The Game of This
Chapter 3: The Game of This
With the roof settled and set, it certainly seemed very much like a gingerbread house.
Carrot looked to her, listened as she hummed in reflection upon the creation as it came together.
It looked like a gingerbread house, but only in the vaguest of terms. It was only so much gingerbread, held in place with thick white frosting that quickly dried and began to chip and flake.
Carrot looked past the great dollop frosting that sat upon his own nose, smiled as he heard her laughing at the way his eyes crossed to ponder it.
He watched as she quietly gathered up the next bit of their work, the thinner frosting, more decorative and better able to hold the candy and treats they would be affixing.
He let her lead, knew to let her decide how this next part would play out. Thus they played to her strengths, her decisiveness and insight. As such, they went back and forth from their own strengths, each relying on the other's talents as they had long ago learned to do…
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The spring was full now and moving into summer. As a very, very happy colt trotted through the village, he whistled to himself and barely could keep from smiling.
These weeks, these blessed, happy weeks, had been some of the best of Carrot's life.
As the weekend approached, his heart would grow fuller, know that he would soon be with her. Even the very thought that she would be visiting the mill with Ivory was enough to add bounce to his steps, drawing him quickly towards the big brick building that sat in the morning light beyond the bridge.
He would happily endure the long hours in the bagging stall if it meant that she would sit next to him during his break, that she would share the lunch that she had made for him. How happily he would whistle and hum as the afternoon wore on and on, just her presence in the building being enough to get him through the tedious work.
And then, as the whistle blew, he would quickly trot down the stairs and meet her with a nuzzle outside the office door, simply swim in the simple joy of walking her home.
Well, not home, to Ivory's. Did she even have a home? Had she lived here in Ponyville?
Carrot skidded across the bridge a touch, the bounce coming out of his step. He looked down at the river and pondered the mill wheel for a moment.
There were still things he did not know about her, things she had not told him. His face dropped as he looked at his own reflection in the pond far below. Of course she had not, he thought, why would she?
She was under no obligation, he had not told her everything either. He had let her take the lead, had hoped that she would want to let him into her life more than she had to this point. But, she had not. There were still things she was hiding from him.
Hiding? Carrot shook his head, scowled at the under-bitten colt in the waters below, the orange freckles standing out on the amber coat even as the waters shimmered below.
He wouldn't believe it… there was no reason to believe it. He trusted her, knew that she was opening herself up to him more each time they met. She nuzzled him so freely now, spoke so easily in his presence. Everything that he knew about mares, or thought he knew, told him that the promise made at the touch of their noses those two months ago was true. She did want to be with him, to be near him, just as much as he longed to be with her.
So, why was not she telling him these things?
He lifted his head, gave a snort of determination. He would deal with these things if and when the time came. He would trust her first, let her decide how it moved.
With that, the thought of looking into those rose colored eyes filled him, and these issues slipped away as he trotted over the bridge to the mill beyond.
Carrot came trotting around the mill only to discover the unusual sight of his co-workers standing back from the door. As he looked to them, he saw an expression of apprehension across their faces.
The bell in the city had not yet begun to toll out the hour, yet even though he was early as always, it was not the usual scene of happy chatting that had met him. Instead a very palpable cloud of unease hung over them.
"Hey," Carrot said, turning to Soap Suds, "what's…"
At once an audible crash resonated throughout the interior of the mill. The cacophony was quickly repeated; something large and ceramic seemed to burst apart across the windows of the large doors, flying into pieces as the staff looked on.
The doors came open, thrown wide violently, and a bellowing voice screamed invectives from within.
At once a stallion is a seersucker suit came galloping out of the mill, his eyes wide with fear. He turned, looked back, called for somepony to follow him in a voice that was alive with panic.
As he did, a briefcase struck him, thrown directly at him. As it popped open, he tripped down the stairs, landed with a cry of pain. As papers floated around him, the stallion fought to his hooves.
No sooner had he done so than another stallion landed upon him, this one having been thrown bodily from the building. He cried out in pain as he landed half upon his comrade and half upon the gravel of the walkway.
"What in the Well is wrong with you?!" the first stallion called up to the door as he tried to help his partner to his hooves, "What in the Well are you…"
He stopped, his fear now matching that which his business partner had worn only a few minutes before.
A hush fell over the assembled mill workers as a massive shadow appeared in the doorway. There, an immense, steaming, foaming stallion appeared. Rage was written across his face, and as he eyed the two businessponies, the assembly took a step backwards.
"Comin' in here all slick with fat promises and snake oil! You had a deal! A contract! You lied to him, lied!"
The words rang out, the tone of the stallion high, enraged.
"Lyin', thievin' garbage!" be bellowed.
"It's just business!" answered the first stallion to have left the building, flinging papers into the briefcase as his nose bled. His words seemed only to make the vast stallion madder and at once he began diving down the stairs, sending the two stallions running in terror through the assembled workers. As they went, the second one hobbled along, grasping at the other as they fled.
"You little piece of…" roared the stallion, rearing, scanning for them through the crowd that stepped back in fright.
"Quarry!"
Silence fell over the scene. The only sound that Carrot could make out in the hush that followed was the heaving and the gasping for breath of this immense stallion, the whispers of curses that still dripped from his lips.
"Dammit, Quarry!" called Ledger from the top of the stairs. "Every time you come around it costs me a supplier!"
The vast stallion, Quarry, lifted his head and cast his eyes over the crowd of workers. Carrot saw the muscles still twitching beneath the tan coat, saw the eyes fall over the workers who looked away or startled as he looked upon them.
Soon Quarry turned, cantered back up the steps and within as Ledger shook his head.
Moments passed. Eventually small talk broke out as the workers made their way towards the doors. Even as he was buffeted by the crowd and was carried along, Carrot tried to grab at snippets of conversations that floated around him.
"… and said that they wanted a new contract or they'd seek legal..."
"Oh Celestia, I've not been so afraid in years."
"… and Miss Ivory and her friend looked so scared."
Carrot bolted in place, his head going back and forth, searching the crowd. He did not see them, did not see the two the mares. Terrible thoughts flew through him, and at once he felt himself fighting forward through the crowd.
They were skipping the office; no pony was stopping to sign in on the timesheet. As he got nearer, he realized why there were no long, slow lines of ponies going through the practiced motion.
He fought to get into the office, literally crashed to the floor as he hurdled through the flow of workers. His hooves splayed out around him as hit the floor, as he lifted his head searching for her.
The mares were right in front of him, and as he raised himself, he attempted to gauge their expressions. Instead, all he could really do was try to grab their attention as they stared at the door to Ledger's office.
A loud voice flowed from within, and to Carrot's surprise, it was Ledger's, not that of the terrifying stallion. Carrot shook himself and spoke her name.
"Cupcake…" he called as he raised his hoof to her, some part deep within him desperate to get her away from this place.
To his utter shock and complete amazement, she simply stood still, a look of restrained worry and panic hanging over her.
Carrot floated in a world of astonishment. Why? Why would she rather stay here with the presence of the big, threatening stallion just beyond the doors than come out with him?
Did she not want to leave Ivory alone? Was she trying to stay near Ledger, did she find him safer to be with?
"Cupcake?" he asked again softly, his foreleg lifting to her, begging with her to come away from the loud voices that sounded out in the room beyond.
He saw only the fear behind her eyes, saw worry and concern hidden there, and a part of himself demanded that he stay put.
As the door to Ledger's office came open that was the part he answered.
He quickly gathered up a pencil, sought his slot on the timesheet, and began attempting to write his name with his hooves rather than gather it to his mouth… the polite way to do so with a communal item.
"I'm sorry, Ledger," came a deep voice, a powerful one that rumbled around the room. "Ya' know how I feel about… loyalty, promises. How… upset, I get when ponies break their word."
The presence of Quarry filled the room. He filled the room as though with an aura of power and barely hidden suspicion.
"I need a minute," spoke a tired looking Ledger as he closed the door to his office, sealing the two mares and the colt in the room with the huge stallion.
Silence hovered there for a moment, only the sound of the deep breaths of the stallion and Carrot scratching out his name breaking it in that uncomfortable moment.
At once came hooffalls, and soon Carrot felt the eyes of the stallion on him, felt the heavy breath crossing over his back.
Carrot fought to finish writing his name, tried his best to seem casual as he lowered the pencil back down into the tray.
"Cake, huh?" spoke the stallion, utterly ignoring any respect for Carrot's personal space as he leaned in next him. "How long have ya' worked here, colt?"
The tone was not polite. I was an inquiry, a retrieval of information, and a part of Carrot sensed that the stallion was not looking for general conversation.
Carrot turned, looked up into the face of the stallion. "A-about four months, sir," he said, trembling a bit despite his determination not to.
"Figured that's why I don't know who the buck you are," said the stallion, dropping his voice, seeming only now to have recovered his breath. "You're one of the new crew Ledger brought in. You know how lucky you are, colt?"
"Y-Yessir, I-I do," stammered Carrot, "Mr. Ledger's been very g-good to me to g-give me this job while-while I… while I try to find something that m-matches my mark…"
The stallion stared back at Carrot for a long while. As he did Carrot felt himself becoming smaller, felt himself stepping back towards the timesheet on uncertain hooves.
Even as this stallion eyed him, Carrot could not help but notice that he was older, perhaps more than a decade older. Perhaps even two, as far as the Well knew. As the stallion kept his eyes on him, Carrot saw the look that dwelt in them. Past their searching and judging hung a look that Carrot could only describe as… hunted.
"They're good folk, Ledger and his kin," said the stallion as his breath steamed over Carrot, almost gagging him.
The stallion turned slowly. Carrot felt revulsion crawling over him as the stallion stood between him and the mares, as the stallion let a big smile cross his face.
"Good folks. Folks with a pretty daughter who's as smart as a whip," spoke the stallion, opening his mouth wide with a smile. Carrot at once wanted to leap to the mares, grab up Cupcake and Ivory too if he could and dive with them through the distant windows to safety.
The casual ease with which Quarry walked around the room, the way his eyes hung over the mares... these sent waves of panic through the colt.
"Thank-thank you," breathed Ivory as she painted a small smile.
"I'm sorry you girls saw me this way," said the stallion, turning towards the large chairs that lined the back wall of the office, "I get… upset, you know…"
Carrot watched with disgust and apprehension as the stallion laid upon the chair with a grunt, his huge hooves striking the ground with deliberate sounds.
His eyes flashed to Cupcake. She was motioning to him, begging him to move. "Go!" she mouthed. "Please!"
Carrot looked to the large stallion that made groaning sounds as he adjusted himself and then back to Cupcake with trepidation. "I don't want to leave you here, I don't want to leave you alone with…" said his eyes.
"Please…" hers replied.
It took nearly everything he could muster, but as ten thousand different parts within him begged him not to, he turned from the office and made for his bagging stall high above.
He started off at a walk, but was soon cantering… cantering the length of the mill until his hooves struck the stairs. As he stumbled up them, he let out little breaths, and inside his mind unhappy thoughts set themselves firmly.
Long hours passed, and as time sped on, Carrot simply went through the motions of his work, became an automaton. His thoughts lingered over what had transpired in the office below. Confusion drifted over him, rocked through his guts.
Press the clutch, take out the old bag, place the new one, drop the clutch, lift the bag to the slowly lifting containers and ponder why she had begged him to go. Press the clutch, take out the old bag, place the new one, drop the clutch, lift the bag to the slowly endlessly turning bins and fret over it some more.
At once the touch of a soft hoof to his outstretched leg snapped him out of his worried thoughts.
He looked down to where it lay upon him. He placed his hoof over hers without looking up, almost reflexively, as though it were the most natural act in the world.
"Oh, Carrot…"
Rose-colored eyes looked up to him, and as he stared down into them he tilted his head back and forth.
"Please, oh Carrot, please come with me. Please come with me right now…"
She pulled on him gently, looked down to where Ivory stood motioning to Trammel. As the supervisor pulled the safety once more, she guided him out of the stall, saw the questions that sat behind those green eyes.
As Trammel nodded, she led him past all of the belts and wheels, leading him down the stairs and out into the late morning sun.
The entirety of the staff of bagging floor watched them go, watched the two ponies go down the stairs and out through the mill below.
Soon Ivory cleared her throat, and all looked to her as she spoke.
"I-I'm afraid I need your assistance," she said as her voice broke slightly. "In a personal matter."
Carrot let her lead him, lead him as far as she wanted to go. He let her lead him until her hoof dropped and she looked up and down the road in worry, as though she were searching for something.
He watched as her hoof covered her mouth, as her head shifted and trembled. At once she turned to him, asked him to follow with her eyes, a wordless entreat hiding behind them.
He, of course, followed.
Soon they were trotting across the bridge, their hooves sounding out across the boards. To his surprise they went down the embankment just at the end of the bridge, and for a moment, he thought that they were headed for the very same spot where they had shared their swan-infested lunch upon the blanket weeks before.
His surprise grew as he cleared the bushes and, instead of heading down the worn path, he felt her tug him beneath the abutment of the bridge itself.
She drew him far beneath it, up against the very cool stones to where the wood of the bridge dove into the masonry. A musty smell hovered in the cool air.
"Cupcake," he asked, softly, "what, what is…"
Almost immediately she had pressed herself against him, placed her chest to his so firmly that his rear legs collapsed. Soon he was sitting upon the cool stones. She pressed further; diving into his chest until her head rested against the side of his neck, as she gave small concerned sighs and sat before him. Soon he felt himself stroking her forelegs with his hooves in worry for her.
"Oh, Carrot…"
"Cupcake, are-are you okay? W-what's going on?" he asked once more, still drawing his hooves up and down her forelegs slowly, as though trying to ease a fear in her that he sensed but could not name.
"Carrot," she asked, "do you trust me? Do you trust me, Carrot?"
"Yes," he answered without hesitation, "yes, Cupcake, I trust you. I do, Cupcake."
He felt her take a few more deep breaths. In a moment, she lifted herself from him. She took a step back, her rear hooves skidding slightly across the slick round stones that made up the interior of the abutment.
She looked to the stones and then back up to him, reaching out her hoof. As he placed his upon it, she breathed a sad truth.
"Oh Carrot, this is going to be hard for you. Carrot, I-I'm keepin' something from you… I have somethin' I haven't been sharing with you…"
Carrot nodded to her.
"Go, go on Cupcake, I trust you…you, can tell me anything," he beseeched, leaning his head forward, encouraging her to give up whatever secret was troubling her so deeply. "There's noth-nothing you can tell me that…"
"Oh, no, Carrot, that's not what I mean!" she spoke as she looked him fully in the face, hers beginning to wrinkle with anxiety. "What I'm telling ya' is that I am going to keep something from you. That there's something I'm not going to tell you."
Cupcake watched the color drain out of him.
"I, I have to do this, Carrot!" she exclaimed, her voice ringing off of the wooden parts of the bridge above. "I've been thinking about this since the second I got home, well… to Ive's, from our first date! From the moment Ivory learned that she was a finalist for the internship… this is my plan, Carrot. I, I can't think of any other way for us to… to…!"
Carrot's head followed her as she wiped her hooves together, watched her swing her head back and forth. As he did, he saw her thinking, running through something in her mind. At once the decisiveness and planning, that part of her, her strength that he so admired was at the surface and steaming away, scheming…
… scheming so that they could be together.
"This is the only way I can think to do it, Carrot. This, this is all we can do…"
He did not understand. His confusion mixed with feelings he did not want, did not like associating with her. He had so many questions. Why… what was keeping them from being together in her eyes? All he knew was that she seemed to be in pain, filled with worry. "This" was causing her to fret and be bothered. "This" was causing tears to well up at the edge of those perfect rosy eyes.
Suddenly he hated "This." He hated "This", and he did not even know what "This" was.
"Oh, Carrot, please don't be mad!" she said, catching the reflection of the emotion. "Please don't be upset with…"
She gave a small yelp. Before she even had time to understand what had happened, she was caught up in his embrace, was once more deep in his chest, and her fear melted into him and was dissipated through him.
He held her close, held her until her heartbeat slowed to match his, until her fretful breaths matched his measured ones and she was again calm.
"I trust you, Carrot. I'm-I'm falling in love with you, and I…" she said as she let the tension fall out of her, "this is the only way I can think to keep… keep things from ending up like…"
"Cupcake," he interrupted, "does, does 'This' end with you safe and happy, able to see yourself as-as being with me?"
There was so much more that Cupcake had wanted to tell him. She had wanted to tell him that there were two players in the game that "This" entailed, and that even as they sat here beneath the bridge Ivory was explaining the rules to the mill workers, that she had been spreading word through all of Ponyville.
In "The Game of This", all of the participants, she had wanted to tell him, were cheering for him… for them.
She had told him that she was falling in love, not that she was, because she did not know what that looked like, felt like, tasted like. She had not been allowed to… she had never been given the opportunity. She tried to think of a way to explain that but, instead, an idea caught happily inside her.
Instead, she decided to forego those words. Instead, she lifted her nose, answered his questions by once more inviting him into her warm touch. Slowly he lowered his nose to hers, and slowly the motions fell between them in long circles. Soon they were touching their faces to one another, laying her cheek to his, neck to neck until their heads lay across the withers of the other.
Suddenly, he loved "This". He loved "This" and he did not even know what "This" was.
Across the river a whistle sounded out, calling those within the mill to their breaks in a cloud of steam.
"I-I brought you lunch again today," she said softly.
"Th-thank you so much," he said as his head lay gently over hers, as they sat there chest against chest and heartbeat to heartbeat under the bridge.
The sound of carts crossing the planks above reverberated around them. Nearby the river flowed silently into the pond, the big waterwheel still sounding out its soft rhythm.
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Being Quarry means that they have taken everything from you that you have ever built.
Being Quarry means that they have manipulated you, lied to you, and deceived you.
Being Quarry means that they have thought themselves smarter than you, and often they have been right.
Being Quarry means that you have decided that they will be dealt with in the only ways you know how: through violence, anger, and rage.
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Cup Cake rested her head on her hoof, leaned against the clean countertop as she watched him make tiny, practiced motions.
Carrot blinked, let his eyes focus past the big splotch of frosting that she had placed on the end of his nose. As he did, he moved the tiny tubes of icing around in measured paces, let them slowly make an image appear upon the front of the gingerbread house.
Cup Cake smiled to herself and pondered his hooves. She thought about how careful and cautious he was being. This was his domain, his part of the project. This detailed work played to his strengths, let the stallion work a very important part of himself into the unfolding creation of the gingerbread house.
His careful yet deliberate movements were shining forth, revealing their prowess in his work. She watched with pride as her husband used his talents.
At once the motions of his hooves, his perfectly controlled, deliberate, and perfect movements, sent a lovely thought passing through her. In her mind she began to think of how she too had always received such loving attention from those hooves, how his hooves had always been set to her needs in pursuits far more personal and intimate than the one now playing out in their kitchen.
Surprised at where her own thoughts had led her, she blushed, smiled, and looked up to him warmly.
Carrot arched an eyebrow at her, gave her a small smile even as he continued his craft. With a giggle, she still went off to make up some more frosting.
By the time she had returned he already stood at the end of the table, pondering what he had created there.
She moved to stand beside him, and soon she too contemplated what he had made.
The little doorway stood out in perfect relief against the slick surface of the gingerbread house.
She leaned against him once more, smiling and making small sounds of approval at his work. The door upon the gingerbread awakened something of a remembrance within the two as the morning moved on, and they stood together in the warm kitchen of the bakery.
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"C'mon," he cried once more, still leading her by the hoof. "It's just over here!"
Cupcake actually had to trot to keep up with him, so great was his enthusiasm, his long gangly legs greatly outpacing hers with each of his exuberant bounds.
Yet, he never left her behind. He constantly turned to her, took half steps in his eagerness to show her whatever he had discovered.
Even as he smiled at her, he could still see her head on a swivel, see her looking through the crowds of ponies… worrying over something she was still not telling him about. Even these weeks after telling him about "This", it remained shadowed.
He removed the thought from his head, trusted that the game of "This" would play out as she was planning it. It was now his turn to put a new piece in play.
As the summer's day grew even more muggy and humid around Carrot, he waited for Cupcake to come closer to himself as they rounded the market square. He placed his hoof over her eyes and guided her with little movements as she giggled.
"Tada!" called Carrot, lifting his hoof and inflating his chest.
"Oh… umm, yes," said Cupcake, reflecting upon what sat before her.
The building looked ill, as though it were holding itself up by determination alone. It looked forlorn, empty. It had about it the air of mild decay and costly plumbing repairs.
She had seen it many times before sitting there in the middle of downtown Ponyville and had never paid the structure any real attention. Why was he showing her this?
She looked the ramshackle structure over once more, studied it from the faded roof to the worn foundation. Her eyes moved from the gutters where small trees grew and caught on something that sat in the dusty window.
It was a "For Sale" sign.
She gave a gasp of insight as he drew her closer. Carrot ran his hoof upon the dirty windows, cleaning them so they could both peer within.
She looked inside, saw light filtering through a huge rustic interior. Even in the few shafts of luminescence, she could see tall woodwork that was surprisingly robust and handsome, and as Carrot spoke, she began to understand.
"It's centrally located, and I know where there's some old ovens a friend can let me borrow until I can buy some new ones," he began as he peered within. "I, I also have some utensils and bake ware I've picked up. After I got my mark I started collecting, ya' see…"
"Carrot," she breathed, the realization now setting in firmly, "Carrot, are-are you saying you'd like to turn this into a bakery?"
Carrot smiled back at her.
Slowly the pieces of the game began moving again for Cupcake. Now that this opportunity was in play, she realized, there were ways…
She looked the window up and down, put her hoof over her eyes and squinted, looking deep within.
"Carrot," she said in a tone of authority, "how many rooms? What is it zoned?"
Carrot startled and began looking the "For Sale Sign" over for any information. Finding none, he looked up to her in ignorance, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh! Let me see if there's a wood burnin' furnace!" she said as she brushed past him, running her hoof through his mane. "Check the windows on that side over there! See if there's any furniture, count rooms!"
Carrot followed her orders, happy to see how engrossed she was becoming. As he peered through a few more windows, he caught her movement on the far side of the building, saw a smile upon her face. She moved from window to window, peering through the rooms.
He saw her approaching the corner of the building, and at once a clever thought went through Carrot.
He trotted to the corner, lowered himself with a smile, and extended his nose. With a happy laugh he thought of catching her in a surprise nuzzle, his smile growing as he anticipated the soft, warm feel.
At once there was the sound of a body in motion and the feel of contact shot through him.
"Hello?" came the rather surprised voice of a stallion. "Can I help you?"
Carrot opened his eyes to find himself nose to nose with a big grey fellow with glasses, an umbrella, and a briefcase.
"I, errr, we… hi," answered a rather disappointed Carrot. He looked past this other stallion, saw Cupcake standing behind him, giggling as she realized what he had planned, as she had seen it go wrong.
"I'm the realtor," said the stallion, adjusting his glasses. "Saw ya' both looking it over from my office across the way. Can I show you folks around the inside?"
"Oh, yes," replied Cupcake as she smiled at him. "That would be lovely!"
As the realtor walked past him, Carrot felt an unusual sensation. Cupcake had lifted herself upon his back, her two forelegs across his withers. Almost instantly he felt his ear in her mouth and a slight nibble followed.
As she slid off of him she ran her face across his. She had seen what he had tried to do… and approved. Happily, he took her hoof and they followed the realtor as he passed within the door of the structure.
Dust covered everything. She wondered how long it had been unoccupied. As she listened to the realtor, she both contemplated his words and watched as Carrot trotted from room to room, exploring gleefully like a foal would do. As the trio made their way into the back rooms she realized what a good kitchen it would make.
She turned to tell Carrot this, to point out how well it would work. When she found him, he was doing something that she did not quite understand.
Carrot stood above a dusty patch, looking down into something. Even as she listened to the realtor, she watched Carrot slowly, deliberately place his hoof into the dust. His motion as he did so was slow, calculated…
At once Carrot's voice called out to them and his eyes lifted to a set of stairs nearby. Soon they passed out of the back room and headed for the stairs. As they did, Cupcake stopped to peer into the dust that had caught his attention. The second she did she realized what he had done.
A trail of her own hoofprints sat in the dust, marking where she had passed earlier. There, alongside the crispest, clearest of the marks now sat one of his. His print overlapped hers just in the slightest and just beneath. It cradled her print, embraced it.
She lifted her eyes, heard him talking the ear off the realtor as they climbed the stairs. As his vision for the place grew, ringing around the shop space and soon echoing through the rooms above, she looked back down to the prints that stood in the dust.
His vision and his dreams filled her. His voice, his joy at this possibility, these filled a part of her that she had been afraid to open for long months.
With small and deliberate motions of her own, she encircled the two prints with a heart, drawing it slowly so that no dust marred her work.
After nearly an hour, the realtor began to make motions that he would like to be on his way. As they all stood in the doorway, he pointed out his office across the road and mentioned a few numbers.
Cupcake winced as she saw the discomfort that flew across Carrot's face at the price. She quickly moved into him as he sat, as she saw him trying to figure things out in his mind. Placing herself to his chest, she nuzzled up beneath his chin, and soon he had leaned forward, gathering her into his forelegs.
The realtor blushed gladly, sought to assuage the fear of these two whose affections leapt to him. "I know that might sound like a big number, but I'd be happy to work with you on a loan. There are even some grants for reusing the structure, or opening a business that matches your marks. I know how it is, being newly married and trying to find your way in the world…"
The two turned to him from within their embrace.
"We-we aren't married!" giggled Cupcake.
"Oh," said the realtor, blushing brighter. "You'll forgive me. You can understand how'd I'd make that mistake, what with how well you two fit together like that... sorry that we didn't finish before the rain."
"Rain?" asked Carrot.
Right on cue, the realtor's umbrella snapped open. At once the pegasi released a torrent from the sky, one that they had not even noticed gathering in their eagerness to explore the building.
They had known that it was going to rain of course; it had been on the big schedule in the town square, just as it ever had been. Now it seemed that they would not be spending the storm within the theater or at the dancehall as they had planned.
Instead, they stood there beneath the ancient canopy of the building as the rain splattered across the cobblestones and filled the channels that lined the street. They watched it for a moment, standing there close together, happy in their shared warmth and touch.
As the rhythm of the rain continued, Carrot felt her turn, looked down to see her lifting her nose to him once more.
He placed his nose to hers, waited for her to lead him. Instead she gave a little twitch. At once he understood. She trusted him, wished for him to begin the motions. As he did he made broad strokes, let the feel of his touch fall through her slowly.
Soon she began to answer, and as the water streamed past the canopy that hung over the door she drifted through the feeling of him drawing his face down her cheek, past her neck in long, lingering movements.
He felt Cupcake give herself up to him, willfully falling into his motions. Once more, she leaned into him as he lifted his head across her neck, crept leisurely past her cheek, as his forehead touched to her forehead.
He leapt happily inside himself as she breathed small sounds of contentment while he drew his face across her, repeated the motions up and down her other side.
She drew Carrot up with a gentle nuzzle, and there a new motion greeted him. This time her expression asked something different of him, and with a petitioning glance she lifted her face once again.
This time she called his lips to hers, asked him to move with her in harmony, to come with her that much deeper. To share with her for the first time something wonderful.
He answered, answered at first with a soft touch, followed by a second. With that, Carrot was soon deep inside Cupcake's kiss, and she in his.
In that way they passed the rainstorm together, in the doorway, as the water slipped through the channels. A few wet ponies pelted past, splashing through the puddles that gathered quietly.
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cool! its easier to read here than in deviantart ^^
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Dat first kiss, right in front of the future Sugar Cube Corner.
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It most certainly is!
465926
I could scarcely agree more!
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You're closer than you know with those guesses, but that's a secret we'll save for later. I'm glad you could see the importance of the setting!
Welp, this is was...amazing. I love the Cake's origin story. I'm happy that you finally posted it here. What can I say about this? The characters have dimension, it's well written, it's adorkable (I love awkward teenage Carrot and Cupcake) and d'awww. My favorite part is how Carrot sees Cupcake and how much he tries, the guy's got spirit.
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"I'M IN GLASS CASE OF EMOTION!!!....AND ALL OF THEM ARE GOOD."
Peace out.
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I hope that you enjoy watching their relationship grow and face challenges over the next few weeks just as much as you've enjoyed watching these first few fumbling steps, Waf!
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Thank you, John! You know that I always value your input!
I'm glad that people are still willing to read a story where the "ending" is know... sometimes it's the journey that matters most!
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I really feel like a late comer here, but...
In the case of this story, the journey is everything!
So we finally have a bit of explanation as to what the "Being Quarry" sections mean. Good, good.
As for the story itself, I'm on the fence. How you take their relationship from here will be the difference between me loving this story or viewing it as just another silly, shallow romance story.
That said, it is late, and I am off to bed. I shall give you a favorite for now to remind myself to read the rest of it when I can; I'm off to North Carolina tomorrow for a wedding, so it may be some time before I am able to finish it. You'll know by the end if that pre-emptive favorite was earned.
I must say, as I make my way through this story, it just seems to resonate with me. The little things mattering so much, the big things (like buying a shop) being almost downplayed... it all seems to come together to say how it isn't so much what you do as with whom you do it.
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I echo this sentiment fully.
This fic...god, I love how every moment is detailed, every moment is treated like a sweeping romance,filled with emotion and beauty.
*grabs toothbrush and toothpaste* Be right back.
...
This chapter was about as well written as I have come to expect from you, that is to say; very well.
I like how you show the developing relationship between Carrot and Cupcake (or Cup Cake, I never know which).
Quarry, though, seems to be a bit of an ass. I don't like him at all...
Anyway, great work. I'll get back to it later, but first I gotta go and work off this sugar rush.
Thanks a lot...