick up another book and put it on the shelf before responding. “I’m pretty new in town, moved here from Manehattan a couple months ago.”

Spike looks over at you with a somewhat surprised expression on his face. “Manehattan? Really? My friend Applejack’s been to Manehattan before, is it true what she says?”

You chuckle. “Well I suppose that depends, what does she say?” You couldn’t imagine a country pony like Applejack had anything all that flattering to say about a big city like Manehattan, you’d seen it a couple times before, a country colt or filly would show up on vacation and be completely out of their element, it just wasn’t what they were used to.

“Well she says that everypony there is a stuck up high class brownnoser, whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

You repress a laugh. “Yeah well, she’s not necessarily wrong; it all just depends on who you’re hanging out with.” You couldn’t think of any old friends that fit that, colorful, description but you’d been to enough high class parties to know that Applejack wasn’t totally off.

“I suppose.” Spike responds, stepping back to admire the now filled bottom shelves. “So, you wanna climb the ladder? Or should I?”

You contemplate it for a moment, it was pretty high up, and you’d feel pretty bad if Spike hurt himself by falling from it, you had no idea how hardy dragons were but he was still a kid. “No, I’ll do it, just make sure you don’t bump the ladder or anything, it’s pretty high up and I don’t know if those nails will hold if we tug on the shelf too much.”

It doesn’t take long for you to make your way up the ladder, and you find yourself thinking that it would be most unfortunate if you were to fall, and the opening line of your mother’s letter filters back into your mind, buzzing around in your thoughts like an unwanted fly, you tried shaking it away, after all it was probably just you being a superstitious idiot…but then again, that is what you thought the last time.

A couple more minutes of silence go by as you and Spike stock the rest of the bookshelf, after you fill in the next couple rows your forced to climb even higher to reach the ones above, and you feel a somewhat unsettling pit in your stomach as you get higher, you don’t seem to recall ever having a fear of heights, but…something about this just makes you uneasy. And you’re grateful for the distraction when Spike decides to pipe up again.

“So, tell me something.” He starts, holding up another book for you to take, as you were forced to go higher up the ladder so was he, and he was now using both his stubby tail and a claw to hang down from the lower rungs so he could reach the stack of books below. It didn’t necessarily strike you as the safest thing, but you couldn’t think of any other feasible way for him to reach. At least there weren’t many books left.

“How exactly do you know Twilight?” The dragon asks curiously as you take the book from his claw. “You knew that I was her assistant before I told you, and you know that she runs the library, but I don’t recall ever seeing you visit before.”

You place the book in your hoof on the shelf before responding. “Well, we aren’t really all that close or anything.” You explain, reaching down and taking another book from his claw, and putting it away shortly after. “We’ve only spoken once, and you must not have been here.”

“Hm, must have been when she sent me on some errands or something.” The dragon puts a claw up to his chin in thought. “She’s been having me do that quite a bit recently come to think of it…”

“Must have been, we spoke when I was running around town for my marefriend.” That last word brought a smile to your face, it still felt great being able to call Rarity that.

“Really? Who’s your marefriend?”

You feel a smile come on as sweet thoughts of Rarity filter into your mind. “Oh, you probably know her actually; she and Twilight are good friends.”

“You don’t say…” Was that suspicion in Spike’s voice? You couldn’t really tell. “Who is it? I know Applejack got a new coltfriend recently, but you don’t exactly seem like her type.”

“No it’s not Applejack.” You answer with a chuckle. “She said you help her out every once and while, down at Carousel Boutique, ring any bells?”

“R-Rarity?” Spike’s voice doesn’t sound quite right, but you fail to notice the shake in his voice, too busy daydreaming about Rarity and how great it was with her.

“Yep, lucky me huh? Who’d of thought that a mare as magnificent as her would be willing to date a stallion like me, right Spike?”

There’s no answer. “Spike?”

Still no answer, you find yourself wondering if something is wrong. You crane your neck backwards to see what Spike’s doing. “Spike are you all ri-OH BUCK!” You suddenly feel the wooden ladder yanked out from beneath you! Your hind legs meet with nothing but air as your front legs slam onto the top of the bookcase, desperately clinging to the hard polished wood in an attempt to keep from falling.

You search around frantically to try and locate Spike; right now he was the only one that could help you! “Spike, Spike! I need help!” You look over just in time to see the front door slam shut, and you can hear the padding of tiny feet as your only hope dashes away. Had Spike really just left you on your own?

*creeeeek* The noise causes your ear to twitch and a shock of ice cold worry to shoot through your spine. You don’t think that those nails can hold a full grown earth pony…Your hind legs frail about frantically as you try to gain a hoof hold on one of the shelves, maybe if you were careful enough you could climb down. There’s several loud smacks from the floor below as you kick books off of the shelves, Twilight probably wouldn’t be happy when she sees this, but you imagine Rarity will be even more so if your killed by a toppling bookshelf.

“Agh! Foal of a bitch!” You swear aloud, proper Equestrian etiquette the farthest thing from your mind at the moment, your aggravation brought on from your lack of an ability to get a decent hoof hold, and the constant creeks and groans of the straining wood do nothing to alleviate your sense of panic.

Finding no other viable solution, and knowing full well you didn’t have much time, you cast a despairing look down below. If you were gonna make it out of this one…you’d have to take a chance.

One…

Two…

Three…

“AAAAAH OOF!” Your frightened scream morphs into a wheeze of pain as your back comes into contact with the hard wooden floor of the library, white hot pain shooting up and down your entire body as a resounding smack is heard throughout the desolate room.

Your eyes screw shut and hot salty tears run down your face in rivulets as your foggy mind tries to register through the pain, desperately fighting to remain conscious. In the distance there’s a sound you can’t quite make out, but it seems to be growing ever louder…you can’t move your legs and everything hurts…why did that damn bookshelf have to be so bucking big? And where was Spike? Did he run off on purpose? Was he the one that pulled the ladder out from under you?

These are the thoughts running through your mind as you lie upon the floor. Scared and in extreme pain as the fog in your mind starts to ebb away, your mind becoming clearer by the minute as you slowly grow used to the pain. As the sheer agony coursing through your legs and back become slightly more tolerable you find yourself able to open your eyes just a sliver.

And you immediately wish you couldn’t…you can see the bookshelf beginning to teeter, books falling from its shelves as it starts to careen through towards the ground. And you realize…that you might not make it through this.

Your eyes close, and you let the tears flow freely. You manage to say one last thing. “Rarity…I love you.”

Then the bookshelf falls…and your world fades to black.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A/N sorry this took so long everyone, but I was really struggling with finding free time to write, anyway I hope you enjoy this, and I’m sorry about the slightly screwed up ending, but I can guarantee that ‘you’ are not dead. As always comment, like, dislike, critique all that good stuff, I really appreciate every bit of feedback I get.

Comments

[Nexodas]

I find it mildly ironic that the main character goes on a mild rant about cliffhangers right before you slap us with one.

Kind of cruel to see Spike act like that though, but he must be fairly upset. Looking forward to seeing this develop.

[JeremyPunk]

Spike's actions are going to cause the switch on Twilight from Normal, past Insane, to "What in the living fuck have you unleashed upon us all".

[junkers1337]

Damn Spike! Didn't expect the little dragon to get all bloodthirsty when he found out Rarity had been taken.

[The Sentient Cloud]

YES! New chapter = Happiness!
...
And now Spike's... thrown a bit of a shit-fit, apparently.
And a cliffhanger.

My happiness. 'Tis gone.
Anyway, good chapter.

A few errors I spotted:
'Hide nor Hare' should be 'Hide nor Hair'.
Rarity references the Cakes as having had children when discussing baby-clothes. (Also, baby-clothes might need to be changed as well.)
A few changes from present to past tense. Nothing all that major.

I might have missed some other stuff... but it hardly matters with a chapter of this size.

[Paladin Redflare]

RARITY! I'M COMING TO GET YOU!

[Nightsflash]

Unacceptable, intolerable, impossible, just…just no! This couldn’t be, it couldn’t end this way! Not like that! There had to be more, it couldn’t just cut off, there was so much left unexplained, so many threads that needed tying up!

somehow i was sure i needed that phrase as soon as i read it.. i really liked it and saw some complications coming as soon as "I" decided to go to the library.. that wasnt what i expected though..
i hope you wont let us hanging for too long

[Werdna]

So he... Err... I, rather, ate something that wouldn't exactly be considered food...
I wonder what that could be!
:P
Anyhow, great continuation to an already great story. I will say though that when I first read your story, the ending of the previous chapter was done in such a way that it left me thinking that there was nothing more to say; perfect night and a happy ending (no pun intended). I was a bit surprised when i gradually learned that you did indeed plan to write more, and having read this, am quite happy that you did. No need to apologize for the waiting time, as this update was well worth it. Looking forward to the next segment, so keep up the awesome work!

[Dr rockso]

ERMAHGERD

[Emerulf]

...Is this where the story takes a really dark turn? Where like, everything somehow goes wrong for our protagonist after his lucky streak?

Oh dear.

[Zoom zoom]

So last chaperon and thus we only see what happens in your next story right?

[Sonic Flameboom]

Holy shit your writing amazes me every update! And don't worry about how long it takes you to write, 2 to 3 weeks (assuming the dates on the chapters are correct) is worth waiting for a 14 thousand word chapter of this quality! Just to let you know this tops my list (on my userpage) of "Top stories I'm following" and I can tell you it'll be at least second on my "Top Favourites" list when it is complete.

1216857 Good point! (The cliffhanger that is) Now that you mention that it is rather ironic.

[The Drifting Bard]

I like to point out for the record... ow my spleen

[gmoneywalker]

1217058 Thanks, I'll fix those here in a bit. I'm glad you liked it.

[gmoneywalker]

1216857 Yeah, I threw in the bit about cliffhangers because I really hate them, but I felt like this needed to be updated real bad, so I was forced to do one, I guess the mild rant was like me fuming inside of the chapter.

[gmoneywalker]

1217148 I'm glad you enjoyed it, I'll try and get an update done as soon as I can. But school you know...'tis time consuming.

[gmoneywalker]

1217454 I wouldn't say it's going to be really dark or anything, the protagonist will still have his shots of happiness here and there I assure you.
1217280 Glad you enjoyed! To be honest I was tempted to end the story with that last chapter, but I felt like there was a lot more I needed to do with this story before I could really call it done, my goal so far has been to make a second person fic where the protagonist has a little more depth than you typically see. Again, I appreciate it.

[gmoneywalker]

1217489 Hey thanks, I really appreciate it! It really means a lot to me to know you enjoy it so much.

[Some Other Guy]

Oh wow, what a coincidence. The first chapter of the fic I'm writing at the moment involves a big heavy bookshelf squashing the protagonist flat, but you apparently beat me to the punch.

In other news; FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MOAR.

[Froget]

Found an error: "...Twilight probably wouldn’t be happy when she sees this, but you imagine Rarity will be even more so if your killed by a toppling bookshelf."
It should be you're.
Anyway, great story, I'm looking forward to seeing more.

[Rune Dancer]

You sir, are a buckin genius. Still, Cliffhangers are evil and you know it. but none the less i cannot wait for the next chapter. You sir, get a mustache

[Silent Storms]

Read this story last night, you've done a great job so far. Looking forward to more good sir!

[IAmTheBestPony]

We meet again cliffhanger

[Wimbula]

I had to make an account just to say that this was an awesome read.

Hoping we can get more soon.

[freakycrawler]

I get the slight feeling "I" won't be walking this off with just one or two broken bones

[OverWatcher]

It's been a long time

[Rainbow|Dash]

Buckin. Cliffhangers.

[-Jak-]

YESSSS!!!!! Ive been waiting for a new chapter for so long.

[Gammer14]

It was a cliffhanger…the book ended…on a bucking cliffhanger.
Gah... I hate cliff hangers. But, all that aside great chapter can't wait for the next one

[SliQster]

Very good, as always. I really, really like this story. Hope to see moar. Oh and, take your time too! :D

[gmoneywalker]

1224179Hey thanks I appreciate it.

[gmoneywalker]

1229586 Well, compared to you or I trying to pick up a giant water tank, yeah I'd say its not really all that big of a deal

[OverWatcher]

WTF SPIKE! DOWN BOY DOWN!F

[Agarwaen]

What a little bitch, that Spike.

but I can guarantee that ‘you’ are not dead.

That's no fun.... When I write life or death cliffhangers, I make sure and start the opening scene of the next chapter with a funeral.

Still liking the story and still tolerating the grammar.

[Sky Blazer]

hide or hare

should be "hide nor hair";

Rarity’s bedroom door swings open with a creek

should have "creak" at the end;

Ahtouzoul

meaning "Ahuizotl"?;

so we took her down to the hospital and…

him and who else?;

when the traveling showmare had come to town

should state Trixie's name in there after 'showmare'

Aside from all of that, however, this was the best chapter thus far and am looking forward to more!

1230207 Oh yeah, and judging by how she STRUGGLED the whole time moving it around, I would have to say it IS kind of a big deal.

[Protege]

MOAR. Please I can't go a day without thinking about it.

[gmoneywalker]

1246571 Patience young one, it'll come. Sorry, I have pretty long update times.

[Protege]

1254321
Oh nonononono it is okay. I understand it takes a while to write perfection

[DeathCryBrony]

Loving this story, and when the Daring Do cliffhanger bit came up I thought, "Well I know how this chapter's gonna end", and I was right. Still. Loving the story.

[Rainbow|Dash]

Oh and I give you 5/5

[Rainbow|Dash]

cdn.broni.es/images/emotes/mlp-brohoof.png

[Protege]

MOAR! FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA MORE!!!!!!

[Joy Stick]

WHERES THE NEX CHAPTER!?!

[gmoneywalker]

1434128 I'm working on it sheesh, right now I'm juggling school, work, insomnia, and a new project so it's going to take a while.

[Joy Stick]

1435875
Oh, Okay

[Machiniman20]

MOAR.

[gmoneywalker]

1542801 I'm working on it buddy

[Machiniman20]

1552408
Excellent, I can't wait, sir!

[Dezrath]

If I hadn't waited so long to read this (you've already got up two other chapters) I would leave a comment about how I should have seen this coming considering how much " I " went on about that daring do cliffhanger.