Life in the Fast Lane

by TheAmazingMe

Don't Look Back

The glass doors to the backyard framed the training scene perfectly. He wasn't wearing his pugilist costume, but Bruiser was going at the punching bag with gusto. Through some stroke of genius, Div bought a bag for home training and got Bruiser involved. I watched foal and guardspony as Div coached him over proper form and technique. What started out as a costume idea really sparked something in Bruiser. Whether it was an outlet for his frustrations or just another fascination he'd grow out of, time would tell. For now, I was just grateful that he did his homework.

As they came inside, Bruiser bounded up to me and hugged me. "Well, somepony's in a good mood. Should I be suspicious? Div didn't promise you an extra dessert or anything?"

Div and Bru laughed. "No, dad. I'm just really glad to have you guys as my parents."

"Okay, now I'm really suspicious. What did you promise him?" I asked, looking over at Div.

Div shook his head, still laughing. "He's just in a good mood, dear."

I eyed them both, looking for any sign of some shared secret. There weren't any obvious tells, but I wasn't about to let it go. "I'm watching you two." I said, pointing from my eyes to both of them.

Wrapping my forehooves around my little colt, I sighed. "But for now, I'll take the hug and the love. What do my boys want for dinner?"

That was it. Bru and Div exchanged looks, neither one of them even bothering to attempt to hide their cooperation. Bruiser turned his eyes back on me and they were as wide as a begging puppy. "Well, since you asked..."

"I knew it." I said, feeling vindicated. "All right, where?"

Piper Pony's Pizza was a family restaurant. Well, more of a kid's restaurant, what with their wide selection of arcade games. Electricity spawned a new beast and that beast ensnared the hearts of the younger generation. Arcade basketball, skee ball, whac-a-dog, and more blinked and flashed their lights enticingly.

Div ran around the place, his energy a match for the little two-toned earth pony foal speedster. I waited for our order number at a booth comfortably away from all the lights and noise. It was kind of amazing to watch, really. After working like he did, Div still had so much energy. It probably helped that the earth pony kept in shape.

Looking down at myself, I realized I was getting a little too much more-so in my torso. Scowling, I schooled my thoughts away from the negative and started mentally listing how I could work out. Ponies just didn't stay slim forever, I knew, but I'd been lucky to have good metabolism so far. If that slowed down, I needed to increase my workout.

Our number lit up on the board and I trotted down to pick up our vegetable-lover's pizza and garlic parmesan breadsticks. Catching sight of my two stallions, I lit up my horn. Div got my signal and bent over to tell Bruiser. The colt was staring intently into the depths of a claw machine, focusing on getting some prize. The red unicorn staff member at the pick up counter floated our food over to me and I took hold with my own magic.

In the end, we all met up at our booth at the same time. Bruiser's luck was good; he'd come away with a stuffed blue turtle plush. Setting his prize next to his plate, Bruiser eyed the food eagerly as I served it out magically.

Just as Bruiser reached towards his slice, Div cleared his throat. Something passed between them and Bruiser looked over at me. "Thank-you-so-much-for-letting-us-come-here-now-can-we-eat?" The words came out in a single stream and Div placed a hoof to his forehead.

I laughed. "You're welcome. And yes."

Practically bouncing in his seat, Bruiser took an enthusiastic bite. The drink server came by with our pitcher of fizzy drink and I served that out as well. Bruiser swallowed after a lot of chewing and gulped in a breath of air. I rolled my eyes. "Smaller bites, you over-eager beaver."

"Yes, dad." Bruiser said, reaching for his glass. I pulled that away and gestured toward my napkin.

Taking the hint, Bru wiped the sauce from his muzzle and I returned the glass to its place.

"Mind your manners, Bruiser." Div chided. Turning to me, Div smiled. "You've got to try this air hockey game."

"Air hockey?" I asked. "Is the puck a balloon or something?"

"No, dad, it's a table game with a really flat puck and two hoof-guard-looking things." Bru replied, around a mouthful.

"You know, when we met, a certain somepony was so polite that he asked before leaving the table." I recalled. Bru blushed and swallowed. "I guess Cross was right; I'm a bad influence on you."

"Sorry, dad. I really want to play with you though. And then maybe you and daddy Div can play against each other. That would be really fun to watch! But you can't cheat and use your magic!" Bruiser said the last line with mock sternness.

I ignited my horn and focused the light around my head into a golden halo. Putting my hooves together, I gave my best impersonation of an angel. Bruiser laughed as he drank and shot his drink out of his nose. Spluttering, Div handed him some extra napkins and helped the colt clean up.

"Oh, my nose burns now!" He complained.

"Take it easy on the food, kiddo. It'll still be here when you're ready for the next slice. Unless your father eats it all." I said, looking at Div as he started on his second slice.

Div shrugged. "Just working my energy up so I can properly trounce you at air-hockey."

"In your dreams, maybe." I replied.

Div poked my nose. "You didn't even know what air hockey was until just now."

"I don't need previous experience with the game. Any game you play, I can beat you hooves down." I bragged.

"You can only have one hoof down." Bruiser interjected.

"I could beat you with my hoof tied behind my back." Div said.

"Again, only one hoof's allowed." Bruiser reminded us.

"Oh, sounds like somepony is feeling pretty confident." I remarked. "Just how confident are you, Mr. Fumblehooves?"

"Confident enough that I'd agree to do the dishes for a month if I don't beat you!" He said carelessly.

"Oh-ho! Well, I think that's well worth the endeavor." I remarked. Dinner passed in relative silence, Div and I taking turns bumping shoulders and sending menacing looks to each other. Bruiser was itching to get going, but managed not to make any more slip-ups manners-wise for the rest of the meal.

As we made our way to the air-hockey table, two fillies were just walking away. The timing was perfect. I stood on the red side and acclimated myself to the hoof-guard puck striker. Our playing field was an eight foot long rectangular table with bumpers around the edge to keep the puck in. Div's goal was straight across from my own. Underneath my hoof, the table hummed to life, sending air across the surface. Div set the puck down and it drifted slightly. Looking up at me, Div flashed a grin.

"You need to play the kid first before you're ready for me." Div taunted. Bruiser excitedly took his place and the game was on. The point was simple enough. The first player to seven won, unless you ran out of time. As I worked out the best defense, I let Bruiser make some good goals and scored a few of my own when the colt knocked the puck into his own goal accidentally. By the end, I pretty much had the game well in hoof. I let Bruiser win, but made it look competitive. Five to seven was our final score.

Div swapped with Bru and the table came to life again. "You ready to lose again, Story?" Div challenged.

"Just don't cry too much when you're cleaning the dishes, love." I replied.

With that, the game was on! The puck darted more quickly than I anticipated. Within two return strikes, the puck darted in from the side and through my defense. Retrieving the disc from the puck-return, I set the striker on top and locked eyes with Div.

"Score one for me, honey." He said, his smile as irritating as it was handsome.

"Don't expect me to keep going easy on you." I replied, striking the puck directly down the table towards his goal. Div reacted just barely in time and sent the puck bouncing off of the sides and my striker without much I could do to stop or strike it. This pattern continued, Div alternating the sides he attacked me from until I was able to strike back. It struck against the short end on Div's side and bounced off the back of Div's striker before going in.

From there, the game intensified. The puck was sent flying a few more times as we traded goals. As I picked up the puck, I noticed the score stood at six to six. Bruiser noticed it too. "Last point wins, the game only goes by time or if somepony reaches seven goals."

Smiling, I shot the puck into a direct attack, expecting Div to strike back. When he failed and my shot scored, I looked up at him in surprise. Did he just let me win? I wondered. Looking at his face, I noticed something had grabbed his attention. Following his gaze, I turned around to see Erede DelManeco.

Div walked around the table to stand in front of Bruiser as I took in the sight of the DelManeco clan leader. A filly, roughly Bruiser's age, stood at the orange pegasus' side. Her coat was a lighter orange with brown freckles and her brown mane tied back in twin braids.

"Well, if it isn't Life and Sogni. What a pleasant surprise to see you! You haven't been by my restaurant in some time, but let me thank you again for introducing me to the DiVolare's. Let me introduce you to my daughter, Marrone DelManeco. Marrone, this is Mr. Story and Mr. DiVolare. Forgive me, but I am not familiar with your foal."

My mind stuck. There was no way I wanted to introduce Bruiser to a mafia boss like DelManeco. The foal wormed his way between Div and I and introduced himself. "I'm Bruiser. My friends call me Bru." He said, removing his hat and bowing slightly to Marrone.

"What a charming little cowcolt." Erede said.

"Papa, we still have to place our order." Marrone reminded her father. Her eyes didn't move away from Bruiser, but she seemed to be blushing at him. "It was nice to meet you, signori and you as well, Bru."

"Nice to meet you too." Bruiser said politely. Sure, now he remembers his manners. I thought. Out loud, I said. "It's time to go."

"Aw, already" Bru started to complain.

"Bruiser, now is not a good time. I'll make it up to you later." Div promised. We gathered our leftovers and Bru's turtle and left without bumping into the DelManeco's again.

***

"Monsieur Story?" Jaune Mareais said, tapping my shoulder to get my attention.

I looked up from my notes and caught Mareais' look of concern. "I'm sorry, Jaune. Did you say something?"

"I just asked if you were coming to lunch with the rest of the cast and crew. Are you alright?" He asked.

"Just...woolgathering I guess. Sorry." I turned away to stow my inks and when I turned back, Mareais was closer to me. "Um, something I can do for you, Jaune?"

He nodded intently. "Colteau says something often. Eyes reveal the truth. They are reflections of our hearts. Your eyes did not look unfocused, mon ami. Rather, your eyes were quite the opposite."

I exhaled slowly. "Have you ever felt like you'd been pulled into a dance with a devil?"

Jaune nodded. "I see him every day." He looked over at Colteau, who was busying himself with one of the camera operators.

"Well, my devil wants to destroy everything I've put together. My family, my career, my life." I trailed off, worried about getting another pony involved.

To his credit, Mareais didn't press for my information. He merely nodded. "Don't let your devil's win. You are a surprisingly strong pony, Life. Certainly stronger than you give yourself credit. If anypony can overcome the devil, why couldn't it be you? You'll protect what you love. Even death itself can't end that force. I'm sure I don't need to call Monsieur Director over to have him regale you with the tale of Orponeus. Again."

"Yeah, well, Orponeus failed." I pointed out.

Jaune paused a moment before replying. "Yeah, okay. Bad example. Perhaps the ponies of myth aren't the best source for inspiration here. Much of those stories ends poorly."

"I get what you mean, though. I would go to Tartarus and back for my loved ones. Unlike Orponeus, maybe I need to have faith that they are right behind me."

Casting a forelimb around me, Jaune chuckled. "There you go! See, you writers can puzzle out a good ending given enough time."

Author's Note:

Couldn't wait for Friday, too excited. I'm sure you guys will be okay with that.

Random chapter facts:
-Marrone is Italian for Brown.
-Piper Pony's Pizza is roughly equivalent to Peter Piper's Pizza, a chain of family restaurants with arcade games. Although I picked up the number board system from Organ Stop Pizza, a restaurant in Mesa featuring the World's Largest Wurlitzer Organ.
-The only thing I've ever won in a regular claw machine was a stuffed blue turtle. I named it Squirtle.

Comments

[Grekoy]

Yes! I miss seeing Div and Life cuteness. Bruiser is okay too.

"Aw, already" Div started to complain.

"Bruiser, now is not a good time. I'll make it up to you later." Div promised. We gathered our leftovers and Bru's turtle and left without bumping into the DelManeco's again.

Bruiser.

[TheAmazingMe]

7190372 Life and Div are so much fun when I get them on a roll together. Playing air hockey with my sibs influenced this scene, and yes we are at least as competitive as Div. Maybe worse.

Thanks for the correction, for some reason I keep doing that. I guess Div is like a foal at heart.

[Grekoy]

7190442 You're welcome.

[Skarsnik]

They can't have a moment of calm :(

[Starlight Nova]

Why is this on hiatus?

[coolfly603]

Supa awesome story

[TheAmazingMe]

7290653 This blog post basically goes over what to expect from me for the near future. Basically, it boils down to a combination of real life stresses and creative burnout.