Letting Go

by RoccoRoccs

Chapter 6: Friends of Foes

"Ok, class! Listen up. I know that everypony is excited to start their winter break. But do not forget about your reports on early Equestrian studies! It will be counting for half of your grade this semester!" Our teacher reminded everypony as we all looked on in horror. The bell had just rang, signaling the end of the long wait for our two weeks off for the year and she was already piling on work for us to do before we could even start to enjoy our free time.

The minutes had ticked by like hours in my state of waiting. Having a special somepony was a lot harder than I had thought. Not so much on the work standpoint, but more so on the emotionally taxing waiting. It seemed like everything I did was revolving around waiting for Whistles in one way or another.

It was making for an excruciating day when all you wanted to do was not be where you were all the time. Not to mention that today was the day that I was going to have to see her dad again, a buck that I thought little of in terms of being a pony. To say that I was not looking forward to the experience, was an understatement. I still didn't know how I was going to be in the same room with him after what I had seen he was capable of.

How do you look at a pony after knowing that he beats his wife and daughter!? The thought to me was akin to staring at the sun for a long period of time with out blinking. Even her mother had changed from that mare I had once looked to as an old friend of my mother, a conduit of memories of her nonetheless, to one of an enabling pony of weakness.

I stepped out into the hallway, passing the lockers on my way to the front of the school to meet up with Whistle. Despite my trepidation about meeting with her parents again, I was at least excited to see my old home again for a few hours before hoof. Dad had told me that I should try and make the most of a bad situation, saying that I should simply enjoy the time with my mare friend rather than dwell on the bad things.

Of course this was before I had told him that Whistle's father beats them and makes her clean house like a common maid. After that he was more interested in where he could hide a body and not get caught doing it. That was when he passed on a valuable piece of information that I had never considered before.

As it turned out, he knew exactly who Rain was and just why he was not fond of me in the slightest. The memory of him yelling in the window sill about how he was worried about how other ponies thought was validated. My dad had came into my mothers life at exactly the right time, right when she was finding out what an ass Rain could be. The very thought of Rain, dating a pony as sweet and kind as my mother, sent chills up my spine.

The two had just started having trouble when Rain saw that my mother was more of a social bug than he would have liked. After a huge fight over going to the very falls that my parents met at, my mother left him for another buck. It had been Whisp, who I found out her real name was Whisper, who had arranged for them to meet in the first place.

Knowing my mother was unhappy with dating Rain, she invited her crush to the trip, my father. The fact that my dad had single hoofed stole my mother away from the clutches of such a horrible pony both filled me with pride and wonder. Even though he had basically saved my mother a life of pain with him, I could not help but wonder if it had not festered a life time of neglect towards Whistle and her mother. Not to mention he ended up with the very same mare that had broken then up in the first place. HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN!?

My mental train of thought was derailed by the buck who was now waving a hoof right in front of me. His gray locks covered all but scant traces of his bright yellow eyes.

"What do you want Sneaks..." I said, trying to keep from punching him.

"Hey! Listen. I wanted to say that I was sorry about what happened at lunch yesterday... I had no clue that hurtle was such an ass like that." He said, rubbing a leg with another.

"Yet, here we are. If you were hanging out with them, how could you not have seen him being such a massive prick?"

"I had always thought that it was all in good fun! I swear! I didn't think he actually meant all that stuff, had I known..."

"You would have done what!? Beat him up? Tell him off? Stop him!? Words carry weight, Sneaks. Just because a pony doesn't hear it, does not mean it still doesn't hurt them." I said, backing him into a locker.

"Hey! Calm down! I came to you to say I was sorry, not to get into a fight!"

"I don't want to fight you... I'm just... Disappointed." I said shaking my head. How could he have been so stupid...

"Oh, well. If that's all, then you should give me a chance to make things right at least. I'm sorry for what happened." He said, offering a hoof to me in display of friendship.

"No." I said, swatting it away. "I'm not the one who needs the apology. You want to do right by me?"

"Yes, I really do. I feel bad for how things went down." He said, his yellow eyes opening wide.

"Fine, follow me." I said, trotting away.

Well, it was a start I guess. If nothing else, I had to give him an A for effort, even if he had been responsible for the worst day of my life in years. Sure it ended well enough, I almost lost my v-card, but what would that have done? I trotted out of the school and looked around for Whistle, she had found a quiet spot by the pillars where she would not be a bother to anypony as they left for their long awaited winter break. Why did she always do that!? Sneaky little mare...

"Whistle, got a second?"

"Always. I was starting to get worried about you." She said running up to me.

"Yeah... Hey listen. There is somepony who wants to talk to you. Now, don't freak out. I promise that I will be right here the whole time, ok?"

"Cask... What's going on?" She said, shying away.

"Just trust me." I said softly. I swear if this is another trick, I will kill him. No second chances, no more promises, I will stab him in the face with an unsharpened pencil. "Com'on, she's waiting..." I yelled to the school door. Sneaks peaked his head out of the door and began the trot of shame to the two of us. Whistle jumped at seeing him, trying to instinctively fly off from the very same pony who had caused us so much trouble in the past. Sneaks trotted up to us, me waiting patiently and Whistles pulling away from me at every chance she had.

"H-hey... Whistles." He began nervously. Whistle was shaking at my side with every word he would breath.

"Ok, Sneaks... You got the mare you hurt standing right in front of you... Give her a reason not to kick you in the balls." I said in a thin but direct tone. This had better work, otherwise I will never forgive myself.

"Yeah... Look, I'm really sorry Whistle. I had no clue that was why they invited you two to lunch with us. I just met them and thought that it was just going to be some harmless fun. Not THAT. I know that words can hurt and I'm sure their's hurt you, a lot. So..." He said sitting down in front of us. Whistle, despite her worry for meeting with him, was at least not shaking anymore, but staring at him curiously. "...Ok, go ahead."

"W-What?" She said meekly.

"Go ahead... Hit me. I owe you as much. Yell, scream, kick... Just, not in my face, please..." He said, clinching his eyes shut.

"Damn it Sneaks..." I said, laughing.

"What! Com'on, get it over with! The suspense is killing me." He said nervously. What in the name of Celestia was wrong with him?! Whistles, to my surprise, stepped forward. Ok, not going as planned! Abort! Abort! Before I could intervene, Whistles raised a hoof and placed it to his shoulder.

"No. It's ok..." She said, offering him a smile in return.

"What?! No... no hitting? You're not mad?" He said, shying away.

"No, I'm upset. But you said you were sorry." She said, pulling away.

"REALLY!? That's it!? That wasn't so bad..." Sneaks said, breathing a sigh of relief. "So you forgive me?"

"No. I can't do that." She said as she pulled away from the two of us. "You will have to earn that back."

"B-but..." He started.

"Sorry's don't make things right. Doing the right thing helps, but you have to work to fix what you broke, not sweep it under the rug." She said as she flew off. What the hell!? Did she not just get done lecturing me over not doing that!?

"What the..." Sneaks said, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"You heard her... Ditch the losers and find some real friends." I said as I took off.

Well, that didn't go quite the way I had thought. But it was a start. I flew to catch up with Whistles, leaving Sneaks in a pool of whatever he was drowning in.

"Mind telling me what that was all about?" I asked as I flew next to her.

"Cask, I appreciate what you did, but forcing a pony to apologize to me doesn't help him or me."

"What!? I didn't force him to do anything! He came to me and said he was sorry first!"

"Huh?" she said looking at me in shock.

"Yeah! He stopped me on the way out of school and said he was sorry, nothing more! He said he had no clue that was what those guys had planed and that he felt terrible! I did suggest that you were the one that deserved the apologies and not me, but that was the short of the long of it."

"So I just... Oh no." Whistle said into her hooves.

"Yup, you flat-lined him." I said playfully.

"Oh Celestia, Cask! Why didn't you say something! The poor buck!"

"I wanted to see where you were going with it. Besides, not like he didn't have it coming." I said, teasing her.

"CASK! We have to go back there! He must feel terrible!"

"Nah, he will be fine. Besides, it will give him something to work on in the future."

"Work on what, exactly?" She asked as I flew little circles around her.

"Being a better pony."

We lit just outside of an old coffee shop in Cloudsdale, coming in soft as to not land on anypony. Wow this place was packed this time of year. Pegasi of all trots of life flew from shop to shop to buy gifts for the fast approaching Hearts Warming holiday. All around us were signs for gadgets that nopony needed but wanted for some reason. Ah the holidays... Got to love them.

We trotted down Mane street in search of a cafe to hold up in while we both awaited our inevitable dinner date with her parents. We passed a book store with a sign that read "Reads with a side of tea!" and desired that this was as good of a place as any for a break from the busy streets. Finding a table was easy enough, ponies these days never read books now that the internet was catching on. Pretty much anything you would ever want to know was on there, making books something of the past.

The two of us sat and stared to the faux library's extensive list of herbal teas. Just my luck, no snacks... I was starving and with dinner hours away, I was nearing chewing on a book I was so famished.

"Oh! I love this book!" Whistle said, picking up one of the many that were stacked before us in the table's center. She held up the well read version of "Trotout: The Stable" for me to see. "Do you read much?"

"Nerd..." I said jokingly.

"Com'on! This is a good book! I love futuristic dystopian fiction!"

"It's ok..." I said as I trotted to a near by shelf. "This is my favorite!" I heaved the massive tomb onto the table.

"Oh... my... I had no clue you liked conspiracy novels..." She said, gawking at the 30,000 thousand some odd pages of awesomeness.

"Hey! Trotout: Project Verticals is an amazing book!" I said, just a touch defensively.

"Well, if you have three years to read it maybe..." She said, giving me a sardonic look.

"It's worth it." I said, petting my favorite story like a cat.

"Oh, I'm Poker! Don't mind my various metallic appendages, please sleep with me! Oops! killed a foal again, I'm going to cry about if for twelve chapters!" She said in a display of mockery.

"Look at me! I'm Littlepill! I'm the Wasteland's favorite drug addict! All I want to do is the right thing and bang Memory!" I said, staring her down.

"Well, we can agree on one thing." She said, sliding our books to the side.

"Yeah, what's that?"

"We both love bad indy books about the Wasteland." She said laughing.

After hours spent talking about our favorite books and drinking tea, the two of us left the store behind to fly to her home. It as a somber flight, neither of us wanting to talk about what was about to happen. There was no way that this was going to go well for us. Sure, I had been invited over, but there was zero chance that Rain wanted me there, or even near his daughter for that matter.

But here I was, flying with my mare friend to certain doom and worry. I was going to have to pull all of this out of flank if I wanted to try and win them over. Well, her mother at least, I could care less about her father liking me. For all I cared he could take a flying leap.

We trotted inside as if we owned the place, perks of knowing their daughter I guessed. Her parents were in the kitchen, cooking the meal that were destine to consume. I peeked into the small room and scanned the counter tops for any trace of poison, but before I could find anything at all, Whistle pulled me into the living room. The two of us sat patiently waiting to be called to the table, all the while in silence.

It was like flipping a switch, the moment our hooves crossed into her home, Whistle's happy demeanor had faded to a nervous tension. This was clearly not a home she was comfortable being in. A home is a place where you can go to hind, feel safe and escape from the cruel world around you, not the other way around. Despite its seemingly beautiful appearance, everything about the place bleed with discomfort. Even the couch I was sitting on, even though it seemed clean enough, was stained with bad memories that bit into my mind.

"Dinner!" Whisp said in a sing-song tone from the dining room. This is it, Cask. You can do this! She's worth it... Just keep telling yourself that and you will be fine. The two of us took our spots at the table, taking in the simple yet delicious looking meal before us. Vegetable stew with whole grain, oats covered bread, one of my favorite meals. I waited for her father to reach in first, remembering all of the manners I had been taught by my mother.

"So, Caskade, is it?" Rain started.

"Yes sir." I said, trying to withhold the venom I so wanted to put on the words I was serving.

"I see that you and Whistle here have been spending a lot of time together. Tell, me. What is it that you two do all day?" He said in his usual indignant tone.

"Talk mostly. Sometimes we eat together and just... hang out." I said, trying to be a vague as possible.

"Do you now... What is it you two do while... 'hanging out'?" He said, taking another bite of bread.

"Usual teenager stuff I guess. Talk and study together." I was already feeling those beads of sweat beginning to form between my wings.

"You two go to any of the hoofball games?"

"No sir." I said, trying to pace myself while eating. I wanted nothing more to devour the food in front of me. I had missed breakfast and lunch! I was starving, but I had to at the very least try and be polite.

"Oh? Why not?"

"Neither of us are a big fan of hoofball sir." I said carefully.

"Is that so. Personally, I love hoofball. Played a little myself back in school."

"Rain, he just said he is not a fan of it. Don't go dragging those old war stories out and boring him to death." Thank Luna for Whisp! I haven't the first clue as to how to talk sports.

"Now, what have I said about interrupting me... dear." He said, his tone edging on threatening.

"My parents did not want me playing it. They always said that I got hurt enough on my own." I said, trying to crack a joke.

"I bet you would have made a fine player. Maybe a running back even. But with a small frame like yours, you could have never been a linebuck." Gee... Thanks. I was only as tall as he was and he still felt the need to throw my short stature in my face.

"Is that what you were? A linebuck?" I said reflexively.

"Is there something wrong with hoofball, son?" Oh, he did not just call me son.

"No, I think it's great that bucks found a sport where they could be so... close." Oh shit... That little buck in my head was awake again and he was at the controls again.

"How do you mean. I think you should elaborate." Rain said, dropping his spoon.

"I just think it's great how bucks needed a sport to show who was the strongest. Personally I have never been that interested." Com'on you little bastard, give me the control back before you say something stupid.

"Leave the poor boy alone, Rain. He said he doesn't like the game, now quit." Whisp said begging.

"No! What do you have against it? Go on then. Do you think you are too good to play?"

"Look, I don't like hoofball. It's a sport that requires you to beat the crap out of one another just to show how strong you are. I have no need or want to do such a thing or watch it happen..." Good just leave it there little buck. "...The whole thing is over-rated and a waste of time. Why not just square up and fight like real bucks." Damn it little buck! You are grounded. Rain narrowed his eyes at me. I stared hard back to him, this must be one of the testing things bucks do went they feel pissed.

"Well, then. Show me what you got." Rain said standing from the table.

"Rain..." Whisp started.

"Come again?"

"You come into my home, I feed you and you disrespect my favorite Equestrian past time. Well, I'm a buck of the world, let's try it your way." He said in a cool, level tone.

"You want to fight me?" I said, in disbelief. The little buck in my brain was going nuts, pressing every button on the control board. Run, fight, grab a knife all flew through my brain as it tried to gain control of the situation.

"Fight? No. I want you to show me why you think you are better than those bucks on the field. Meet me in the living room and I will show you what hoofball is really about." Whistle was pulling at my wing. I looked to her and saw an unsure look cross her face of both wanting me to run but also not wanting me to leave her here.

"Fine. I'm game." If this was a right of passage to earn respect, I wasn't ok with it. But it had to happen for Whistle and I to continue our relationship. Otherwise, Rain would just lock the very door I had trotted through into her life.

We did as asked, everypony went to the living room where Rain had moved the furniture out of the center of the room. He had cleared an area for use to conduct his insane experiment together and to not damage anything in the process. Whisp and Whistle took their seats to watch possibly the stupidest display of bad judgement and bravado they had ever seen. One thing was for sure, if this involved physical contact, and I'm sure it would, I doubt he was going to go easy on me.

"Stand there." Rain said, pointing to the edge of the small circle he had created. I did as I was told and took my place, doing my best to be ready for anything that came my way. "Rule one... If you fall down, you get back up. None of that tapping out crap. You get back up." I nodded in conformation. "Rule two... You don't hold back. you give it everything you have and nothing less. If I feel like you are not digging deep enough... Well, you will see." I again nodded, not sure what he was getting at. "Finally, tackling is a lot like life..." He started.

"How is that-" My words were cut short by the massive blow that hit me in the chest. Rain had taken my moment of pause to think and rammed his full weight into me, knocking me to the ground and my lungs out of air. I sat gasping for my breath, pawing at the ground to stand again.

"Rain! Not so rough!" Whisp yelled. I looked to Whistle who was looking on in horror at the display.

"Nonsense, he's a nearly grown buck... he can take it." He said, shooting me a look. Oh, look who's back, that little shit that got me into this. I stood in spite of the pain that was now coming from my chest and squared up. He would not get that chance again.

"I take it rule three is cheap shots?" I said, now circling the room.

"No... Life is full of surprises." He said as he lunged for me again. But this time I was ready. Just as he got close, I ducked, sending him flying headlong into the wall behind me.

"There is no ducking in hoofball!" He shouted as he rose from the mass of pictures that had fallen.

"If you fall down, get back up, right?" I said as I backed away. Rain shot me a look that could kill with just a glance as he found his way back to the circle. Full of myself from my small victory, the two of us began to circle one another. I had lost that rational part of my mind that said not to push him further, returning his stern glare with one of my own.

Before I could come up with a plan to launch my own attack, Rain again lunged for me. This time, I was not fast enough to dodge the attack. His full force rammed into my chest again, but this time I dug my hooves into the floor and pushed back. His might was more than I had accounted for, pushing me back a good five feet before he lost momentum. Seeing that I was not going down nearly as easily as I had the first time, Rain reared up and flipped me onto my back. My haunches crashed beneath us in a sickening crack as pain exploded from my right hind leg.

"You have to be more than just fast! You have to be strong!" He said as he fought to pin me. I writhed, more out of pain than trying to get out from under him. I had seen hoofball, this was not tackling! Finally, I got a hoof free and rolled him from atop me, freeing myself to go back to my hooves for round two. But as soon as I tried to bare weight on my sore leg, I was nearly sent right back to the ground. The pain was so much that I had to carry it behind me, leaving me with three working legs. The little buck in my head threw his hoofs up and leaned away from the controls. Great, I'm screwed.

"Rain stop! He's hurt!" Whisp screamed. I looked to the couch and saw Whisp glaring to Rain, but I could not take in the moment for long. I stood panting, Whistle was crying. This was much more than a right of passage, this was another one of his ways to get to her. He knew she loved me and because of that, that meant I was just one more thing he could break in front of her. He was doing this, just to hurt her.

"I'm fine. I just need to catch my breath." I said, clearly not fine. I was hobbled and hurting. But I would be damned if I was going to let him keep this up. I squared my stance again, this time balancing my weight on my three good legs as I unfolded my wings.

"See... He's fine, aren't you Casky... Cardinal HAD a strong little colt, didn't she." Oh... How dare you...

I gritted my teeth, through the pain and pressed my bad leg back to the ground. Rain pushed forward again, head down and read for impact. I stood perfectly still, waiting for just the right moment. Closer... Closer... Just as his hooves came up for attack, I pushed off the ground with my wings and drove both of my hind hooves into his skull. With a satisfying crack, I drove him nose first into the flooring and flipping end over end. The impact sent me flipping forward into a coffee table where I landed head first... and right onto my bad leg... again.

"RAIN!" Whisp shouted as he lay motionless on the floor. I rolled to my side and shook off the impact as best I could manage, but I had stars filling my vision. Just then, I felt a pare of hoofs on my cheeks. Out of reflex, I swatted them away through the haze and ringing that was filling my head. Best as I tried, they just kept coming back. Soon my vision cleared, showing me that it wasn't Rain who had grabbing me, but Whistle trying to stop the bleeding from my right eye.

I stopped flailing and rest my hooves on her's as she did what she could with a rag to stem the flow. I looked beside me to the still motionless Rain. Celestia, I must have killed him with that kick! Whistle pulled my head back to her, saying something to me in doing so, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. I was too busy looking into her eyes.

They were filled with fear. I hadn't stopped rain from hurting her after all. No matter how this ended, it was going to end just how Rain wanted it to. He had beaten me in more ways than just physical, he had found yet another way to get to Whistle. And I had been the button to press to do it. He had put me in a no win situation and dared me to try and I had, and still lost.

"Cask! Cask! Oh Luna, are you ok?" Whistle said, cradling my head in her hooves.

"Nev... Never..."I started, but I was feeling woozy.

"Don't you say it! You are not never better!" She said as she hugged me.

"M-my..." I stammered.

"Your what? Hurting!? Where!? Am I hurting you!?" Whistle said in fear that something as simple as a hug was going to break me in my fragile state.

"My butt hurts..." I said in a whimper.

"Cask..." She tried to say, laughing through her tears.

"Rain... RAIN!" Whisp shouted, trying to stir the grounded buck. I was happy to see that Whisp's bedside manner had not been passed on to her daughter. Whisp poked a hoof at the motionless Rain until he finally began to show signs of life. I couldn't be sure, but the look on Whisp's face was less than trilled than he had somehow managed to not be killed in the fight.

"Are you ok Cask?" Whisp asked as I was trying to stand.

"Yeeeah... Just put the peanut butter on the lobster..." I said as I chanced standing, only to quickly fall over again.

"Celestia... Whistle, you better take him home, he is no shape to be alone flying like that..." She said as she and Whistle both helped me to my hooves. The three of us trotted to the front door, all the while listening to the groans coming from Rain who was still in the living room. I had regained some of my balance, narrowly avoiding falling down into the door frame. We stepped outside into the cold night air and oh how good did it feel on my sore body.

"Cask... I know that no mother has ever asked this of her daughters teenaged colt friend before but..." She started as she reached into the closet beside the door and retrieved a set of saddle bags and hoodie... HEY! That was my hoodie! "Would you mind if Whistle stays with you for a day or two? Rain is not going to be happy when he wakes up and..."

"It's cool. I get it. I know what would happen." Said, taking the saddlebags from her and placing them gently over my back. Just the weight of them sitting on my sore haunch sent my eye to twitching. Whisp regarded me for a long moment as I tried to tell her that I knew just how bad thing would get if she were to stay. "You know... You could come, if you wanted to." I said as carefully as I could. "There is plenty of room at our place." She looked at me with wanting, but put up a hoof.

"No, no... I'll be fine."

"Fine nothing! You deserve better than this! You were my mother's best friend, you said that, yeah? What do you think she would say if she were here right now!?" I said, stomping my hoof. Whisp said nothing, but instead started to smile.

"You are just like your dad, you know that, don't you?" She said, putting a hoof to my shoulder. "Cardinal would want me to watch after my little filly, just as she did with you."

"Yeah but..." I started but was cut off.

"You are luck little filly. He's a keeper." She said hugging Whistle. The moment was brief but it rang through my fog filled brain all the same. She wasn't running away from the problem, she was protecting her daughter by staying behind. No doubt that if she had left that Rain would have came looking for us the moment he could. Her staying would insure than he could not do just that. But it also meant that whatever was to come to Whistle was going to be ten fold towards her.

It was selfless. Excatlly what my mother would do. Exactly what I would do.

"There has to be something we can do! Somepony we could call! Anything!" I said in frustration.

"Cask, when you came to our door... I will admit to a healthy amount of worry that you just wanted to get with my daughter for some quick fun. But then I saw who you really were and just how much Whistle cares for you. I have never really done the right thing for her when it comes to her father... Let me do this one thing." She said with her tear soaked eyes as she back into their home and put a hoof to the door. "Now, you two kids be safe. Cask, I can trust that you will look after her?" She said, her every word becoming more and more broken by the second.

"I will. You can trust me." I said, trying to mentally pull her away from the same door she was closing on us.

"...Mom." Whistle started as she stepped forward. "I love you mom!" She shouted as she pulled herself to her.

There was never any doubt in my mind that the moment that that door closed, it might be the last time it opened. Whisp had effectively given Whistle to me when she ask me to watch after her. Part of me hoped she knew what she was doing and that she wasn't walking into a doomed situation. Another part of me just hoped that she would be ok staying in the same house as Rain. But whatever it was that was crossing my mind, I knew that this was not going to be the end of this, not by a long shot.

The two of us made fast time of the long flight to Ponyville. Even though I had tried to convince Whistle to go to the Equestrian Guard and tell them everything that had happened, she insisted that it would not do any good. Rarely did they get involved in domestic problems between spouses, even if they did, they would more than likely ship Whistle off to a home for the next two years as she came of age. The selfish part of me would never stand for that, but another stronger part of my heart screamed to do so. It wanted anything for them to be happy and without Rain constantly abusing them.

We quickly found my home among the several houses that filled my neighborhood. Even with everything going on in our lives, I was beyond excited for Whistle to be staying with me, no matter the circumstances. The two of us trotted through the door into my home and to my surprise, my dad was actually there! For the first time in I don't know how long, he had decided to not work late and be here waiting for me.

"Cask? What in Equestria..." He started as he came closer to look over my wounds. His eyes soon darted between Whistle and I rapidly as his brain tried to jam the pieces together.

"No dad... You are not a grandfather..." I said in exhaustion.

"Oh... good... good... Mind telling me why you look like a buck that just had a fight with a mare's father?" I looked to Whistle and back to my dad.

"Whistle is going to be staying with us... for a while. I'll explain later. Things at her house are..." My dad put up a hoof and silenced me.

"No need to explain. Whistle, happy to have you." He said, offering a warm hug and a smile, something that I'm sure she needed a lot more of right now.

"I'm sorry to be a bother..." She whimpered.

"Nonsense! You are not a bother at all. Cask, I trust she will be sleeping in your bed." The very words sent my brain to a very happy place. Wow, I had to have the coolest dad... "With you on the couch, right..." Sensing my sudden increase in hormones, my father quickly boarded up the damn he had just broken. Ok... Maybe not that cool.

"LAME!" I shouted behind me as I trotted up the stairs to show Whistle to MY room.

"Hey! I'm not the one limping now am I!" Dad said behind me.

I nudged the door open with my nose and sat Whistle's bags on my work desk. As it often was, music filled the room from my radio that I had yet again forgotten to turn of... three days ago. My room was sparse, but well enough equipped. By that I mean I had a bed, a place to do homework and a book shelf. There was also my impressive hoodie collection, something that I had been working on since I was a little colt. They were the perfect garment! Warm, covering and had a hood. They could be used to take small naps, block out the sun and.... Well, I'm sure there are other awesome things they could do.

"This is my... Your room. Feel free to do as you like with it, the bed is soft and has a view of the apple farm." I said, giving my brief tour. Whistle trotted about the small room, taking in all of my things I had collected over the years before coming to rest right in front of me. "The uh... The bathroom is down the hall to the right..." I said as she leaned in closer to the beat of the rock music that was drowning out my words. "You can use it when you need to..."

My words were cut short by her mouth as she kissed me against the bed. With everything so wrong with her life at this moment, I couldn't help but feel that this was more than a thank you. The two of us fell back into the bedding to one of my favorite songs, it was one that I had worn the repeat button out on over the years. I don't think I will ever forget the line 'I'm ready to run, a hundred miles strong' after kissing a mare in this room for the first time. It was more than a random gesture, it was the first time that we were truly alone together. No fear of getting caught, no worry of what her parents would think and the first time without being soaked in cloud water.

"Cask! Could you come down for a moment?"

Well... nearly alone...

"I ah.." I started.

"Yeah. I should get some sleep."

"Yeah-yeah! I'll just um..." I said as I trotted out the door. Oh Celestia... This is not going to end innocently, is it. I wondered down stairs, my hurt leg reminding me all the while that it was still there and ready to inflict pain at any step I took. My dad was sitting on the couch waiting for me, dressed in his usual shirt that could only mean one thing.

"Where do you think you are off too?" I said childishly.

"Hush. I have to go into work to night. Big holiday rush going on out there and I stand to make a lot of bits. I trust that you two are not going to do anything stupid, are you?" He said as he gathered his things.

"Dad... Seriously?" I said, faking my best apathetic accent.

"Uhuh... Look. Just... don't get her pregnant."

"DAD!" I shouted.

"Oh shut up... I'm not a moron son. She's here because she has to be, isn't she?" He asked point blank. I nodded in affirmation. "Then you need to consider the circumstances. You are not a little colt anymore Cask. Asking that you don't do what comes natural to a teenager is just stupid. I know it is going to happen, but you need to know that she is ready for that sort of thing and not just looking to be held. Ponies, especially mares, have a need for contact when they are hurting, it makes them vulnerable. Take advantage of it and you are no better than her no account father, understand?"

"I get it..." I said, now worried more than I had ever been for Whistles well being.

"No son, not yet you don't. If you are going to go down that road, you need to think about what it would be like without her. If you can't bare the thought, then it will all work out, if not then you need to make it clear." He said as he trotted out the door and shut it softly.

"Did my dad just give me permission to have sex in my room with my mare friend?" I said to myself aloud.

"Sounded that way to me!" Whistle yelled from my bedroom. My cheeks were now burning. I could even feel my pupils dilating as I trotted back up stairs to my room.

Whistle had not gone to bed, but instead started going through my hoodies and trying them on.

"What are you doing!? I have those arranged just so!" I shouted as I began gathering and folding them to put back in place.

"No... not this one either." She said as she took a deep sniff of each one and tossed them in a small pile.

"Whistle, that's gross! I wore that one to track practice!" I shouted as I reached for my trademark dark blue school hoodie.

"Ahh... This is the one." She said, pulling it over her head to wear.

"Whistles! Nasty!" I said, holding my nose to the smell of my deodorant and sweat. "Why are you wearing that gross thing, I haven't washed it yet! And it's baggy on you at that!"

"It smells good to me. Like you. It being big on me reminds me I have a big strong buck to watch out for me." Ok, that hit the right button... She can have the hoodie.

"Really now..." I said sitting beside her on the bed.

"Yeah..." She said as she snuggled into the oversize jacket.

"Well, you know... My father is out for the night..."

"Yeah?" She said, leaning in again.

"And last I checked, I'm a damn sight warmer than that hoodie you stole." I said, pressing my nose to her's. I watched as her cheeks were turning red for the first time I had ever seen them do so. Finally, she was the one that felt awkward.

"Y-yeah?" She stammered as I leaned her back to the bedding.

"Yeah... What's say we cuddle up and get some sleep." I said in the sexiest tone I could manage without laughing.

"AW! But I was-" But her words got cut short by the presence of a feather to a very sensitive place finding it's mark. Her eyes rolled back into her head in bliss as I traced little circles around her most sensitive parts. With another wing, I reached and hit repeat on my radio as I heard my favorite song come on. Perfect.

"Cask..." Whistle whimpered as I worked my wings magic between her legs. As we kissed I could feel her body grinding into mine in want. I kept my movements in time with the music, doing my best to keep rhythm as I felt myself loosing all since of control.

...I still believe that we got a chance, I still believe that we got a chance to be...

I pulled her on top of me, our hooves finding spots on our bodies that nopony else had found before. My brain swam to the thought that this would mean no going back and wondered if this was worth it. Was she the one? Was it the turmoil in our lives that we were running from by doing this? Or was it something more?

...Too much is never enough and too little is never enough...

I pulled away from her to see her glimmering ecstasy filled face. Those sparkling blue eyes seemed to scream for more, as though I could do no wrong by her. I loved this mare, everything about her set me on fire, even the way her coat seemed to shine in the light of the setting sun. Everything she did made me want to pull her closer, like there was no way I could be close enough to her. I knew I could not live the same without her in my life.

...Full speed, got my wings beating hard now, I can't go back...

"I love you." She said with me looking on to who I saw my future with.

That was all it took to break through the muddy mess that was my thoughts, pulling me out of that dark place I always went to and right back to her. She was the one. I pressed into her, throwing my cares to the wind as we both lost our virginity together. The pleasure was more than I had ever dreamed of. Maybe it was because I was with her, maybe it was because it was our first time. But it felt so good that there was no way it could be wrong.

...Flyin' 100 in a 55 and I don't know why I'm still alive, but I... Do what I can but I know I can't take anymore...

She rode atop me like we soared through the clouds on our wings. The only thing keeping us aloft was a furry of emotions. The moment felt like it lasted seconds, but it must have been hours that we made love. Time after time finding new and exciting ways to drive the other wild. It was pure and uninhibited, wild and wreckless and... free.

We both lay basking in the afterglow, holding on to each other for dear life on my sweat stained sheets. I had since turned off the radio, instead allowing the white noise of my fan to beat through the air around us. Whistle cuddled up close to me, nuzzling my now messed up chest fluff with her nose.

"So now what?" She asked as we simply enjoyed the moment.

"I could go for some waffles and an asprin..." I said half joking, half serious. Even after all the pleasure of having sex for the first time ever, I was still in a remarkable amount of pain.

"Roll over." She said sitting up.

"Why, are their waffles under me?"

"Quit it." She said giving me a playful push. I did as I was told and lay on my belly, my nose being filled with the horrid scent we had created. I felt her reach out and unfold one of my wings gently, stretching it out slowly.

"What are yo-." My words fell flat on the bed beside me as she started nibbling away at one of my crooked feathers. Oh. My. Celestia... And I thought sex was the best thing I had ever felt. I had never been preened before! I sat in heaven as she worked from wing time to wing tip, fixing my broken feathers and massaging my sore muscles. I had nearly fell asleep by the time she had finished her very pleasing act on me.

"Now... What was that about your butt hurting earlier?" She said as she placed both hoofs on my rump.

Nevermind the pancakes or the asprin... This works better! It's going to be a LONG night!