Not All Secrets are Worth Keeping

by Coyote Mustang

One Secret Down

It was another restless night for Cobrajet. And as he awoke, he had expected the sounds of Stove and his friends running and screaming around the house. The fact that it was silent in the house began to worry him deeply. He tossed the sheet he was under off and as he placed his hooves on the floor, a whisper came from beside him.

“It’s too early Cobrajet, come back to bed” Gold Comet said as he rolled over and placed his sleepy eyes and bright smile on Cobrajet.

“I’d love to but I’m worried about the kids, I’m just going to check on them” Cobra answered.

“Come on hun, its Saturday, what could possibly go wrong” Comet said as he pulled Cobrajet onto the bed. After a few minutes in each other’s arms, Cobra’s mind still wanted to check on the children.

Cobra leaned in and kissed Comets head. “You stay in bed and get some sleep; I’m going to check on the kids. We’ve been through a lot in the past week; I think I’ll take over your job for the morning and cook breakfast for us all.”

After another kiss, Cobra placed his robe on and walked downstairs to the living room. Cobrajet stood and looked around the floor of the room. StoveBolt’s sleeping bag as well as the others were spread out unzipped and without ponies in them. A noise entered CobraJet’s ear, causing him to turn his head and look at the door to the kitchen. Cobra swiftly walked through the dining room, but was stopped along the way by something surprising to him.

The table had been set in a relatively normal fashion, only the forks were out of place. “That’s funny” CobraJet said as he looked at it, “We didn’t have dinner here last night.” “Why is the …” he began before the sound again brought him to the issue of the kitchen. He took a moment to reposition the silverware and moved on towards the kitchen door. As he approached the door, CobraJet heard the sounds of something frying in the kitchen coming from the other side. He cracked the door to the kitchen and was immediately bombarded by the smells coming from it. Cobra’s attention pulled him to guess the food’s to be served, first was the smell of eggs, next was the toast, and finally he smelled the sweet smell of gasoline.

“Wait, Gasoline” He thought as he ran into the kitchen proper. As he turned the corner, he was surprised to see the wood burning stove in the house was going, and it was well under control.

“Good morning, Brother” StoveBolt said as he tended to the eggs on the stove. Sweetie Belle stood next to him, looking on and taking notes. A few seconds later the door to the back of the house swung open and both Scootaloo and Applebloom walked in carrying something.

“I told ya’, it was ah’ right at Rarity’s, not ah’ left” Applebloom said to Scootaloo as she started to unpack the groceries in her bags.

“Well, it’s not my fault my parents never take me grocery shopping anymore” Scootaloo said in an attempt to defend herself.

“That’s because last time, you knocked over 6 aisles of shelves in it” AppleBloom snapped back, in an attempt to finish it.

The bickering between the two of them went on for a minute before a signaling cough turned their attention to CobraJet, who still stood in the doorway.

“Good Morning, Mr. Cobrajet” the two fillies said, smile’s extra wide. Their argument over, both of them began to unpack the extra groceries for the breakfast they were assembling.

“Yes, good morning to you as well” Cobra said as he took in the scene around him, “What exactly are you all doing and why are you bringing groceries into the house, I thought I had all we needed for the week?”

“Brother, the note on the fridge” StoveBolt replied as he pointed at the note in question.

Dear Cobrajet,
We need groceries.
Signed, Gold Comet

Cobrajet looked at the note, flipping it over and over again, seemingly to see if any other words were on it. After a few seconds, he let out a small chuckle and turned to the children.

“Well, I guess we did need groceries” he laughed and began to help them unpack.

The five of them spent the better part of an hour placing everything away and finished cooking breakfast. Gold Comet arrived just in time for breakfast, dressing the part and laughing as they all sat down and listened to Scootaloo recount stories of her adventures as one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“And then we tried ziplining, only for the rope to snap and we plummeted to the ground” Scootaloo recalled, eliciting a highly visual shudder from the other two fillies.

“How did you girls not hurt yourselves” Cobrajet replied, rather astonished at the story.

“Luckily the tree we fell in broke most of our fall” She replied, “Then there was that time we tried….”

“Scootaloo, I think we’ve said enough” Sweetie Belle interjected, not wanting to bring up any more painful memories.
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After the plates were cleaned, the room swept, and the ashes for the fire thrown out, the children continued their running and exploring of the house, stopping every so often to look in rooms and look at the decorations. They eventually ended their exploration at the door to the basement, an electric lock holding them back.

“Hey Stovebolt, what’s behind this door” Scootaloo asked as she moved her hoof up to the lock on the door. Within an instant, her hoof was pulled back, and Stovebolt stood next to her holding it.

“That’s my brother’s workshop, we must never go down there” Stovebolt said as he brought Scootaloo’s hoof down to the ground. “I’m not even allowed down there, He says it’s dangerous for little colts and fillies to be in there without him.”

“Well I’m not afraid” Scootaloo said as she put her hoof to the lock and waited.

A small needle popped out of the lock itself and poked Scootaloo in the hoof, drawing a small amount of blood from her.

“Ouch” she yelled as her hoof recoiled from the poke.

“Access Denied” the computer said loudly.

“Stovebolt, what do you think you’re doing” A loud voice came from behind them, causing all of the children to turn around and look at Cobrajet. “I told you, you’re not allowed down there, ever”

“But I didn’t do anything, it was Scootaloo” He replied back.

“It doesn’t matter who did anything, you should have known better” Cobrajet snapped back, “Now I think it’s time your friends return home.”

The dejected looks on the children’s faces didn’t change Cobrajet’s mind, as he knew it was past lunch time and he didn’t want them to stay two days in a row. The 5 of them walked around the town, starting at Sweet Apple Acres for AppleBloom, Next was Scootaloo, and as they approached Sugar Cube Corner on their way to Carousel Boutique, Rarity and Pinkie Pie walked out to greet them.

The conversation was light and calm as they walked back with Rarity, and as she opened the door to the Boutique, the conversation had reached its conclusion.

“I wish to apologize again for what happened last night, it was very uncouth of me” Rarity said as she walked into the store.

“Nonsense, it was a pleasure to have Sweetie Belle over for the night. She even helped make breakfast this morning” Cobra replied back as he followed her in.

“Oh dear, what were the damages” she replied back quickly, a look for horror in her eyes.

“Come on Rarity, I only helped make the toast” Sweetie Belle yelled, a hurt expression on her face.

“I’m sorry Sweetie, it’s just that you haven’t had the best of runs with cooking” Rarity replied, looking around her shop.

“What do you mean by that; Mom and Dad eat my breakfasts without complaint” Sweetie Belle retorted.

“Sweetie Belle, You nearly burned down my boutique with that breakfast. You even scorched the walls and set the smoke alarm off” Rarity yelled back, escalating the already volatile situation.

The two sisters began bickering back and forth on the topic, causing both Cobrajet and Stovebolt no end of uncomfortable feelings.

“Miss Rarity, if you need a minute, I have to drop Stovebolt off back at the house, as well as some errands to run. If you’d like I could return in an hour for our appointment” Cobrajet said, trying to make his way to the door.

This did stop the argument dead in its tracks, as Rarity remembered she and him had business to attend to. Rarity broke eye contact from the glaring contest she was having with her sister and spoke, “Oh no Darling, we have to get you ready, and I’m sure Sweetie Belle and StoveBolt could find something to do.” She turned to her sister and spoke through gritted teeth, “Right Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie Belle huffed at her sister’s false smile, but knowing that neither side would ever concide, she gave in. “I guess, Stovebolt did you finish your homework from yesterday” Sweetie Belle asked as she spun around on her hooves with a click and began to walk up to her room. Stovebolt looked to his brother for advice, and after receiving a slight smile, he followed her up to the room.

“Now, what was it you wanted in a suit” Rarity asked as Stovebolt left her line of sight.

“A simple black suit with an over coat to match” he replied back as they set off to work.
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“I can’t believe her, my cooking isn’t that bad” Sweetie Belle Said as she swung her door open.

StoveBolt took a step into her room and was immediately puzzled by the posters that hung up on her wall. Sure, they were music posters, but the bands on them weren’t what a pony would call normal for the little filly. Posters of Queen, Pendulum, and Linkin Park littered her walls. Several others adorned her walls, but the one that grabbed his attention was the Depeche Mode poster that hung above her bed.

“These are some great bands you’ve got here Sweetie Belle, I didn’t expect to see these in a filly’s room” StoveBolt said, still scanning the walls.

“I get that a lot from Scootaloo and AppleBloom, but what makes it worse is Rarity buys me some” She answered back, reaching into her satchel and pulled out her homework.

“What’s wrong with your sister buying you posters” StoveBolt asked as he looked at her quizzically.

“She buys all the wrong kinds, I don’t even know who Death Buggy of Cutie or Hooten Beiber, if that is his real name at all, are” She answered, flipping open a math book she had grabbed as well.

“Crap, that’s what they are” He answered back, eliciting a small laugh from Sweetie Belle.

The two ponies sat down on the floor, and sharing the same book, began to do their homework. Sweetie Belle and StoveBolt talked idly as they moved from math to science, and after an hour or so, Sweetie Belle shifted to find a better sitting position, and in the process learned how close she was sitting to StoveBolt. Sweetie Belle’s slight adjustments in the seating arrangement lead to an accidental bump on the side.

“I’m sorry” they both said in unison, causing them both to laugh. Stovebolt’s eyes quickly looked back to the next problem in the book, but Sweetie Belle’s lagged slightly behind the rest of the time they were there, as if deep in thought. They slowly finished up their science homework, making corrections to the each other’s papers when they saw it. Sweetie Belle slowly got up from her spot, and with a crack made her way to the top of the stairs.

“Come on Stove; let’s go get a snack from downstairs. All of this schoolwork is making me hungry” Sweetie Belle said as she stood by the stairs.

“Coming” he yelled as he swiftly stood up and followed suit.

StoveBolt’s attention was on making sure he didn’t fall as he made his way down. Unfortunately for him, Sweetie Belle had other idea. She streaked down the stairs faster than a Pegasus on rainbow juice, but she suddenly stopped as she turned the corner. StoveBolt made his way down and stood next to her.

“Sweetie Belle what’s wrong” He asked as he traced her eye line towards the object in question. His eyes lay upon what had stopped her and it stopped him as well. Rarity and CobraJet stood in an embrace, tears flowing from both of their eyes.

“Cobra is everything alright” he asked out loud, startling the two ponies in the process. They quickly released each other, scarlet cheeks on the both of them.
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“I still don’t understand” Stovebolt said as they continued walking down the road towards the house, “Why were you hugging Miss Rarity?”

“I told you already, I’ll tell you when you’re older” Cobra answered back, the blush still visible on his face.

They continued like this all the way up the road, across the bridge, and all the way up the steps. CobraJet stopped at the door and turned to his brother and spoke, “Now, you are to go upstairs, finish your homework and when dinner is ready I will call you down is that understood?”

StoveBolt lowered his head and with a yes, CobraJet opened the door and greeted Gold as they walked in.

Over the next hour and a half, dinner was prepared by both Comet and Cobra, Stove finished his homework and they all sat down for a good meal. The remainder of the evening was taken up by television and small talk between CobraJet and Gold Comet about the day’s happenings. Soon the clock tolled 10, warning StoveBolt that it was time for bed.

StoveBolt climbed into bed, pulled his covers up and waited for Cobra to close the door. As the door closed but failed to latch, Stove started at it again.

“Why do I have to be older, I know about love and all that stuff” he said, catching Cobra off guard.

“Why are you so fixated on that incident” Cobra asked as he sat down on the floor.

“Because I care for you big brother and I want to see you happy. If you love her you don’t have to keep going and getting clothes, just tell her how you feel” Stove said as he watched his brother.

“What I do with miss Rarity is none of your concern, and when you wake up tomorrow I want you to forget that and move on” Cobra snapped back.

Stovebolt recoiled back under his covers at his brother’s anger, and shortly after he had said it Cobra’s face fell.

“Look StoveBolt, I need you to keep this quiet” he said to the lump of covers, “I need this to be a surprise.”

It took a few seconds, but the lump spoke a simple ok as Stove showed his face.

“Thank you, now it’s time for bed. Get some sleep for tomorrow” Cobra said as he kissed his head.

“Good night brother” StoveBolt said as he rolled over in his bed and closed his eyes, and sleep took him with little effort.

CobraJet walked out of the room and slumped down in front of the door with a sigh. Boy had he dodged a bullet there. But to his alarm a larger one was on its way. Gold Comet stood by the bedroom door, a blank look on his face, like he normally did when the two of them were at odds about something.

“Is something the matter, Gold” Cobra asked as he set his eyes on the butler.

“I think we need to talk” Gold answered, his eye’s shifting around the room.

CobraJet stood up and walked over to him. He attempted to plant a kiss on him but Comet dodged it, forcing it to land on his cheek. This made him worry.

“Gold, what is wrong” he asked, a frown forming on his face.

“What’s this I hear about Miss Rarity” he asked his tone accusatory.

“Oh, that” Cobra said as his ears folded down.

“Cobrajet, what you do on your own time is your own business, but I won’t allow you to hurt me” he said as he got into Cobra’s face. He backed off when Cobra sank to the floor under the gaze and spoke as if he realized something, “No wonder why you have been over there the last few days, you’ve been cheating on me” Gold yelled as he turned to walk away.

CobraJet stood with a face only reserved for one thing, one that held a secret. He grimaced at the words that had been said, but he knew he could make this right. He just had to say it. He took a deep breath then let lose all his emotions.

“Gold Comet, I have been over at Rarity’s Boutique for the last week working on a present for you, but in order for it to work you need to trust me” he yelled at Gold, his voice breaking with every word. “I’m sorry I lied to you, it was wrong of me and I hope you can forgive me when this is all done” Cobrajet finished as he went in for another kiss.

This time Comet didn’t move and they shared a quick kiss. As the kiss ended Cobra asked a question that threw Comet off-guard, “Comet, do you still love me?”

Comet looked down at his lover with a look of shock, “Of course I love you, and nothing will ever change that. Sure I might get mad at you for doing stupid things, but would I have moved myself here if I wasn’t sure of this?”

Cobra gave a weak smile, “Thank you, it’s nice to know that in this world some pony has my back” he said as he hugged his lover. The embrace lasted a few minutes, and as it ended CobraJet began to move to the bedroom door.

“Come here Gold, I want to show you something” he said as he slipped into the bedroom.

Gold Comet stood for a few seconds, and then slowly approached the room. As he looked into the doorway, he saw CobraJet fumbling for something in his dresser.

“What is that” he asked, causing CobraJet to spin in place, his face showing tears forming.

He placed the item behind his back, not willing to show him yet. He looked at Gold with a smile and choking back tears, he began to speak.

“Gold Comet, I have known you for 4 years. You have been my friend, my butler, my lover, my rock, and although I may not be the most capable pony, you have stuck by me and I appreciate that. But the relationship we have needs to end. I don’t want you to be with me like this anymore” he said as tears flowed out of him.

Gold Comet’s expression faltered as he heard these words. What was going on, was this really the end, had he pushed too hard, been too demanding, not loved passionately enough. The thoughts sprang up faster than they would settle, but the sounds of a deep breath being taken his attention shifted back to CobraJet.

“I want you to know something about me; I’m not supposed to be here today. The doctor’s told me the damage I had suffered should have killed me, but here I am. I survived that terrible time in my life, and it was not just for me or for my brother, but for you as well. Even if I didn’t know it was you at the time. I fought to survive for a smile. When I awoke, I came face to face with the most delicate and beautiful smile I had ever seen, and all I could think of was the need to see it again. So every day I pushed myself to wake in hopes of seeing it, and every day I was awarded with that smile.” He finished with a smile, but quickly a frown took its place as he continued.

“I saw that smile and loved it from the start, but it wasn’t to last. I awoke one day to see nothing, and with that I nearly crashed again, but luckily for me a new smile took its place, the smile of a younger brother hovering over me.” Cobra said as the smile returned to his face.

“And so I continued to live, waiting for that smile to return, but as time passed I began to worry it may never appear again. Then low and behold, I answer a single door knock in the night and I see the smile again. Our love blossomed from that point on, and all I wanted to do was have that smile to me forever, and for a while I did.” he continued, his face showing the emotions of the times.

“But I soon realized that I couldn’t do that. I want the world to see you as I do, not as the butler, but as the pony I have fallen in love, to share this smile with them all without the mask we wear to the outside world. But the relationship we have will never allowed this to happen, and after these 4 wonderful years, I think it’s time for me to move on and enter into a different type of relationship, one without restriction and secrets. And I should have done this a while ago, but you know me, always waiting until the last minute” CobraJet tearfully laughed as he revealed the object he grabbed, a small box covered in velvet and gold clasp.

“Gold Comet, will you marry me? Will you allow me the pleasure of sharing your smile and love with the world in a way we have always wanted?” he said as he opened the box.

The box he opened contained a pair of platinum earrings, both inlayed with gold and rubies motifs.

Comet stood still, was this really happening? His eyes moved from the earring box to Cobra’s face then back to the box again. “Where did you get these” he asked as he looked back at Cobra.

“They were my mother, given to her by my father as an engagement gift, but you still haven’t answered my question” Cobra answered as he looked at Gold with a tentative smile,

He couldn’t think of the words to say so he didn’t use any. Gold Comet leapt forward onto CobraJet and locked him into the deepest kiss he could manage. He poured all of his emotions into this kiss and after what seemed like an hour, but was more like thirty seconds, he pulled away to catch his breath.

CobraJet sat dumbfounded as the kiss ended for his mind was in a state of temporary shutdown. CobraJet suddenly felt his body go light, and after a slow turn of his head he had figured out why. Gold Comet had lifted him onto the bed they shared and had placed himself next to him. What followed after was the most passionate thing the two of them had ever done. As they lay in the afterglow, CobraJet turned to his partner and asked with a laugh, “So I’m guessing that was a yes?”

Gold Comet turned to look at him and with an eye roll he spoke, “Of course I’ll marry you, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The smile on CobraJet’s face grew and he kissed his fiancee on the cheek. He turned to look at the ceiling, trying to organize his thoughts, when he heard Gold’s voice again.

“What was that” he asked as he turned to him.

“You know this means you’re going to have to tell your brother about us now” Gold questioned, his face a very sly smile.

“Yeah I guess I have to now” he answered with a frown.

“What’s the matter, love” Gold said as he placed a hoof on his shoulder.

“I’m scared” Cobra replied as he rotated to face Comet, “What if he doesn’t take it well; I don’t want to lose him as well.”

“All we can do is try” Comet replied back as he moved forwards on the bed and wrapped his hooves around Cobra.

The two of them smiled at each other and with a quick movement from CobraJet, they both cuddled into each other’s hooves and quickly fell asleep.