House Of Lies

by TCC56

House of Light

After that, you would expect a big banner stating we lived happily ever after. And while I'll say things did work out well, it wasn't quite that smooth.

After dinner, Ivory and I went our separate ways. Over the next two weeks, we took some time each day to spend with each other and see if we could re-establish what we once were. A chance, just like I had asked for and she agreed to. For the most part, it went smoothly. Maybe I wasn't Arche Triumph, but I was close enough. The things we still liked about each other were there, and three years of shared memories go a long way. It went well enough that after those two weeks when my funds ran low, Ivory let me move out of the hotel and into the house again. I slept on the couch, of course, but it felt... right to be in our home again.

But there were always undercurrents. Yes, to her I was Arche - but I was an Arche that had spent three years lying to her. The fact that I had used her for sustenance never entirely left her mind either. I think it's part of ponies being descended from a prey species: one of those unspoken, ingrained fears. She understood intellectually why I had done it and forgave me, but forgiving and forgetting are very different things. That's a big part of why I stayed on the couch.

I spent a month with Ivory in the house. A lot of that was taken up going back and forth with the union, the city, and the Crown - from what I understand, my situation wasn't unique. Since our Change, a lot of changelings had surfaced having been in positions that were problematic for Equestria. In my case: I was a structural engineer without any actual certifications or formal education. That meant every project I had ever touched in Whinnyapolis was suspect and normally I would probably be facing criminal charges.

But this was practically the definition of extenuating circumstances, and the Princesses had been bending over backwards to try and begin relations with King Thorax's nation on a positive note. In the end, all sides agreed that I could simply walk away from my old job with no charges or penalties. In fact, I even got to keep the bits that had gone into my pension as an apology for Black Rock assaulting me. (I do feel bad about that since it was a reasonable reaction on his part, but I also wasn't going to say no to having something in my wallet. Plus he never apologized, which was typical Rock.)

I would never work in the field again, of course, but that was entirely expected.

The relationship between Ivory and I stayed rocky despite our best efforts. Near the end we tried sleeping in the same bed as a last-ditch attempt to reignite things, but those nights were sleepless and awkward. Having a predator in your bed - particularly one who has preyed on you - isn't part of a good night's sleep.

And I'll admit, knowing I was that predator was never far from my mind, either.

In the end, we parted amicably. We wanted to stay friends - and we still write each other regularly - but a relationship just wasn't in the cards. My old life's secret had tainted things, broken them beyond repair. It was as much me as her: just like she couldn't forget what I had done, I couldn't let go of my guilt. We had a month of dancing on eggshells around each other. We couldn't live our lives like that.

So an ending, one we both agreed on and accepted. It was worth taking the chance even if it didn't work out.

I returned to the Badlands and joined the construction crew rebuilding and transforming the hive into something more suited for our new lives. Three years as a structural engineer was invaluable, and King Thorax was more lenient about formal education than the Whinnyapolis City Council. It didn't take long before that practical experience put me in charge of the whole hive's public works, and that led to King Thorax (and Princess Twilight Sparkle) setting me up as part of a correspondence course. I should earn my engineering degree two years from now - though I'll admit the coursework is a challenge.

Ivory's doing well, too. She actually met a stallion at a therapy group for changeling victims. Brickhouse's marefriend was one of the ones who got kidnapped and never returned, but he's managed to get through it. He and Ive were friends for almost a year before they finally started dating, and he was exactly what she needed: while rough around the edges, he's loyal, strong-willed, and has a big heart. (Emotionally as well as physically.) The two of them are talking marriage now, and she asked me to be in the wedding party.

As for me, I'm still single. But that's fine. I don't need love to survive anymore, I've got a job I enjoy, and I finally mostly moved beyond my past. (Well, our collective past.) Plus I've been considering adopting one of the nymphs - but I want to hold off on that until I finish the degree. Doing both at once would be too much of a time crunch, I think.

So yes. We both got our happy endings even if it wasn't storybook. That's better than a lot of people get and given how we started? It's probably as good as we could hope for.

I'm just glad I found the courage to knock on that door.

Comments

[Thought Prism]

I had to reread the first two chapters since it's been so long, but I'm glad I did. This was a nice little vignette about the aftermath of a relationship ruined by a secret and then repaired. Also racism I guess.

[ChrisCornflake]

Thanks for finishing this!

[RainbowDoubleDash]

It's too bad that things didn't work out between the two of them, but it's understandable why. And yeah, this might not be a storybook happy ending, but it is a happy ending.

[TCC56]

11496436

Yeah, but...kintsukuroi. Sometimes something is made better by it having been broken and then repaired.

And actually, this was part of the original outline. Making that analogy in the end as everything reached a happily ever after. But when I got there, it just... it didn't feel right. It was too easy. Too packaged. That's why the epilogue got rewritten to the current form.

[TheAncientPolitzanian]

11496481
I really enjoyed the note the epilogue ended on, but when I read through it the first time around, I definitely got the sense that it'd been revised with a more bittersweet slant than initially intended. It did strike me as slightly odd that, after the previous three chapters culminated in a turning-of-the-corner, and just as it looked like they might manage to stay together, the epilogue "pulled in the reins" the way it did.

That being said, the way things turned out was perfectly reasonable and (from a storytelling perspective) effective, so I'm not complaining in the slightest. Kudos, and congrats on finally finishing this story! 'Twas well worth the wait.

[Screw]

Well, I wish we had a longer story that got into the trials that these two went through until the break up. That would probably make this ending digestible instead of leaving a small hole of sadness.

Regardless, I am glad we got a sequel! Nice story, Wordsmith!

[Ice Star]

This was an ending worth reaching.

[ObsPerson]

Ah bittersweet endings. Made me smile and sad at the same time. But, I suppose that life is full of it.