Honey's Hearth's Warming Tale

by Jmaster49

Explaining Their Feelings

Unable to decipher these feelings on his own, Tungsten went to one of his friends for help that afternoon. The stallions entered the local pub in Canterlot for a few rounds of drinks. If he couldn’t figure it out on his own, he may end up breaking a heart. That was absolutely the last thing he wanted to do…

Once Tungsten explained what had happened to him on that day…

“Oh no, she totally likes you, brother,” Flash Sentry commented with a snicker as he sipped from a frothy mug of cider. “You should totally ask her out to the gala.”

“‘Kay, see here’s the problem,” Tungsten leaned against the counter with the side of his face resting on his hoof, “I feel like I’ve caught the interest of two mares, but I just ain’t into one of ‘em. How should I let the other one know that?”

Flash’s eyes shot open. He nearly spat out his drink and forced himself to swallow, coughing in the process. “Ack! You’re asking me that question? You couldn’t have picked a worst possible option.”

“Why you say that?”

“I don’t know the first thing about rejecting someone,” Flash scoffed and shook his head. “Noooo thank you. You’d do better asking literally anyone else. Heck, you should probably ask a mare in particular.”

“Hm…think that’ll help?”

“It should,” Flask nodded, “Only a gal knows how you should speak to another gal to avoid making her angry. You know what they say--”

“‘Tartarus hath no fury like a mare scored,’” Tungsten recited the quote from memory with an audible shudder. “Brr…trust me, I know all about that.”

“Yeah, you got it. Might wanna seek out some advice from the perspective of a lady,” Flash suggested as he finished his mug and set down some bits on the counter. “Anyway, I need to go get fitted for my suit to get ready for the party. I’ll see you then, yeah?”

“Mm,” Tungsten finished his mug of cider. “Yeah.”

Afterwards, he left the pub and started to think hard. Just who would be good to ask when it came to romantic advice? Then again, it didn’t really matter who he asked so long as it was a mare specifically.

That’s when he realized; Flash was going to go get fitted for a suit. And the resident tailor in Canterlot…

“Ay, that’s it. Sassy Saddles,” he muttered to himself as he walked down the road to the Boutique. “I bet a lady like herself knows just how I should speak to one. Ayo, Flash, wait up!”

Both stallions entered the clothing store, and…it was surprisingly empty.

“Hello, gentlemen,” Sassy Saddle spoke up from behind the counter, “If you need help with anything, you’ve got my full attention. I just finished up the last few orders.”

Flash stepped forward first, “Good, cuz I have a suit that I had ordered in advance and--”

Sassy cut him off and immediately swarmed his body and wingspan with various lengths of measuring tape via her magic. “One second, sweetie…ah! That’s right. Right this way.”

“You’re gonna find some good stuff here,” Flash looked at Tungsten with a cocksure smile as he went to one of the fitting rooms.

Once Sassy had Flash squared away, she went straight to measuring Tungsten’s body. “Alright. Now for you…”

Tungsten knew there was no way of stopping a tailor that was this far in her zone, so he simply allowed her to work him over while he spoke.

“...If you have a moment, miss,” he began while she wrote his measurements down, “I’m actually in the need for a bit of advice. You see, I’ve got two possible gala dates, but I’m not exactly…interested in one of ‘em. How should I go about tellin’ her this?”

“Hm…twenty…sixty…” Sassy mumbled quietly as she finished up taking his numbers down.

“...Miss?”

Surprisingly, she had been listening the entire time.

“A gentlecolt such as yourself has a manner of speaking that eases the heart of a mare,” she replied while trotting off to the section of the store meant for stallions. “I believe she’ll understand you just fine if you simply explain yourself, Mr. Wolfe.”

Tungsten followed her and asked, “Is that really all there is to it? I mean…I don’t want her to feel terrible ‘cuz I rejected her.”

“Believe me, dear--I’ve dealt with my fair share of rejections,” Sassy lamented with a somber tone in her voice. “But, I’ve rolled with them and continued onwards despite still being single at this age.” She then put on a smile. “Hasn’t damaged my looks one bit, wouldn’t you agree?”

Tungsten did have to admit that she did seem pretty happy with herself despite her past rejections. It eased his concerns regarding how he should approach his own situation.

“Alrighty…guess that’s fair. And yeah, you seem pretty happy with yourself, Ms. Saddles,” he added with a smile. “I think I know what to do now.”

“Good. Mind standing upright for me?” Sassy was looking to compare his body shape to the materials. “Your hide is rather thick, so I’m looking for something to accommodate it.”

“Really now? I’d like to see that…”

One measurement and fitting later…and nightfall had risen over Canterlot.

“I’ll have your vest ready in time for the gala, good sir!” Sassy waved as the stallions left her shop. “Good luck with your date!”

“Thanks,” he replied as he trotted away with Flash.

“A vest? Really?” Flash asked.

Tungsten rolled his eyes. “You know I’m more of an old school kinda fella, right?”

“Pfft. Fair enough. So you know what you’re gonna do, huh?”

“I’m just gonna have to be honest,” Tungsten confirmed, “Can’t lie to myself over something like this. It’s only gonna hurt us all more later on. Gonna go speak to her right first thing in the mornin’.”

Flash stretched his wings and yawned. “Yeaaaah…I’m tired. Still gotta wrap a bunch of gifts to get ready to take to my family. See ya later, yeah?”

“Yup. See ya.”

And with that, the stallions split and retired to their homes for the night…

---

The next morning, at Honey’s home…

“Alright…I’m all ready. Mom should be here within a few--”

Ding-dong!

That was her answer right there. Honey opened the door to find her mother--an aged earth pony mare with an amber coat, blue eyes, a frizzled, gray mane and tail, and a blue hot air balloon as her cutie mark.

“Mom! You’re here!” Honey squealed as she hugged her mother, “It’s been ages since we’ve had time to talk, huh?”

Her mother’s voice was raspy, yet gentle, “Oh you’re telling me, Honey. It’s been so long…and you’ve grown up so much,” the older mare tugged on her daughter’s cheeks with her hooves. “Your business has been taking off very well, I assume?”

“Y-yeah…” she broke free of her mother’s grip and rubbed the sides of her face. “It’s been going great. I just finished rounding up all the flash bees in time for the winter season. Those little guys won’t have to worry about freezing their wings off.”

“Very good! Oh…ol’ Gear would be so proud of you.”

Gear Box was the name of Honey’s late father. Her mother’s name was Heli Oum.

“Yeah…he would, huh?” Honey lamented as she lifted up a picture frame that had been turned down. It was a picture of her as a filly alongside her mother and a green pegasus stallion that had his eyes covered by a pair of smithing goggles…

“He worked so hard for the Royal Guard as their blacksmith,” Honey continued with a sigh, “Can’t believe he just…fell ill and died out of nowhere like that.”

The older mare put a hoof on her daughter’s shoulder. “Really wish he didn’t keep it from us until the last minute. That stallion always prioritized your feelings above everything else.”

“Even so...I don’t wanna see anymore guardsponies disappear without being remembered,” Honey explained her ultimate goal in life. “At the very least, I want them to know that they’re appreciated so they can die with dignity.”

“A noble sentiment, love,” her mother encouraged her. “Their job is dangerous, and they never know what day will be their last. I’m happy to see that you aren’t blind to that.”

“Of course not…but if I can at least make sure the ones that stick around are motivated by the people like me…”

Her mother then recalled a conversation they had in the past. “That’s right. You said you were interested in one of the guardstallions. Number 74, right? How’s that working out for you, love? Have you spoken to him yet?”

“...I have…” Honey replied while idly kicking her hoof against the floor, “I’m planning to ask him out to the winter gala.”

“How sweet of you. Make sure he knows how you feel about him, okay?” Heli nuzzled the side of her daughter’s face while looking at their old family picture. “And keep this facing upright. We wouldn’t want Boxy to look down upon us with scorn by not respecting his visage, would we?”

Honey nodded. “You’re right, mom. Sorry. I just…I didn’t want Tungsten to see my old photos and start asking questions,” she looked at the floor with a shameful frown, “I’m worried that he might find out about dad and feel guilty…”

“...over what, sweetie?” Heli asked, “This is the same stallion that rescued us when we were in danger, isn’t it?”

“...yeah…”

“Then you should be willing to speak with him about anything. How do you think I even snagged your father to begin with?” the older mare asked with a chuckle, “Ah, Gear and I used to enjoy studying thermodynamics together…but we only managed because we were open and honest with each other. Do you understand that, Honey?”

Her mother was right. If she wanted to earn Tungsten’s trust and attention, she’d have to show him the utmost trust right back. And to do so, would require her to treat Tungsten with the same amount of respect that he had shown her.

“Yeah. I get you,” she gave a quick exhale and spoke with renewed confidence. “I think I can do this, mom.”

“That’s my girl! Now what dress do you have picked out?”

A few hours later…

Honey’s mother had left her daughter for a while to take a quick tour around Canterlot. During this time period, Tungsten was on his way to her home. His blood pumping, heart beating, and mind racing…

‘Alright, soldier. You successfully raided The Storm King’s armada and rescued your captive crew while blindfolded, bound, and gagged while using nothing but your sense of smell and spatial awareness. If you can do that, you can explain how you feel to a mare…”

But as he neared her home, he felt his heart beat faster and faster. The blood rushed through his ears to the point of nearly drowning out the sounds of all the other ponies that had been walking around the city nearby. Tungsten felt as if he was going to explode at any given moment. Until…

His target came out to greet him first.

Having seen him approach via her side window, Honey had opened her front door in order to say hello.

“Tungsten?! Oh…uh…hi! You’re getting ready for the gala too, I presume?”

“Y-yeah…” he muttered breathlessly, then exhaled, “...whew. That’s kinda-sorta what I wanted to come talk to you about.”

‘EEGK!’ Honey’s mind was ablaze as her heart fluttered, but she did her best to remain relaxed and composed. “I-I see…come on in.”

Once he was inside…

Tungsten took a deep breath. “...Miss Honey, I don’t really…”

“...You don’t what?” she stopped dead in her tracks and asked with a shaky tone of voice.

“...I don’t really know how I feel. About you I mean. You’re a nice mare and all, but…” Tungsten rubbed the side of his head while wincing and shutting his eyes. “Aggh…I’m terrible at this, ya feel? It’s hard for me to put into words what I think about you.”

Honey took a moment to try her best and understand his perspective. After all, she was dealing with a stallion whose emotions and capacity to feel them had been stunted due to the way his mother treated him throughout his early years. Which simultaneously made it easy for him to enlist in Equestria’s military.

No doubt, he had a hard time understanding his own feelings, let alone the feelings of others.

“It’s okay,” Honey replied with a nod, “I understan--well, I may not completely understand, but I get why you feel that way. There’s no need to force yourself to like me back or anything.”

Tungsten tried to swiftly clear things up with a panicked expression on his face. “N-no! I do like you, er…I think? Gah…I don’t know…I’m just not used to any of this.”

That caught Honey off-guard and caused her to tilt her head. “Wait…you’ve never known what it’s like to be…admired? Or romantically desired by a mare?”

“Nope,” he replied with a shake of his head, “Not really somethin’ I’m familiar with. I know quite a few ponies look up to me as a role model, but as a romantic interest? Never woulda thought…just seems like my job is too dangerous for a partner, ya know? As a guardspony, I don’t really have the luxury of knowing whether or not each day will be my last. Romantic involvement never crossed my mind…”

As much as she didn’t want to mention it, Honey felt the need to bring up an important detail from his past…

“Could it…have something to do with how your mother treated you?” she asked cautiously, “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t wanna, but I just…feel as though it might be related.”

Tungsten shut his eyes and let out a small, annoyed huff. “Hmph…yeah. You just might be onto somethin’ there. She kinda beat my feelin’s outta me when I was little. Guess that’s how I rose through the ranks so easily when I enlisted. Most of the other recruits were scared or arrogant. Me? I was…like a ghost. Felt nothin’. Wanted nothin’. Just focused on the orders and the mission.”

“...and that’s how you became Captain of the Rescue Team, huh?” Honey put it together. “...I’ll admit, I find that super attractive…but like I said before, I won’t force you to like me back or anything, Tungsten. I…I just want you to be happy.” She turned to that family portrait of hers. “...after all, it’s what my dad got when he got with my mom.”

“...that’s Major Gear, isn’t it?” Tungsten instantly recognized the stallion in the photo, and saluted it. “...I respect that stallion. We learned all about him when we took our blacksmithing course. Brave guy who got sick when he was poisoned by dragons…”

“So that’s what happened, huh?” Honey sighed, ultimately unsurprised by this news. “Shame…wish he could’ve met you now.”

Tungsten turned to her. “Hey…he’s raised a fine young lady. Both he and your mother should be proud.”

“...Thanks, Tungsten,” Honey replied with a sniffle as she turned away. “...that means a lot.”

Then he mulled over what she had said a few moments ago. The fact that she wanted him to be happy above all else. Something that had never crossed his mind…the feeling of someone else caring deeply for him.

“...no prob. But you were serious when you said that, huh?” he asked, “...about wantin’ me to be happy?”

Honey had wiped a tear or two from her eyes. “Well…yeah, of course. I…really like and care about you a lot, Tungsten. I swear to do everything I can to give you all the appreciation and admiration you deserve. Because darn it, I am sick and tired of the Guards not getting any respect.”

The boldness in Honey’s voice caused the stallion’s jaw to drop. “...Hot damn…” Tungsten muttered under his breath. He started to feel his heart expand and beat faster. “I…thank you so much, Honey. You’ve given me a bit to think about. But there’s a small problem.”

“...what’s that, Tungsten?”

“...Kemuri seems to feel the same way.”

“...”