The JeanDélicieux

by Cinnarowe

A Fleeting Feeling

Princess Celestia had been pretty stoked about my plan, although it was clear we wouldn't be able to fool anyone. At best, I was hoping that Luna's costume could make other ponies perceive her as just another pony, as Sugar and I have.

And so, the princess had put the matter of Luna's social ventures in my hands for the time being. Shortly after our chat, she excused herself to her other duties after giving Luna some sibling love in the form of adorable pony nuzzles.

I sat down next to Sugar Plum when I got back, though she didn't talk to me about what had happened earlier. I could see she wanted to, but she left it alone. Instead, she had started to introduce me to Luna's figurines. They varied from Starswirl the Bearded to mythical creatures roaming the lands of Equestria. The detail on those things...

I wasn't really interested in sharing that part of my life with anyone these days. I don't feel like anyone would understand, and whenever I would try to open up about it, I felt like I'd been hit by a locomotive.

To be honest, I was close to opening up to Celestia, but my pride prevented me. My mother and father were the only ones I had properly talked to about my private life. I did my best to keep them out of my problems as best as I could, though.

To be honest, I didn't want to lose my cool in front of Princess Celestia on the day we first met.

Don't push the ponies closest to you away. The princess's words rang in my head, and I had to try to grip the situation a little tighter. While I had gotten somewhat adjusted to the fact that we were guests of a princess, Luna had not ruled Equestria for a thousand years.

Princess Celestia was a different case.

She was the benevolent monarch I remembered from growing up. I saw her at the Summer Sun Celebration with my mom and dad every year. I'd also see her with her guards when she sometimes went to charity events or obscure things like cutting ribbons for shop openings. She had never once spoken to me before.

It was surreal to actually be with her and have her talk to me, though I was honestly relaxed by the fact that she knew my mom as well as she did. It made her less daunting if anything.

To learn that my mom had been friends with her my whole life? I don't really understand why I wouldn't have heard about that part before. But, then again, I don't tell my mom about the friends I hang out with or our private conversations, so I guess I shouldn't be pointing fingers.

She'll be here in a few days; I'll just ask her about it.

As a result of being on the brink of spilling my guts all over Princess Celestia, I decided to push it aside for later. Sugar was the one in need of support right now, not me. I had been dealing with this stuff for a long time, so I was in no rush to suddenly start treating one of my friends like my therapist.

Which reminded me, my monthly session was coming up right after Hearth's Warming.

We bid farewell to Luna after letting her in on my plan, and she reluctantly agreed if I thought it would help her fit in. She put her faith in me, and I just hoped that I'd manage to deliver.

We agreed to meet outside the back of my restaurant a little before eight o'clock, so Sugar and I could help her get dressed. Luna and Sugar had spent some more time talking about baking and desserts before we left.

Eventually, Sugar instructed Luna on preparing a simple chocolate cake because Luna insisted she bring something for everyone even though the party would be loaded with stuff anyway. I didn't mind, I was sure Luna could eat it all even if there was leftovers. I shivered at remembering how she swallowed a whole pie in one go.

Once we said our goodbyes and left, we made it home without incident and made for the bed immediately. We were both pooped, and honestly, it had been a different kind of exciting day than what we were both used to, so it really took it out of us both.

Thankfully we didn't run into Cog on the way back.

I had taken the mattress again, but Sugar had somehow ended up right in the same spot she had been last time, only this time, I wasn't assaulting her flanks when I woke up. She never did bring that up again, actually.

I had another wonderful dream that night, though it was different. It was like I was floating in an empty space while I drifted down a river, but it wasn't water. It was very peaceful, and I could hear that music from before.

Once we were awake, Sugar helped me destroy one of the old outfits my mom had made for me when I was a kid. I figured I wouldn't need it anymore anyway, so I got to cutting while Sugar did the measuring and sewing. We didn't know the exact size for Luna, so we ensured it was extra baggy. If it was, we could fatten her with some pillows to give the costume the extra accuracy. Thankfully I had some red fabric in one of my closets.

The hat wouldn't be a problem... I hoped. I didn't know if it needed a horn-hole or not, but if it came to that, I was sure we could just skewer the hat on her head. I was also pretty sure I had a fake beard lying around here somewhere. Just imagining that on Princess Luna was already causing me to nearly shit myself with laughter.

It took most of the day to create the 'costume'. At some point, I left Sugar to her own devices when I realized I would just be in the way since I had no sewing experience. The costume wouldn't get any better even with an expert at work. It was human child sized, and the fabric I collected was a different shade of red, so it looked pretty bad. So instead of helping her, I went to the kitchen to make some food for us.

I thought about the party later today, and snickered to myself when I remembered the one from last year.

It was pretty neat being a manager. You could just task your employees to fix stuff for you without worrying too much about it yourself. I had given everyone something to do for the party today. Drinks, cakes, and pizza would be present, but mostly drinks. It was only once a year we were able to have a party like this with everyone present, and we were going to make sure it was a good one.

Some ponies would be over at the restaurant making pizza's for us while others would stock up on alcohol on a shared bill between all of us. The rest of those with nothing to do and would bring homemade cupcakes or stuff like that.

I sorely needed this after what the last few days had brought me. It's been a fucked up weekend. I wasn't about to complain about some of the things that had happened; it was all just a little too much in a very short amount of time.

We changed Sugar's band-aid again after she had finished getting herself ready for the party. What I initially thought was a deep wound turned out to not be so bad, all things considered. It was shut tight after almost two days of healing, but for good measure, I slapped on another one to make sure it didn't re-open during the party.

Once we had both gotten ready and made ourselves look as presentable as possible, we were off towards The JeanDélicieux.

---

"Why art thou laughing? We do not see the appeal."

Yes. Yes! This was every bit as ridiculous as I had imagined. I struggled to breathe as I leaned against the brick wall outside the back entrance of my restaurant.

"Ho... ho... holy shit. It fits!" I cackled between wheezing out my lungs.

Sugar was trying to stuff some fluffy couch pillows inside the very loose Santa Claus costume we had managed to get on Luna. The colors and the look on Luna's face were just too much for me.

The Santa hat was a little small, so it was squeezed down on her head, making her hair come out in a very concentrated flow. Her snout was too long to bring the fake beard over, so it just hung below her chin. That, and the costume was so baggy on her. It just made it all so hilariously stupid.

I haven't laughed so hard in years.

Luna frowned at me, and Sugar gave me a sideways glare as she continued to stuff a princess.

The lonesome male guard behind Luna wasn't saying much, as was his job. He had been standing there ever since Luna arrived a bit ago and just observed as we played dress up with the alicorn.

"Honestly, Jean. Get a hold of yourself!" Sugar snapped at me as she finally got the whole thing into the outfit, making Luna's chest much larger.

I wiped some tears that had trickled out and sighed in joy as I pushed off the wall and headed over to help out while keeping my giggles to myself as best as possible.

"You know, I think this is gonna be totally fine, Princess." I said to Luna as I started to wrap a belt around her to secure the pillows. We had made sure the back of the costume was open, so Luna's wings wouldn't be immobile at all. I had to ben back so I wouldn't get a face full of feathers.

I did my best to avoid contact with her coat as I tried to buckle the belt so that it would hold the pillows without slipping out. Sugar had done most of the actual dress-up with her magic, but some parts were too delicate and needed a push, like the chunky black belt needing to be threaded between skinny slots in the hem of the red costume.

We only had the upper part of the costume as it had taken all day to make, so we just dropped the pants and figured it'd be fine without them.

I didn't want to break any boundaries with Luna, so I was careful not to come into contact with her coat as I wrapped my arms carefully around her barrel. She stood still and allowed us to work while the guard stared daggers into my neck.

"Thou say so, yet still laugh at us," Luna said as I tightened the belt.

"Aw, c'mon Princess, it's friendly. I didn't mean anything bad by it."

She looked over her shoulder at me and moved her wings a bit to be able to look at me. "What doth thou mean?"

I shrugged as I finished up and made sure the belt wouldn't snap. "You know, like if I told you a joke that you liked. You don't laugh at me; you just think it's funny."

Her eyes darted back and forth as if she was reading an unseen script. "We see... We do not have much experience in joking, however."

"Oh, don't worry. Once you settle in with us, you'll be just fine. Speaking of, you ready?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "We suppose. We art still nervous, but we believe we art ready."

Sugar had also finished her task, and we both took a few steps back to admire our work.

I almost started laughing again, so I clapped a hand over my mouth. It was beautiful. Fat Luna. Santa Luna.

"Oh, and by the way, Princess," I started as I walked over to her when my snickering stopped. "Try to say 'I' instead of 'We'. That's going to do you a lot of favors."

Luna nodded and licked her lips nervously. "I... will try."

I nodded satisfyingly. That's all I'll ask. Then, clapping and rubbing my hands, I made for the door. "Alright! I'm gonna go introduce you. Just wait for my signal. When you hear 'Santa', come in and say the line I taught you. 'Kay?" I called over my shoulder to Luna as I made my way inside the back door.

I looked back and saw Luna nod before she turned to say something to Sugar Plum. I didn't hear what she said; I was already through the door and headed for the main event.

The party was held in the seating areas on the first floor. We had made sure to soundproof the building and tint the windows so nobody would hear the loud music from the speakers or watch us get smashed. That might give us a bad rep, after all.

The middle of the floor had been completely cleared, turning it into a dancefloor for later. On each side of the self-service bar were two huge speakers connected to a mixing table on the bar itself, where a white unicorn mare with a blue mane and purple-tinted glasses stood and mixed up some sick tunes for the party.

She turned to me as I entered and gave me a nod before going back to her work.

When I got into view of the rest of the tables, I was waved down by Giddy, who had saved me a seat next to him by a table filled with other stallions.

"'Ey, there's my guy! Get tha fuhg' over here, dude!" He called out to me drunkenly, waving his bottle of booze over his head.

I jogged over and slid next to him as I raised my voice to be heard over the music. "The fuck are you dumbasses up to?"

"Oh, dude, we're just fuhgin' around. Dude, I love you, man." He shouted back as he grabbed my cheeks with his hooves and tried to kiss me. I stuck each of my thumbs into the edges of his mouth and pulled him off so he stuck his tongue out of his mouth, trying to reach.

"C'mere ya weird pony. Giddy loves ya." He said dreamily as he attempted to drag his cheeks as far as they could to reach me.

One of the other guys got a chokehold on him and dragged him back towards him playingly, and momentarily took the attention off me. Giddy tried to get away weakly as he laughed like a maniac.

"Holy shit, Giddy. Ease up on the juice. The party just started, dude." I laughed as I grabbed an unopened bottle from the table and cracked it open with a five-bit piece from my pocket.

"Cheers, guys!" I called to the collection of stallions by the table. Some were unfamiliar, but around half of them were my partners in crime.

I'd sometimes forget how much I loved this part of The JeanDélicieux. It was only at this party at the end of the year that we would do this sort of stuff, and only then would I allow myself to feel this good. Just enjoy the small things and get absolutely wasted so I can forget about stuff.

The stallions responded to my cheers with their own, and we shared a mighty chug together. Then, as soon as we had drained a fair portion each, we all belched together and cheered. It was great.

Almost forgetting my objective, I stood again, went to the mixing table by the self-service bar, and picked up a microphone from a stand while keeping my beer tight in my other hand.

One of my cooks, Fanner, had fixed us the D.J. for tonight. She used to share a room with her in College, so she happily did it in exchange for food and company. She even set up karaoke for later.

I'd still pay her, though. It'd be rude not to.

I tapped the mic a few times to make sure it was on and cleared my throat before lifting it to my mouth. The D.J. saw what I was doing and slid the knobs down to lower the music. The sudden silence and the 'pop pop' sound coming from my taps were enough to get the ponies' attention, and soon all eyes were on me.

"Y'all having a good time?!" I growled into the mic. The responding cheer from all tables got my blood pumping.

"Y'all ready to have an even better time?!" The cheers increased.

"I got a jolly friend who wants to meet you guys, but you gotta help me call for them!" I said. It was met with another cheer, although they were just cheering for the sake of it, it seemed.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Sugar's head hanging out of the kitchen doors and a glimpse of a blue, floaty mane right behind her. She nodded at me.

I started chanting. "Santa. Santa. Santa. SANTA!"

The crowd looked confused for a second but joined me in the chant just as loud as before. All the tables were filled with party ponies, and they were wrapped around each other as they cheered on. Giddy had even started slamming the table along with the chant, and other tables soon joined in.

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen burst open as Luna Claus leaped in the past me with her wings and landed in the middle of the cleared room with a large, brown bag over her shoulder.

"Ho, ho, ho! Any naughty foals in here?!" She said in an exceptionally exaggerated deep voice, and I could have sworn I heard thunder tumbling outside. I grinned maniacally and looked around the room, waiting for everyone's reaction. They all just stared at her in stunned silence.

I was starting to have doubts enter my mind after it had dragged on for a bit too long when Giddy burped loudly and spoke up.

"Me! I've been really naughty!" He slurred as he fell on his back on the table and chugged the rest of his bottle. The stallions at the same table lost their composure and started laughing their asses off.

That snapped everyone back, and they all started cheering about how naughty they were or something along those lines. Fuck me... You guys are gonna regret this shit in the morning.

Luna had been slightly confused at the reaction but had started to cheer awkwardly with everyone all the same. My guess is she wasn't used to these kinds of get-togethers. It honestly just made the situation more hilarious. Well, nobody freaked out, at least.

A quick scan around the room at the more sober crowd told me they were still somewhat reserved. It was just a few worried looks and whispers, but most of the ponies just continued their drinking and partying.

Luna was overwhelmed when a table filled with mares came over to admire her outfit and mane before they dragged her with them to sit at their table. She looked hilarious as she bobbed her way over to the table in her fat suit.

She glanced over her shoulder at me as she was being dragged off, and I gave her a reassuring smile in confirmation. Just be yourself, Luna. It's okay.

Her guard had taken position by the stairs where he would have the best overview of his charge. However, nobody seemed to notice him when he entered because most eyes were on Luna.

...Until a few drunk mares had slithered up to him and started flirting with him.

Luna was now sitting in the middle of the horseshoe-formed couch on a corner table and had busted out a chocolate cake from her bag.

...How that thing was not totally demolished from being tossed around in her bag, I did not know.

I laughed and put my mic down, intending to go back and join Giddy, who had now become a bottomless pit of booze. The other guys at the table were pouring beer into his mouth as he was lying on his back. They were all cheering him on, telling him to 'chug chug chug'.

I noticed Sugar Plum had appeared at my hip when I looked down. I leaned down to her ear so she could hear me over the music as we stood behind the bar.

"You should go have fun. Just forget about everything tonight, okay?"

"Tell me before you go?" She shouted back. I wasn't planning on leaving her, so I gave her a reassuring hug.

"I'm locking up when everybody leaves, don't worry."

She broke my hug and gave me a quick smile before trotting off to find her friends. I watched her go to ensure she got a place to sit and noticed that she took a seat with Chatter and Minuette, both of whom were noticeably not as drunk as everyone else yet and were giving Princess Luna strained looks from the table over.

Yeah, I didn't think it would be as easy as all that. Oh, well.

I shrugged. I'd worry about that later. It seemed to me Luna was in safe hooves for now, and her guard was here anyway.

I had a party to enjoy.

---

"So, what happened to your lip?" Chatter asked as she took a sip of her glass of wine.

Sugar just shrugged and tried to look casual. "I tried to lick a frozen pole, and my lips got stuck. Had to tear them off. Not fun."

Chatter's eyes narrowed. "Seriously?"

"Yup." She confirmed as she put her lips to her wine glass and sipped, looking in a different direction.

Chatter put her head in her hooves as she leaned over the table and peered at Sugar. Sugar met her gaze for a second before her eyes flickered away.

"Alright, then. So... are you and Jean dating?" Chatter asked randomly.

Haven just taken another sip, Sugar's eyes widened, and she spat out the content she had just taken into her mouth before coughing madly.

Chatter flinched as some wine spilled on her hooves. "Oh, wow! You are, aren't you!"

Sugar beat her chest as she tried to get control of her lungs. "N-no! What makes you say that?!" she hissed through her teeth.

"Well..." Chatter started as she fluttered her eyes and pointed toward the bar. "I just happened to see you two over there earlier doing something. You're so cute."

Sugar sputtered. "T-that was... I mean, ugh. NO. We're not dating," she exclaimed with a hoof to the table. She blushed slightly before continuing. "...besides, I'm married. And I think Jean is too."

Chatter's amused expression fell, and she looked toward Jean. He had Giddy cradled in his arms while feeding him a bottle of beer as if he was giving milk to a toddler.

"Did he tell you that?" She asked, not taking her eyes off him.

Sugar shook her head. "No. I was visiting him this weekend, and I saw a bunch of framed pictures of him with a mare in one of his drawers," she said and her eyes flicked toward Luna on the other table. "Yesterday, I saw a picture of him in an old newspaper with that same mare from the winners of Equestrian Top Chef."

Chatter turned back to Sugar and frowned. Minuette was engaged in another conversation next to them, satisfied that Luna would not attack unprovoked.

Chatter sighed and took another sip of her wine. "I started working here about six years ago. Back then, there weren't as many ponies working here as there are now, and I'm pretty much the only one still around from the original crew. Everyone else has moved on since," she started.

Sugar nodded, urging her to continue as she started cleaning up her mess on the table with a napkin.

"Jean wasn't the only one running the shop back then. There was a mare too, his wife, Willow Rose."

Sugar's eyes widened. "Was? What happened to her?"

Chatter's ears fell. "Willow started to act really weird sometimes, and one day she just stopped coming to work. We asked Jean what had happened, but he kept dodging the question or told us she was just sick. I haven't seen or heard from her since."

Sugar eyes narrowed in thought. She never heard Jean mention her, not once. Then, suddenly, she remembered her short introduction to Princess Celestia and how she gave him her condolences, and things were slowly starting to craft a bigger picture in her mind.

Chatter's ears went up. "You found pictures in a drawer?"

"Yeah, I borrowed one of his jackets, and they were just right there."

"Why were you at his house, anyway?" Chatter pressed.

Sugar shifted. "I was... I don't know. I wanted to get out of my house for a little bit."

Chatter peered at her again, and her eyes flicked to the band-aid. "Is Cog hurting you?"

And there it was. Chatter had been the one pony that Sugar could talk to about everything at home, but she didn't know if she wanted her to know about this. "It's complicated."

"Girl, if there is something you need to tell me, tell me. You know I can listen." Chatter said as she left her seat and went to Sugar to sit next to her. "Come on, let's get out of this noisy mess and talk alone for a bit."

Sugar sighed before nodding, letting the mare take her towards the kitchen and into the office. She didn't want to put a damper on the party for anyone, but she couldn't take her mind off it. She trusted Chatter to keep it all to herself.

Not that she didn't trust Jean, she just didn't want to bother him with her problems. Besides... it looked like he might have his own.

Then came the questions. What happened to Jean's wife? Why hasn't he told anyone about this at all? Why is he hiding his photos in a drawer in a dark room?

She hadn't known him for that long, but long enough that they were considered friends. She wanted to be there for him as he had for her if she could. Even if it meant they had to exchange stories.

Sugar looked back over to Jean as they walked. He had now started chugging a large bottle while the other guys around his table were cheering him on. He slammed it down on the table once he finished, and the ponies around him roared at him. Giddy tackled him to the floor next to the table and started wrestling with him.

Luna was doing pretty well over at her own little party. Evidently, she was challenged to devour a whole pizza by herself. Those mares must not have seen her swallow half of the restaurant's stock a few days ago because she was already on her fourth pizza.

The party had been going for hours, and it was starting to creep toward ten o'clock. Music was still playing, although not as loudly as it had been when they were standing over by the speakers. It was a very relaxing beat that went well with talking. The D.J. had left her table and joined in on the food and drinks with a group of ponies.

Ponies were dancing on the floor to the beat with whoever they could find. The party had been thrust into a different gear by the time it hit eleven, and some ponies had just vanished altogether.

She saw Jean, now back up at his seat by the table. He and the boys were all laughing together at whatever the pony across from him was talking about, and from his facial expression, one would think nothing was amiss.

One question loomed over her mind as she passed the kitchen threshold.

What happened?

---

I leaned against Sugar as she and I walked towards my home after finally locking up the shop. It was a little after midnight, and it was absolutely freezing outside. The snow was falling in thick flakes and coated the ground with even more layers than before.

What a night it had been, though. I haven't had this much fun since... well, the last time we did this exactly a year ago. Thankfully, Giddy and I weren't able to take to the streets of Canterlot. He had already been dragged away by some mare later on and dissapeared.

In fact, that seemed to be a common theme tonight. As we were cleaning up, I found almost a dozen couples love-making in one way or another in our upstairs and downstairs bathrooms. Some had even tried to get their freak on in the kitchen. Even as a drunk shithead, I would never let that shit fly in there.

Love was certainly in the air this evening. Unfortunately, a cleanup crew was needed in the form of the most sober ones that were still remaining by the time everyone had left. Sugar, Luna, myself, and a few others of my staff had stayed behind to sanitize our bathrooms and put everything back in place. Luna was tasked with clearing out the food, thought it was all gone when I came back. Where she put it, I had no idea.

We were gonna re-open on Friday, so we needed to get everything sorted by then.

I made sure to leave the D.J. with a pretty decent tip. Her gear wasn't cheap by the looks of it, and she had been talented at riling ponies up as the night went on and kept the music lively and holiday-themed. She was cool.

Sugar and I were about to reach my house when we heard a voice behind us. "Hey."

Sugar froze up, and together we turned to look at Cog. Of course...

He was leaning against the corner opposite where we were headed, blending in with the shadowed area. He stepped out into the street light, and only then could I tell just how disheveled he looked. His eyes were bloodshot, his mane was messy, and he was shivering. I figured he might've been standing there for a while.

Sugar didn't say anything. In fact, she was doing her best to scoot behind me. I did my part and blocked her from view.

"The fuck do you want?" I asked, venom seeping through my voice as I tried to ignore how drunk I felt.

He flared his teeth at me. "I'm here for my wife, jackass. Get outta the way."

"Or what? You gonna hit me, too?" I challenged.

He was visibly taken back by that, and his eyes went to what he could see of his wife poking out behind me, and he tried to lean past me to get a look at her.

"Baby... you know I didn't mean that." He started. "Things got out of hoof. You know I'd never do that." he continued as he tried to snake his way over to her. "I'm sorry, honey. C'mon, let's go home?"

He tried to weasel his way past me, but I pushed him away with my leg to his chest, and he stumbled back. "Back off."

"Get lost, freak." He hissed as he went into a stance, ready to pounce at me.

I was so fucking close to wailing on the guy, but Sugar stepped in between us. "Please stop! I'll go with you." She said to Cog as she pushed me away from him.

"Don't listen to this fucking guy!" I warned her as she continued to push me away. She gave me a look. A look I didn't like.

She was afraid.

I looked back at her and tried to get a read on what she was thinking. This wasn't right. This isn't how this should be. Why was Sugar stopping me?!

She leaned up to my face. "Please... don't. It's gonna be fine. Just please don't."

Cog had now walked up behind her and put a hoof around her flank and pulled her back towards him before turning her around and giving her a very, very forced hug. A hug she was not returning.

"I missed you, baby." he said as he broke away and tried to make her move with him. What the fuck should I do? I didn't want to get into a fight in the middle of the night out here, and I didn't think I should actually attack someone in a city street...

I watched helplessly as Cog patted Sugar on the back and reassured her that everything would be fine. She didn't look back at me, and Cog completely ignored me as he continued to move Sugar along with him. I wanted to rip him away from her, but Sugar was very adamant about me not escalating it. She had even told me when we were at home that if they ran into him, I should just let her leave with him if he insists.

I was right here, and I was willing to help her. Yet, she refused it and just went with him anyway. It was like what happened a few days ago hadn't happened at all.

Why?!

I stood there like a frozen icicle, just staring ahead at me as I watched the two go. I thought I was actually losing consciousness because all of a sudden, my body started to warm up.

Okay... This is nice.

My eyes drooped as I suddenly felt incredibly relaxed, and I almost wanted to just let the snow catch me as I faceplanted when I suddenly noticed the thick, blue hair dancing in my face. My eyes opened more at this realization, and I saw Princess Luna standing next to me as her mane flowed into my whole being.

"Is all well, Jean?" She asked with amused expression. Her Santa outfit was gone, and she was once again back in her royal regalia. She appeared to be doing her best to keep her mane directed at me as she stood next to me, and I also noticed her guard was standing right behind her.

"Luna? What're you doing here?" I slurred, still struggling to keep my eyes open.

"We were returning to the castle when we spotted a most suspicious-looking pony. So we waited here for thee to return to ensure your safety." She said as if it was a fact.

She was likely talking about Cog. He had been pretty shifty, hiding in the corner like a rat. I knew he'd show up eventually. He might've gotten wind of the party happening today.

"Yeah... You're right about that one. He's on my shitlist, that's for sure." I grumbled as I looked back toward where he had been just a minute ago.

"Hmm... we do not know what a 'shitlist' is. Should we be concerned for young Sugar Plum?" She asked as she eyed the same spot as me. I sighed, causing a large cloud of smoke to appear in front of me before shrugging.

"I don't know..." I started and pointed toward the direction they had left in. "I don't trust him with her."

Luna looked at me and seemed to be in thought about something. "Then perhaps we should have a word with them, instead?" she offered. "thou seem to require some sleep, friend."

My eyes had lidded over again, and I snapped them open once I realized what she had said. I snorted before giving her a smile. "You know what? I think that's a great idea."

I gave Luna a thumbs up, and she nodded at me before heading off toward the pair. As soon as she had left and her hair had slithered off my body, I remembered how cold it was. I had to hug myself tightly to keep warm and took note that the snowfall had increased, as it was getting hard to see anything in front of me.

As she walked off, she glanced back at me and spoke softly. "Sleep well and deep, dear Jean. We shall speak again soon."

I laughed. "I'll do that."

Then, we parted ways. Luna headed off with the guard towards the pair, and I went for my home just behind the corner. In a way, I wanted to see the face of Cog as he realized his wife had made buddies with one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria, but even that was not able to keep me awake right now. I'd trust Luna.

I was not joking about considering faceplanting. My eyelids were about to lose their strength completely. I thankfully didn't have a long way to go before my home was within my sights. Did I leave my lights on?

I had half a mind to run off and drag Sugar back with me, but at this point, that would just make everything worse. As much as I want to say that he seems apologetic, it's not as easy as all that.

You don't just assault your wife and then say, 'yeah, sorry, my bad', and then go home as if nothing happened. Something triggered this. Something's been going wrong with those two for a long time, and I don't see it just suddenly getting better because he realized he's fucked up.

I groaned as I breathed into my hands to warm them up. I reached my door and again noted how every single light was on. The light in my hall and the lights coming from my living room curtains. I went to unlock my door, but it was open when I felt my door handle. Uhh...

I slowly creaked the door open and peeked my head inside. "Hello?" I called out.

Nothing but my echo called back to me, and I stepped in carefully, I suddenly felt much more aware and ready to react to whatever awaited me.

Before I even had time to think about what could have gotten into my house, my mom's head popped out from behind the corner to my living room. "Boo!"

I screamed and jumped back. "Mom?! What the fuck! When did you get here?!"

She laughed at my reaction and emerged from the corner. "We got here just a few hours ago. Where have you been?"

I tried to regain my breathing as my heart beat a mile a minute. Caught me off guard... I doubted I'd have any fight in me with how tired and dizzy I was anyway. "The holiday party at work. I just got back."

I was going to ask her how she even got in, but then I remembered I'd given her the spare keys to the place. I didn't need another pair, anyway. It wasn't like I needed to bring two of them wherever I went. My mom 'ohh'd' in understanding and gave me a suspicious grin as she leaned against the opposite wall.

I was trying to get my shoes off when I heard another voice from where my mom had popped out. "Is that my boy?"

I recognized that gruff voice instantly, and I looked up and saw my dad's face pop out and noticed that he had more gray hairs in his mane than he did the last time I saw him.

I smiled at him as I walked over to them, but they met me halfway, not letting me all the way into the living room. I buried myself between them as I gave them a hug.

"It's good to see you two again. I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow, at least." I said as I buried myself between them, almost falling asleep right there. My dad was extra warm because of his coat, and I leaned into him more.

My dad chuckled at me. "Nah, we were gettin' antsy to get movin'. You smell like dung, by the way," he said as he wrinkled his nose when he caught a whiff of my alcoholic aura.

He broke the hug and waved a hoof away from his face. "Sweet Celestia. Go take a shower, stinky."

"Yeah, yeah. I think I'm gonna do that and just head to bed," I told them as went to hang my coat and scarf on the hooks while removing my shoes. "Been a long night, and I'm about to drop dead."

I went back to the door to lock it. "I made you guys' bed in the guest room, by the way."

My mother put her hand on my dad's neck and moved him out of the way as she stepped to the side to let me past them when I walked back over. "Thank you, sweetie. You go on ahead." She gestured past them to the living room and gave me a wide smile. My dad did the same.

I chuckled nervously as I moved past them. "Okay then... Well, don't stay up too la-"

My eyes fell on my couch to my right when I entered the view of the living roomand I cut myself off. My heart dropped into my stomach at what, no, who I saw sitting on my couch.

---

"As discussed, once the baby has been handed over to these two, you will have no right to see the child again. You will have no right to correspond with the child. It will be entirely up to Willow and Jean to tell the child anything about you. Understood?"

Willow and I listened as the brown-coated lawyer explained the rights of the pregnant pegasus mare over the table from us. We held each other close as we tried to calm each other down. Despite our sitting in this boring office, it was a very tense situation. Nothing about the room screamed 'life-changing decision', yet here we were.

I felt Willow's grip on my hands tighten, and I felt my own starting to sweat. We were getting close. The proceedings were soon complete. Just one signature and we were officially parents. I felt Willow looking at me, and I looked at her with my best reassuring smile. Of course, it probably seemed pretty crooked, but it was a smile nonetheless.

The mare across from us nodded and smiled before looking at the table with a sad gaze. "I just want to make sure you're going to take good care of the baby and give it a good life."

I pulled Willow close, and we both smiled at her. "Of course we will," Willow said to her.

She nodded at us and kept her eyes on her hooves by the table. We met the blue pegasus mare just a few months ago and spent a few sessions with her to talk together and agree on several things. There had initially been a worry about my appearance, but it hadn't lasted long. I thank my own ability to be a pleasant enough guy to be around.

She told us everything in her life just didn't work out. She wanted to start a life with her coltfriend, and he had agreed. They were both young and in love, but they might have just been too young.

One day he came home drunk and angry and told her he couldn't handle the responsibilities anymore and that it would probably get worse when the baby showed up. It made me even more motivated to take care of this child.

We felt terrible for her. It was almost like we were stealing her hopes away from her. She had told us that she wanted to name the child Fluffy Wings. The name came from her grandmother that had passed away just a few years prior. Willow and I had no names in mind, and we thought it was a good name. Especially since it came from her real heritage. We had agreed, and the mare broke down in tears as a result.

We... had tried. We went to see doctors and took tests. We were examined by surgeons who specialized in magic. We saw fertility doctors. We did everything we could think of, but in the end, we could never have a child together.

Not only that, we didn't even know what we would end up creating if we could. I shivered at the thought of having a child who was incapable of existing and would die from the inability to breathe or something worse.

Willow was heartbroken, and so was I. We had gotten married just half a year ago, and we wanted a child. We had known each other for so long at that point that it just felt right. Then came the devastating blow of her pregnancy test coming back with that one stripe every single time.

The lawyer snapped my attention back to the matter at hand. "Now, I'll need you to sign right here, where indicated," he said while tapping the piece of paper with a hoof and slid it over to her. The mare took the pen attached to it in her hooves and nodded.

We knew she was devastated. She told us how hard it was to let go, but she knew it was right. She had decided she wanted us to take the baby as soon as it was born. She was afraid of how she would react if she saw the baby herself.

She looked at us again as a tear trickled down her cheek. I could imagine this was probably one of the toughest decisions one could make in their life. I saw her doubts and reached over the table to grasp her hoof in my hands and gave it a squeeze. "I promise we'll take good care of her."

She smiled at me and nodded as more tears ran down and coated her cheeks. She sniffed, put the pen in her mouth, and signed the paper.

And just like that... I was a father. It felt so unofficial and underhanded, yet it was suddenly so real. We couldn't believe it. I shared a very passionate and lovely hug with Willow after we had left the office, and we cried loudly together as we stained the building in our tears.

After we spent some time talking with the mare privately for a while, she was escorted back home by her friend. At that point, all that was left to do was wait.

And wait, we did. We waited for months. Every day that passed felt like a sore throat that just worsened. It was like we were drifting at sea on a boat with no sails, waiting to be caught in a stream.

We had just gotten home from work on the day we received the letter. We practically ripped the envelope apart as we tried to get inside it, much like we had treated every other letter we got in those past few months, but this time it was finally what we had been waiting for.

We had put our most trusted staff in charge of our business as we took the first train to Manehattan. The whole way to the clinic was suffocating. We were both walking as if we were dancing on clouds the entire way from the train station.

Once we finally got there, we first met with Aqua, the mare who had carried our child this whole time, and gave our final round of thanks as she recovered in her room. She was doing well, considering what today meant for her. Her friend was by her side, talking with her about the school they had planned to go to together.

It would be the final time we saw each other, so we treated it as such and wished each other to have beautiful lives. Aqua had given us another round of hopes and wishes for the child, and we had reassured her once again that we would be the best parents we could be.

A nurse collected us, which meant it was time. We stood shakily and followed her out of the room after saying goodbye to Aqua.

She walked us into a different room with several small cribs, with nurses going back and forth between them, checking in. We heard crying everywhere, the sounds of newborn babies. It was all muted to my ears, as I was only focused on following the nurse until she stopped by a crib and gave us a sweet smile.

"Here she is. Come say hello!" She pointed at the crib. Willow walked over and melted over the crib, and I heard her break down. I still hadn't moved. I was nervous too.

I heard Willow talking to me and I saw her teary face as she looked at me. I think she was telling me to come over. I felt my legs moving under me. Before I knew it, I had crossed the small distance. I peeked over Willow's shoulder and...

---

...looked straight into the eyes of my daughter.

Comments

[StarzGecko]

For a moment I thought it was his wife but didn’t see this coming which makes sense that they couldn’t make a baby together so adopting was better but why he hasn’t talked to his daughter and not even having photos… something definitely is wrong with him to loose himself like that. Hope she can heal her father.

Rip Cog when a Princess follows you… your dead ☠️

Edit: Alright, I didn’t even noticed in the story but I have a interesting theory that could really blow everypony. What if his wife isn’t dead rather she became mentally ill to the point she had to be place in a Psychiatric hospital? Like so far I didn’t even think how old the human was till he saw his daughter which now I have to wonder how old is he? He might be in his 30-40’s if his daughter is older but he had been working in canterlot for many many years so I won’t be surprise the reason why no pony knows what happened to the wife is that she became sick and very lost. Poor little pony

[Danger Noodle]

Well, this is an interesting turn of events.

[Monk With No Name]

media.tenor.com/I7l4LsrLv8IAAAAC/jon-stewart.gif

Okay...go on.

[ibanix]

Story continues to captivate.

I’m speculating Willow Rose had a mental illness and eventually took her own life.

[BirdsBooksBrownies]

curiouser and curiouser.

Cog had best mind his tongue and his hoof.

This Willow sounds like a sweet mare, I do hope that she's not dead, or barring that she died quickly and without pain. If she is still alive, I'd almost hope that they broke apart rather than some of the other hypotheses about mental illness or psychiatric hospitals.