Little Hooves in a Dark World

by David Silver

5 - Back Online

"I can't believe that happened." Sandra leaned back against the sofa, running her hands along the arms as she considered the coffee table. "What a day."

"Not everything went bad." Louis laughed at that, getting up from the floor to slip onto the couch beside her.

"I guess not!" She threw up a hand with a smirk. "Turns out I have a boyfriend now."

"Oh no." He gently pecked her closer cheek. "Hope he's a good one and, you know, not—"

"—Total jerk." She stuck out her tongue. "Picks on me all the time." The two giggled and hugged, the problems of the world feeling farther away for at least a moment. "I may be a little selfish, but I'm glad to be home with you, Lou."

"Selfish?" He paused, then gave a squeeze. "How?"

She pressed against him. "Even if someone tried to hurt me, or worse, at least I'd have you by my side, fighting for me. I think that'd make everything better."

He couldn't resist another kiss. He nuzzled in against her, becoming fuzzier by the moment as he became Lucky. "I hope you won't get mad if I don't shave this."

She snorted with poorly contained laughter. "You'd look very odd if you tried." She tickled him under his pony snout. "You can stay fuzzy in this form, I officially allow. Or become Louis, if you like." Her eyes drifted down. "Either way, I'm very interested in seeing if you have what I'm looking for."

"Wait, what?!" Lucky gave an embarrassed little whinny. "That's not something you ask a pony, you know."

"Fine, if you won't answer, I'll check myself." What followed was a brief wrestling match that left both panting, faintly colored, but still sitting next to each other. He swatted at her and hopped to the ground, becoming Louis shortly after. "You must be feeling better, playing around like that. Good!"

"I'm still concerned over things I don't control, though." She prodded him in the shoulder. "You attacked those guys! I don't want you getting hurt on my behalf."

He marched off into the kitchen, the noises of something being made echoing out into the living room. "Too bad, kind of in the boyfriend manual."

"I'm gonna broadcast," she sang out, hopping to her feet and over to her new workstation. "At least, this is something I can control."

She soon had everything running and was facing the camera, her pony avatar sitting in her own chair. "Hey, my herd mates! It's been a pretty weird day, huh?" She grinned, throwing out a little wave. She kept her smile even as she saw a questionable comment pop up. With a few deft keystrokes, she banished them to the dark side of the Internet. "You all know what that looks like."

Lucky arrived with a pair of cups of juice, handing one over to her. She happily sipped at it. "Weird or not, it's time to start the stream! Today we'll be enjoying a classic that always brings me a smile, so buckle in, we're going in!" She pulled up the movie to play over the stream, so old that it had fallen into the public domain, meaning she was free to use it however she wanted.

She gabbed over the movie, talking with her fans, laughing at parts and generally interacting with them constantly. They were there to see her primarily, and she was determined to provide them with a great experience.

Halfway through, she needed to go to the bathroom. "Back in a minute!" She slapped a pause button, using the interruption to remind everyone to stretch their legs and get a drink. It was a surprise to return to Louis talking at her station.

She stormed over with a huff. "What are you doing?"

He slid up and stepped away, gesturing at the seat. "Your mare has returned. I surrender the seat to her."

She pulled him back. "Nu-uh. Explain. Why are you messing with my equipment?" She stared into his eyes. "And no funny answers!"

Louis brushed off his shirt with a soft huff. "I was just filling in the silence with some idle chat. They didn't seem to mind."

She glanced to verify that. She had as many viewers as she had left with, perhaps a few more. The comments were exploding with why she had suddenly changed voices. Her virtual avatar had just started speaking with Louis' voice when he plopped down and started chatting. They seemed to find it all very funny.

She couldn't disagree. She couldn't let it continue. "I'm glad they were willing to put up with it, but it's time to go back to watching the movie." She slid into the seat, smiling at the camera. "Now where did we leave off?" She hit the play button, getting things going.

Alas, the secret was out, and the chat kept talking as much about the new voice as anything Sandra had to say. They wanted to know who the new person was, and their relationship. Some guessed they were roomies, or siblings, or possibly lovers off the camera. She could only giggle at the whole thing. "Yeah, you caught me. I do have a roommate, and yes he's human, not pony. And I think you all know what that means!" She gave a wink to the camera.

She continued talking and answering questions for a bit, keeping up the persona of being a pony that, now, had a human roomie. It was so close to the truth, but she wasn't going to fill them in on those gaps. Eventually, she wanted the limelight back. "Sorry guys, but I'm still a vtuber and want to keep your focus on me. We'll be happy to chat with all of you another time." She burst into giggles. "Maybe a special roomie stream, stay tuned for that!" She wrestled most of them back into watching the movie and chatting about it, and what she was gabbing about.

She slumped back with a sigh, the stream finally ended. "Hey." She sat up, noticing a number growing. "You jerk! I'm getting subs, from you? How?!" She grabbed for the phone, sending a barrage of playful angry text messages.

He returned them as they came, playing along. "Who said I didn't have a channel?"

Her eyes widened and she bolted upright. "You don't!"

"I don't." He patted her on the shoulder. "But that reaction was worth it."

She punched his shoulder with a huff. "Meanie. Okay, okay." She calmed herself with a deep breath. "I feel better, almost normal." She dusted herself off. "Now, back to serious stuff. Do we have anything that belongs to that creep?"

He led the way into the bedroom. "In here, maybe? I haven't seen a sign of it, but that doesn't mean we can rule it out."

She raised a brow at him. "I've never been in there and you know it. I doubt I brought anything in the room I haven't been in, try harder."

"I'll take a look around, then. Feel free to watch." He snorted softly, but didn't object.

She set up in the corner to keep herself out of the way, but make sure the area stayed clean. She racked her brain with the times she'd interacted with the guy that she knew of. She pulled out her phone and pulled up the delivery app. "Just in case." She casually deleted the delivery she had made to him, erasing them from history. "Won't bring him here."

"I hope this works." Louis had a jacket in one hand. "This is mine. It's not like you ever borrowed my coat. But I wore this when I went to your place and 'played' with the people there."

"I doubt it, but won't hurt to toss it unless you really like it?"

He shrugged, tossing it in a bin. "Not that much. You spot anything else?"

Sandra's eyes wandered to her workstation. "Did you get there before the goon squad showed up?"

"They were there when I got there, why?" He was looking at it too, confusion clear on his face.

She clenched her teeth a moment. "Then they could have left something in it, or on it, and let you take it on purpose." She thumped her head with both fists. "I sound paranoid as all get out, damn it. But this feels like the perfect trick. Using us to lead them right back to where they wanted to be." She flopped back onto the couch with a sigh. "It was right in my home, then I brought it here, into yours."

Louis squinted at his computer. "Nothing seems broken." He kneeled beside the tower and started pulling it apart. "Let's see what's inside and maybe we find something, or not. Won't hurt to look at the thing." He carefully dismantled it, taking off all the parts, laying them out and searching every nook and cranny. "Nothing I can see."

"Figures, or this would be over." She returned to her computer chair, sinking onto it just to bounce off. "What if it's not in the computer?!" She pointed to the chair, then the webcam and the desk.

He gave the chair a cautious poke, but it remained just a chair. "Not a mimic." He turned to look at the rest. The desk had a drawer, so he slid that open, just for a dark little thing to lunge out at him, beeping and blinking lights at him.

He snatched the object, ducking his head down. "Got it!" He dashed out of the room. "Garage! The garage!" He slammed into the door, bouncing out onto the floor of the small concrete chamber.

Sandra squeaked in surprised horror, following him out into the garage. "What now?! Get rid of it!"

"Working on that!" He dropped the thing and stomped down on it with his foot. There was a crunch of metal and the beeping stopped. He kicked the remains aside, putting himself between them and her.

They stared at it together for several long moments, but it seemed well and truly defeated. "The hell was that?!" She dared to approach it, kicking it onto its back for a better look at the strange thing that was as much living as it was mechanical, though all dead and broken.

Louis scooped up the scrap and put it all in a trash bag. "Something we shouldn't poke at anymore. Ponies are just ponies, right?" He sighed loudly and leaned against a wall. "Good thinking. We didn't need that lurking around." He vanished a moment, grabbing the other trashbag. "You're all going out."

He threw them in a neighbor's bin, just to be extra sure. He returned, dusting his hands. "Alright, we should be clear. Girl, you are a trouble magnet." But he hugged her, and she returned it with a defeated sigh.

"I just want things to go back to normal." She thumped her forehead against him. "But thanks, for being here, with me."

He rolled his eyes, brushing fingers against her cheek. "As if I was going anywhere." He slipped behind her, sweeping her up into a bridal carry. "Time for bed. Things'll look brighter in the morning, trust me."

She kicked her feet in the air. "Oh no, now I'm being kidnapped after all that? Can this day get any worse?"

"Stay tuned to find out." He kissed the tip of her nose as he carried her into his bedroom. "Um, we don't have to do anything, you know. Especially right now. I bet you're a little tense."

"A little." She slid from his arms, hitting the ground on all fours. Raspberry hopped up onto the bed and curled there. "Sleep sounds like a great idea right now." She waved her forehooves, inviting him to join her. "Hurry up, we don't have all night."

Louis chuckled at her enthusiasm, or lack thereof. "No, we don't." He reached though, gently ruffling her mane and over her ears. Being a pony, he knew the spots that felt nice to have rubbed and played with. "Goodnight. I'll keep you safe."

"I know you will." She closed her eyes, a soft smile on her lips as she drifted away.

Louis shifted into Lucky, slipping up beside her. He draped an arm over her. Together, they slipped into comfortable dreams, at least sure of the presence of one another.

Author's Note:

These two are pretty adorable as partners go, I vote.

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Comments

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

I agree, they are very adorable.

The bad guy(s) hid a magitech thing in Sandra's desk? That sounds like they are really serious about tracking her down. But why spend a resource like that on one Pony?

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

Very cute chapter. Though naturally there is still a dangerous mystery still in progress.