On Duty

by The Sumareian

Greener Pastures pt 1

Whiterun smiled into the mirror, toothbrush in hoof as he careful and meticulously brushed at his gums. He paused when he heard somepony knock at the door.

"Whiterun your going to be late if spend an our cleaning each tooth." Bastion called from the other side.

"Yeah whell," He spit into the sink. "Who got two root canals last winter." He smiled to himself after hearing a long pause from the door. He reached for the mouth wash and began to swish the minty liquid.

"At least I have the decency to call this a date Whiterun."

Whiterun did a spit take right into pristine mirror. Apparently Bastion heard his reaction and started laughing hysterically from the hallway.

"I told you Pastures just wants to go out for some tea," He grabbed his towel and started dabbing at the mirror. "Besides, shes bringing Izzy along."

"Oh yeah, I forgot she's the one whose got the hots for you." Bastion cracked open the door. "And besides," He sniffed the air before a smug smile spread across his face. "You only wear that fancy prench cologne when you go on dates."

"You know, if this is what its like having a brother I'm real glad I had five sisters instead." Whiterun rolled his eyes as Bastion trotted up to him. Whiterun had hardly seen his partner so happy before.

"Sorry buddy, I'm still getting out of the only child mentality," He picked up another towel and started dabbing at the mirror as well. "Besides, I'm just well kinda giddy right now. You know why?" He practically vibrated with joy.

"No idea." Whiterun deadpanned.

"I just got a letter from Topaz, and well she'll be visiting next week ,and... and." Bastions happy smile dropped slightly" We get to go house shopping." he grumbled. "But otherwise I'm happy you know how long its been since I've seen her?"

"Two weeks five days six hours and ten minutes." Whiterun turned around and started for the door.

"Why, yes how did you." Bastion looked genuinely confused.

"Dude, you talk to me in my sleep, some of it just gets through." Whiterun paused for a second and smiled. "Black licorice."

As Whiterun trotted out of the bathroom leaving his mortified partner standing there utterly stupefied at his parting words. He was actually a little happy he got to see Pastures again, after all their first meeting and later kiss were under some less then favorable circumstances, and this time he had an ace up his sleeve or more literally in the mail.

He looked at the clock and smiled smugly as he trotted to the library door and waited patiently.

"Package for you Whiterun." Derpy announced as she happily knocked on the door.

Not wasting a moment he opened the door and received a wayward hoof to his muzzle.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Derpy looked at her still raised hoof and shyly slipped it behind her back. "You okay Whiterun."

"Firstly, ow and yeah I'll be good," He smiled to her. "I've been hit by worse."

Derpy smiled back to him one eye filled with genuine happiness. " So ... Whiterun," She started as she pulled out the package and handed it to him. "Whatcha order? I mean after all it's not everyday that somepony has a date with my sister and a package shows up for them an hour before said date." She eyed him suspiciously, well as good as a pony with one non paralyzed eye could.

" Oh nothing really, just something I had my eye on for a while." He looked at the grey pegasus. " So Derpy, I thought you didn't have mail duty on Fridays." He returned her suspicious stare tenfold.

"Well... uh, you what its like in the pony express with buget cuts and," She started to hover off the ground slightly. "Great griffons greyhair whats that." She pointed towards a group of colts playing jacks, before bolting away as fat as her wings could carry her.

" What a strange mare," Whiterun said to himself as he closed the door and trotted into the kitchen.Placing it down on the table he pulled up a chair and got ready to open it .As he inspected the package he noticed a sticky note attached to its side.

Whiterun, don't forget Jasmines tea shop at five thirty.

P.S. You hurt my sister in any way and I will end you.

-Derpy. :)

"Well that's a little foreboding." Bastion whispered into his ear. "So what did you get there any way?" Bastions silver aura started to slowly open the package.

"A surprise," Whiterun flicked Bastions horn causing his aura to dissipate. " Besides aren't you supposed to be guarding Twilight or something?"

Bastion brought his hoof to his chin."Well I would but I cant seem to find her anywhere."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile at Fluttershy's cottage.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness." The timid mare. hovered in the middle of her living room as Barry the resident grizzly bear flipped over her coffee table.

"I didn't think he would mind if I used the last bit of honey." Twilight shouted over the roaring beast, from her hiding spot behind the couch.

"Dont you have somepony who could get you more honey?" Fluttershy watched as the bear stomped around the room shooing away the other critters so none of them would get hurt in his hissy fit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well regardless," Bastion cantered up to the pantry and used his magic to pull out a jar of peanut butter and a new bottle of honey. "You only act this mysterious when you think you have an ace up your sleeve."

"I do not," Whiterun opened the box. "And besides you only get like this when your hear from you wife after awhile, remember Neighmaca."

" You know what, I'm not letting you knock me off my high horse right now." The grey stallion scoffed at him as he started making a sandwich.

"Didn't know you thought of your wife that way." Whiterun smiled as he heard the clanking of a butter knife against the wood floor.

" I hate you sometimes."

"I know," Whiterun pulled a smaller wrapped package out of the box, and slipped it into his saddle bag before standing up. "Well look at the time, I better get going."

**********************************

" Whiterun over here." The golden mare waved to him from the her seat.

Turns out Jasmines tea shop was not only a place for ponies to just buy tea but also enjoy it in peaceful ambiance. Whiterun looked at numerous aromatic and colorful leaves in the glass jars that lined the shelves in the store.

"Hey there Pastures, Sorry for being late." Whiterun sat down, and smiled, before a soft giggle caught his ear."Hey there Izzy." He cooed the the foal who simply giggled more in response.

"Don't worry about it I had a hard time finding this place to," Pastures fluttered her wings slightly."Though I heard of all the tea shops outside of Canterlot this one is the best hooves down."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that ma'm, but thanks for the compliment." A mare balancing a large jar of tea on her back trotted by. "I be with you folks in a sec." She smiled before turning of down one of the aisles and disappearing amid the shelves.

"So Whiterun, how have you been?" Pastures picked brushed the small menu in front of her to the side.

"Pretty good all things considered. Works been uneventful," He smiled remembering all the stress he was in last year before the changeling attack. "How about you?"

"Good, good although the docs say I wont be able to fly for another week," She stretched her wings tiredly. "So I guess I'm grounded, still."

"Well Pastures, if it makes you feel any better I'm afraid of heights." Both of them started to laugh.

"So tell me something Whiterun," Pastures glanced happily to Izzy who was silently watching the two ponies with curious eyes. "Do you have a special somepony?"

"Well no not really." He peaked over to Izzy who reached her hooves out to Pastures. who started digging into a colorful gym bag and pulled out a bottle and put it in the foals expectant hooves. He caught himself in his thoughts, Pastures reminded him so much of his mother, raising not only him but all his sisters after his fathers tragic death.

Pastures pushed a playful hoof into his shoulder. "Really a strong handsome stallion like you, come on not one mare."

"Not a one," He shrugged "Though nopony anywhere can say I haven't tried."

He heard the mare from earlier start to canter up to them.

"Sorry about the wait there, what you two have?"

"I'll have the Jasmine house special with lemon, and some apple slices." Pastures slide the menu across the small table to Whiterun.

Panicking because as he read the menu he couldn't tell the different teas apart Whiterun looked for something familiar."I'll take the Strawberry ice tea with uhh...apple slices."

"Will do and might I say sir your foal has your eyes." The tea pony smiled as she picked up the menu from the table.

"Actually, I'm not the father." Whiterun noticed Pastures stifle a laugh as the tea mare looked at both Whiterun and Izzy.

"Well ma'm your foal has very beautiful eyes." She smiled before trotting off to what must have been the kitchen.

"Well you know the saying about ponies in a long relationship." She smiled. "That the start to look alike, do you know why?"

"Because they grow old together?" Whiterun guessed.

"No silly, because they're happy." she giggled as she started tickling Izzys belly causing her to squeal in laughter.

"So.. Pastures, about Izzy?" Whiterun braced himself for a well deserved slap only to hear the foals giggles die down.

"Well," Pastures brushed her grey mane to the side before letting out a sigh." You know how sometimes you meet that one pony who you think is really the one you were meant to grow old with."

Whiterun nodded as the mare continued her story." I met him out in Manehattan, we had a little place nothing special. you know just starting out, I left my job with the Equestria Explorers, they were good ponies, even gave me a good luck bonus."

She leaned over to Izzy and brushed her mane."Life was good you know I just found out our little family would get a little bigger. But when I told him the news, he just." She paused as a tear started to form in her eye.

"Pastures, I'm sorry about that." Whiterun now realizing he had reopened some freshly healed wound.

"No worries, I mean after all that jerk gave me the best thing in my life.Although without you.... " She smiled at him a hint of red starting to grow in her cheeks.

"Oh.... Well I uhh.... No problem, my dad said that if anypony was ever in need of help and I could help, that I shouldn't give it a second thought and do what I can." Whiterun scratched the back of his neck. "You said you couldn't push any more, so I pushed you to push and well." He smiled as he tilted his head to Izzy.

"He certainly raised a selfless gentlecolt." She glanced to the front as the waitress came with a cart.

"Jasmine house special with lemon," She placed the steaming cup on the table "Strawberry Ice tea." She put the cool glass in the middle of the table and two straws along with a small plate of apple slices. "Enjoy you two," she winked before trotting away as somepony else walked in.

"He did, of course I wish he was still here at times." Whiterun paused as Pastures sipped her tea.

"I'm sorry to hear that, what happened if you dont mind my asking." Pastures reached a caring hoof to his side.

"Life, happened and things no pony could control, you see believe it or not I grew up on a rock farm up north."

Whiterun smiled. "Snowrun Stones, it was my grandpas land but he willed it of to my dad you see. Well one winter apparently a wild windigoo strayed to far south and snowed us in," he picked up an apple slice and bit into it.

" My mother had just given birth to my youngest sister Fria, and she was starting to get sick, we didn't know what it was but we were real worried about Fria catching it." He dipped his straw into the ice tea and took a sip."Fearing that he would loss both his wife and newborn baby, my father started for Colterburg, twenty miles away. He walked alone, nonstop through one of the worst blizzards ever into town and got my mom some medicine."

"Love makes some ponies do crazy things." Pastures picked up the other straw and placed it in the ice tea.

Whiterun shook his head. "He certainly was crazy, the first thing he did when he got back was go right up to my mom and kiss her right on the lips. The crazy part about that was he was half frozen the entire time, he even didn't stop for a second to warm himself up at the fire."

"Wow, sounds like he cared more for his family then himself." Pastures commented before taking a sip of ice tea.

Whiterun nodded. "Needless to say my mom got better, but my dad started feeling weak and started coughing. in two days he was in a worse state then my mom and the medicine we had just didn't seem to work. We lost him later that week in his sleep."

Whiterun smiled as he felt a tears start to form under his eyes. "You know, he's the reason why I joined the guard."

Author's Note:

Fria: Pulled from the spanish word Frio meaning cold ( the a was to make it feminine (works for the most part in spanish just not this one)).

So remember that time I said to hit me if I do a two part chapter. Well its either this or a simply massive chapter which I don't want to write right this moment.(I kinda ended this chapter on a sadder note sorry about that, its kinda the history I made for both of those two when I thought them up, anyways the story shall lighten up again and we still need to find out about Twi and that bear.)

again feel free to comment.

-The Sumareian