The Chapter

Gummy stared aimlessly at the wall. He had been sitting there for the last three hours, just looking ahead vacantly. Gummy knew that he shouldn’t be so preoccupied with thinking about Pinkie, but he couldn’t help it. The full weight of how he felt about her had finally dawned on him. He couldn’t find a way to tell her what he had taken a long time in accepting within himself. He loved her.

Gummy knew that this was not how he was supposed to feel as a pet. Sure, affection and a kind of love akin to that of a foal to its mother, but not the kind of love a stallion feels to his very special somepony. The little crocodile sighed inwardly. There probably wasn’t anything he could do about it. He had been in denial over his affections for the last four years, and it was long time that he at least admitted it to Pinkie.

The clocked ticked onward as he continued his train of thought. “How can I even begin to tell her in the first place? I can’t speak in a way comprehensible to a pony,” Gummy thought. All pets could communicate with each other when they so choose; they had a form of communication based entirely off of physical movement, such as the flick of a tail or twitch of an ear. But ponies had never understood this form, with the exception of maybe Fluttershy.

“How am I going to get it across to her how I really feel?” Gummy wondered. “I don’t have vocal folds, nor do I have hands and therefor the capacity to perform charades like Angel. I’m useless!” His little reverie was broken by the sound of the door to Pinkie’s quarters opening. “I’m home!” He heard.

Pinkie bounded into the room, her fluffy pink mane bouncing with her enthusiasm, and Gummy sighed inwardly. This was one of the things he truly loved about her, and his tail began to move to and fro.

“Hey Gummy, how’re ya doin’?!” Pinkie asked

“Fine, though I’m kinda stuck in a rut,” he thought. While he knew full well that she couldn’t hear him, he always felt a little more at peace once he at least pretended to reply.

“Are you okay?” Pinkie asked, seeming somewhat concerned. The look of worry on her face tore at his heart. Gummy knew that he was in this one deep.

“Just a little depressed that I can’t tell you how I feel, that I love you. Sure, you already know that, but I mean love in a sense like a stallion to a mare, not a pet to its owner,” Gummy thought, feeling even more wretched when she still couldn’t hear him.

Pinkie looked pensive for a moment, and then said, “A bath should cheer you up! And then we can have some of that punch! I know it’s your favorite.” She proceeded to scoop him up, almost so energetically that it kinda hurt. Gummy had always wondered how she kept so much energy, even after a long day working at the Sugarcube Corner.

“She will probably find a stallion soon enough,” Gummy thought morosely, “There’s no way someone as amazing as her can stay single for long, and then I will be stuck like this forever. At least she’ll have the energy to take care of her foals, and the experience after the Cake Twins.” As he was placed into the bath, he wandered off into his own thoughts, and slowly drifted off into a light slumber.

Several hours later, he had just finished drinking his share of the fruit punch, the sweet, delicious fluid now placed solely in the bowels of his stomach. Gummy knew that he would have to at least try to tell Pinkie, to find some sort of way to put it across to her. It didn’t matter that she would probably never feel the same way about him; he still had to at least try.

“Don’t worry Gummy, tomorrow we get to go to the park! It’s time for my friends to bring all of their pets, and you guys always get along great. I’m sure you’ll feel all better tomorrow!” Pinkie said, looking absolutely chipper. Gummy groaned inwardly. While his affections for her would remain inconspicuous to her and her friends, the pets would see right through it. Worse, Angel had a knack for telling his owner things, and he and Gummy were definitely not on the best of terms. Well, at least Pinkie would soon know.

After that, the hours seemed to rush by, and it wasn’t very long until he went to “bed”. He had always dreaded this day of the week, but Gummy knew that there was no way to avert his fate. Angel would see right through him, and then the cat would be out of the bag; no offense to Opal. As the time came for them to leave, he was already pining for the peace and serenity of the Sugarcube Corner.

Time seemed to slow down as they approached the park. It already felt like ages since they had left their abode, and he already knew it would feel like an eternity before they returned. Gummy sighed inwardly, if only time would move faster. Thing only got worse when the ponies moved nearby, leaving their respective pets to their own devices.

“Hey Gummy,” Tank said. “How are you doing?” Tank always seemed to be the easiest to get along with; that turtle was loved by everyone because of the good nature that radiated off of him.

“Not too shabby, Tank, what about you?” Gummy asked in a not entirely focused sort of way. It very quickly became obvious to everyone present that he was distracted. They never appreciated it when someone was only going through the motions.

“Oh, I see,” Tank replied. “Is it really that serious?”

“Unbearably,” Gummy stated, knowing full well that everyone now knew about his dilemma. Angel started busting up laughing at the mere sight of it.

“Wait, you like PINKIE?! Oh, that’s just hilarious!” Angel said sadistically.

“Um, yeah. What’s not to like? She’s absolutely awesome, enthusiastic, kind and considerate, and just plain beautiful from the inside out. I don’t see why-“

“Because she’s your owner, and let’s face it, a little more than pathetic. But even so, do you really think that someone like her is really going to hook up with someone so beneath her that she calls you her pet?” An evil grin was beginning to form on Angel’s face.

“Well, I-“

“Why would she ever want a piece of baggage like you? You can’t play, can’t take care of yourself, you can’t even blink! I still don’t get why she even considered having you for a pet. Oh yeah, she’s worthless!” Angel was moving ever closer to Gummy, with a look on his face like he was enjoying watching the crocodile suffer at his taunts. The worst part for Gummy was that, at least the comments about him, were true.

“I feel like-“

Angel cut him off once again. “Like what? That she actually wants you? Ha! The only reason she takes care of you, bathes you, or anything else is because she owns you. She didn’t know how much of a piece of garbage you were when she bought you, and now she’s stuck with the responsibility to take care of you. Why she doesn’t just stuff you into a bag and drown you, I’ll never understand. She’s weak, and you’re even weaker. That’s why she will lie to your face and tell you that she loves you, because you’re just a wor-“

“That’s ENOUGH Angel!!” Tank hollered into his face. No one had ever seen Tank be anything but calm and composed, so seeing him livid with not just anger, but sheer rage shocked them. The stunned silence was followed by Angel returning a level gaze at Tank, eye for eye.

“What are you going to do, slugshell? You can’t even keep up with a snail! I lost all of my respect to Rainbow Dash when she resorted to having you as her pet. I knew she was lonely, but sheesh!” Angel’s voice was dripping with malice when he said this. Tank, however, wasn’t fazed. He just stared into Angel’s eyes, and stated but one truth.

“This coming from the bunny that is in love with Fluttershy.”

“I’m not!” Angel nearly screamed. Despite his best attempts to deny it, the fact that he too loved his owner had become very apparent. The look on his face was all that needed to be seen to make that all too obvious. Angel sighed in defeat, and broke down into tears. Tank turned to everyone else.

“I know that we all love our owners, in ways they didn’t expect. And we all hide it, afraid to even admit to ourselves the simple truth that we would like to be with them for the rest of our lives, not as pets, but as spouses. We hide the fact that we wish we could tell them, show them, even if they don’t accept it. Why?”

Angel continued to stare dejectedly at the ground, twiddling his thumbs in silence. Gummy found it almost laughable, except when he considered how close to home it was. After all, wasn’t he in the same boat? He looked over at Tank. That turtle was far too wise for his age. Gummy wondered what he’d be like in a hundred years once he had some experience behind him.

“The answer to our problems, my friends, is to face it,” Tank declared to the group. “I suggest that we all find a way to tell our owners by this time next week. Just summon up the courage to do it…”

When Gummy and Pinkie returned to their room that evening, they both sat down in an almost exhausted state. He knew that the longer he waited to tell her, the harder it would be to summon the courage to do it. He was inspired by Tank right now, and determined to tell her, but he didn’t know how long that would last.

Gummy waddled over to Pinkie, and proceeded to attempt to kiss her. What he ended up doing, however, was wrapping his massive maw around her face. He groaned inwardly from the silliness. Pinkie broke into laughter.

“Oh Gummy, you’re so funny sometimes!” Pinkie pulled him off and carried him down into the kitchen. “I know, I’ll make us some cupcakes!” she said enthusiastically. Gummy stared dejectedly at the wall again. “How am I going to do this?” he wondered. Soon enough, their cupcakes were ready, and they sat down on the floor to eat them. He was glad that Pinkie would eat there with him, since he wasn’t allowed on the table.

Pinkie wolfed her cupcake down as if it were a mere fraction of its true size. Soon, her portion of the cupcakes was ingested, and she simply watched as Gummy continued to eat his at a much more reasonable pace. He knew that she was still hungry, and had a sudden revelation. “Why don’t I offer her one of mine? After all, relationships rely just as much on the small things as they do the large.” Gummy proceeded to push one of his over to Pinkie.

“Thank you, Gummy!” She then wolfed down his gift, with a very ecstatic smile on her face. Gummy had always enjoyed giving, and there was a certain amount of understanding it caused. He realized, however, that this wouldn’t get his point across. Gummy waddled over to the nearest flower vase and snatched the best looking one in his muzzle, a beautiful rose. Pinkie’s reaction, however, was not at all what he expected.

“No Gummy! We don’t eat those flowers! Roses are for gifts, not food. If you’re hungry, try eating a daffodil or something,” Pinkie said, picking him up. “Just leave the roses alone!”

As the hours passed, he continued to wonder about how to make his emotions clear to her. Gummy realized, there was only one way. He quickly proceeded to stride over to Pinkie’s party materials, and crack open a paint can. After dipping his tail into the viscous liquid, he waddled over to the wall and start marking it with his tail. Pinkie nearly panicked.

“No Gummy!! Don’t do that! It’ll take hours to clean-“ She stopped mid-sentence when it became apparent what he was doing. The red paint was sloppily applied to the wall as he continued to write, however sloppily. After what seemed forever, he had finished. All it said was, “I luv you.”

She gazed lovingly at Gummy. His heart proceeded to pick up its pace, beating faster and faster. Pinkie moved closer, and Gummy felt as if he was going to burst. She scooped him up into her arms tenderly, and enveloped him into the gentlest hug he had ever felt.

“I love you too, Gummy,” she said affectionately. “You’re the best pet I’ve ever had, and I hope that you live as long as I do. I’d miss you unbearably if I had to live without you, and I never want that.”

Gummy knew that she would never realize the way in which he loved her, and he understood that she was incapable of ever seeing him in the same way. But none of that mattered to him now. He was content to remain the best pet to the best owner he ever knew. He was a pet, only a pet, and was content to remain so forever.

Author's Note:

Okay, so here's my second story. If you have anything to say about it, good or bad, go right ahead. I'm accepting of criticism, both constructive and destructive, as it will only improve my skills. :D

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