Act I ~ Chapter 7
Warmth greeted him from underneath their cozy blankets. He sucked in deep and stretched, his legs stiffening out and back arching. A few moments later, he relaxed and let out a long, near-silent groan as he slowly opened his eyes. Looking out at the clock on his nightstand, he read four forty-two.
Eight minutes before the alarm, Roast huffed. Normally, he’d be happily getting up and out of bed, ready to get started on the day. But today, all he wanted to do was sleep in. It was Saturday, which meant the cafe opened an hour later than the rest of the week. Though that extra time was usually used to prepare baked goods for the day. Ponies tended to indulge more on the weekend, after all.
The customers would have to temper their sweet tooths a little, but given yesterday, maybe tucking in for an extra hour wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Plus, he sleepily chuckled, Sweet could always use extra sleep.
Decision made, he pulled his hoof out from under the blankets, giving a shiver at the cool morning air as he grabbed his alarm clock. Flipping the clock over in the low light of their bedroom’s night light, he clicked the hour wheel up one and set it back on the nightstand. He smiled a little before carefully shifting, softly turning over so as not to wake his love.
The grin on his face fell and concern overtook him as his wife came into view.
Normally, she’d have a bit of bedmane, but her frazzled hair looked like she’d been tossing and turning all night. He reached a hoof out and brushed aside the locks of mane that covered half of her face.
His frown deepened at her own. Her sleep didn’t look peaceful in the slightest. The corners of her mouth were pulled down and her eyes quickly flicked back and forth beneath their lids.
She needs more than an hour, Roast amended his decision. She’ll get the whole morning, if that’s what it takes.
Just as carefully as before, he turned himself over and scooted out of bed, softly setting his hooves on the hard floor. He made his way out of their bedroom to the hall as quietly as he could, turning around and grabbing the door handle before taking one last look inside. His heart clenched at the sight of her and he found the hate from the observation room bubbling up again.
They had hurt her.
Maybe not physically, but the amount of stress and fear they put her through was more than enough to make Roast irate. When they’d finally got back together the night before, Sweet had cried in the lobby and once they’d arrived home, she had been so tired that all she wanted to do was fall asleep in his forelegs.
But… Roast sighed deeply as he closed the door, they’re not the only ones to blame.
He turned and walked down the hall and into his office. Tapping the light switch on, he headed straight ahead to his desk before sitting down.
In the end, we made it through. He hung his head. But I should have been stronger. I should have been more careful. I wasn’t good enough to protect her. Until the very end, everything I did only made things worse. Even then, the only thing I could do was whimper and grovel and beg.
Roast shook his head. I can’t do this. What if it happens again? I don’t want to be uselessly flailing about. I need her help. I need to know how to do better. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to taper off his anger and frustration. But that won’t matter if she’s dead on her hooves.
Straightening up in his seat, he reached up and grabbed a piece of paper. He took a marker from his pen tray and wrote.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the cafe is closed for the day. We will be open again, bright and early on Monday morning. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.
~Sweet Leaf and Fine Roast
Reading it over, he ended their signature with a little heart and nodded his approval. Capping the marker and putting it back in the tray, he pulled out a roll of tape, ripped off a couple pieces, and applied the strips to the paper’s blank side.
Taking the sign in his mouth, he stood and walked out to the hall and down the stairs. Past the kitchen and into the dining area, he trotted over to the main entrance. The sight through the door’s window gave him pause.
It was pouring rain.
Taking the paper out of his mouth, he frowned. He hadn’t checked the paper yesterday and had forgotten the pegasi had scheduled a downpour for the whole day. Closing up wouldn’t hurt business as bad as it would on a dry day, but he couldn't help feeling extra bad. There would be lots of poor ponies that would make their way to the cafe, only to find their trip was in vain.
Hesitating, he looked down and reread his writing.
He felt most guilty about the ponies that made the cafe a staple of their mornings. If he put the sign up, that would be the third day in the past week that they had either shut down early or were closed entirely. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that some of them might find a new cafe to frequent.
But, in the end, he sighed and pressed the sign to the window, smoothing it out. Taking care of their customers was necessary to maintain business, but…
His wife was more important and he’d choose her every time.
Giving the sign one last apologetic look, he turned and headed back to the kitchen and up the stairs. He came up to their bedroom and raised a hoof to the door handle, softly twisting it with a quiet click before pushing the door open.
He stepped into the room and his eyes trailed over to the bed. She was still there on her side, mane still as mussed as when he left. Pausing in the doorway, he tapped a hoof on his chin.
Hm, maybe I can cook her breakfast later. I bet some nice eggs and toast in bed would make her morning.
Happy with his plan for later, he carefully tiphooved to his nightstand and picked up his alarm. Flicking the switch off and setting it back, he took a single step over and pulled his side of the covers down. He stepped both left hooves onto the mattress before lying down, bringing his right hooves up and shimmying his way under the blankets.
He froze mid pull of the covers as a sharp inhale and groan came from the other side of the bed.
“Ergh, is it time already?” Sweet Leaf groggily spoke.
Aw, horseapples. Roast nearly grunted his disappointment in himself as he pulled the blankets all the way up and laid down. “No, sweetheart. I just had to get up for a minute.”
“Mmm, m’kay,” his beautiful wife groused as she turned herself over and curled up tighter under the blankets.
Roast scooted over and wrapped a hoof around her shoulder, pulling himself lightly against her back and wings. He shut his eyes and buried his muzzle in her mane, breathing deep the very particular and familiar scent of his wife. With any luck, she’d get right back to sleep and he’d follow right after.
But yet, a moment later, Sweet Leaf’s mane tickled his snout as she leaned up.
“Roast,” Sweet’s tired voice intoned, “it’s just after five.”
“Yes, it is,” he evenly replied, hoof still laying on her shoulder.
“We need to get up.”
“No, it’s okay. We don’t need to.” Roast gave her a little loving squeeze. “You looked exhausted, so I decided to close the cafe today so you could get some more sleep.”
“You decided?” Sweet Leaf retorted, turning over and facing him.
His pleasant smile quickly soured as his wife’s frown came into view. She settled down on the bed and his stomach tightened as her half lidded eyes tiredly moved back and forth between his.
“What do you mean ‘you decided?’” She chided. “Roast, we own the cafe together and we’re husband and wife.”
“I… yes, I know, but I was trying to help you. After everything that happened yesterday, I thought it would be good to sleep in.”
A deep sigh came from Sweet Leaf as slowly blinked and took a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t need—I’m not…” she let out a low growl and rubbed a hoof along her face. “Yes, you’re right. I really could use some more sleep. I’m not in the right mind to discuss this right now. We can talk about it later, okay?”
He searched her eyes in return. I don’t understand. I’ve closed up the cafe before and she didn’t have a problem then. Why now?
“Are you… upset?” he chanced.
Sweet gave another tired sigh. “Yes.” She shook her head. “No. I mean… ugh. Remember when I said I was trying to figure out my feelings?”
Roast nodded and couldn’t help the rising feeling of guilt. That’s right we never did get to have our talk.
“It’s about that. I’m not upset with you, well, I am or was, but…” she groaned again. “I’m not awake enough to talk about this. Can we go back to sleep and deal with this later, please?”
“Of course.” He gave her the best smile he could manage, even if his mouth wanted to keep doing the opposite. “And, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry."
“It’s okay. We’ll figure this out.” She returned his smile before laying her head down on the pillow and closing her eyes.
He did the same, but a frown took over his face again at the discomfort of facing her. Instead, he turned over and settled back down. Even if he didn’t actually hurt her, it still stung to know he’d done something to upset her.
“Roast?” Sweet quietly asked before he felt a hoof on his side.
“Yes?” He was torn between laying there and doing the husbandly thing to turn over to face her as she talked.
“Thank you for thinking of me.”
The sentiment helped ease his mind, if only a tiny bit. “You’re welcome.”
He laid there, closing his eyes and trying to find sleep. For a long few moments, he fought his treacherous mind as it tried to remind him of every little thing he might have said or done to offend her.
Sheets rustling behind him interrupted his thoughts. Right as he began to turn himself around, he felt his wife wrap a hoof around his side and her body snuggle close to his back.
A smile came unbidden onto his face and he reached a hoof to lay on hers.
Together, it was easier to ignore those thoughts and, a couple minutes later, his hoof fell back to the bed as sleep claimed him.
The strong scent of coffee and baked goods greeted his nose. He inhaled deeply and began his morning stretch. Slowly, his eyes opened and he took in the empty half of his wife’s side of the bed.
He scrunched his eyes tight. Ugh, what—
His eyes shot open. Wait, coffee? She didn’t… did she? He quickly turned over and checked his clock. Almost ten-thirty? Sweet Celestia, I slept for that long?
The scent of coffee came again and his eyes trailed over to the open bedroom door. He couldn't hear the clamor of voices and utensils, but that only placated him the tiniest bit.
Pursing his lips, he pulled the covers back and got out of bed before walking to the door. As he reached the hall, he realized the smell and sounds seemed to be coming from the left, towards their apartment’s kitchen and not from the cafe downstairs.
Oh come on, he rolled his eyes. That’s almost just as bad.
Making his way down the hall, the smell grew stronger and as he entered the kitchen, he saw his wife standing at a counter on the far wall. He noted her mane looked much less tangled than it had earlier that morning, but it was still unkempt. His eyes flicked to the two trays with full plates and glasses in front of her. As he opened his mouth, she turned around and looked right at him.
“Honey?” Sweet Leaf asked. “Aw, shoot. I knew I shouldn’t have opened the door.”
“Opened the door?” Roast asked, his sleep addled mind still struggling to process complex ideas.
“Yeah. I was about to bring these trays,” she glanced behind her and pointed a wing to the rectangular platters, “into the room for some breakfast in bed.”
“Ugh. I knew it,” he grumbled.
She furrowed her brows. “Knew it? What do you mean? What’s wrong?”
He raised an eyebrow at her in return. “You can’t read minds, can you?”
“Uh, no…?” She half answered, tilting her head.
Roast merely gave a little frustrated sigh. “Because I was planning on making you breakfast in bed after I woke up.”
Sweet Leaf straightened and gave him a sympathetic frown. “Oh. I’m sorry. I woke up an hour or so ago and I got kind of hungry. I thought it would be nice to make us some food.” She nodded behind herself. “Which is ready, if you are.”
“I suppose so, sure. Can we eat at the table, though? I don’t think my back would like being hunched over in bed right now.”
“Sure!” She brightened up and turned around, grabbing a tray in either wing.
He turned and walked to the table, sitting down at his normal spot on the right side, facing the hallway. Looking over, he watched as his wife placed a tray in front of him and set her own at the end of the table. Turning his attention back to his tray, he saw an array of food. Fruit, eggs, a bagel with cream cheese, a couple veggie patties, and some orange juice.
His gaze moved back to Sweet as she finished sitting and pulled her chair in. “Thank you for the food, Sweetie.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled back at him.
He grabbed his fork and knife with both hooves’ gripping fields and saw his wife do the same with her wings. A stray thought ran through his mind and he paused. “Wait a second, I just realized” he interjected, causing his wife to pause mid cut through her over easy egg. “You’re a changeling.”
“Um… yes?” Sweet raised an eyebrow at him for the second time that morning.
“I thought changelings ate, erm, love?” he half asked.
“Ah. I think I understand.” She finished cutting her egg before stabbing a slice of toast in her fork and mopping up the spilt yolk. “We do, but that’s not the only thing we need. A lot of mares would be hesitant to eat a lot of this, right?” she wiggled her skewered toast before putting it in her mouth.
“Well,” Sweet Leaf said as she chewed and then swallowed her bite, “I can eat as much as I want. See, changelings can’t process carbohydrates like ponies can. But we still need protein and fats.” She took another bite.
“Huh.” Roast grabbed a half slice of bagel. “Then why eat it?” he asked, taking his first bite.
“Simple answer?” Sweet Leaf shrugged, still chewing. “‘Cause it tastes good.”
Fine Roast smiled and huffed in amusement. “That’s fair, I suppose.”
Slowly his smile dropped as he began eating his own meal and silence seemed to reign. In the back of his mind, he knew they still needed to talk and couldn’t help but wonder if she was still upset at him.
He glanced over at her and as she glanced back, he gave her a little smile, both of their mouths busy. He turned back to his own meal, mentally sighing. What I wouldn’t give to be able to know what she’s feeling.
His mind went back to the same thought he’d had more than a couple times since Sweet Leaf had said something was wrong. They hadn’t had more than maybe one or two big talks like what it felt like needed to happen now. And even those talks seemed fairly tame.
He couldn’t help but feel a little… intimidated? Afraid? Anxious? He honestly wasn’t sure what the feeling was. I wonder if she’d be able to tell me what the feeling is.
Soon enough, breakfast was over and for what was not the first time in the last few days, Roast was at a loss of what to say to his wife next.
“Would you like—”
“Do you want—”
“Sorry, you—”
“Oh, go ahe—”
“Pfft…” Roast held in a laugh, seeing a bit of amusement on Sweet Leaf’s face as well. “I don’t think we’ve fumbled over each other since before we got married.”
“Yeah,” Sweet giggled, though it didn’t have the same jovial ring that her giggles usually had. “This is really silly.”
He watched as her smile slowly dropped and saw her take a deep breath, holding it for a couple seconds, before letting it out long and slow. Her eyes met his again.
“I know you’re a little nervous about this and, well, so am I. But it’s just us,” she reached out and set a hoof on his, “only you and I. We don’t need to be afraid of each other, right?”
“Yeah.” He gave her as confident a smile as he could. “You’re right. We don’t.”
Sweet Leaf’s smile wavered for a moment before it dropped entirely, another sigh escaping her lips. “And yet we still are. Here, how about this. If you wouldn’t mind cleaning up the dishes, I’ll go take a shower. Then you can do the same after I’m done. But,” she squeezed his hoof and looked him in the eyes, “let’s keep in mind that both of us want to work this out and neither of us want to hurt the other or leave. Okay?”
His smile was much less forced this time. “Alright, yeah. I think we can manage that.”
“Good.” She returned his smile and squeezed his hoof once more before pulling it away. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”
He watched her scoot her chair back and turn to walk down the hall. Right. We both want the same thing. We’re just a normal couple trying to work out an issue. It’ll be okay.
With reassurance in hoof, he stood up and got to work with the dishes, stacking them and carrying them over to the sink. As the soapy dishes began piling up, he tried to pin down exactly why he was so nervous. He knew nothing bad would come of this talk, but even still there were those lingering ‘what ifs.’
She’d love him no matter what was brought up, he knew this. But that did nothing to ease his nervousness. Losing her love wasn’t it. They were going to talk to resolve an issue, so her ending up angry at him wasn’t it either.
He huffed in frustration as he side stepped to the other side of the sink and began rinsing. I don’t know what it is! And that’s so… aggravating!
Then he froze as it hit him.
Or at least part of it did. His eyes stayed locked onto the warm water rushing over his still hooves. He didn’t know what the problem was and the idea of that resonated with the anxiety in his heart.
The unknown was scary.
Not knowing what the issue was or even what he was doing wrong was hard to deal with. There was no way to plan for or find a solution if he didn’t know what she was upset about in the first place. The only thing to do was…
Trust her.
Trust. The word rang out in his mind as he began rinsing the dishes again and setting them on the rack to dry. That word, that concept seemed to keep rearing its head lately, ever since, well, since he’d confronted her about who she was.
But, he scrunched his brows in thought, that’s not quite right. I’ve been trusting her for years. It’s only now that I’ve been thinking about it.
That I’ve been questioning it.
The realization hit him harder than even her anger at him earlier in the morning had. He placed the last fork on the drying rack, shut off the water, and sat down right where he was. A frown had overtaken his face at some point, he noticed, and it felt fitting.
Does this… make me a bad husband? Does keeping her happy and safe even matter if I can’t stop questioning my trust in her?
It seemed so much easier before he confronted her about what she was. Everything was smooth and pleasant. There’d been hardly any fights and he’d been confident in her and her judgment. He was able to stand up for her and nuzzle her safe and sound afterward.
For a split second, before he could catch himself, he wished they could go back to that.
Roast vigorously shook his head. No! I will not stand for wanting to take the coward’s way out. I will handle this.
He stood and turned to the hallway. We will get through this. Together.
Fine Roast stood on the cold, bathroom tile. With his mane freshly dried and brushed, he took a deep breath and opened the door, letting the warm steam flood into their bedroom.
Sweet Leaf wasn’t there, he noticed as he stepped through the doorway. Continuing through the bedroom, he walked down the hall, deeper into the upstairs living area. His office light was off, but the light spilling into the hall from their living room caught his attention.
His hooves clopped along the hardwood floor as he took the last few steps to the doorless frame. Turning into the room, there she was.
From the back side of the couch, he saw her sitting on the far side, facing away. Into the room he stepped, coming around the couch, her head turning as he took a seat on the opposite side.
“Did you have a nice shower?” Sweet Leaf asked, giving him a little smile as he settled down.
“Yeah, it was pretty nice, same as any other.” Roast replied, returning her a smile of his own.
“That’s good.” She looked away, towards the fireplace past the coffee table in front of them.
He couldn't help but feel kind of awkward. How was one supposed to start these kinds of conversations anyway? Just jump right in? It seemed impertinent to be so blunt. Maybe he could—
“So I figured out why I’ve been frustrated with you.”
Or his wife could jump right into the deep end. “Ah,” Roast lamely ah’d. “And, uh, why is that?”
She sighed, staring down at the coffee table in front of them. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot and it’s… a few things, honestly. But, before Wavy Palette started this fiasco, I’d been trying to figure out how to even talk about them. I think I've realized I need to explain more about me and the changelings so you can… understand.”
About her? And her species? Roast furrowed his brow. Thoughts of double agents and back-alley deals filled his mind before he could reign it in. “Alright.”
She took a deep breath. “So, I’m what you call a ‘collector,’ and you, the special somepony to a collector, are what we call a ‘source.’” Sweet Leaf began, turning to look at him. “After we finish our primary education, we move on to specialties. There are all kinds: collectors, gatherers, workers, transporters, couriers, and lots more. Many serve special functions while some are more multi-purpose, like workers. Each specialty has its own training.”
Roast simply nodded, trying to take in every bit of the other half of his wife's life.
“Right, so, collectors. Our job is to, well, collect love. We find a pony that has the potential for a relationship, feel them out, and, if the prospect is promising, we try to get to know them and begin to form a more romantic relationship.
“Or, at least that’s what I did with you.”
“Right,” Roast repeated, nodding again. “I think I gathered that bit from our conversation the first night.”
“Yeah…” She trailed off, looking away. “The, uh, other method is finding somepony who’s already in a relationship. Essentially, we stalk them, learning as much as we can before we replace them or their special somepony. Those we replace go back and become part of our love supply, put into deep sleeps and made to dream of their loved ones.”
Her eyes turned away from his and she took a deep breath. “Roast, before we talk about you, there are things you need to know about me. About what I’ve done.”
Roast snapped his eyes over to her. “Sweet…” He began, but her posture gave him pause. He hadn’t noticed earlier, but gone was her confident, upright stance. Instead she seemed tense, pulled into herself as she laid there. Even her sunset colored tail was wrapped around her between them, the end settled over her forehooves.
She’s nervous? Scared? It didn’t matter which. This time, he wouldn’t let hesitation keep him from his duties.
He shuffled over and, with the same gesture she often liked to do, he laid a hoof on top of her tail covered one. “I already told you, I don’t care what you did before. It’s who you are now that matters to me.”
She simply huffed and looked at him with a strained smile. “Thank you, but I want you to know. I think you deserve it.”
He held his stare for a moment longer before breathing in and exhaling. “Alright. If that’s what you think needs to happen, then I’ll listen.”
Sweet Leaf turned back to the unlit fireplace, her mouth still closed. A long moment passed and Roast began to consider if he should do something. Even if it was only squeezing her hoof or rubbing her back. However, his indecision decided for him and he cursed himself as she began.
“You aren’t my first source,” she said, still staring away from Roast. “Before we got together, I had another stallion. Most of the inexperienced collectors usually stick to disguises of their own gender. It’s easier, most of the time, and I was no exception.
“Though, I was an exception in how I got my source. In training, they teach us it’s often best to craft a new disguise and build a relationship from the ground rather than replacing a pony. I wasn’t the best trainee in my batch, but I was no slouch either. So, I got cocky and decided I’d do my first the other way around.”
She snorted. “And I paid for it.
“Not right away, but over time things began to build up. I didn’t do a good enough job looking into the couples’ histories and I got complacent after I replaced her. Not but a year after we got together, some foalhood friends of theirs came by unexpectedly and I had no idea who they were. I salvaged it initially, but he confronted me later that night after they’d left. He wouldn’t let up about it and after some heated discussions, he started grilling me about everything.
“I couldn’t answer enough of them." She closed her eyes and after a short moment, she opened them again and continued.
“So, one fight and two days later, he was in a cocoon while the cleanup crew made their way to replace us and then disappear. The day after they took my place, I moved to a new town and started looking for a new source.”
He waited and after realizing she must have been done, he squeezed her hoof, not quite sure what to say. His wife essentially… no not essentially, he mentally shook his head. She did tear a couple apart then discard the mare’s special somepony when he was no longer of any use. He wanted to be upset at her or outraged at the love that was broken and wasted, but... she didn’t do it out of malice.
So, he stuffed all those feelings away and said the only thing he could think of. “What were their names?”
She turned to him with a wry smile that didn’t make it to her eyes. “Why, you gonna turn me in?”
Roast pulled his hoof back, giving her a deadpan look before softening. “No. What’s done is done. I was only curious.”
Sweet’s smile dropped and looked down at the floor in front of her. “Well, you already met one of them.”
He furrowed his brow, thinking through all the ponies they’d met, but none of them stood out to him. Then his eyebrows shot back up in realization. “The mare you were when you came back. Erm, Mint Something?”
“That’s the one,” she nodded, “Orange Mint. I’ll admit I wasn’t in the best of minds when I chose that disguise. It would have been a one in a million chance, but if anypony did recognize me, it would have been pretty disastrous. But, to answer the other half of your question, the stallion's name was Cherry Strudel. He worked at a bakery while his wife worked at an ice cream parlor.”
Roast tilted his head at her. “A baker then an aspiring barista? Seems a bit more than a coincidence.”
“It should. In the last couple years of collector training, each trainee is required to choose and learn a specialty. Mine was in cooking.”
“Cooking. So that’s why you make such amazing breakfasts?”
It seemed it was Sweet’s turn at giving a deadpan stare. “Yes, because eggs, toast, bagels, and some fried patties are sooo hard to make.”
“You’d be surprised,” Roast said, unfazed by her sarcasm. “My brother couldn’t be trusted with a toaster, let alone a frying pan. So, Cherry Strudel and the real Orange Mint,” he began, changing the subject back, “they’re at your hive, then?”
“Yeah,” she turned her eyes away from his again. “That’s what happens to ponies we replace and ponies who dig too deep. Or, at least, it was before the invasion.”
“Mmm,” he hummed and idly looked over to the empty fireplace, not really sure what to say next. She seemed uncomfortable talking about her previous coltfriend, so he figured that was a good topic to veer away from. Well, no better time than now to talk about why we’re here in the first place.
“So,” Roast spoke up, turning to her again, “you said I needed to know more about changelings before we could talk about why you were upset with me. Have we, well, covered enough?”
“Kind of.” She sighed before looking him in the eyes. “Roast, you asked that first morning, that if I had the choice now, if I would still replace another pony rather than creating a new disguise. My answer hasn’t changed, but I don’t feel guilty about what I did. Because of me and the dozens of other collectors across Equestria, my hive and queen are still alive.”
Roast nodded. “I know.” He remembered that conversation well and, even now, he was still pleasantly surprised he’d somehow managed to convince her to stay.
She gave him an odd look. “You know?”
“Sweet,” Roast began, “you mentioned the same thing then, though maybe less explicitly. Well, my answer hasn’t changed either. I still love you and, while I don’t agree with what the changelings have done, I can understand it.”
Her mouth opened and closed once, then twice before she broke away from his eyes and stared down at the little bit of couch between them.
“Honey?” he asked, putting a hoof on her withers. “Is this… what you’ve been afraid of?
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, meeting his gaze again. “I suppose it’s a little silly, but that’s part of it.”
He merely smiled and ran his hoof along her shoulders and back, letting her continue when she was ready.
“After this, I’m afraid our relationship’s dynamic is going to change and I’m afraid it’s going to change for the worse.”
Roast opened his mouth to reply, but she raised a hoof to stop him.
“I know that problems can’t get solved if we don’t address them. I’m merely stating my feelings. Which, there's still another thing to mention before we get to the rest of them.”
She let out another little sigh and grimaced. “To start with a dumb statement, changelings are manipulative. It’s kind of our thing, collectors and infiltrators even more so. We’re trained in it, how to make a pony feel what we want them to feel, how to cause strife, how to prevent strife. Except, real relationships are kinda complicated.” She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know, another dumb statement. But collectors make those relationships less complicated, in a way. Where a partner might get frustrated with something their special somepony does, a collector can choose not to be affected.
“For us, it’s not a real relationship. It’s a job.”
Roast’s eyebrows shot up and he pulled his hoof back. It all suddenly made sense. “So, things that I’ve done that annoyed you, you’d just shrug them off?”
“Essentially.” Sweet Leaf nodded. “But there’s a little more to it than that. Not only do we shrug off annoyances, we do what we can to make you feel like the relationship is growing. We instigate fights when we feel the resulting makeup will make you feel more attached. We reasonably capitulate in arguments if it means a ‘deeper’ connection, and we resist when we think it would be more beneficial. Though, again, relationships are complicated and it doesn’t always work the way we want.
“All of that is why I’ve hardly ever shown anger or gotten into a fight with you. I never felt it was necessary.”
Humming for a short moment, he could barely remember when their last fight was. He was pretty sure it was some time early the year before. “Does this mean we’re overdue for a few fights?”
“After yesterday?” She snorted. “I don’t think I’m even remotely in the mood to fight. I imagine this talk will more than suffice.”
Roast nodded. “Right. So, you say that changelings treat relationships like a job. Except I can’t help but notice that’s not exactly what ours is.”
“No, it isn’t." Sweet Leaf shook her head. "Not now, anyway. I suppose you can thank… well, a lot of different things for that.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Hmm?”
“For one, you can thank my own incompetence.”
His raised eyebrow quickly turned into a glare. “Hey, there’s no need for that kind of self—”
“If I had been competent,” she interrupted with a raised eyebrow and a half frown, “you never would have seen me those few years back.”
Roast opened his mouth, but only tiny, half formed sounds formed his objection. A short moment later, he clicked his jaw shut and huffed. “Fine. I guess you have a point.”
“I know. And secondly, collector training was somewhat lacking in that area."
"Lacking?" Roast's eyebrows furrowed.
"Yeah. There's actually a little section, maybe half a day long, about not mixing our role's feelings for our own. But no'ling, including the instructor, took it seriously. Because honestly, what kind of changeling could fall in love with a pony?"
Roast smiled and put a hoof on hers. "Well, I'm glad to have proven that wrong with you."
Her eyes swiftly rolled in her sockets. She reached her unheld hoof over and bapped him on the snoot. "You sap."
"But I'm your sap." He leaned over and nuzzled her and he felt her lean back into his snout.
A moment later, she pulled back and turned her eyes back to him. "But, I'm not the first to fall in love with one of you."
Roast pulled back as well. "Oh?"
"Mhm. I recently found out that the leader of us changelings here in Hoofington, Skitter is her name, she fell in love with her last source. Except she did the right thing and reported it as soon as she noticed. The hive instructed her to abandon him and had him sent back to the hive."
"Sounds… really coldhearted."
"A little bit. And uh," she looked at him and gave a little, sheepish grin, "she kind of knows about us already."
"What?!" Roast reeled his head back and his eyes grew wide. "What do you mean? Isn't that kind of, well, bad?"
Sweet Leaf gave a little grimace. “I would normally say ‘yes,’ but in this case it seems to be working to our advantage.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but found he didn’t quite know what to say. Instead, he merely pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow at her.
“I uh, well, she figured it out on her own,” She continued. “I had to tell her what happened with Wavy and Spindle, erm Bobby Pin.”
“Right, I remember you mentioning her real name. But how did that lead to Skittle or whatever figuring everything out?”
“Skitter, and,” Sweet Leaf took a deep breath and let out a long, deep sigh, “it just… snowballed out of control. I don’t know if you remember the overly enthusiastic pink mare that came by before I went off to my meeting.”
At her glance, he nodded his head. He’d dealt with interesting customers before, but that one definitely stood out.
She continued. “It seems like it had been one crisis after another and I accidentally let it show in my real emotions. He, er well, she, the pink mare, who is actually a male changeling, noticed and brought it up during that meeting. Skitter baited more emotions from me and I fell right into it."
"Oh… kay?" That did nothing to abate his concern and he was sure she could feel it. "And this isn't bad, why?"
She glanced over and gave him a stink eye. “If you’d let me finish…”
“Alright, sorry. Go ahead.” He shut his mouth and gave her a little nod.
“Thank you. As I was saying, she baited me into it, but we came to an agreement. I would try to deal with this and she would help me. By her logic, the last thing the hive needs right now is to lose yet another collector. Stars know how many we’ve lost at this point. So, I’ll be ‘working’ with her to curb my attachment to you.”
Roast hummed. It helped alleviate some of his worry, but it sounded too convenient. “And that’s that? You don’t think there will be any more baiting or anything?”
“I think it’s possible, but I’m prepared now. We’ve gone through so much already in this last week, and somehow come out on top. I don't know how it happened, but I am not going to let her be the one that takes us apart.”
Roast let out a tiny sigh. He wanted to ask ‘what if this’ and ‘what if that,’ but she was the experienced one here. He’d barely managed to fumble his way through convincing the detective.
“Though," Sweet Leaf slowly began again, "that tangent aside, all that is to say, it wasn't until recently that Sweet Leaf's feelings for you began to bleed into my own. I don't know exactly when it began, maybe half a year ago, but it started slow and I didn't realize it until I started getting jealous of myself.
"And therein lies the problem. There's a dozen reasons why it couldn't work. Ignoring the fact that my species is essentially a bunch of love sucking parasites, our relationship was built off of my acquiescence to your desires."
A heavy rock settled in his stomach. Was she lying when she said neither one of us were wanting to leave? "So," he managed with a swallow, "you're saying you don't think this can work after all?"
She shook her head and hummed in the negative. "If this had been a year or two ago, I would have absolutely said that was the case. But over time, I began to do these things because I, Firefly, wanted to do them, not just because I needed to keep appearances. I began to enjoy your touches, your caresses, and your care. But… even though I'd convinced myself that affection wasn't mine to take, those positives came with negatives as well."
The admission helped calm his nerves, but the problem still remained. "So, then, the issue is me. I've had free rein over our relationship since we got together. But, I don't really know what I'm doing wrong."
She turned and faced him on the couch, putting her hoof on his and on her face grew one of the tender smiles he loved most. "First off, the issue is us. We both have problems and we're both trying to help the other as much as ourselves. Second, there have been more than a few times when I'd give you little nudges in the direction I wanted you to go. So don't think you're the only one that had a say in this relationship. I am a manipulative little bug, after all.” She leaned in and gave him a little nuzzle.
"And finally," she pulled back, the smile still there, "you not knowing is exactly why we're here."
“Alright.” Roast took a breath and tried to return her smile. “So… then what is it? What do I need to change?”
“Honey,” Sweet Leaf squeezed his hoof, “I don’t want you to think these are deal breakers. They’re simply things we need to work on, together, okay?”
“I know, I know. I’m just still getting used to this whole thing. So, please," he looked her in the eyes, doing his best to feel the love he so brightly carried for her, "I'd like to know what's been bothering you.”
“Yeah, okay.” She took a deep breath. “The first thing I wanted to talk about is your tendency to, well, be overprotective. I love you and you make me feel special when you stand up for me. But, I am a big filly and I am able to defend myself. A lot of training made sure of that.”
“Right.” Roast nodded and broke his eyes away from hers. He didn’t want to admit it, but it did sting a little. It wasn’t like he was trying to be overprotective or smothering. She was his, just as he was hers and when someone attacked her, it was like they were attacking him.
“Hey.” Sweet squeezed his hoof again and he trailed his sight back up to her kind eyes. “Just because I don’t need you to, doesn’t mean I don’t want you to. I’d simply like you to keep in mind that there will be times when I want or need to take control of a situation. With my hive on one side of us and pony kind on the other, I think that's probably going to be the nature of this relationship from here on.
“And to be honest,” she looked down, away from his eyes, “I kind of understand how you feel. Back before all this started, when you were still at the coffee convention, one of the hive's gatherers came to pick up my love crystals. He made a remark about how you seemed too good to be true and that there might be some other motivation behind your actions.”
She looked back up at him. “For a tiny moment, I nearly told him off and… and I really wanted to. But that would have been bad, to say the least. So, please believe me when I say I understand, at least a little.”
“I believe you.” Roast said, a genuine smile coming across his face. It was rather heartwarming for him to hear her say it, once again, that she felt so strongly for him. "And I feel honored that you feel that way."
A soft smile came across her face and her eyes remained on his for a moment longer before her smile slowly dissolved to a neutral line. "There… was another thing."
Roast nodded again and gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course, Sweet. Go ahead."
"It’s, well,” she paused, gazing off to the fireplace, humming. After a moment, her eyes turned back to him again. “I suppose this morning would be a good example of it. You have a tendency to, uh, make decisions for me.”
His brows furrowed and head tilted. “I didn’t, I mean, I only did it—”
“Please,” she interrupted, “let me finish.”
He tightened his lips and remained silent.
“I understand that these decisions are made to help me in some way. I get that and I don’t mind you doing little things every now and then, like making breakfast or letting me rest at the end of the day while you clean.” She took a deep breath and continued. “But when you do it frequently and with bigger impact, it feels like I’m less of a participant in our relationship and more of a… recipient.
“Which, uh,” Sweet Leaf stared off behind him for a second and gave a couple mirthless chuckles, “oh.”
“Honey?” Roast asked, “What is it?”
Her eyes snapped back to his, a shaky smile on her lips. “I just realized that’s exactly what I was.”
He merely squinted an eye and rose a brow.
“A recipient. Early on in our relationship, it didn’t matter to me who made the decisions. Love was what I needed and how I got it was fairly unimportant to me.” She let out a sigh and gave him a half smile. “I guess what I’m trying to say is it’s not really your fault.”
“Sweetheart,” Roast admonished, “That’s not very fair. You say these problems are ours to work on, that it’s our relationship. It takes two to make one and we both are responsible.”
“It’s less that and more... about me. This was even part of our training, in a way, about the psychology of creatures. You see, ponies and changelings and lots of other species like to test the waters, so to speak. We push our luck to see what’s acceptable and what isn’t, what we can and cannot get away with. And we don’t always do it consciously. When we find that something benefits us or works towards one of our goals, we see if we can do more of that thing.
“In your case, your father taught you to treat mares well, right?”
He nodded.
“And that was your goal, to treat me right in your own way. You tested it, you made little decisions, took little burdens off me without asking and I didn’t rebuke or refute you. There was no negative stimuli for you, so you did it more. Eventually, it became the norm because, for me, you were a means to an end and I was only minimally concerned with how that means ended.
“So,” Sweet took a deep breath and let it out in a huff, “how we got here isn’t entirely your fault, nor is it mine. But where we go from here is both our responsibilities. Does that make sense?”
Roast looked away. It did make sense, he supposed. All I wanted was to make her happy. I thought taking up some of her slack would do just that and it certainly seemed to.
He let out a sigh of his own before looking back to her. “Yes, it does make sense, even if my mind is telling me to argue. So, then the next step would be to… stop doing those things?”
“The next step,” she said, a smile growing on her face, “is to work on this together. You be more conscious of what you’re doing and I’ll speak up more when I feel you’re doing it. How’s that sound?”
“It sounds good.” He returned her smile for a moment. “Was that it or were there any other things.”
“I think…” she trailed off with another sigh. “I think that’s it. Well, except for one thing. Really small.” She pursed her lips and looked away.
“Okay, big or small, I’m ready.”
“Could you… not use up all the hot water when you shower?”
Roast stared at her for a long moment before bursting into laughter.
“Honey! I’m serious!”
“I know,” he said, trying to get his mirth under control. “I know, I’m sorry! I'll try to be more conscious of my shower time. It’s just, after all this, it feels really good to talk and get it off our chests. I don't think I need to be able to feel others' emotions to tell that I wasn't the only one that was just a little terrified about this talk.”
Sweet Leaf nodded. “Yeah, no, you’re right. I was afraid of how you’d take it and I was afraid I’d end up sounding accusatory and make you upset.”
“Mmm. Well, we can both put to bed our fears now, right?”
“Right.”
“Though, Sweetie.” Roast began. “I do have a question.”
Her ears perked up. “Hm? What’s that?”
“I’ve been trying to figure something out in my head for the last few days, but I can't come up with an answer. What do you want me to call you?”
“Call me? What do you mean?”
“I mean, when we’re alone, like this, do I call you Sweet Leaf or should I call you Firefly?”
“Oh, I see.” She hummed for a moment. "I think I’d like to be called Firefly.”
“Firefly. I like saying that name. It sounds like—”
A loud knock resounded downstairs.
His heart jumped in his chest and his wife’s eyes snapped to his with the same questioning look he gave her.
“You’re not expecting anyone, are you?” Roast tentatively asked.
“N-no.” She shook her head. “I’m not.”
He took a deep breath and stood up from the couch. “I’ll see who—”
“I think we should both go check it.”
“Okay. Alright. Heh, maybe it's just an annoyed customer.”
She didn't laugh and he couldn't deny that he wasn't in the mood to laugh either.
He stepped around the couch, his ears flicking back at the sound of his wife following. As he rounded the corner into the hallway, another set of knocks came at their kitchen door. He turned the hallway's final corner and they made their way down the stairs.
At the final step, the back door came into view and he took a deep breath. He stepped into the kitchen and took the last few steps to it, the heavy rain outside resounding against the door and alleyway.
“Wait!” Sweet Leaf whispered.
Roast’s head flicked back to his wife, looking at her with the unasked question.
After a long moment of pause, she continued, “Who-whoever it is, they're full of anxiety and fear… and resolve and-and so much more.”
His lips straightened into a line as he nodded and turned back to the door. He raised his hoof to the handle, praying it wasn’t yet another trial for the two of them.
The handle clicked and he pulled it open.
“Hello?” Roast asked, arching a brow at the raincoat-covered pony. With the darkness of the sky, he couldn’t make out much of the pony’s face underneath the hood.
“Mister Roast?”
Roast’s eyebrows shot up at the familiar voice. “Miss Aura?”
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Why is this story so much longer than the previous one, in both chapter number and length?
Great chapter! it was nice seeing them talk through everything and get a better sense of their boundaries. The question of how Roast should address Firefly in private was long overdue.
10742078
The main reason the number of chapters is greater (around 45 planned at this point) is because Unchanging Love was originally intended to be a one-off for me to get into proper writing. It was well liked enough that people requested a sequel and with all the elements the first story brought up, I had to plan on how to include and address everything. Nine months later, I had developed the plot I felt would have been most likely given said elements and then posted the first chapter of Unending Love.
One reason chapter length is so much greater is because I found and honed my writing style. My number one priority when writing is to immerse the reader and keep them "in the moment" for as much of the story as possible. This means there may be many more details and interactions than some other stories, including the original.
Feel free to read these blogs on it if you'd like to know more about the background.
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I 100% agree and it was originally intended to bring this up in chapter 3, but you know me. Too much to write about, too little time. In the end, I had to make the decision to shift the discussion to now in favor of other plot development.
So glad to see you’re feeling better and back at writing! The conversation between Aura and the couple should be very interesting.
Lovely chapter as always, and I got very excited when I saw this updated in my tracking list and I'm keeping a closer eye on it now that you say the next chapter is coming up soon specifically.
Keep up the amazing work this is my #1 favorite Fic
First off, very happy to see this updated and glad to hear you are doing much better health wise. Well wishes on that continuing into the first.
Second, it's great to see a married couple who are open and willing to support each other. Roast and Firefly have a tough future ahead, and they need each other now more than ever.
Final, Miss Aura came back sooner than expected. But that must mean she was ts to know more about the situation. Only time will tell if that is a good thing or not. Maybe Firefly will have to become a double agent.
Looking forward to the next chapter.
Hey Roast... remember to ask your wife about foals and compatability.
I am glad to finally see the aftermath of Firefly's grilling and the conversation the couple needed to have afterwards. The cliffhanger with the arrival of Aura will have me impatiently waiting for the next instalment.
Suggested corrections:
“You’d be surprised,” Roast said, unphased by her sarcasm.
The correct word is unfazed.
I've had free reign over our relationship since we got together.
The phrase is free rein – ironically an allusion to not controlling a horse.
Ooh! An update!! So. Awesome.
"their trip was in vane" - typo for "in vain".
"...only to find their trip was in vane" You mean "in vain". (Also pointed out by Xanni, but I wrote this in Notepad while reading.)
“You can’t read minds, can you?” Well, no, but she was able to detect his emotions earlier in bed, thinking about her, and gave him extra comfort because of it.
"I don’t think my back would like being hunched over in bed right now." How would ponies be uncomfortable eating in bed? Lying down for them is not the same as lying down for humans. Are we talking belly on the bed, or belly up?
>gripping fields
Oh wow, that's a dash of humor I wasn't expecting.
"staring down at the half of the coffee table in front of them" Is part of the coffee table missing? Or did you mean she was staring at the table section closest to her?
Hmm... I wonder if we'll ever get to meet the real Orange Mint and Cherry Strudel? That would be something fun to look forward to. Rescue operation!
Is "he" supposed to be capitalized here? If not at the beginning of a sentence, that pronoun is not usually capitalized, except in special circumstances (from my experience).
“I had to tell her what happened with Wavy and Spindle, erm Bobby Pin.” When did she have time to tell Skitter this?
If this is still Sweet Leaf talking, and we go to a new paragraph, there shouldn't be a closing quotation mark.
Here too.
“Hm? What’s that.” Did you mean to end this with a period instead of a question mark?
Hey! What's Refined Aura doing here? Is she mentally broken and wants to help them now? Is she going to cause more trouble? Will the next chapter be from her point of view, or Firefly's?
10742255
Oh, a double agent? That would be interesting. Not sure if she'd agree to that, though.
Hm, I wonder what's the deal with Aura here. Can't wait for the next part. I hope you recover well from the medical issues.
Woo! An update. Glad to see you're back and I'm eagerly awaiting Chapter 7 part 2 AKA Chapter 8.
Ah, I'm sorry you had those difficulties, but I'm glad things have improved for you; I hope that continues!
And thank you for writing; I continue to enjoy this story. :)
10742184
Thank you! It's good to be back and good to see you're still around.
I hope you like dialogue chapters, because that conversation is going to last most of the next chapter.
10742221
Aww, thank you! It's always nice to hear that people enjoy my writing. I hope the long wait was worth it for you, especially after you binge read it twice, if my memory serves me correctly.
Chapter 8 is indeed coming soon and we are getting closer and closer to the real meat of the story.
10742255
The well wishes are very much appreciated and I shall do my best to continue getting better.
Roast and Firefly definitely will need each other, that much is true. Honesty and openness are important with them as much as any other.
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derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/4/8/1702697.png
One can only wonder...
10742268
Thank you for the corrections. Those are indeed what I intended, but not what made it from my brain to my fingers.
And what would the UL series be without cliffhangers? Those have become as integral as the main couple themselves!
10742318
Right-o you are! Thank you for the correction! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
10742456
Thank you for the corrections. Those were grammatically the correct way of doing things.
Back in chapter 1, during the changeling meeting.
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Thank you very much. I will do my best to get better and I am just as eager as you to get chapter 8 out.
Well, the popular speculation after last chapter was that Aura let them go to put them under surveillance and use them to discover the rest of the changelings in town. If correct it’s likely she was magically eavesdropping on their entire conversation.
If so she just got what she wanted. Proof that Firefly can indeed lead her to the others. Why is she risking the entire operation with a confrontation now?
Poor azure got totally mindfucked by firefly.
Welcome back! This story is just simply fantastic, great to see an update! Hope you're doing well
10742766
Oh, duh. I forgot about chapter 1.
10742743
I look forward to it and I'm happy to wait as long as it takes.
oh, this reminds me of a strange old story called "cooking roach", involving a Changeling named Rochelle...
in THAT story, changelings had NO sense of taste.
that story starts with Rochelle taking advantage of that to win a hot-pepper eating contest...
10742885
Thank you! I'm glad you've been enjoying the story and there's more to come soon.
10743245
I do remember that story and it earned its place in my favorites. My reasoning for changelings having taste is since they still need to eat solid food for protein and fat (in my universe), their bodies would need to provide them with some kind of positive stimuli to do so. Since they are built to extract love and they've been feeding off ponies for so long, their bodies would have adjusted to enjoy eating that which their prey eats. Helps with their disguises and allows them enjoy the food in their environment.
hurk!! the cliff hanger..... i have a feeling there is something up with miss Aura....
Your back!
I'm a simple brony. I see Unending Love update, I wish I could give it a thumbs-up again.
Also, Aura's definitely run into some kind of changeling-related trouble. I'm thinking either she's a changeling on the verge of being found out, or someone's accusing her of being a changeling and she needs ponies to believe her.
10743567
Her being a changeling is very unlikely, given how all the lings in that particular city know eachother and their identities. Though it would be an interesting scenario if that were the case. Seeing how Firefly was recently cleared of changeling suspicions by Aura, getting Sweet Leaf to vouch for her would be a gamble. Either someone takes Sweet being cleared of all charges at face value, or they put that into question again.
I didn't realise how much I'd missed this story until I got an update alert once again. I don't mind how long it took in the slightest - to my utter amazement, when I got the notification, I remembered how vividly harrowing yet wonderfully immersive the the parallel interrogation chapters were. And much like how I reread Chapter 4 when Chapter 6 came out, this time I reread both of those! This was partially because it had been 5.5 months since then, and I anticipated that my reading experience of Chapter 7 would be enhanced if the prior ones were fully vivid in my mind again.
And while almost nothing in Chapter 7 required detailed, fresh knowledge of everything in 4/6, I'm glad I did, because they remained as vivid, captivating and downright harrowing as ever (but, you know, in a way that I just couldn't stop reading). I won't repeat my thoughts on them, except to say that you perfectly captured how truly and utterly terrified Sweet Leaf was through her futile attempts to keep face.
Okay, enough with the distraction. Chapter 7. I don't envy what you had to do here - as you acknowledged elsewhere, writing a 4K+ chat between two ponies confined to a couch really limits how many descriptions of their movements can be integrated into the flow of the dialogue. Not to mention that is a conversation where almost every piece of information within is something we already know directly or through implication. Thus, the chapter (or at least the portion focused on the chat) banks everything on how Sweet Leaf goes about telling Fine Roast everything, how he takes it all in, and the low-key intimacy of the scene.
I don't know if it was the absolute best version that could have been done, but it's about as good as one would realistically expect (the strain on the non-dialogue prose did register with me, but never as more then a tiny irritant). I don't mind it took them this long to get to talking about everything - you organised the plot well that there was always a solid reason it hadn't happened yet before now - and by and large, it delivered. Watching Sweet Leaf confess some of the harsher realities of what being a collector means, and owning up to what she's done but still standing by those decisions, and how it's kept her kind going, was an especially strong moment, I felt.
Of course, just to step back to the previous chapter, that made a low key one like this all the more needed, for us and the characters. As others have stated, it's really quite uplifting to see the pair calmly and patiently sit down and iron out all these issues - true love knows no bounds, and all that. They know there'll be some really tough hardships to come - and they have no inkling of the B-Plot involving Spindle, Chrysalis and the hive! - but they're sticking together. Truly uplifting and wholesome stuff.
Other thoughts? Little to say directly about the pre-conversation parts, but they fulfilled their purpose very well, of being slow and deliberate, with the aftermath of the grilling weighing on every sentence and thought of Fine Roast's, well beyond the few where it's directly mentioned. Worth tipping my hat to! If, you know, I had one. Good thing Applejack's here!
[One thing that confused me for a while - it took me ages to realise I was interpreting Roast's "Even then, the only thing I could do was whimper and grovel and beg." too literally, to mean that last chapter he actually DID grovel and beg offscreen for them to let Sweet Leaf go, hence Aura's barking demand as to whether Sweet Leaf loved him to the ends of Equestria, as a test. That there was no other mention of anything remotely like that in Roast's thoughts in this chapter made me realise that was just wild speculation on my part.
Unless… I'm actually right? I won't totally rule out the possibility just yet. I'll know by next chapter.]
Virtually everyone else here had been posted speculation about what's happening next with Refined Aura appearing at the end there, so I have nothing to add, except what a crafty cliffhanger, Azure Notion, you! She's been such a fascinating and intriguing character in her limited screentime thus far, especially with her different approaches to how she interrogated each character - it was far more then 'good cop, bad cop', for sure. Even beyond her habit of fidgeting with her wings and when she does or doesn't make eye contact. So like everyone else, I'm very eager to see what happens next one - and I'm especially happy the wait will be short.
I'm very sorry to hear about your eye trouble, my friend, but very glad it's mostly smoothed over by now. Always look after yourself - if me and everyone else here kept for 5.5 months, protracted gaps where necessary will be endurable. A story like this, as long as the quality keeps consistent, will always be worth the wait - while I don't plan on making a habit out of rereading prior chapters every time there's a new one, I'm not ruling out the possibility either!
Keep at it, this is one of my favourites! But you knew that already. Changeling fics like these are a real gem.
Binge complete
Now, we wait
Happily
They're so close to the back door. Unless Sweet Leaf whispered this, wouldn't Refined Aura have been able to hear her?
I think there might have been one other thing I wanted to say about this chapter, but I forgot it. Hopefully, I can remember it soon and get to a computer to write it down.
Edit: I remembered it. Where did you get the idea of "gripping fields"? I've never seen a writer be so explicit with that concept.
10746440
Through an outside door (an extra inch of material, usually) in the pouring rain? Miss Aura might have trouble fully understanding Roast in front of her.
That said; i don't think its Aura. Unless she only guards/suppresses emotion while at work i think this is a changeling...
10747096
You might have a point, but on the other hand, don't ponies have better hearing than humans? And you don't think it's Aura? You're the first to suggest that.
10743322
It wouldn't be an Azure fic if it didn't have a cliffhanger at least every few chapters! Hide your spawnlings, hide your significant other, for even in the act's resolution chapters, you're not safe.
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I am!
I am?
10743567
I am honored that your neural pathways would allow for such release of dopamine for my creative works.
10744502
It's nice to hear that my writing is able to invoke such emotions, even after a near-six month hiatus. I think that's one of many authors' goals, to be able to bring about an internal response like that.
I think you hit it on the nose pretty well, probably not the best version that could have been released, but it was decently satisfying for what it was. This whole chapter was written in about seven or eight sessions across those six months with the first half drafted right before my energy was completely sapped from me. So over the next few months, I tried and failed to add much until just the three-ish weeks. Once I finished it where it is now, I went back and looked it over. I knew there was a little bit of monotony in the actions and that some of the characterization was ever so slightly subpar (for my standards) but I'd had it on my plate for so long that I decided, "screw it, it's good enough," and pushed it off to my editing team. It's another one of those Creator Things™ where you wish something could be at that perfect stage for release, but 80% will have to do because brain goes blehp.
Having the need for this conversation was just as much of a stressor for me as it was for those who read it. I think I mentioned it somewhere else, but upon initial draft of the plot, these ten chapters were originally going to be just three with the talk at chapter 3. The idea was to address the Wavy Palette issue, have some resolution, then move on to "new" material. Once I realized I was way oversimplifying everything, I had to reconsider what would have happened given the elements and characters at play.
As I crafted the framework for how Firefly would be detained, I started to worry on how this talk was going to happen. I couldn't allow it to not happen, this was one of those absolutely crucial things for both the development of Firefly and Fine Roast's relationship and the strengthening of Roast's characterization. The latter of which was desperately needed after Unchanging Love where he was shown to be, for the most part, "the perfect spouse."
But, overall, I think it turned out well with the build up from chapters 1 and 2 of Roast's flaws and the state of them as a couple, the interruptions of their lives which forced them to confront the realization of their externally precarious relationship, and the final reconvening and recovering post-danger.
I shan't be saying anything about Aura relation business as since that's just next chapter. And because anything I would say would spoil and no one wants that.
Thank you for the kind words for my recovery! It has been quite the journey and I am glad to have it behind me. During then, it had gotten lost for me how much I wanted to write more of this uncertain couple and friends. So rest assured that I fully intend to keep going!
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It's been around for a long while, the idea that ponies can grasp things via a magical field along their underhoof or frog. I don't have an exact source for where or when it came from. As for why, with everything that's going on in this story, I decided to use an easier way for the "less abled" ponies to be able to perform actions so that was one thing I didn't have to worry about. Now that I'm more confident and experienced as a writer, if I had to do it over, I would likely consider using a less "cheaty" way (according to some) of doing things.
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To give you an indication of how highly I treasure this fic, my highest personal bookshelf is for great stories that are actually worth reading again (without such a long wait that you forget most of it, of course). Frankly speaking, as much good and great Ponyfic as there is around here, very little is at the quality of published fiction like that to justify it. This fic is the first one I've put in there whole it's still in-progress, as opposed to reserving judgement until it's finished.
Don't I know the feeling. Reminds me of a quote from a Pixar interview around the release of Toy Story 3, where they said, "We often joke that our films are never finished, merely released." As much as we writers should polish until it's as perfect as we can make it, and we do, it's also important to recognise when we've been at something long enough that further effort isn't going to do anything, and it's just not worth it. Hence me being largely only intellectually aware of the technical and prose nitpicks in this one, rather then being emotionally aware.
Yup, that was when you shifted to your "full character immersion" style of prose (I don't doubt if you were rewriting Unchanging Love under this new direction, it would be almost three times its current length even if you didn't add any extra incident). Got the other details from your various blog posts and comments on the matter too!
I find it very interesting to consider that we're still in Act I, the "setting up the chess board" act. What further makes it all the more interesting is that, of course, most of this material is still structurally and thematically part of Unchanging Love, which cut off when it did, I presume, to give a good note to pause on and a sense of closure (I seriously doubt Act I here will provide anywhere near the same sensation, but that again, why should it?). And also because you didn't intend a sequel at the time, certainly not of this magnitude (nearly a year of planning!).
But that's what makes this all the better - it's interweaving the setup pieces for this story (the Spindle chapters are almost fully this, which is probably why they're the least interesting, though that's only relative) with the realistic repercussions from the last one (I defer yet again to my point of the two barely being separate stories at all, outside of some recap in Chapter 1 of this fic). It's juicy and delicious in the way stories usually are not this early in the game. That, I believe, is one of the key ingredients as to why it's been able to thrive despite its clear length. The lack of an origin story certainly helps, of course - if Unchanging Love was the setup, this one is the payoff.
[I have mild concerns if the above can be retained once we move into Act II - in a traditional three act structure, Act II's first half, the second quarter of a story, is usually the hardest to crack and the weakest. But I certainly have faith in you to handle it! Just my current thoughts.]
I think it turned out well too (and I say this as a single ghost, so clearly it's vivid and feels real). Roast's characterisation is interesting, as, well… he was "the perfect spouse" in the last story! I cannot deny that Firefly is still the primary engagement point so far in the story, but on the other hand, I see a lot of the work you're doing to develop and flesh Roast out more and take him in interesting directions. We learn about characters through their decisions under pressure, and all that.
Okay, probably going to leave it there for now. Whenever in April (or May) we see the next chapter will be a hoot! Even if this story takes years to finish (which, well, it will, assuming a chapter a month), based on the evidence thus far, it'll be totally worth every chapter.
And now I'm caught up and there is nothing further but to wait.
As you mentioned a deviation from the established PoV rotation, I'm expecting that the break here was to swap into Refined Aura's perspective.
I think Aura is going to confront them with the fact that they didn't fool her about Firefly not being a changeling, so that means that one of the crown's big assumptions about changelings is wrong. Right now they're operating under the idea that what Chrysalis did with kidnapping and impersonating is the norm. As Firefly said just this chapter, making their own identity is the norm even if the other route does still happen.
It's probably too soon for Spindle's attack on Bright Resin to have gotten to Hoofington unless Aura is a lot higher in the overall investigation than we've so far been led to believe.
Wonder who was taken from her for her to have such a reaction.
Also nice to see a couple just sit down and have a conversation instead of flipping out.
I'm kind of surprised Firefly didn't catch on last chapter's lines that suggested she got caught. Especially "his concerns did have some merit". Perhaps she was too exhausted by the ordeal to process it? Or am I just imagining stuff?
At any rate, it's probably going to be adressed in the next chapter. I cant see how it wouldn't since Refined Aura decided to come talk to the couple...
Well, we'll see. I can't add any more to the speculations than what has already been done, but that certainly doesnt stop me from wondering what is going to happen next. Thank you.
Oh hey, we're back in business! Nice.
Now, I need to re-read the last few chapters, I don't remember who Miss Aura is. 😶
Aura certainly wastes no time. We predict she's going to be a pony analogue foil to Skitter...