Colton and Daisy

by Allonsbro

Chapter 6: Permission

Chapter 6: Permission

Colton opened his eyes as the late morning sun’s rays hit his face through the small gap in his curtains. He firmly shut them in response to the small explosion in his head. He decided to turn on his other side and try again. This time he was rewarded with only a throbbing ache. He slowly sat up and remembered the night before. The reaction to his news had been a different one from each of its recipients. Caramel’s reaction had been a congratulatory hoofshake and a slap on the back, followed by a “congratulations, Colton. She’s a lucky mare.” His back still felt a little sore. Seyval had reacted with the statement, “about time! Lucky owes me five bits!” which earned him a slap to the back of the head from Berry as she came around for a hug. “Congratulations, Colton,” she said, “I’m so happy for you!” They broke out a couple of bottles of wine and talked late into the night. After a few glasses, Colton’s warm and fuzzy feeling for Daisy was joined by a different kind of warm and fuzzy feeling. Looking down, he realized he hadn’t even bothered to climb under the covers when he went to bed.
Sitting up, he rubbed his head in a futile attempt to ease his headache. He walked through the bathroom door to the right of his bed. He had only woken up with a hangover a couple of times in his life and had discovered a shower followed by a cup of Berry’s special tea helped. He turned on the water and climbed in once it was warm enough. As he stood there with the water running down his neck and back, he thought about what last night’s decision would entail. He began making a mental to-do list. He would have to tell his mother, which would mean going to Hoofington. He also needed to ask Daisy’s parents’ permission. Luckily they had recently moved to Hoofington, so he could probably tackle both of those tasks in one day. He needed to buy Daisy a ring, which would probably prove to be rather expensive, but he had enough bits saved away that he would be able to get a good one.
The final task facing him would undoubtedly be the hardest; actually proposing. He began running through ideas to try and figure out how. He could recreate their first date, but the restaurant they had gone to had gone out of business. A few other ideas came up, but were all shot down. He would have to think about that later.
He finished his shower and dried off. After giving his mane and tail a quick brush, he headed toward the kitchen. Berry greeted him in the dining room.
“Morning, sleepyhead, I’ve already got your tea ready and there are fresh grapes on the table.”
Colton sat down at the table and took a sip. The strange concoction tasted rather sour, but his headache felt about twenty percent better. “Thanks, Aunt Berry.” He noticed that she was putting on her saddlebags. “Where are you off to?”
“I’m going to Zecora’s to get more of that tea and then I’m taking some over to Caramel. Your brother’s still sleeping it off and Ruby went next door to play with Dinky Doo. I should be back for lunch. What’s your plan for the day?”
“I think I’ll go to Hoofington to tell mom the news.”
“Alright, tell her I said hi,” she said and headed out the door.
“Okay”
Colton sat there finishing his tea and eating some grapes for a few minutes then packed his saddlebags for the trip to Hoofington. He packed some grapes and some apples for lunch and a few bits, just in case. He left a note for Seyval on the table and headed out the door.
It always took Berry and Caramel all day to get to Hoofington and back, but they were pulling carts of grapes when they went. Being less burdened, he made better time and was there in a few hours, having stopped for lunch under a shady tree along the way. The city of Hoofington was on the edge of the sea, so the entire west side was made up of docks. Colton headed for the more suburban east side of town. It had been a while since he had been there, but he managed to find his mother’s house. It was a small, single story, yellow house a few buildings down from the winery her parents owned. He walked up the front walk and rang the doorbell.
“Colton!” exclaimed his mother when she opened the door, “Hello, darling. What a nice surprise. How have you been?” Her mane was the same magenta color as Berry. She had a light yellow coat like Colton’s and her cutie mark was the same, but instead of the grapes being light green they were a deep purple., the same color as her eyes. She invited him in and they chatted for a little while.
“…and how are you and Daisy doing, dear?” she asked.
“Actually, mom, that’s why I’m here, I came to tell you that I’ve decided to ask Daisy to marry me.”
“Oh, darling, that’s wonderful news!” she said, an elated look of joy on her face as she pulled him into a hug. She turned and looked over at the mantle above the fireplace. It was filled with picture frames. Starting at the ends were pictures of him and Seyval as little colts, getting progressively older as they approached the center. In the very center was a large photograph of his mother in her wedding dress. Next to her stood a tan earth pony with light blue hair the same color as Colton’s. He wore a tuxedo and a very goofy smile. “Your father would be so proud of you. I remember the night you brought Daisy over to meet us. After the two of you left, do you know what he said? He said, ‘Honey, if our son doesn’t ask that mare to marry him, I’ll ask her to marry him myself.’”
Colton laughed loudly. Smiling, his mother continued. “We used to sit by that fireplace dreaming about watching you and Seyval find that special someone and hearing the clip-clop of little grandfoals’s hooves running through the house. I can still hear him talking about it whenever I sit there.”
The two talked for another hour about plans that Colton had for the future. When he was about ready to leave, his mother said, “Hold on, dear, I have something for you.” She went into her bedroom and returned a moment later with a small box. Upon opening the box, Colton saw it contained a ring large enough to fit around a front hoof. It was gold with six gems embedded in equal spaces around the circumference. Five were small sapphires in red, orange, pink, blue and purple. The sixth gem was a deep red fire ruby, a little larger than the other gems, in the shape of a heart. Colton had seen it before. It was his mother’s wedding ring.
“Mom, Dad gave this to you. I can’t-“
“Yes, you can,” she interjected. “Take the ring and give it to Daisy. Your father would want you to have it.” She gave him a big hug and he put the ring in his saddle bags with no further objections. He bid his mother goodbye and walked down the street.
After he left, his mother closed the door and walked over to the mantle. She reached out and touched the picture of her husband. Tears of joy fell from her eyes. “They grow up so fast, don’t they dear?”
As he walked towards where Daisy’s parents lived, Colton began rehearsing what he would say to them. As he walked down the street he felt parasprites tingling in his stomach, another coming in to join them with every step he took. Not looking where he was going, he was startled as he bumped into another pony, causing both of them fall down.
“Oh no, I am so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” he apologized.
The brown earth pony got up and began brushing off the long coat he was wearing. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, revealing an accent Colton didn’t recognize. “I wasn’t paying that much attention myself. I was busy admiring those statues…over…there…”
The brown stallion‘s face changed to a look of terror as he looked to his left. They were looking at the entrance to a small park surrounded by a hedge with an archway over the entrance. There was a statue of a pony on one side, but not on the other. Colton, not seeing anything peculiar, gave him a quizzical look.
“Oh, no!” exclaimed the stallion. Turning to Colton, he grabbed his shoulders and, with a very serious look on his face, said, “If you see that missing statue again, keep looking at it, and don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead. Do you understand?”
Colton, eyes wide with shock at the sudden outburst, could only nod his head quickly.
“Alright,” said the stallion as he pulled a small silver device from his coat. Taking it in his mouth, he reared up, saying “Allons-y!” and galloped off towards the park. Colton watched him gallop off for a moment, and then shook his head. ‘Must have eaten some poison joke,’ he thought to himself.
He continued on until he reached the house where Daisy’s parents lived. He paused at the door, calming himself for a few minutes. As he reached up to knock, the door opened, surprising him and causing him to fall foreword onto the doormat. A dark brown stallion with a darker brown mane that was beginning to show a little grey stepped out.
“Colton?” Daisy’s father asked. “What are you doing on the ground?”
Quickly getting up, Colton blushed and gave him a nervous smile then extended his hoof, saying, “Hello, sir. Good to see you again.”
“Good to see you too, my boy” he said, returning the hoofshake. “But remember what I told you last time. I hate being called ‘sir.’ Call me Briar.”
“Sorry…Briar,” Colton said, not completely comfortable calling the stallion by his first name.
“That’s alright. Come on in.” The two walked into the small living room of the house. It had a light green carpet and two light yellow sofas on opposite sides of the room, embroidered with small green vines and a wide variety of flowers. In the corner stood a grandfather clock, ticking away the seconds. A small potted tree rested by a window with magenta drapes, soaking up the afternoon sun.
“So Colton, what brings you all the way out here?” asked Briar sitting on a sofa. “Is everything alright with Daisy?”
Colton placed his saddlebags on the other sofa and sat down. “Uh...yes, everything’s fine. Better than fine actually, it’s great,” he said nervously. “I. uh, actually came over to, uh…ask you something.”
“Oh really, what did you want to ask me?”
“I…uuhh...” Colton stammered, fidgeting nervously for a few moments.
“Well…spit it out, boy. Are you feeling alright?”
“Uuhh…”
Suddenly, the front door opened. As the two stallions looked over, a yellow mare with an orange mane stepped in.
“Carrot, you’re here!” said Briar. “Come on, have a seat. Colton was just going to ask me something, and then we can go to dinner.”
“Colton?” asked Carrot Top, surprised. “What are you doing here?” Colton kicked himself for not remembering that Daisy and her sister alternated having dinner with their parents every week. He smiled at her nervously. She looked at him carefully, noticing something was off. Suddenly, a realization struck her and she gasped loudly, eyes as big as saucers. “Oh…my…Celestia! You’re asking his permission!” Colton stared at her in absolute shock, mouth agape.
“Huh? Permission for what?” asked Briar, confused.
“Go on, ask him!” encouraged Carrot.
Colton turned to Briar and decided to just spit it out. “Sir…Briar.” He inwardly kicked himself. “I would like to ask you for permission to marry Daisy.”
A tense silence filled the room, the moments ticking by on the clock seeming like hours to Colton. ‘Oh no,’ he thought, ‘what will I do if he says no?’
“Colton,” Briar finally replied, “You’re a wonderful young stallion, and I know that Daisy thinks the world of you. I can see how much she loves you every time she looks at you. I know that you’ll take good care of her and I would be honored to call you my son-in-law.”
Colton nearly jumped out of his seat.
“But,” Briar continued. Colton’s heart sank. “I’m afraid I can only give you Daisy’s hoof. You’ll have to ask her mother for the rest of her.”
“Oh father,” groaned Carrot, rolling her eyes, “forever the comedian.”
Colton breathed a sigh of relief.
“She’s meeting us at the restaurant. You can ask her there.”
The three left the house and headed for the restaurant. On the way, Colton walked up alongside Carrot.
“How did you know what I was here for so quickly?” he asked.
“You know how Pinkie Pie has her Pinkie sense? It’s a lot like that. I’ve read so many romance novels I can see a proposal coming a mile away,” she stated with pride.
“Well, thank you. I wasn’t sure I would ever get that question out.”
“No problem, brother-in-law-to-be.”
They arrived at the restaurant. It was a little place right on the cusp of where the docks became the residential area. It was called ‘The Run Aground’ and it quite literally had a theme that was half sea and half land. The outside resembled a ship that had crashed onto the shore. Half of the inside was designed to look like you were under water. There were fish painted on the blue walls and a fish bowl centerpiece on each table. The other half was designed to look like a tropical island. It had sunny skies and beaches painted on the walls and little palm tree centerpieces on the tables. Daisy’s mother, Fern, waved them over from a table on the beach side.
Daisy and Fern were near spitting images of each other. The only differences were that Fern’s slightly darker green hair, which she straightened and held back with a hairpin, had a few streaks of silver in it. Her hairpin matched her cutie mark, the branch of a fern with seven leaves.
“Hey, honey!” Briar greeted her. “Look who dropped by to see us.”
“Colton! It’s good to see you! What brings you all the way from Ponyville?” she asked.
The three of them each took a seat at the table. Carrot bit her lip trying to suppress her excitement. Feeling a little more confident, Colton answered Fern’s question. He asked her for her permission to marry Daisy. Fern remained silent for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, but the waitress came over to take their order. They each placed their order and then Fern began asking Colton various questions. Some of them were about plans for the future, like where he intended them to live, and how he would be able to provide for her. He answered each of the questions as best he could. Fern gave no indication either way as to whether his answers were to her satisfaction or not. Their food arrived as she reached her last question.
“Alright, Colton, this is my last question. I think I already know the answer to this but I want to hear it from you. I want you to describe to me how much you love her.”
Colton did not even hesitate. “I love her more than life itself. Whenever we’re apart I want to be with her and when I’m with her I never want to leave. I never would have thought it would be possible for anyone to have this much love for someone.” He pulled out the box with the ring in it. “This was my mother’s wedding ring that she gave me to give to Daisy. My father had it made for her. Are you familiar with the Elements of Harmony?” Fern nodded. “Each of the gems represents one of the elements. My parents used to read us stories and teach us about the elements and what it meant to live out each one when we were young. I plan to live by each element with Daisy. I will be loyal, never leaving her side no matter what comes our way. I will be honest, keeping nothing hidden between us. I will be kind in what I say and how I act. I will make sure she always has a reason to laugh or smile. I will be generous to the point of sacrificing my wants and needs to make sure she has hers. Normally the sixth element is magic, but my father said that the sixth element in a marriage is unconditional love. It is the thing that truly makes the two into one. He said it was a love that never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. That is the love that I have for Daisy and I will strive to uphold that love in our relationship until death parts us.”
Fern smiled. “Colton,” she said, taking Briar’s hoof in hers, “you have our permission and our blessing. Welcome to the family.”

Comments

[Silent Storms]

I enjoyed this chapter.