The Formula for Love

by MegaTJ

Time for Work

Time for Work

Linen slowly rolled out of his bed. He was so stiff and tired from tossing and turning in what seemed an endless sleepless night. It was an hour before he was even supposed to get up, but the anxiety was too much for him to stay in bed. He just had to get up and do something, anything. He settled with getting ready for the day. He groggily walked down the staircase to the floor below. He yawned, nearly falling down the last few steps.

The whole house was quiet, a sure sign that Cotton still had yet to wake up. The thought of the little colt made Linen’s heart jump. He would have to leave his brother alone for the day! From the kitchen door he levitated a small clipboard with a list taped to it. Seeing that he had yet to entail it, Linen tiredly wrote a note to find Cotton a sitter. It just had to be Saturday. He knew Cotton was mature enough to care for himself, but he couldn’t help but worry what would happen by leaving Cotton unsupervised. He was sure Ponyville was a very safe place, but they were both still new to the town. The thought didn’t run through his mind the day before, but Cotton could easily get lost. He had mentally slapped himself for that mistake.

“I wonder if Rarity is in possession of a map”, he pondered to himself. He had taught Cotton how to read them and it would bring him much relief if he could give one to the little colt.

The kitchen was much cooler than the rest of the house, causing a chill to run through Linen’s thin frame. He shivered violently. “I-I must see to it t-that the i-installation is p-properly installed”, he chattered. He walked aimlessly through the room in an attempt to warm up. On his third lap he noticed that he had adjusted to the temperature and was no longer shivering.

With the annoyance no longer a factor, Linen set out to prepare for the day ahead. The second checklist he made hung on the wall next to the back door of the house. He levitated it over and, to his misfortune, saw that there wasn’t much at all to do but get ready for his first day of work. He huffed in frustration. He was going to be so bored for the next hour. There was nothing, absolutely nothing for him to do until Cotton woke up. Then a thought struck him.

“Instead of waiting for Cotton to wake up before starting breakfast”, he said to the kitchen, “He’ll wake to breakfast!” He opened the refrigerator, once again thanking Princess Luna that somepony had filled it—and the rest of the kitchen’s cabinets and the pantry—with fresh food. Since he started the tour yesterday, he kept finding more and more surprise he guessed that Roseluck had set up for his arrival. Another one presented itself when he discovered that there were pots and pans in the cupboards and drawers. Holding a pan out in front of him, he said to himself, “I must do something in return for Roseluck’s kindness. But what could even so much as equal her gestures?”
He cracked an egg as he mulled over ideas. It wasn’t much longer before his kitchen was alive with the sizzling and simmering of breakfast. In only six minutes, Linen had four pans on the stove and was mixing batter for waffles. It was no wonder why he was grateful for the fact that he could multi-levitate on a large scale. It made life so much easier for him.
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Cotton rolled over and over in the bed in the spare bedroom. If he wasn’t so lazy, he would have been up three hours ago, when he first woke up. His logic was that, if there was no reason, there was no getting out of bed. But that didn’t include sitting up to read. He hurriedly grabbed the comic book that Scootaloo had given him the day before from the nightstand and opened it in his lap. To his dismay there was no source of light in his dark room. The little colt groaned in frustration. He remembered one time when Linen had used a spell to make his horn light up like a candle, but was unsure if he could do it or not. He was very afraid of hurting himself trying out magic that was too advanced for him. A fight broke out in his head about whether or not he should try to give himself at least enough light to read.
The mental battle never came to a conclusion. The smell of pancakes drifted into his nose, making his belly growl loudly. He rubbed his dissatisfied organ. When it became clear it didn’t want to stop, he huffed, and then jumped down from his bed. He grabbed his comic and left the room. Upon opening the door, Cotton’s nose was welcomed with even more smells of breakfast. Eggs, toast, even the orange juice floated into his nostrils!

The scents of the soon-to-be-devoured meal almost lifted him into the air to pursue them. He hastily made his way down the stairs and through the living room. Poking his head around the corner, he peered into the kitchen and saw Linen hovering over the stove. The bigger colt looked like he was really busy with making breakfast. Cotton took advantage of Linen’s distraction and slipped into the chair farthest from the stove. Carefully and silently, he opened his book in front of him to the last page he left off.

He managed to flip through a few more pages before the book magically snapped shut and was levitated away to be replaced with a plate full of all of his favorite breakfast foods. He looked up to see a very bright smile in his face.

“Good morning, Cotton!”

“Good morning, Big Brother!”

“I must say, I’m surprised that—” Linen didn’t finish his sentence, for Cotton couldn’t postpone eating any longer. Linen watched him eat, somewhat amused to see his brother scarfing down all of his hard work. It didn’t matter though; he found it well worth the time. The scene brought a feeling of satisfaction to Linen.

He sighed in contempt, then made his way to his own seat to enjoy his homemade oatmeal. Breakfast lingered on in silence. That is, neither of them talked. There was plenty of noise as Cotton’s mouth plowed through food that his brother had given him.

Linen’s thoughts, however, were no longer on breakfast. He had so much on his plate of life that he wasn’t sure he could handle it all. I must enroll Cotton in school, as well as find a way to keep him out of trouble out of school…To add to it, I also have my own issues to tend to… It was becoming increasingly more difficult to maintain track of all that life was currently throwing at him.

“Life is life I suppose”, he said aloud. Ignoring Cotton’s “huh”, he picked up his bowl and moved to the sink, where he had piled his dirty pots and pans. Using an animation spell his mother had taught him, Linen brought the dishes to life to clean themselves. He nodded in satisfaction, and turned to see that Cotton had nearly finished his breakfast.

Bringing up an old joke, he said, “Have you even noticed the taste?”

“Haha, Big Brother”, Cotton said sarcastically, “I haven’t heard that one before.”

“In the sink with your dishes when you finish.” With that, Linen left his brother for the bathroom. He was in such a stressful situation earlier that he had almost forgotten to get freshen up for the day ahead. His mane was only—thankfully—slightly disheveled from his night in bed. His hooves, however, were frighteningly dirty from fixing breakfast. Upon looking in the mirror, Linen saw that small spots of pancake batter dotted his face. And maybe worst of all was how tired he looked from his lack of sleep. His eyes were red, and his coat was darkened somewhat. He levitated the mirror out and withdrew a small bottle of eye drops from the medicine shelf. He squeezed two drops into each eye, and replaced the bottle. His next step was to remove the filth from his face and hooves. The sink filled with sudsy water as he opened the tap and combined it with soap. He scrubbed his face and hooves vigorously, enjoying how invigorating it was. He then dried off, combed his mane, and brushed his teeth.

Linen left the room feeling refreshed and alert. The cold water washed away his sleepiness as well as the grease and grime he had accumulated. Cotton was busy reading again as Linen made it to the living room. I bet he’ll be an author one day, Linen thought as he poked his head into the kitchen to check on the cleanup process. The dishes had just finished rinsing themselves, and had placed themselves in a drying rack in the opposite sink. Linen nodded in satisfaction. “Parfait!” he chimed, using a word from ancient times.

“Big Brother?” Cotton called from the couch.

“Yes, Cotton?”

“Can I play with the Cutie Mark Crusaders while you work today?” inquired the colt.

“So long as you don’t leave Ponyville, you have my permission”, Linen replied. It made him feel better knowing that Cotton would have friends who knew the town and would keep his little brother from becoming lost. For today, he thought, I won’t have the worry of Cotton losing his way…

Cotton inwardly squealed and went back to reading his book. Linen knew better than to bother a Cotton reading session, even if it was just to play with the colt. The blue unicorn took his reading very seriously. Being a booklover himself, Linen did have his appreciation for books, but he wasn’t even in the same league as Cotton. It left the bigger pony with the new problem of satisfying boredom.

He gazed around. There was nothing to clean. Nothing to work on…and he still had an hour before he was supposed to leave for the Carousel Boutique. He sighed. “I would clean the gutters if I didn’t have a fear of heights…” he said frustratingly. He knew it wouldn’t be much longer before his body started to itch and twitch from boredom. Another glance at Cotton gave him an idea. Books! He still had some reading to catch up on! A book from his shelf became surrounded with the color of his magic aura as he levitated it over to himself.
The front of the book read:

Algebra Centurion: Volume Six
He opened the textbook to the page he marked with a quill. An inkwell levitated over from the table in the middle of the room as he took a seat on the couch adjacent to Cotton. He saw that he had left off on the binary formula and application section. He got right to work on fixing the problems that followed the lesson outline.
_____________________
At about the same time, Rarity was busy making preparations for the day of work ahead. She wasn’t very nervous about having a new hoof around the shop, although she was very, very excited. Since dinner with Linen and Cotton the previous night, she found she like the new colts very much, and that Linen was just her type of worker. Hard working, punctual, and above all, an absolute gentlecolt. She couldn’t wait to see what he could do with a few yards of fabric. Twilight had informed her that he had a very unique way of making dresses, but refused to tell her the details, insisting that Rarity would have to see it to believe it. She had also told her that Linen had given her a dress, and, upon hearing this, Rarity immediately asked Twilight to wear it in today.

The white unicorn soon noticed that there wasn’t much more to really prepare for. She did tidy up the shop to avoid any embarrassment of how she left her workspace, and that didn’t take very long. She would hate to start early but—

“Of course”, she pondered aloud, “That would be a magnificent scene for Linen to behold upon arrival!”

She was hoping to give the stallion a bit of charm when he first walked in. And who knows, she may even receive another compliment from him. The thought of Linen calling her beautiful again tickled her emotional ribs. It made her feel sort of special, having a Trottingham unicorn give her such a compliment; she had always thought their standards of beauty were very high. She had seen a few Trottingham models, and to say the least, she quite often found herself jealous. But since yesterday, she no longer felt that way. And the fact that Linen didn’t seem to hesitate made her feel slightly superior to those mares in the magazines. She giggled at the thought that she may even be Photo Finish material.

She laughed, “Perhaps I am slightly getting ahead of myself!”

None of that mattered if she couldn’t get Linen to notice her again. She gave herself one last check in the mirror before taking her place in front of the dress-wearing ponikins. Her makeup was lightly applied for this particular day. She chose a lighter shade of eye shadow, and decided to skip the lip gloss. Her hooves were still shiny from her recent hooficure, something she couldn’t—nor would she—help. And finally, instead of three puffs of perfume, she only gave herself, a single, almost puny spray of the scented mist. Twilight’s explanation of Linen’s preference for natural beauty left the Element of Generosity torn between everyday routine and impressing Linen to the highest extent. She hoped she wouldn’t regret choosing the latter.

With her reflection staring intently at her, she mused, I wonder if it’s time to begin wearing my mane differently…
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Her clock read seven fifty-five. “It’s not like anypony to knock before business hours…I wonder who could be calling so early.”

Upon opening the door, she found the infamous Vinyl Scratch, with her head low. She pushed her way inside. “Why Vinyl, I’m not expecting you until—”

“I know, I know”, Vinyl interrupted, “There’s been a slight change in plan, Rarity. I kinda need that dress like now.”

Rarity turned and led Vinyl to a door in the back of the room. “Well, I’m happy to inform you that I had finished it last night.”

“That’s great, Rarity”, the DJ said awkwardly. It was obvious she didn’t visit the Carousel Boutique very often. Her red face only further proved that fact.

Rarity pulled the door open to reveal a closet full of completed dresses. Out levitated a beautiful blue dress with white sheet music sewn into it. She gave it to the DJ.

“Thanks, Rarity”, she thanked, “Um…could you not tell anypony about this?”

“Your secret is quite safe with me”, assured Rarity. She wasn’t sure why Vinyl was being so modest, but she respected the unicorn’s wishes.
“I’m really late”, Vinyl said as she began her rush for the door. “I’ll pay ya later!”

The door slammed with Vinyl’s exit, leaving Rarity once again alone. She never minded the solitude, as it always gave her a peaceful atmosphere. Almost as soon as she began working on one of the dresses did the bell alert here that somepony had just entered the Carousel Boutique. Now her clock read eight on the dot. She hurriedly levitated a needle and spool of thread over.

Linen was confused. He was sure he had heard the bell of the shop ring, so why didn’t Rarity turn around? Perhaps she is so busy she hadn’t noticed…he thought. He crossed the room to her. It was when he was about five feet from her did she seemed to hear him behind her. She turned smoothly, shooting him a very flirtatious expression. In an instant Linen noticed every change Rarity had made to her appearance. A wild blush flew across his as he saw more of her natural beauty. She was so beautiful, that he actually fell into a slight trance. “Wow”, he breathed impulsively.

Rarity felt her insides nearly start a party inside of her. She was so flattered! “Ah, Linen! Right on time!”

Linen shook himself out of his daze. “Y-yes! I…er..always attempt to be as prompt as promptly possible!” he chuckled nervously. He gave himself a mental facehoof for his misuse of vocabulary, but Rarity didn’t notice. He gave a sigh of relief.

Rarity set her textile tools aside. “Well, now that you have arrived, I do believe you deserve a proper Carousel Boutique orientation.”
If Linen was back in Trottingham, he would have never, ever have believed he would ever hear those words. They struck him with enough happiness to almost knock in through a loop. It was so exhilarating that he had to fight a wave of magic energy from expelling from his horn. “T-that would be magnificent!” he managed to get out. His excitement delved so far that he added, “Ce serait un honneur!”

Rarity was astounded by his statement’s addition. “You speak Ancient Equine?”

Linen smiled in embarrassment. “Yes”, he answered, “I’m quite fluent. I also happen to know how to read and speak Japonies and Sirish.”

“That’s extraordinary!” Rarity exclaimed. “How in Equestria did you manage to find the time for all of the required study?”

“Back in school”, Linen explained, “I was always fascinated with the many languages of the world. I would devote whole weeks studying for fluency. Eventually, though, I eventually transitioned from language and settled for math and fashion.”

Rarity found it very weird how similar Linen and Twilight were. Well, similar in the sense of academics. She could bet her tail that Linen would faint at the possibility of failing any test. It also offset her views of him slightly. Rarity had never given time to ponies of his academic stature. She was always afraid they would bring her social status down, especially in school. She tried fighting those thoughts away, but was losing badly.

“Is something the matter?” asked Linen at the sight of Rarity’s internal struggle.

She gave her thoughts a very strong push to the back of her mind. “All is fine.” She smiled for reassurance.

Linen nodded. “Erm…shall we start the tour?” he asked.

“Why of course! We have much to do to prepare you for your first day!” Rarity chimed. She led him from the room. Hoping to leave those plaguing thoughts behind too, but unfortunately, they kept echoing around inside of her head. She guessed it would be okay if they stayed within the confines of her head. It’s not like they were going to play a major factor in life or something.

Author's Note:

Finally continued.