Colton and Daisy

by Allonsbro

Chapter 4: That Evening

Hey, folks. A new semester just started so chapter updates are going to be a bit slower. Just bear with me.

Chapter 4: That evening

They arrived at the house about an hour before dinner time. Ruby came bolting out of her room as soon as she heard the door open. She tried to skid to a stop right in front of Daisy, but overshot it and bumped into the door, slamming it in Colton’s face.

“Sorry, Colton,” she apologized, opening the door for him.

“Are you alright?” asked Daisy, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, rubbing his nose.

Upon seeing that he had been relieved of duty, Seyval said goodbye and went out to meet with Lucky. Ruby began hopping up and down.

“Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! Guess what,” exclaimed Ruby,

“What, sweetie?”

“I can do magic now!”

“Really?” said Daisy, eyes widening a little bit in surprise. Colton’s eyes went wide as well. He didn’t think Ruby was old enough for her magic to manifest yet. She must have been growing faster than he thought.

Ruby took a deep breath. “It happened last night. I was in bed and I thought I saw something scary, but couldn’t get momma ‘cause she was at the party and I remembered what momma said about stuff that scares you, so I looked right at it and said, ‘I’m not scared of you’ and then I felt this funny tingling on my forehead and my horn started glowing and my room got brighter. When I looked at the scary thing, it was just a shadow. *gasp* I was gonna tell you all this morning but when I heard Daisy was coming over I wanted to wait to tell her.”

Daisy smiled. “That’s terrific, sweetheart! I’m so proud of you. Your mom will be thrilled when she gets back.”

Colton smiled as well. “Good job, Ruby. You should tell Daisy what else you did today.”

“I got to be the masher today and squish the grapes and make grape juice!” She was smiling ear to ear with pride.

“Wow! Look at you growing up so fast and getting all these privileges.”

“Yep,” agreed Ruby. “Ummm….what are privileges?”

“Privileges are things that you get to do when you’re old enough,” explained Daisy. “And do you know what privilege you get when you’re old enough to be the masher?”

“Which one? Which one?” asked Ruby.

“You get to help Colton and I make dinner.”

“Yay!”

“Hold on a second,” objected Colton. Ruby began to pull out her sad, pleading face. “Don’t worry, Ruby, you still get to help,” he assured her. The little filly’s smile of delight returned. “But,” he continued, “Daisy is our guest and the guest doesn’t cook. You get to help me cook for Daisy.”

“Alright, Colton” said Ruby, heading for the kitchen. “What happened to your leg, Daisy?”

“I backed to a table and knocked a vase over,” she replied.

Colton and Ruby went into the kitchen. Daisy stayed by the little window in the half wall separating the kitchen and the dining room. Colton helped Ruby make bread dough and put it in the oven. Then he put the clover soup on the stove. He had Ruby bring him the vegetables while he chopped them up and made a salad. He pulled out the dishes and had her set the table while he went to the basement and brought up some of the grape juice she had made. When the soup had been heated, he set it at the table and took the bread out of the oven and sliced it. Ruby placed the butter and the condiments on the table while Colton poured the grape juice. They placed the bread and the salad on the table and they all sat down to eat. After dinner, Colton and Ruby took the dishes into the kitchen and washed them.

“Alright Ruby,” said Colton once they had finished, “what would you like to do until bedtime?”

“Can we play go fish?”

“I’ll go get the deck.”

Colton went into the closet in the living room, brought out the cards and laid them on the table. They played three games of go fish, Daisy winning one and Ruby the other two. They were about to start their fourth game when Colton looked at the clock.

“Looks like it’s about time to head to bed, Ruby. Go brush your teeth,” he said.

“Just one more game, Colton. I’m not even that (yawn) sleepy yet.”

“Go brush your teeth and then you can pick out a bedtime story for me to read.”

“The Princess and the Gentlecolt!” she exclaimed, naming her favorite story.

“Alright, go brush your teeth and get into bed I’ll put the cards away and get the book.” Colton and Daisy put the cards together in their stack, placed them in the closet and went to Ruby’s room. Colton got the book off her shelf while the little filly hopped into bed and Daisy tucked her in.

“Ready for the story, Ruby?” asked Colton coming to the side of the bed and sitting down.

“Yes, but make sure that you do the voices. Daisy you be the Princess and Colton will be the narrator and the Gentlecolt.”

“Okay, let’s get started.”

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. The princess was the most beautiful and regal in all the land. The princess also loved beautiful things. In fact, ponies from all over Equestria came to admire the beautiful artwork, jewels and sculptures at the palace. The princess had one problem, though. She was afraid of dirt. If ever even a speck of dirt touched her beautiful coat, she would faint and had to take at least three baths before she felt clean again. Because of this fear, she never left the palace and became very lonely. So one day she thought to herself…

Daisy used her most elegant voice to play the part of the princess. “’I shall host a grand ball and invite every pony in the kingdom to attend. Then I will have many ponies to talk to and won’t have to go out and risk getting dirty.”

So that’s what she started doing. The princess would hold a ball almost every night. There was a lot of good food and dancing and everypony who was anypony was there. Then one night, she held a masquerade ball. All her guests came wearing bright clothes and mysterious masks. Suddenly, a gentlecolt approached and asked the princess to dance. He was wearing a black mask with a wide-brimmed black hat and a long, black cape. She accepted his invitation and they began. He was a very good dancer and she was very impressed at how well they danced together. As they danced, their eyes met. He had the most beautiful blue eyes that she had ever seen. They continued dancing for the rest of the ball. When the ball ended, the two went to one of the palace balconies overlooking the royal garden.

“My dear sir,” said the princess, “you are truly one of the best stallions that I have had the pleasure of dancing with. Might I see you at the ball again tomorrow?”

“Yes, princess, I will attend your next ball. But may I ask you a question?”

“Anything”, said the princess.

“Your beauty and your love of beautiful things is unrivaled by anypony in the land. Why then do you keep all of this beauty hidden away in this castle? Why not go out and see all the other beauty this world has to offer.”

“I do so because I have no desire to get dirty” the princess explained. “Why should I go out and get dirty when I can see the beauty of the world from my clean palace?”

The gentlecolt sighed. “It is true that you can see the beauty of the world from this palace, but you cannot see all of it. Look out there at the gardens. Do you see the group of large trees in the very center?”

“Yes, I do.”

“In the middle of those trees exists a flower of great beauty. When the full moon is at its highest point in the sky, it shines on the petals of this flower and they illuminate for a few moments, creating a glow more beautiful than the purest diamond. It is the last of its kind. If it is removed from those trees, it will die and there will be no more. If you wish to see this flower, you will have to go into the garden. I will help you, but we must hurry, for the full moon is nearing its peak.”

The princess greatly desired to see this flower and agreed to go with him. The two went to the entrance to the garden. The gentlecolt then carried the princess upon his back to the place where the trees were. He carried her into the trees and she beheld the flower. It was truly the most magnificent flower she had ever seen. She tried to find a way to describe it, but could not and was content to just sit there and gaze at it. Unfortunately, the gentlecolt had not been able to walk fast enough with her upon his back and they had missed the extravagant sight he had described. He took her back to the palace and they agreed to meet after the ball the next night and visit the flower again. He kissed her hoof and bid her goodnight and she retired to her chambers.

This became their routine every night. They would dance at the ball until everypony had departed. Then the princess would climb upon the gentlecolt’s back and they would go and see the flower. While they walked towards the trees, the princess looked at the various other flowers in the garden. She had never seen them this close before and she began to develop a greater appreciation of their beauty. When they reached the flower, the gentlecolt would lay his cape upon the ground and they would sit on it and talk. As the days and weeks went by, a change came over the princess. She became less and less afraid of the dirt. She could even touch it without fainting. Also, as she became more acquainted with the gentlecolt, she began to realize she was falling in love with him. Their routine continued until the next night of the full moon. The princess could hardly wait for the ball to be over because she was so excited about seeing the magnificent sight of which the gentlecolt spoke. Finally the ball ended and the two set off towards the flower. The moon was already nearing its highest point. As they entered the garden, however, the gentlecolt tripped and hurt his leg. He could not walk with her upon his back.

“Whatever shall we do?” asked the princess.

“You must go to see the flower on your own. If you hurry, you can still make it.”

“No, the flower will not be nearly as beautiful to me if you are not by my side. Come, lean on me and we shall go together.”

So they walked together. They reached the center with a few moments left to spare. A sudden realization came over the princess and she squealed with glee.

“I did it!” she exclaimed. “I did it. I’m not afraid of getting dirty anymore! Thank you! Thank you, darling. I could not have done it without you.”

Just then the moon reached its highest point and the flower illuminated. The sight was even more beautiful then the princess could ever have imagined. She turned to the gentlecolt and said,

“I love you,” said Daisy, now leaning against Colton’s side, looking deeply into his blue eyes.

The gentlecolt turned back to her and replied,

“I love you too,” said Colton, gazing back into her green eyes.

The princess and the gentlecolt went to see the flower many times after that night. The princess was never afraid of the dirt again and would even go out to see the beauty of the world and share it with others. The gentlecolt was her constant companion and eventually, they got married and lived happily ever after.

“The end,” said Colton, finishing the story. He looked down to see Ruby fast asleep, holding her favorite stuffed toy. “Good night, Ruby,” he whispered. Daisy kissed the little filly on the forehead and they both left the room.

Colton turned to Daisy, wrapped a hoof around her neck and kissed her on the forehead. “Thanks for coming over,” he said. “It always amazes me how incredible you are with her.” They made their way over to the couch in the living room and sat down. “I think she sees you as an older sister.”

“I think you’re right,” she agreed leaning against his side. “It’s amazing to me how quickly she’s growing up.”

“I know. Berry got all the parenting books the library had when Ruby was born. She told me they never prepare you for that. I’m so proud of the filly she’s becoming.”

“I am too.”

They continued talking until Seyval came home. His night had been a bust. Blues couldn’t come because Bluenote was in town. Seyval and Lucky were having fun until Lyra came to the club on a girls’ night out with her friends Bon Bon, and Vinyl. Upon seeing her, Lucky wouldn’t leave the bar, drowning his sorrows in sarsaparilla and salt blocks.

Colton packed up Daisy’s things and they started the walk towards her house.

“Oh, by the way,” he said, “I put a jar of grape juice in your saddlebag. It was the final jar that we made by hoof this year. My father always told me that if you give the last jar of the year to a loved one, it will bring good luck to both them and you.”

“Thank you, Colton. That was very sweet of you.” She leaned into his side and he smiled as he felt the warmth of her body against his own. They walked on in silence, just enjoying each other’s company until they reached Daisy’s house.

“Good night, Miss Daisy,” he said.

Daisy leaned in and their eyes closed as their lips met.

“Good night, Colton,” she said and went inside.

Comments

[WetWilly]

This is brilliant, even if only for the character you've given Ruby, she's freakin' adorable and believable. I hope that I don't discourage you by saying the romance at the center of this piece is being outdone by the way you are writing one character.

[Themaskedferret]

Very sweet, the dinner scene felt a bit rushed over but the story was adorable.

[Sarged]

The story you made inside this story, the Princess and the Gentlecolt sounded like Rarity's bible or something.
Scary
Good story by the way.