That was not.
A new day dawned on Ponyville. A day that, for Apple Buck, meant getting together what he needed for a cooling crystal and deciding what would happen once he was done with the repair he needed it for. As Apple Buck finished getting dressed and grabbed his tools and bits, he took a deep breath and set off for the local enchanter.
Though the walk to the shop was one of the farthest he’d taken in a while, his mind was strangely quiet, as opposed to the day before. The trip inside the store itself was fairly nondescript: He talked with the mare at the counter; she got the crystal; he paid, thanked her and was on his way to the boutique.
It wasn’t until Apple Buck knocked on the door to Carousel Boutique that his mind started running around the stallion inside once more. Apple Buck managed to at least push the thoughts about the repair he had to finish to the front of his mind before Elusive answered the door, welcoming the earth pony in with a bit of an awkward smile.
Upon stepping inside, Apple Buck felt a wave of heat hit him. About then, he looked and noticed that Elusive was actually without a shirt. Though the thought of it being for a certain reason tried to make itself known, the heat around Apple Buck was plenty reason to make sense of things.
Apple Buck soon noticed Elusive was speaking, his cheeks flushing now from more than just the heat as he tuned in finally.
“... Okay, dear? You’re being awfully quiet.”
“Oh, no, A-ah mean, yeah. Ah’m fine. Ah can see why ya need this fixed so bad, though. How’s it hotter in her3 than it is outside, anyways?”
Elusive shrugged.
“I can’t say I’m sure. I’m sure Dusk Shine could give you an answer, but all I know is that I really hope that crystal is what was needed.”
Apple Buck smiled and pulled the crystal from his bag.
“Should be, an’ it was a bit cheaper than Ah thought it’d be. Ah’ll have it fixed up in no time.”
Elusive smiled as well and nodded before turning and walking to his divan, where he sat, hoping staying still would ease the heat a little.
Scooter leaned back and sighed as Kingseeker Frampt warped his character to the Firelink Chamber. He walked towards the Lordvessel, anxious to be so close to the final boss, Gwyn. Just as he sat at the Lordvessel, however, he heard a knock on his door.
“Ugh! Who is it?”
“It’s Blitz, dude. Open the door.”
Scooter sighed.
“I’m playing a game. Didn’t I give you a key last week?”
There was a brief pause before the sound of the lock clicking. Blitz then opened the door, walking in with a slightly embarrassed smile.
“Heheh, yeah. Kinda forgot about that.”
Scooter smiled and rolled his eyes as he placed the last Lord Soul into the vessel, triggering the cutscene of the flame reaching full size and of the gates beyond it opening. Rainbow Blitz looked on with an amused smirk.
“Wow. Havel’s kit? Really, Scoots?”
The older pegasus took a seat beside Scooter, who made his way down the steps on the way to the Kiln of the first flame, only to stop reflexively and raise his shield at the ghosts of Black Knights walking by. Blitz’s smirk only grew.
“First time seeing this, I take it? Don’t waste a curse. They can’t hurt you and you can’t hurt them. Just worry about the not-so-ghost-like ones between you and Gwyn.”
“You sure they won’t attack me?”
“Look, I know I fuck with you a lot when you’re playing, but I get the feeling you’ve been screwed over enough by this game, like most who played it were by this point.”
Scooter hesitated for a moment before walking down the rest of the steps and seeing the Kiln before him. The scene of ash, of iron pillars melted back as though they’d seen an explosion, of no enemies in sight, was something that Scooter took a moment to take in. Thankfully for him, his character was in hollow form, which meant he did, indeed, have time to enjoy the level before him.
Soon, Scooter began making his way down the wide path.
“So, what’s kept you so busy lately? We’ve hung out, like, twice in the past two weeks.”
Blitz shrugged.
“Well, I’ve been having to train a bit more lately.”
“You sure you weren’t just drinking?”
“Hey, look, when you have to deal with Elusive’s random stallion problems, you’d be tempted to drink too.”
Scooter chuckled, remembering the day prior.
“Yeah, instead I’ve just gotta deal with AB’s.”
Blitz cocked his head a bit, looking at Scooter, whose character just reached the bridge of iron walkways.
“Huh, I thought he was into mares. If anything I figured Silver Bell would take after his brother.”
“Nah, Silv’s straight as a board. AB just isn’t good with relationship stuff. Apparently somepony kissed him on accident yesterday. He wanted my advice, so I just told him to kiss the stallion back if he liked him. Then he kinda mumbled something and left.”
This time Blitz was the one to laugh.
“Wow, seriously? Talk about timing. The thing Elusive was all strung out over yesterday was accidentally kissing some stallion.”
The two bursted into laughter, which almost caused Scooter’s character to die to a black knight wielding a large poleaxe. He recovered in time to avoid falling off and managed to best the knight.
“Hey, nice going. What level are you?”
“My SL is two-ten.”
“Oh, yeah, your first time.”
“Hey, I had to face Nito without a divine weapon. Cut me some slack.”
Blitz chuckled, some of what was said earlier playing over in the back of his head as Scooter finally reached the fog wall before Gwyn.
“Okay, so the usual strategy for Gwyn is to parry him. Think you can do that?”
“Parrying? A boss?”
“Yeah, he’s the only one I know of that you can do it to, but the first attack is usually easy for a start.”
“Psh, this’ll be easy then.”
Scooter entered the boss battle to see Gwyn charging after him before leaping nearly half-way across the huge room. Scooter managed to time the first parry well and got the riposte with no problem, taking nearly half of Gwyn’s health down. The battle went on for a while longer, as the rest of Gwyn’s attacks proved a little more difficult to work with, but soon Scooter learned the pattern and managed another riposte. After that, Scooter went in for a quick finish, tanking a hit that nearly killed him before taking out the last of Gwyn’s health.
The two stallions cheered at the victory. Scooter walked to the bonfire in the center of the room. He took a deep breath, taking in the moment before hitting A and linking the flame.
As the end cutscene played, Blitz’s expression slowly grew confused. As soon as it was over, he fell against the back of the couch.
“Hey, Scoots?”
“Hmm?”
“You, uh, you think maybe there’s somethin’ about Buck and Lucy?”
Scooter raised a brow.
“Like what?”
“I was just thinkin’, ya know they both kinda seemed to be in the same issue on the same day. Assuming they talked to us on the day it happened.”
“... Yeah?”
“Well, do you think it’s just luck that it happened, or do you think it’s related?”
Scooter opened his mouth to speak, but soon closed it and fell back against the couch as well, thinking. After a few seconds, he turned back to Blitz.
“Do you think it’s just luck?”
Blitz was quiet for a moment before his expression seemed to say he’d realized something.
“Hey, isn’t Buck your age?”
“Yeah.”
“Elusive never answered me when I asked how old the stallion he kissed was.”
Scooter looked puzzled for a moment as the gears in his head started turning. In a matter of seconds, however, his eyes went wide.
“Holy balls!”
Elusive finished pouring a second glass of lemonade before stepping out of his kitchen. He made his way back to the main room to see, once more, Apple Buck, shirtless as he worked on the conditioning unit. From the looks of it, he seemed to be nearly done. Elusive soon found himself staring a bit closer at the stallion than the day prior, looking over Apple Buck’s athletic frame in a light unlike any time before.
For once, Elusive could hardly help but admire the form before him. He would admit, if ever asked, that he observes and appreciates beauty in all its forms, whether it be sculptures, paintings, fashion, even other ponies, mares and stallions alike. What he may have been more hesitant to admit was how much he admired the still adolescent stallion in his boutique. As the thought passed through his mind, his cheeks became flushed further than what the heat had done already.
Elusive did, however, manage to catch himself before Apple Buck beat him to it this time. Something he was plenty grateful for. He shook previous thoughts from his head and stepped towards the farm pony.
“How is the repair coming along, dear?”
Apple Buck finished fitting a piece Elusive couldn’t recognize into place before wiping his brow and turning.
“Jest about done, ‘Lusive. Gotta finish puttin’ it back tagether and it should work good as new.”
Elusive smiled.
“Well, that’s good to hear. Would you like to take a short break for lemonade?”
“Thank ya, but Ah’m so close Ah may as well just finish up first. If that ain’t no problem, at least.”
“Oh, of course. I suppose I should have fixed you some earlier for you to take a break, hmm? Well, the tray will be over here when you’re finished. I’ll fix us something to eat. It’s the least I could do.”
Apple Buck chuckled.
“Well, a bite ta eat does sound mighty good about now. Ah won’t turn it down if it ain’t any trouble for ya.”
“Oh, none at all, dear. It’ll be ready in a minute.”
“Thank ya kindly.”
With that, Elusive set the tray on his coffee table and went to fix lunch. Apple Buck turned back to his work and finished putting the unit back together before closing it up. It took a good ten seconds before it started up, but afterwards it seemed to be working as it should. With a final nod to himself, Apple Buck put away his tools and walked to the table a few meters away. He lifted the filled glass and took a few gulps of lemonade before giving a relieved sigh.
With the repair done and the weight of the heat lifted some, however, Apple Buck found fewer things holding his mind where it needed to be. Before long, he found old thoughts about the unicorn only a room away returning, as well as the question Scooter had indirectly put in front of him: Did he like Elusive like that? With that came even more questions. If he did, what was he supposed to do about it? Should he wait until he was eighteen? Should he just walk in and kiss the stallion?
Apple Buck stopped himself there, mentally cursing himself. Here he was thinking about what he should do as though an older stallion had any reason liking him the same way. He was treating the situation like his own feelings were more important. Though he wasn’t sure when throughout his thoughts it’d happened, Apple Buck tuned back into the world around him to find himself looking at the stallion he was just thinking about.
Elusive was fixing lunch when the air conditioning had been fixed, so he was still without a shirt. Apple Buck had never looked too closely at another stallion before, but he couldn’t find much reason to look away at this moment. He had to admit that, for a tailor, Elusive was definitely fit. It made some sense he would be. A pony worried about looks would most likely be worried about their body as well, and Elusive apparently took good care of his.
While it’s true Elusive wasn’t muscular like Apple Buck or his older brother, or even on par with Rainbow Blitz, he wasn’t just skin and bone. Elusive was slim, sure, but, if anything, it only helped define the subtle tone of his muscles. It wasn’t hard for anypony that looked close enough to see why Barb, or anypony else, for that matter, might find him so attractive. Late adolescent hormones may have helped that much along, but weren’t making it any easier for Apple Buck to find a good reason not to try something.
As Elusive finished up himself, Apple Buck finally snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the side, taking another drink of lemonade. The unicorn turned only moments later with another tray, this one holding two plates of chopped fruit and vegetables instead of now one empty glass and a pitcher of lemonade. Elusive set the second tray by the first and took a seat on the divan.
“You can have a seat, too, if you want. I don’t expect you to stand while you eat.”
Apple Buck’s cheeks grew warmer, finally entirely from something other than the now fading heat. He gave a nervous chuckle before taking a seat beside Elusive, who handed the earth pony a plate before pouring his own glass of lemonade.
The two sat quietly as they ate, the boutique around them steadily cooling down to reasonable temperatures all the while. Both stallions were off in their own thoughts, each troubled over what to think about the other, as well as what the other thought about him.
Elusive finally came to a decision to speak around finishing half of his plate.
“If you wouldn’t mind too terribly, I think we should talk about yesterday.”
Apple Buck swallowed, despite having nothing in his mouth at the moment. He hesitated for a moment.
“Ya mean the kiss?”
“Well, yes. I just wanted to be sure you weren’t upset about it or anything. It wasn’t anything intentional.”
Apple Buck was silent for a moment more, but soon decided to take a chance.
“Ah ain’t upset. Ah know ya didn’t mean to, but…” he paused for a moment before regaining his nerve, “well, Ah didn’t exactly mind it.”
Elusive froze for a moment. He blinked, unsure whether or not he’d heard correctly.
“Excuse me? I, erm, I don’t believe I heard you quite right.”
“Ah said Ah didn’t mind it. Ah mean, ya are pretty, er, Ah mean, pretty attractive. It ain’t like Ah can’t see that. All Ah’m sayin’ is that Ah didn’t mind that ya wound up kissin’ me. Ah don’t think Ah’d mind too much if ya did it again, either.” Apple Buck blushed, unsure if he’d been too bold.
Elusive was silent for a moment, something that only made Apple Buck more nervous for a time. Elusive thought about the situation and soon decided it was a worthwhile risk. He took a breath, quietly.
“So, you mean if I were to, say, actually kiss you…?”
“Ah wouldn’t mind a bit.”
A beat passed before Elusive looked to Apple Buck, who had already looked over himself. The two looked into each other’s eyes for a moment before they both leaned in, their lips pressing softly against the other’s. The kiss was longer than the one prior, but still only lasted for a few seconds.
As the two pulled away, they looked to one another once more and smiled. They pulled each other into a hug. Their embrace ended at the same moment they found out that the door had remained unlocked, as they heard a synchronized chorus of “No fucking way!”
Elusive and Apple Buck nearly leapt out of their hides as they pulled back and looked towards the door to Blitz with his jaw slack and Scooter looking like he’d won the lottery.
“Ha! I fucking told you! You are so paying for my pre-order now.”
“What? But, but, what?!”
Scooter laughed and turned to Apple Buck.
“Fuck yeah, finally got a coltfriend, AB.”
“S-s-scoots? What the hay is goin’ on here?”
“Huh? Oh, Blitz came over a while ago and told me about his talk with Elusive yesterday. I mean, we probably shoulda figured it out a bit quicker, but we eventually pieced it together. But dude! Nice catch.”
Scooter ran, practically leaping toward his friend before hugging him. He then leaned close and whispered, “Seriously though, nice. He looks like a catcher too.”
“Scooter!”
Scooter leaned back, more or less sitting in Apple Buck’s lap.
“What? I’m just saying.”
Elusive finally found his ability to speak and move. He instantly covered his torso as best he could.
“What have I told you about just barging in here?”
Blitz turned to Elusive, disbelief still evident on his face.
“Hey, we closed the door when we came in. Besides, I just walked in on you kissing and hugging all over Applejack’s little brother.”
Apple Buck’s eyes widened at that.
“Whoa, ya can’t tell mah brother! He’ll kill me.”
Scooter smirked.
“Tch, I think he’ll go after your coltfriend first.”
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The lesson here: ALWAYS lock the door
Hey! Havel's armor is awesome!
That aside, two things that are mostly unrelated: 1, good chapter. 2, how tough is Gwyn if you don't parry/riposte him?
4064944 Yes, Havel's is awesome, I just remembered my reaction when I saw someone enter the kiln in Havel's. Also:
1) Thank you.
2) It depends on your fighting style and your efficiency with it. If you intend to tank his blows, you probably want to have on full giants+5 and the fire stoneplate ring. Unless, of course, you also intend to use a spear, in which case, just grab good armor, get Havel's greatshield, Ornstein's spear if you managed to take super-Orns last, Silver Knight Spear if not, and just poke him to death.
Just, you know, watch out for the grab. That think has nearly killed me time and time again.
4066418 Huh. So, beating him in 3 attempts using Havel's Armor and two-handing the Black Knight Sword is worth at least a decent amount of bragging rights?
4066651 Likely more than beating him in five with a mage build wherein I only use an Enchanted Great Scythe +5 and full Black Knights.
4067445 Also, I used Keyboard and Mouse.
4068435 *ecstatic and thunderous applause*
Love the awkward build-up to this whole situation. Having the younger ones just burst in like that was pretty funny as well
You go into a decent amount of description when relaying your characters' thoughts, I notice. Although, despite there being a lot of nicely done description, it didn't feel like a whole lot really happened in this chapter.
The dark souls thing didn't really feel that necessary. I know it's like your favourite game atm, but putting as much emphasis on it as you did kinda drew me out of the story. Then again, perhaps I just didn't care for it because I'm not a DS fan.
Welp, one more to go, see you again soon.