Legacy: The End of Harmony

by Ficta_Scriptor

Volume 1: Eruditio - Chapter 9 - One Big Book

Legacy volume 1: Eruditio

Chapter 9 - One Big Book

“He was sugar-coating it, wasn’t he?” Rosa commented flatly, blowing a strand of hair from her eye.

“Hey, I thought you were really good! The both of you have some serious acting talent!” Summer assured jubilantly, smiling brightly to the two other mares.

They had just left the theatre and were now walking aimlessly, just after Rosa had attempted to follow in Clover’s hoof-steps as Esmeralda the enchantress. Floyd and her two friends seemed impressed, but Rosa couldn’t tell how much of that was just empty support. She had played the part as well as she could, though very different from the way Clover had portrayed her. Rosa’s enchantress was bolder, sterner and less dramatic. She didn’t think that she was necessarily a terrible actress, but the part of the enchantress should be mysterious, much like Floyd had said, and she didn’t feel as if she came off this way. Floyd had showed his appreciation for her participation and asked her for her name and address, letting her know that she would be contacted by post as soon as a decision had been made regarding the casting. In all honesty, it didn’t matter that much to her. This was Clover’s dream, not hers.

“I still think Clover was far better than I was. I was really amazed with what I saw; I could tell you really put your all into that role.”

“Thanks, Rosa, but you didn’t do as badly as you seem to think. I really liked your performance.”

“Please, I don’t need your compliments. I only did it because I thought, ‘why not?’ You’re the one with the talent.”

“Yeah, I think that stallion would have to agree as well.” Summer chirped. “Didn’t you see how excited he got!?”

“Well you of all ponies would have to have been looking hard enough to notice that,” carped Rosa, shooting the mare an all too familiar unamused glare.

“You’re such a prude, Rosa! And you’re dating Sparks for Luna’s sake. I don’t even know how you could keep your mind off it with him beside you. Don’t you agree, Clover?”

Clover became flustered and gave Rosa a bashful glance. “I wouldn’t say she’s a prude. She’s just more… conservative with her thoughts.”

Rosa was well aware that her friend was giving her a well-meant compliment, but still felt a tinge of insult. She knew though that Clover was right about her, showing just how well she could attune to her feelings, even if they weren’t openly discussed. Surely she knows about my feelings for Nico then, she thought, keeping her head facing away from the two mares as she mulled over her predicament, Summer already leaping in with a rebuttal to Clover’s statement.

“Oh, but it’s only through talking about our perversions that they’re any fun at all! I guess I’ll just have to get Strider drunk so she spills the proverbial beans.”

Clover chuckled, but Rosa barely took notice. She was too busy overthinking things as usual.

“So what about you then, Clover? Any hot stallion in your life?”

“Wha… me?” Clover gasped in surprise.

“There’s nopony else here called Clover, is there?”

“Well… no. There’s nopony in my life,” she said dully.

“Seriously!?” Summer exclaimed, throwing her hooves into the air. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m afraid not.” Clover flashed an uneasy glance towards Rosa who merely gave a slight shrug. She was too caught up in her internal musings to attempt to save her friend from Summer’s ‘onslaught’. She knew that the news of her date with Sparks would eventually reach Nico, and she was trying to decipher just how she felt about that.

“Oh, that sucks. Well actually, that’s great!” Summer rejoiced. “We could go hunting for stallions, just the two of us! Think about it, two sexy young blank flanks out gallivanting, catching the eyes of everypony who sees us…”

Rosa observed Clover as she appeared ever more anxious. Part of her wanted to step in and help the poor pegasus, but the other part was curious as to how Clover would handle Summer’s ramblings.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m fine…. really.”

Summer’s face dropped in disappointment. “Aw, that’s not the kind of attitude I was hoping for!”

“To be fair,” Rosa interjected, “You’re too young to go ‘stallion-hunting’ with Clover anyway. You’re… how should I put this? You’re barely even legal.”

Summer blushed, a wave of distress and surprise washing across her face as Rosa had so easily called her on such a fact. Rosa couldn’t help but find it amusing how the mare reacted when her façade was broken down, as cruel as it was. “Well… maybe you’re right, but that’s not to say I couldn’t meet a charming young stallion and have a nice time…”

“A nice time? Is that meaning what I think it means?” Rosa taunted, astonished at her own ability to turn the tide on her young friend. “And the fact that you’re sixteen wouldn’t make a difference?”

“Hey, don’t tease me like that! Who’s to say I couldn’t meet somepony?”

“I’m not saying anything,” Rosa quipped, and turned her head away dramatically, smiling to herself.

“Hey! Stop being mean!”

“Sorry girls,” Clover piped up with, stopping her friends’ bickering in its tracks. “I really should get going. My parents will be wondering where I am if I stay out much longer, and I really want to tell them about my audition.”

“Oh, OK. Goodbye, and see you again soon.” Rosa stated, smiling gently.

“Yeah, see you round Miss Leaf,” Summer grinned, giving the mare a quick hug. Clover was startled by this, but quickly complied.

“I think we should all meet up some other time,” suggested Clover.

“Me too,” Rosa agreed. “See you soon!”

The mares waved goodbye as Clover effortlessly took to the skies, darting through the air towards Cloudsdale. Rosa turned and noticed Summer still watching Clover as she became a mere spec on the skyline, a light grin across her face.

“Don’t you ever wish you could fly?” she said thoughtfully with a dazed expression. “Sometimes I wish I could just fly away and go wherever I wanted to go. I hate feeling restricted.” That line in particular touched Rosa’s heart as she was vividly reminded of Summer’s quandary, having to work her flank off to support her disabled mother. “Don’t you wish you were a pegasus?”

“If I’m honest, I often wish I was a unicorn. Even the simple act of picking something would be so much easier, and there are so many things that magic can achieve that we with our mere hooves can’t even come close to doing. Sparks showed me that—” She cut herself off, realising that she would expose Sparks’ talent to Summer, something she had wanted to avoid if she could manage it. The perky young mare would hassle him about it all day long if she could—

“What? Sparks showed you what?” Summer responded curiously.

“He… he just showed me some magic and stuff, that’s all.”

“Oh, no, no, no! He showed you something special, didn’t he? Come on, what was it!?”

“I’d rather not say—”

“Oh come on, tell me! Unless it was something, private?” she goaded, winking suggestively.

Rosa was about to instinctively roll her eyes and try to blow the conversation past them when a crazy idea popped into her head. She pulled as serious a face as she could manage, and pressed a hoof to Summer’s shoulder, prompting a confused reaction.

“OK, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anypony.”

“Oh I’ll never tell! I swear it!” the yellow mare gasped.

Rosa forced her eyes shut and tensed up her face, readying herself. Then she began to speak in as stern a tone as she could muster.

“Summer… He showed me his fifth leg.”

At first, Summer stared blankly, as if still waiting for a response. After a few seconds, her smile began to widen, and her chest expanded and contracted with contained laughter. Rosa’s own face curved its way into a smirk uncontrollably, and the pair exploded into horrendous guffaws in unison. Passing citizens watched with a mixture of awe and inquisitiveness as the two earth ponies fell to the cobblestone road in fits of laughter.

Rosa wasn’t used to this; the natural act of laughing with friends was far too uncommon in her previous life. Not that she was about to blame Clover and Nico, mind you. As she rolled on the ground, almost out of breath, she thought of how recent events had changed her more than she could have ever anticipated. Both Summer and Sparks, two ponies who she was barely even aware of not that long ago had managed to show her the kind of joy that she hadn’t felt in so long. The drunken nights spent fantasising about Nico, general chit-chat with Clover, or the day in, day out routine at the family bookshop had always seemed enough for her, but now she realised that she was foolish.

Even though she was still in several minds about her feelings towards Sparks, and even though Summer could be a little obnoxious at times, her life was now better, and she was better. It was as if she had been sleepwalking her way through life for the past few years and had only just begun to wake up. She hated to admit it, but everything her parents had said to her about her lifestyle was right, and she’d been too stubborn to even notice.

“I can’t… stop… help… me…” Summer pleaded, trying to force her laughter away by pressing her cheeks with her hooves.

“I can’t breathe…” Rosa giggled, gasping for air as if she’d just been underwater. She wasn’t one for laughing at her own jokes, but to see Summer’s ludicrous reaction was too much for her.

Eventually the laughter died down into faint snickers, and the two ponies manage to meet eyes once again without being set off.

“We’re so alike,” Summer started, combing her mane back into place. “Even if you don’t like to think so.”

“I just said something dirty out of irony, don’t tar me with that brush,” Rosa retorted, smirking to herself.

“Well now I see what Clover meant when she said about keeping things to yourself. But relax, you don’t need to be shy around me!”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Oh, and sorry if I upset you a few minutes ago.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Summer said dismissively. “I should learn to keep my trap shut sometimes, but I am who I am.”

Rosa gave the mare a friendly glance before looking skyward as groups of clouds began to assemble above Ponyville, a few pegasi darting to and fro between them. It had been a pleasant past few days as far as the weather was concerned, so a bout of rain was likely overdue if the village’s crops and plants were to have any say.

“It looks like it might rain soon,” Rosa said glumly. “Is there anything else you think we could do?”

“I’m not one for ideas unless they involve stallion hunting, remember? Since that’s not an option… I’m pretty much stumped.”

Rosa furrowed her brow, not wanting to cut the day short and send Summer home simply because they had nothing to do. That’s something the old Rosa would have done, she said inwardly, looking back on all the times she had spent cooped up in her room, lost in some fantasy world of her own or somepony else’s creation. She didn’t want to go back to that.

“Well, I could show you round my family’s bookshop, but you have to promise to behave in front of my parents.”

“Oh, oh yes! Yes please! And don’t worry, I’ll be on my best behaviour!” Summer piped up, swishing an invisible halo above her head and sitting obediently.

“That’ll have to do,” Rosa said with a wry smile and they trotted off down the road, Summer bouncing along like a foal with a sugar rush. What have I let myself in for? she thought to herself.

---

“Nice to meet you Mrs Bloom! The name’s Sun, Summer Sun.” The peppy yellow pony loudly introduced herself, extending a hoof to a startled-looking Daisy Bloom. Rosa was already face-hoofing in her own mind.

“Nice to meet you too, my dear.” The light pink mare accepted the gesture and shook her hoof gently. “I’m so happy my young Rosa has found herself a new friend. And a friend of Rosa’s is a friend of ours.”

“Well thank you very much Mrs Bloom,” Summer replied, nodding politely.

“And the same from me an’ all,” Speedwell Bloom chimed in, tipping his hat suavely.

“Ooh, well aren’t you a real charmer,” Summer exclaimed, and shook his hoof cheerily.

Rosa shot an anxious glance at both her mother and father, but they seemed completely accepting of Summer’s personality, each smiling naturally. Rosa knew her mother in particular had her little way of ‘fake smiling’, something all too familiar when an unruly customer comes into the shop and she forces herself to keep up the charade. So long as Summer was kept on a leash, (a metaphor that Summer herself would probably have some kind of comment to make about) everything should go smoothly. She wasn’t ashamed of her new friend, but she knew how judgemental her mother could be at times.

“Well now that we have the introductions out of the way,” Rosa began, “Why don’t I show you around? It’s alright if I show her our stock, isn’t it Mum?”

“That’s fine dear, your father and I will be in the kitchen if you need anything.”

“Thanks Mum.”

“Oh, just one quick thing. Will your friend be staying for dinner?”

Summer shook her head before Rosa could comment. “I’d love to Mrs Bloom, but I promised my mother I’d cook her a Sunday roast this evening. Thanks for the offer though!”

“Oh, that’s quite alright.”

I know what you’re thinking, Rosa reasoned as her mother shot her a quick glance. You’re thinking I should start cooking for you now, aren’t you? You’re thinking how Summer is a better pony than me, aren’t you?

“It was nice to make your acquaintance little lady,” Speedwell said softly, giving a slight nod.

“You too, Mr Bloom!”

Rosa’s parents wandered off to the kitchen door at the back-end of the shop-floor and slipped inside.

“They seem really nice!” Summer remarked, beaming.

“They are… most of the time.” Rosa was glad that thanks to the house’s older build the walls were thicker and more sound protective. She wouldn’t have gotten away with a comment like that in Nico’s house, or some of the more recently made cottages.

“So what’s it like living in a bookshop?”

“I don’t know. I guess that’s like asking a pegasus what it’s like to be able to fly. I’ve lived in this place for as long as I can remember. I know my Mum and Dad have mentioned living in Canterlot when I was very young, but I’ll be darned if I can remember that far back.”

“Your parents lived in Canterlot? Why would they move here?”

“I never thought to ask them; I’ve never been interested enough to want to know. Besides, after my experience of that place I wouldn’t blame them for moving here what with all the hustle and bustle. Plus, I don’t think a homely book store would fare well in such a place. I expect they have entire warehouses filled to the brim with books of all kinds.”

“I guess there’s that, but I’d still like to go there someday; my Mum speaks fondly of it.”

Summer began inspecting the rows of books near the front of the shop, stopping once on a new bestseller called Fifty Shades of Hay.

“And before you ask, we don’t sell any copies of The Pony Sutra,” Rosa quipped with a smirk.

“Huh? What’s that?” Summer responded, completely oblivious to the reference.

“Oh it’s nothing… So, do you read much?”

“Not really. My Mum’s got a load of boring old history books about The Royal Family, The Elements of Harmony, stuff like that. I can’t be dealing with that kind of thing; what’s in the past is in the past as far as I’m concerned.”

Rosa smiled, thinking of how she too shared a similar outlook. Summer began shuffling along, looking curiously over the rows of autobiographies and self-help books that cluttered the front end bookshelves.

“I haven’t even heard of most of these ponies. Fetlocks Braithwaite? Who even is that?”

“No idea.”

“So do you have any books that are actually interesting around here?”

Rosa’s eyes lit up. “I may just have something.” She gestured Summer back to the shelves stacked with horror and crime novels. This would be another chance to mould a friend into having the same interests as she did. Clover and Nico had always been aware of Rosa’s reading habits and had accepted books in the past, but their interest had never been anything more than fleeting — a mere act of politeness towards her until they decided that they had better things to do than sit on their rears reading books all the time.

“Well now we’re talking!” Summer beamed, rushing to a series of books with pictures of grotesque monsters on the front cover. “The Horrors of the Deep! You’d think authors could come up with less generic titles than that.”

“You’d be surprised,” Rosa chuckled, sidling up next to her friend.

“So this is what the sweet and timid Rosa is into? Blood, gore and scary beasts!”

“Well, not so much that. Not all horror novels are about terrifying monsters. I prefer psychological horror, the stories that make you think, the kinds of tales that could actually be possible.”

“Wow, and you think you know somepony,” Summer said, shooting Rosa a nervous look.

“Oh come on, liking horror doesn’t make me creepy!”

“I’ll be sure to make a note of that when Sparks shows up at the bottom of a lake.”

Rosa giggled to herself again, astounded at Summer’s ability to speak her mind so easily and make a joke out of anything.

“So which books do ya’ll recommend then, Creepy Strider? Hey, that could be your… what’s it called? When you have a different name for writing?”

“Pseudonym.”

“Pseudonym? Oh wow, I was way off. I thought it was something beginning with ‘B’!”

“You really want to know what books to read? Are you actually considering the act of sitting still for long periods of time?”

“Hey, I resent that!” Summer called out playfully. “Anyways, if my Mum can do it, so can I!”

Rosa didn’t know whether to laugh at the potentially offensive joke, even if it was coming from Summer herself, so she feigned a quick grin and said nothing more of the matter. She’d never even met her friend’s mother, and would rather leave the subject of disability alone if she could manage. Despite Summer’s gleeful, outgoing nature, it couldn’t be easy being depended upon by her only close family member. That, and the fact that she never mentioned her father could only mean that he was either dead or had left of his own will. Rosa’s face grew solemn as she imagined what life would be like if either of her parents passed away and the eventual consequences, but she was quickly snapped out of her train of thought.

“So are you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna name some good books?” Summer mocked jubilantly.

Rosa thought about all of the books she’d read over the years, trying to categorize her so-called ‘favourites’, but there were too many to list. To make things easier, she decided to name the one she’d been enjoying most recently.

“Well there’s a book called An Equestrian Night Mare that I’ve been reading.”

“Still a bit of a generic title, but go on.”

“It’s more of a crime thriller than a horror, but it’s still pretty creepy. I’d explain what it’s about, but I wouldn’t want to spoil any surprises.”

“OK, sure, I’ll take your word for it. So… do I have to pay for a copy or something?”

“I have a copy of my own in my room that you can take. I’ve nearly finished it so I’ll just sneak one from the shelves at some point.”

“Inviting me up to your room? But Rosa, we barely know each other!” Summer joked in a Chevalian accent.

Rosa shook her head and chortled as she made her way up the staircase and through the door in front of her. She couldn’t remember whether she’d left her room in an untidy state but was glad to find that aside from an out of place duvet cover it was pretty much spotless. It had just started raining, a light drizzle rapping against her window with almost melodious consistency. Rosa flicked on her lamp and pulled over her copy of An Equestrian Night Mare from her desk, then turned to Summer who was led flat on the floor, looking under Rosa’s bed.

“What are you doing!?”

“Summer’s journal, article fifty three,” Summer rasped in a gravelly voice. “Sparks’ body is nowhere to be found under Creepy Strider’s bed. The investigation continues.”

“Are you seriously going to keep that up?”

Summer propped herself back up and smiled suggestively. “Well it’s not like you’re not going to hide him under your bed at some point. How else are you going to keep your folks from knowing about your ‘private time’? If they ever come creeping in with a black-light you’ll be in so much trouble!”

Rosa rolled her eyes. “You know, I really hope you do find yourself a colt-friend. Anyway, this is the novel I was talking about.” She sat on the edge of her bed just as Summer followed suit, and handed the book over. Summer examined it closely, flicking through the pages and stopping at a point near the end.

“This is quite a big book,” she commented, squinting at the print. “There are nearly six hundred pages.”

“Does that really make that much of a difference?”

“Well it seems like an awful lot, and the writing is pretty small too. How long does it take to read one of these?”

Rosa buried her head in her hoof. She didn’t want to openly mock her friend but she was finding it difficult to sympathise with Summer’s argument. “Books are as long as they need to be. Some books might take a few hours to read and some might take several days. If you don’t like it I can see if we’ve got some shorter novels dotted around the place.”

“Oh no, no, no, you don’t need to do that!” Summer exclaimed, clutching the book to her chest. “I’ll read it, honest. I guess I’ve just never read such a big book before, but I’ll try it, for you.”

Rosa felt herself swell with an unusual sense of pride at the mare’s words, realising that Summer was willing to do things for her sake as an act of friendship. Outside of acquaintances like Earl from the café, Summer didn’t seem to have any other friends. She would have to learn to be a bit more accepting of her primrose-coated friend, Rosa decided.

“Well that’s good to hear. Trust me, reading can get really addictive, and sometimes even the longest of books can seem really short when you don’t want them to end. I’ve not actually finished that book yet, but from what I’ve read I don’t think that the ending will disappoint.”

Summer flipped furiously through the book to a spot near the end. “A-ha! The butler did it!”

“There isn’t even a butler mentioned in the story, but nice try,” Rosa said with a smirk.

“Well that just makes it all the more unexpected! You’re just reading the story and then BAM! Killer butler!”

“I sincerely hope that’s not the case…”

The two friends sat up against the wall and relaxed themselves a little. Summer began discussing ideas for a novel that she would want to write, about a noble prince who would secretly sneak out at night and woo unsuspecting mares. Rosa had no idea just how much of it was serious and how much of it was a joke designed to take her out of her comfort zone, but found Summer’s over-the-top descriptions and outlandish characteristics of the prince amusing to listen to regardless.

The conversation soon turned to work at La Chocolat and Petit Déjeuner’s oddities. Summer talked in great length about how Petit had once dealt with an inspector’s visit by ordering staff to hang pictures in spots where there were cracks in the wall and importing higher quality products for that specific day. The problem was that now there were pictures dotted around the restaurant in completely random places, meaning that he sussed out the feeble attempt at trickery almost immediately.

She also talked about times when Petit would ask for meals to be prepared for friends of hers, even though the meals didn’t even exist on the menu. This included an incident where a griffin from the Griffin Kingdoms came to the restaurant and ordered beef steak, seemingly oblivious to the fact that almost nowhere in Equestria even sold meat. Instead of telling her that they only served herbivore food Petit insisted that Ebby try and prepare a ‘fake’ slice of meat using sweet potato and spices.

“What was funny was that Petit was too scared to say ‘no’ because the griffin was so big and bulky, but the griffin herself was too scared to complain!”

Rosa spent most of her time listening rather than talking, but she didn’t mind that. She didn’t think she could say more about her life other than ‘I came, I saw, I read books and I gained a colt-friend because of peer pressure’. There was always the subject of her feelings for Nico, but that wasn’t something she would want to even hint at. She’d only barely felt comfortable explaining that to Spike, and even then he’d been the one to guess what she was talking about.

Because he was the only dragon she had even known, speaking to him about something was almost as if she was consulting some otherworldly being. She did think of him as a friend, but the fact that he was of an entirely different species and was hundreds of times bigger than her muddied the connection between them somewhat. Telling a pony about her true feelings would be a completely different matter, even if she knew it was unfair for Spike that he was ostracised in this way. She wondered if he viewed ponies as beneath him, as he would outlive them all many lifetimes over. Not wanting to depress herself or her friend with such thoughts she pushed them away.

The rain outside was starting to diminish and Summer had begun to talk about Sparks again, though this time with surprising tact. Instead of spouting more obscene jokes she was genuinely inquisitive about when Rosa planned to see him again and what it was like to have somepony that you cared for. That’s not to say that she wasn’t adverse to peppering the conversation with compliments about Sparks’ appearance, but it was a lot more controlled than usual.

Rosa answered as much as she could, wondering herself what the next step would be after Sparks set the bar so high with their first date. She was still anxious about what would be expected of her in the future, but refrained from mentioning that to Summer. Having a colt-friend was still a new concept for her, and she couldn’t help but feel that the way in which her and Sparks were going about it was entirely unnatural. She supposed that most couples would meet up on off-chances that they would get to spend time with each other and just enjoy time in their own company. This kind of scenario didn’t seem entirely desirable, especially considering that she wanted a certain degree of time to herself.

“You’ll be meeting his parents next! Doesn’t that worry you?”

“A little… To be honest, I’m more nervous about his little sister, Crane. She’s apparently worried that I’m here to take her big brother away.”

“Oh you’ll be fine! They say the stallion gets a much tougher time meeting the parents than the mare, for obvious reasons.”

For once I’m glad that’s all you’ve said on the matter, Rosa thought to herself. “You’re forgetting that I’m one of the most socially inept ponies on the planet.”

“Oh you’re not that bad! You just need to loosen up a bit more.”

“Thanks… I think.”

They chatted for a while longer without any kind of awkward pauses that Rosa had come to expect from her time spent with Sparks and her other friends. She realised that they had been talking for almost two hours, and at the same time as this the realisation seemed to hit Summer as well.

“Wow! I’ve been here a long time! Sorry Strider but I’d better be on my way.” Summer attempted to grab the book in her mouth but found that the spine was too large to grasp between her teeth and it slid onto the bed. “Ugh! I guess I’ll have to carry this one by hoof. Didn’t I say something about the book being too damn long?” She hoisted the book into her left foreleg and held it against her chest.

“Sorry about that,” Rosa said with a chuckle. “It was lovely for you to come visit, and I’ll um… I’ll show you out.”

They both trotted down the stairs, Summer managing to walk on three legs extremely well. Rosa took her to the front door and saw that the sun had come out once again, lighting the wooden floorboards with a faint glow as the door was opened.

“You know what, Strider, it’s been fun!” Summer declared, beaming. “I met a dragon, I got to see you act, and I learned just how creepy you are! I’d give you a hug but it’s a bit difficult with this trillion word epic in my possession.”

“Well you insisted on reading it.”

“That I did, that I did.”

Summer stood for a while at the open door, staring judgementally at Rosa who felt rather confused.

“Take care!”

“Wait, really?” the yellow earth pony scoffed. “You’re not even going to give your old pal Summer a hug goodbye?”

Rosa squinted and observed Summer’s expression, trying to make out if she was being serious or not.

“Well I guess that’s a ‘no’ then,” Summer said, rolling her eyes.

“I… can’t say I’m much of a hugger.”

“No kidding. Well whatever, I’ll see you tomorrow at work!”

“Of course! See you tomorrow! Bye!”

Summer trotted out into the street, hopping elegantly over a puddle while still keeping the book safe. “Au revoir Strider!” she called, then galloped down the road and out of sight.

Rosa passed her way into the kitchen to see her mother tending to a teapot and her father at the table mulling over a newspaper.

“She seemed really nice!” her mother remarked.

“She is… most of the time.”

---

Clover swooped down into the archway leading to Spike’s abode. Shuffling her wings to relieve some pent-up muscle tension, she cheerfully paced towards the dragon in question, who appeared to be carving a rock with his bare claws. From the collection of shards beneath him it looked as though he’d been at it for a while, but the greyish stone still bore no discernible shape.

“Spike?”

Startled by her voice, the scaly beast’s right claw swiped clean through the boulder, splitting it almost exactly in two. He groaned disappointedly, dropping the remains to the floor with a crash. The fallen ‘pieces’ stood almost four times the height of a fully grown pony.

“Sorry,” Clover said with a nervous grin, her cheeks glowing. “I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Spike quickly replied, scraping the mess aside. To see him do so with such ease made Clover wonder just how much destruction he could cause if he ever went on a rampage, but she’d never felt threatened by his presence. If anything, he was a textbook gentle giant.

“I just thought I’d drop in to share some news,” the jade-coated pegasus began, taking a few steps closer.

“If it’s what I think it is, I just might know already.” Spike grinned mischievously. “She dropped by earlier — couldn’t wait to brag about her date.”

Clover sighed. “So you knew, huh? There goes my chance at delivering some hot gossip.”

“Still, it’s good news, right? She certainly seems happy enough.” The dragon shifted on his haunches, getting into a more comfortable position. “I’d say it’s all going better than expected.”

Clover nodded, smiling nervously. “I certainly hope so.”

Comments

[Dee Forty-Five]

Well, that ending's not ominous at all.

[SoloAcapello]

Every chapter recently has ended with somepony saying that things couldn't get better, or that things are going well. It's like a rain dance, but instead of rain it's unspeakable tragedy .

Or just a minor inconvenience in the near future

[Ficta_Scriptor]

2458058>>2459357

That short conversation between Spike and Clover is actually quite important given the circumstances... I was almost going to add a few more lines of dialogue mentioning something else, but I don't want to make things too obvious.

And no feverish speculation on some of Summer's lines? Eh... OK then...

Don't worry, guys. The next chapter's ending will sing a rather different tune.

[True Blood]

2460039 Whoo! The metaphorical bass is about to drop then? Finally! 11 chapters in and we've had a wonderful romance/slice of life, but nothing really that sad or adventury. Though, now I check the story tags, there's no adventure mentioned there so... Why did I think this was gonna be an adventure story?

Anyway, good chapter, as always keep it up!