Assumptions

by Arbarano

Prologue

I sauntered through the warm evening in Ponyville Park, taking in all the sights and sounds of the beautiful landscape around me. Tall trees lined the path, their leaves a glorious collage of green and gold that almost glistened in the late-summer sun, the air beneath them heavy with their sweet scent. A little gust of wind fluttered along my side, ruffling my feathers and carrying with it a pair of butterflies, who nonetheless continued to twirl and dance with each other as they floated into the cool fires above. In the distance, the gentle babbling of the town brook occasionally broke through the giggles of foals as they ran after a kite, the gentle whooshes of the pegasi above as they moved the clouds in preparation for the evening’s mackerel sky, and the chatter of a young couple as they strolled across the lawn, lost to the world and in the wonder of each other’s eyes…

A gentle twinge ran through my chest, as if chasing after the soft smile that graced my lips.

I knew that feeling well.

A giggle tinkled through my ears more clear and serene than any bell, and I glanced to my left to find the goddess who had brought it into the world. My eyes quickly found the loose strands of her mane, the colour of purest gold but more precious than a mere metal could ever be and with the warm, sugary scent of an angel. My gaze roved over her back, worked strong and resilient by years of carrying the town’s mail and her own burdens with a chipper smile and a laugh that could demolish even the hardest walls around the stoniest of hearts. I lingered for a moment on her wings, those delicate, wondrous appendages that allowed her to soar as high as only a pony so incredible deserved to and yet were able to reduce the pair of us to tittery, giggly, cuddly mush; her when I felt forward enough to give her tired wings a preen after a difficult day, and me when she would take those smooth feathers and wrap them around me, a blanket softer than cashmere and more comfortable than should be possible. Finally, I managed to wrench my eyes away from her achingly beautiful body and meet her warm, loving gaze.

Oh, yes did I know that feeling.

She giggled again, giving me that adorable little flash of her pearly teeth as her head bobbed up and down in sheer joy, her cheeks bunching up under her closed eyes until they shone brighter than the sun itself.

“You’ve sure been stare-y this evening, Silver,” she chirped, finally letting her eyes drift open again and allowing me to bask in their glory.

I grinned, pressing even further against her, her lithe side sending thrills racing up my spine. “Well, when I’ve got something so pretty to look at, it’s difficult to stop.”

That most wonderful of sounds filled the air again, and an explosion of warmth and love rocked my heart as she rested her chin across my withers, humming like her easy-bake oven and just as cozy. The gentle puffs of her breath tickled my fur as she rested there for a few wonderful, endless moments, before she sent sparks and frazzles crackling along my back again as she nuzzled me ever so gently.

But then the electricity running down my spine stopped as she gasped, yanking her head away almost too quickly for me to see the most awful sight a pony in love could.

It felt like I had just dived into a frozen lake.

My breath caught in my chest as the dainty little ditty of her hooves clip-clopping on the path stopped, but the pained sigh certainly had no difficulty bursting from her nose. A million tiny needles stabbed at my sides and set my nerves aflame as I spotted the quivering puddles marring the bottom of those gorgeous eyes. My heart stopped dead and the skies themselves greyed as my mare—my wonderful, charming, adorable, incredible mare—choked out, “if only that were true…”

It was as if the very spirit of joy and happiness had left her body, for she let her head hang limp and let those shoulders, that had carried so much mail to so many ponies who simply did not appreciate what she did for them, heave.

I had to put this right; nothing was to make my mare unhappy.

“But, darling,” I soothed, raising her chin with my hoof and choking back a gasp of my own when I saw the vibrancy of her eyes draining away with her tears, leaving them dark and lifeless. “It is true.”

She let out the most tragic little sniffle, but my words stemmed the flow of tears. “Really?” she croaked, the beginnings of her smile teasing me from the corners of her lips.

I showed her how it was done, nodding firmly. “Of course, sweetie.” I leaned in and gently kissed the tip of her nose, though I was sure I heard fireworks in my head all the same. Even if I didn’t, my love’s eyes sparkled and the mesmerising smile graced her muzzle again, as she blinked away the salty dregs. A little sniffle escaped her nose, but, if anything, her face glowed even brighter.

“Oh, thank you, Silver!” My name was muffled as she nuzzled my side again, sending too many tingles across my tummy and explosions through my mind for me to care all too much. I had stopped the most wonderful mare in Equestria from feeling as though she was anything but: This was a glorious day.

But a curious one, too.

“Sweetie...” I began, tearing myself away from her affections as if I were tearing off my own skin, but it was necessary to stand before her and look my love straight in those endlessly expressive eyes. “Why in Equestria would you even think that? Was…” My brows furrowed, and once again I felt the pinpricks stinging my sides. “Was it something I did?”

My mare’s eyes both focussed on me, as wide and as round as dinner plates and almost matched by her mouth, before she shook her head and let slip an adorable little smile. “No, Silver…” she whispered, trotting over to me and resting her muzzle against mine. “It would never be you.”

We stayed like that for a good few minutes, her giving me the greatest gift a stallion could ever receive by sharing her very breath with me. I could feel its sugary sweetness tingling as it wafted through my nostrils, my chest burgeoned with a warmth filled every nook and cranny of my being, the very essence of her perky, adorable charm infused to my core, and all the little niggles and aches of the day simply melted into nothing…

Except for one.

“So who was it then, dearest?” I tilted my head away, brow raised and hoping I could come even close to the lip-bitingly adorable picture my darling was whenever she cocked her head. “Was it those mean stallions you used to know from school?”

She kept her flawless smile and shook her head, mane twirling and aglow in the evening sun. “No, Silver… it wasn’t them. They know not to bother me any more.”

If anything her smile eclipsed the sun in radiance, but that did little to mask the sigh that soon escaped. “It was at the market, earlier.” I gently placed my hoof on her shoulder. “There were these ponies laughing and pointing at me…” Her nose twitched in a way that would have made my heart melt if it weren’t already shattering. “And then those bakers ran out of muffins before I could buy any!”

I rubbed my hoof through the soft fur of her back, unable to halt the bowing of her head and the light receding from the world. “And… and that stallion was there, staring over me…”

Her voice had shrunk from a sturdy chirp that could lift me all the way to the clouds to a weedy, wobbly whine that locked my throat, and I knew exactly why. I knew of this stallion, this… brute who has tormented my mare, who stood over her just so that he could make the most wonderful pony in Equestria feel small, who wouldn’t answer her delightful questions about how his wares were made and just stood staring at her, silently, looming over her like some sort of creep. How could somepony dare treat my darling so disrespectfully.

“But it’s okay!”

That blasted away the storm that had enveloped my head, and my beloved’s flawless smile shone through the remaining gloom. “I have you, Silver.” Her curled into a smirk. “And what do I have to worry about when I have a stallion as loving, strong and…”—she stroked her cheek along my side, shockwaves echoing out across my coat from wherever her supple grey graced my bright silver, and I closed my eyes—“... handsome as you are to protect meEEEEEE—”

I opened my eyes, but a different gold greeted me to that of my beloved’s gorgeous pair. The gentle light slipped around the curtains and bathed my bedroom in a warm glow that made me wish I had somepony to share it with. Somepony to share the couch with, her pressed against me as we whiled away the evenings with stories of our days. Somepony to share this bed with, curling up together every night. Somepony to even share those closets with, and watch as her pretty dresses mingled with my uniform and see the little trinkets and gifts of our lives become one big whole…

Somepony to share every moment with, and I knew exactly who that somepony should be.

A grunt escaped my throat as I pushed myself up, my silky mane clinging to the pillow as if it wanted to return to that wonderful dream and that beautiful, amazing mare who joined me there every night, but this was not the time for dreams.

No. This was the time for making them come true.

I grinned, twisting my neck until a satisfying click rang out into the muggy air, and I looked over to the window. It was still mostly obscured, but the light of a new dawn was still there, calling for me far louder than the blaring alarm.

Smirking, I raised a hoof to my bedside table and clicked it silent.

“Yeah… today I’m going to ask you out, Derpy.”

Author's Note:

To prove that I'm not just writing MacDash at the moment, here's something a little different... that I actually started more than a year ago. But that I am continuing!

Also, here's to five years on the site. That would probably be more meaningful if I hadn't spent four of them in my own anxieties, but anyway.

Comments

[Emerald Harp]

First of all, Happy Five Year Anniversary.

I like the emotion going on in this fic. You got the feels down pat. This is a good start, keep goin.

[Ovoloo]

Awesome and very interesting start. I cant wait to read more.

[eggtosser]

Pretty cool, I'm enjoying this so far. Like it.