Lost Muse

by David Silver

46 - Tadaima

Color willed the door open, laughing. "The look on your face."

"I did not have a look," defended Bottom, following him along with Day. She was smiling despite her awkward appearance. "I finished second place, you can't say that's a bad display."

Day shook his head slowly. "Beaten in an eating contest, by you? I still can't grasp it."

They all moved in as one to find Libel sprawled out on the couch in her best Day impression. Her face was buried in an arm folded across herself. Day and Bottom shared a look, then just turned around and left, leaving Color behind.

Color shot a glare at their retreating forms, then sighed softly. With a renewed smile, he dared to approach. "Hello, Libel... did things... how did things go?"

Libel did not look at him, keeping her face in the crook of her elbow. "Hard and slow... Welcome back."

"Good to be back." He set down a bag of things on the table there at the couch before moving to her side, though still on the floor. "Want to tell me about it?"

"No."

"What if I ask really nice?"

"It better be exceptionally nice."

He decided to be bold, a dangerous tactic around upset mares, he knew, but he felt confident in the moment and went for it. He nuzzled her arm away gently, revealing her face. She looked so... frustrated. He ignored it and instead pressed his nose to hers. "I would like to hear how my favorite mare was while I was rudely away."

She attacked, nipping his nose gently followed by a little lick across the same. "I want a hug from my suitor. Can I have one of those?"

"You hardly needed to ask." He slipped up onto the couch. "But I'm glad you did." He slid in across her belly, his arms going around her to draw her close. He still wanted to know what had happened, but he didn't press.

Things became quiet, but warmer. The tension ebbed gently under the overwhelming power of gentle snuggles shared between the two. "Did you have fun?" she finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Not as much as I could have if you were there." He kissed her cheek gently. "But I'm back and you're here, so it's getting better."

"Thank you... but seriously... you had fun?"

"Yeah." He nibbled gently at an ear. "I'll tell you about it if you tell me how it really went."

"There you go, driving he hard bargains." She wrapped her wings up around him. "I bought a typewriter."

He quirked an ear at that. "That doesn't sound traumatic."

She smirked at that. "It's a top of the line model, over fifty keys..."

"Oh..." He nuzzled gently at her cheek. "Is it that hard?"

"It's maddening." She huffed out a low sigh. "But I'm learning... I refuse to give up."

"Good. Don't." He pushed his head under her chin, snuggling with her. "I know you can handle a typewriter. So... what else happened?"

"That wasn't enough?"

"That wouldn't have you here." He hugged her gently. "We're working on knowing each other, and being there... Let me be there, please?"

"Splashy..." She lifted an ear at him. "I put out the fire with the mistake I made shortly before you all ran off to have fun, but I'm feeling that burn, and my boss is riding me... He won't let it go, and it seems more and more clear he's lost faith in me. I thought 'hey, just buckle down, do hard work, it'll blow over', but it's not improving. It's not getting better."

Color sat up on her, looking down at her. "Sounds rough, and unfair... What was the mistake again?"

She grunted softly. "I shortened someone's name and it drew the attention of a crazy old mare that drove the person to a fury and then she took it out on the paper, and I got baked for it. I calmed down the old mare and the person she got mad, but..."

"Your boss is still upset." He sat back a little, his weight on her hips. "If you fixed the problem you made, shouldn't that be the end of it?"

"In a perfect world, Splashy." She stretched out under him. "In a perfect world... He doesn't trust that I won't make a similar mistake again."

"His loss."

She frowned at him. "Did I mention he's my boss? That makes it my loss."

"So?" He leaned in, touching noses with her. "So what? You're more than him. You'll always be more than him."

"Ugh, Splashy... I know that. He's... I know that... That doesn't make him not my boss."

"Only you can do that."

"What?" She sat up, forcing him back. Soon they were seated facing each other.

"Only you--" He pointed at her. "--can make him not your boss."

She frowned at him. "I worked hard to get this high on the ladder. I'm not even done climbing. I want his chair. I deserve it. I'm a Word, damn it all." She thumped the couch with a muffled impact. "I will not let this throw me off course."

"And what course is this?" he asked without the excitement she was feeling. "Who told you to aim for the top of the paper?"

She rolled her ears back. "Mother secured the first job for me... I was a small-time writer fresh out of school... I didn't know where to start, so I took it."

"And you did great with it," Color hastened to note. "Fantastic... but this doesn't have to be where it ends."

"What, exactly, are you suggesting, Color? No more allusions or implications, be level with me." She thrust a hoof at him. "I will not live off my-- the inheritance I have not even received yet."

He nodded softly. "And you shouldn't, I agree. Libelous Word, what are you?"

"An editor?" She hiked a brow at him.

"That's a job. What are you?"

"A pegasus?" She shrugged softly. "You're losing me here, stop trying to be symbolic."

"Fine..." He fell forward, bonking his head on hers, avoiding prodding her with his horn. "You are a Word, a writer. Words are your plaything, to be used to create and fascinate as you see fit. It's in your blood, and I know you're not ashamed of that."

"That's all well and good, Color... but it doesn't give me a thing to do." She reached up with her hooves, one on either of his shoulders and gently nudged him back. "I like working with words, no secret there."

"So do that." He hopped down from the couch. "Stop working for other people who don't see how amazing you are. Start making ponies work for you instead."

She quirked an ear at that. "You want me to invent a competing paper? The one I'm with has a fairly strong hold on the market, Splashy, even if I wanted to start down that road."

"Forget the paper." He threw a hoof wide. "Write words! It's what you do. Write a book. Fiction, not fiction, don't care. Only you should, and whatever it is, it'll be great."

"But... I edit..."

"Because that's where you ended up." He suddenly took off, leaving her there.

She peered at the space that once held him. "Splashy..."

He returned with a book floating along beside him. He set it down gently right in front of her. "You know what this is?"

"I was copying it two days ago," she sighed, recognizing her novel easily. "What about it?"

"You won awards." He hopped back up onto the couch. "People liked it."

"I won a few small-time awards that my mother went out of her way to push for. It never became a top seller, Color." She crossed her arms as she sat in a pout there on the couch. "What does that prove?"

"It proves that you did great for your first book." He reached over and tapped at the book. "You think my first painting won tons of awards or sold for thousands of bits?"

"Of course not." She smirked at him wickedly. "Even if it was perfect you would have sold it for two bits until I drilled some sense into you."

"Point taken, but mine still stands. Practice is the only way. You have the talent. What are you passionate about? Write about that. Be the boss."

"Color, it's not that easy..." She nudged the book off the couch with a gentle tapping of a hoof. "You write a book, then you have to find a publisher willing to back it up, advertise it, and really push it."

His brows fell as a smirk developed. "You mean you have to do more than just create and hope success comes to you? Where have I heard that before?"

"You just have to talk to gallery owners!" Her wings spread out wide as she glared at him.

"And you will have to talk to publishers. It's the same thing in the end. You have to stand in front of a pony that may not care and make them care about what you spent time making, what you feel really strongly about." He leaned forward. "But you'll do it like I did it."

"I'll get a proper suit? I have those, Splashy."

"Not that." He smiled a little. "With the support of friends... I bet if you asked Bottom, she'd jump ship with you in a heartbeat. She'd be a great secretary, editor or writer. You two already get along so well."

Her jaw worked, lips closed, thoughts racing. Having Bottom working for her and her alone, with no other ponies involved? Dared she even dream of such things? She shook her head free of such thoughts. "You know, most stallions don't actively encourage their marefriends to get closer to a mare they find attractive... who also has a boyfriend."

He quirked an ear at that. "As you just mentioned, she has a boyfriend, and that boyfriend is a dear friend of mine. I don't feel threatened by her, should I? I mean... she's been nothing but good, to both of us. If you can bring her to a better place, where she's more free to be who she is, everyone wins, right?"

"Stop being reasonable." She poked him on the nose. "Even if I decided your idea was amazing, I would be obligated to give a notice of my departing. I will not be remembered as a quitter, just up and departing in the middle of workflow as if she had no concept of civility."

"Then do that." He hopped down from the couch. "And, did I mention the best part?"

"There's a best part?" She hiked a brow as she stepped down after him. "What's the best part, Splashy?"

"You will not have to ask your mother for support. You have a boyfriend who would be delighted to return the favor his girlfriend gave to him. Libel, I want to be your angel this time. Let me help you get where you want to be."

She lifted a hoof and booped him right on the snoot. "That is undeniably sweet, but I have savings. Being lead editor doesn't pay entirely in goodwill and cupcakes. Even if I did quit tomorrow, which I will not, I would not suddenly become poor."

He rubbed where he had been booped. "You just finished saying becoming a real writer takes real work. But we're not starting from nothing. We, together, can publish your book. We can advertise. We can get it on bookshelves. The Libelous Word wrote a book and you have to have it!"

She dared a little smile. "That would be something... Look, Color... Thanks. I feel a little better, but I'm not ready to take that leap." She started for the kitchen. "Right now, I want to heat up something to eat, go to bed, aggressively appreciate my boyfriend, then sleep. You alright with that battle plan?"

"Reporting for duty, ma'am!" He trotted after her, content with his place in that scheme.

Author's Note:

The fun trip is over, back to reality, such as magic ponies have.

Comments

[badninja]

I hope he knows a protection spell or he will could be in a rush to the altar. Sweet chapter and glad to see that both are helping the other grow.

[Dashie04]

Something about this story, it’s great, no question, but instead of imagining it in the art direction of the show, I apply a filter to it. It seems a little bit more old-fashioned, like a silent movie with color and spund. I find it interesting that you managed to make the story show up differently in my mind.

[artofwar77]

Heh, "aggressively appreciate" her boyfriend.
That's a new one.

[Born-From-Black-Lightnin]

9381600
I was going to say the same thing.

[Gyro Pony]

I like these talks.

They run many parallels to real life.