> The Fedora > by Flutterpriest > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Main Story > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Fluttershy, you have no idea how jealous of you I am," Proclaims the purple alicorn. You, Twilight and Spike walk through Ponyville idly chatting. Spike wanted to pick up his new comic book and you were having the most lovely visit with Twilight. Blushing, you look away from Twilight for a moment. "Why would you be jealous of me Twilight? I mean... I'm not anything THAT special." "Are you kidding me? You are the first person that Anon asked out on a date! He's got a MAJOR crush on you..." You look down, instinctively hiding your blushing face. "Y-you really think so?" "Of course! I'm sure he's going to fall in love with how much of a nice person you are. Plus you care for animals, and who doesn't love animals? Ooh- Ooh! I wonder if he reads. I wonder what type of books he reads?" Twilight's thought process begins to babble into words as you near the comic shop. He likes you? Really? The very thought warms you from the inside. You always kinda had a crush on him... but you were too scared to tell anyone. He IS another species after all... Which made you perfect for him. You shake your head lightly. Shush girl. Don't get your hopes too high. Nervousness and excitement well over you and you can barely contain yourself. You want to run and hide, keeping away from the dinner with Anon this evening... But another part of you felt warm and light around him. Like you were flying without flapping your wings. Your eyes naturally followed when he moved and memorized every line in his face... "Fluttershy." And his smile... "Fluttershy." When he smiles, the world stands still for a moment. How you wished you could stay in that single moment for an eternity. "FLUTTER-" A wooden door excitedly greets your face. You stand in place. More shocked than anything else. "Oh... Scharry." Says an overweight bespectacled young stallion exiting the store. "Oh... um. It's fi-" “CAN I BE YOUR HUSBANDO PLEASE!" Screams the young pony. You shriek and jump behind Twilight. "Curses... friend zoned again." The young pony walks off, his head held down. Maybe you should go cheer him up... you didn't mean to make him sad. "Ugh. Does he really do that to everypony?" Rhetorically inquires Twilight. "Yeah... I think so," answers Spike. "Spike. Just remember that doing that is NO way to impress a young mare. Are you okay Fluttershy?" "Um... I think so," You say reflexively. "That's good. That happens to me almost every time I come here. Now then, let's pick up that comic." "Um... Twilight?" You ask. "Yeah?" “What's a hus-ban-do?" "It's a long story Fluttershy... When some of these young stallions get very lonely and can't find a mare, they adopt what they call a waifu. Normally it's something imaginary or an object like a pillow and then they consider themselves it's husbando. It's really silly and I don't think you need to worry about it. You are a very attractive young mare." "Do you think Anon will think that?" Twilight gives you a sly smile. "Oh... I think so. You like him and he likes you. There is no way this could go wrong. Just be confident and be yourself." You smile and nod to her. "Of course." The three of you step inside the store and Spike flocks to a rack of colorful comic books and Twilight wearily eyes a case of playing cards. You inspect the case. "Do you play this game?" You ask her. "Psh. As a filly. Now most of my favorite cards are banned or not good enough to use anymore." "Oh... I had no idea you were such a-" "Don't you say it-" "Mare of varied tastes?" You finish your statement. Twilight smiles lightly and giggles. “It's better than egghead I suppose." Twilight investigates the case a little closer and you walk through the store, looking at the ornate action figures and flashy comics. Some were even shiny! Pinkie Pie would love that. Maybe you should pick it up for her. You nearly take it off the shelf, when you remember that you need to save your bits for tonight. Silly girl. Your mind flocks to your date tonight. What would Anon think if he saw you in a store like this? You shake your head at the idea. Surely he would let you explain yourself. He's nice like that. Caring and kind... understanding. Handsome. You blink and nearly run into a hat rack. These thoughts are beginning to get dangerous. "We're heading out Fluttershy!" Twilight calls from the front of the store. "Oh! Coming!" That's when you see it. A simple black hat with a silver stripe around the middle. It reminds you of some of the old black and white detective movies that you saw when you were younger. "Fluttershy!" "Just a minute!" You want to look cool for Anon. Stallions like mares who treat themselves... right? Anon looks so nicely dressed all the time. That's it! This hat will go perfect with his suit. It's settled. Grabbing the hat with your mouth, you take it to the register. "I'bh lif tu-" You muffle through your mouth. You set it on the counter, freeing your mouth. "I'd like to purchase this hat please." "The fedora? Ten bits." Eep! That's expensive. You ponder the price as Twilight taps a hoof. It's worth it for your Anon. Handing over the bits, he places it into a bag and hands it to you. "Thank you!" you say as you trot after Twilight and Spike. Thank you for shopping at Ponyville's Enchanted Comic Shop. You fly back and forth in your cottage as you wait for Anon to arrive at your home. If only Twilight would have agreed to stay with you while you waited with him. It's so nerve wrecking. Stallions almost never asked you out on dates. Ever! And here he is... being all tall and muscled... and... How much could he lift with those muscles? You shake your head. Bad Fluttershy! Calm your wings! You take a deep breath and recompose yourself. Looking at your gift, the hat, a part of you feels warm on the inside. Hopefully he likes the... what was it called... fedora! With some luck it might match his- A calm knock on the door makes you leap into the ceiling. Your face high-fives the floor with a massive thump. "Are you alright in there Shy?" He called you Shy. "Y-yeah! J-Just a minute." Ponyfeathers! Your stutter is acting up again. Just calm down and collect yourself. Everything is going to be fine. You walk to the door and open it slowly. The image of Anon fades into view outside. He smiles and reveals a massive bouquet of flowers. Ohmygoodness Ohmygoodness Ohmygoodness! Are you dreaming? "T-they are beautiful..." Anon hands the flowers to you and you inhale them deeply. That's weird, you didn't mean to start flying. "I-I love them..." "Great! Well-" "LetMePutThemInAVase!" you sputter out and fly out of the room. Vase. Vase. Vase. You tear apart your cabinets trying to find a flower container. There it is! 0You pour some water into it and put in the flowers. There is no way you would ever eat these. They are too beautiful... and from your Anon. Shaking your head again you try to calm yourself. "Don't jump to conclusions Fluttershy..." You softly mutter to yourself. You fly out to the living room with the vase of flowers and Anon is petting Angel. Angel is actually... smiling. He seems to like Anon. "What's this little one's name" "Um... Angel." "He's cute. Can he have a carrot?" Your heart is filled with warmth that floods through your wings. "I-it would spoil his a-appetite... but one c-carrot won't hurt." Angel's eyes light up and he immediately grabs a carrot from the box and hands it to Anon. He eyes it carefully and breaks it into smaller bite-sized pieces. Handing each individual piece to Angel puts that signature smile on his face. "Well... I suppose we should head off for dinner," He proclaims after handing the last piece. "Oh! One more thing!" You grab the bag with the hat and hand it to him. "What's this?" he asks curiously. "I-I saw it at the store... and I thought of you... so I got it for you." "Ooh!" He exclaims as he pulls it out of the bag. "It looks awesome." He put it on his head and does a little spin. "What do you think?" He is the most beautiful being that you have ever laid eyes on. And he is spinning for you and asking how he looks. "Bluh." You say, vocal chords failing you. Anon laughs. He takes the hat off and puts it on top of you. "I love it, but I think it looks a bit better on you." He says with a smile. You hide your face behind your mane. "O-ok." "Simply fedorable." He chuckles to himself. You smile, but it's hidden behind your hair. "O-ok." “Now then. Let's grab some dinner." "O-ok!" You say, still in shock, eyes locked into his. The two of you head out of your cottage and head towards downtown Ponyville, your path illuminated by the full moon. You will never take off this Fedora as long as you live. The fedora's light blue glow is masked by the evening's moonlight. Your hooves are sweaty and knees feel weak as you walk alongside the man of your dreams as you walk through Downtown. Musicians play on street corners, making use of the beautiful night that Luna has graced Equestria with. Asking questions about Earth and what Anon thinks about life in Equestria fills the air and even provides a few gentle laughs. It's a perfect evening. Why? Why is he so perfect? "This is the place!" He says, stopping outside a place even Rarity would be impressed with. Ohmygoodness. He made reservations at the high class pasta shop in Ponyville! "Oh my... This place is so... so..." "Well don't worry about money because I've got it covered." "Fancy." He smiles and places his hand on your neck. "Well of course silly. This IS a date." His hand feels warm against your fur and you feel yourself lean into it. "Let's get our seat." "O-ok." The two of you approach a waiter pony and get promptly seated. Your booth was one of the only few in the restaurant with a candle and even came with some light pink curtains that match your face perfectly. "Well? What do you think?" What do you think? How could you possibly even put it into words!?! This is the single greatest moment of your life! "I don't know how to explain..." Nervousness wells in the pit of your stomach and you freeze up. Anon sighs lightly. "I'm sorry... I knew it was probably a bit much... I just knew that things were different here in Equestria and I didn't wanna mess it up." "N-no... it's not that." He looks up at you curiously. "I-it's just... Nopony has ever treated me this nice before." The fedora's feint glow evades Anon's curious eyes. "Really? Well that's a shame. You are pretty awesome for a pony." Again with the compliments. Your smile will be plastered on your face for days. An awkward silence passes when the waiter re-approaches the table with two glasses of water. "What can I get for you two this evening?" "Hmm... I'll have the ravioli." says Anon confidently, yet politely. You look over the massive menu. Don't order the spaghetti. Don't order the spaghetti. "I'll have the... Alfredo?" "I'm afraid we are out of that dish for the evening miss." "Oh... well, I'll have the spaghetti." "A fine choice miss." The waiter takes the two menus away and leaves you alone with your dream stallion. "So... what did you like to do when you were a... uh. young pony. Is there a word for that?" Your ears perk up. Don't mess this up Fluttershy. "Yes, um. It's filly. When I was a filly I lived in Cloudsdale and spent most of the time with Rainbow Dash." "Oh! So you grew up with Rainbow?" "Well, yes..." You gotta be cool for Anon... Uhm. "Rainbow lived right across the street from the orphanage." Anon's face retorts with regret. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry." You smile and shake your head. "No, no... Don't be. It's fine really. Rainbow really helped me grow and learn to believe in myself. Plus I wouldn't be the mare I am today without it," you reply. He nods. "Of course... but back to my question." "Oh. Um." The light glow shines across the fedora on your head. "Well... when I grew up. There was this book series called My Little Human I used to read. It was the silliest thing... but I just loved it so much. The characters were so nice and friendly to one another. I couldn't stop reading it. Sometimes in stores I'll see coloring books or reboots of the old stories and I've thought about getting them." "Really? A book about humans?" Anon chuckles. "Y-yeah... silly huh." "Naah. I grew up with a bunch of sisters back on Earth. I regularly had to read them these old "My Little Pony" books. So I can sorta understand." Of course he would. He's your perfect Anon. "Sometimes I'll think up a story for them. The old characters that is." Fluttershy, what are you doing. "I've even written a few... I mean... none of it is real of course." The words begin to vomit out of your mouth and onto the table. Anon takes a sip of his drink and shifts in his seat. "Well, maybe I can read it sometime." Great job. So let's review. You've got sweaty hooves and weak feeling knees. Words vomited on the table already. "Time for spaghetti!" The waiter approaches the table with two steaming sliver platters of pasta. The fedora lightly glows and you feel your mane frizz out a bit. The smell of the tomato sauce wafts into your nose and you feel your stomach rumble in delight. Grabbing a fork, you dig in with full force. Anon watches you carefully as you dig in, almost face first into your meal. Tomato sauce splatters across the table in little drips. You look up to see Anon with a slightly disgusted look. OH CELESTIA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE. Grabbing your napkin, you wipe your face off a bit. "S-sorry. I was really hungry." Anon laughs and sets you at ease. "I guess so. You just ATTACKED that plate.” He snickers. You look down and try to hold back tears of embarrassment. This whole evening has been ruined. "I'm sorry!" You say a little louder than you should. Anon stops laughing and looks at you with concern. "Hey now, don't be like that. I was just joking. It's fine." "I'm sorry." "Don't be sorry." "I'm sorry..." "Hey." He places his hand under your chin and lifts your face to connect his deep, soulful eyes with yours. "It's fine. I'm having a great time." You exhale and try to relax. "Me too." He releases his hand, leaving tingles where it held up your face. The rest of the dinner is fairly calm. The stutter never left your voice and you spent the whole evening trying to overcome your overwhelming shyness. After the check has been paid and your bellies full, he invites to walk you back to your place. He places his hand on your back as the two of you stroll in the moonlight. You do your best to be romantic and point out some of the constellations in the sky, but it's only some of the really easy to find ones. Anon's smile still never fades. When you reach your cottage, he kneels down in front of you, so the two of you are on eye level. "I had a really nice time tonight, Fluttershy." "Me too. Thank you for taking me out." "It was my pleasure." Your eyes connect and that magical moment when time seems to freeze creeps up on you. Anon's face leans in closer to yours. You close your eyes and you feel his lips press against yours. His hand works his way towards the back of your neck as he he holds the kiss. The fedora glows brightly in the moonlight. He pulls away, grinning from ear to ear. Your eyes open slowly, partially in disbelief. "I'll talk to you later?" "Y-yeah." He smiles and pushes the fedora down on your head a bit. "I'll see you around, Shy." You readjust your hat and watch Anon off. "Y-you too." When Anon is out of sight, you twirl your way inside and up to your bed, hat still firmly attached. This is the greatest day of your life. Your hoof traces your lips as you grin from ear to ear. Anon... Your eyelids slowly shut out the rest of the room from your vision as sleep comes to you quickly. The night shrouding the bright blue glow of the fedora. Your eyes open wide to another bright and beautiful day in Equestria. Ugh... Too bright. You stretch your wings and hastily close the blinds on your windows. Much better. Dreams of Anon linger in your head as you hum your way into the bathroom. After a quick morning routine, neglecting some of the finer points, you head downstairs to find something to eat... Let's see... Carrots... Animal food.... Celery... Don't you have anything tastier than this? THERE! Deep in the back you pull out an unopened bag of Poof brand Cheesy Poofs. You rip open the bag with great haste and begin to stuff the cheesy delights into your mouth. Oh Celestia, that hits the spot. You set out some food for your animals and think about what you want to do for today. There were those weeds in the garden you wanted to get... You also need to make a trip to the store. At very least you will need more Cheesy Poofs. OOH and soda! You haven't had soda since you were a teenager with braces. You look down at you hooves, covered in a light cheese dust and lick off the excess dust. Gotta keep every ounce you can get. Heading back upstairs, you scan your shelves to see if you can find... There it is. Your old My Little Human books. Scanning through the pages, you remember the great adventures you had with who were some of your best friends. Your friends in the book of course. Why did you stop writing stories about these characters? You enjoyed it so much... Oh.. wait.. That's right. Rainbow began to read them... and you will never forget what she said. "What do you think Rainbow?" you say eagerly as she flips through the pages of your romance story. "Awwwwwwwwwww-" Your heart is filled with joy and optimism. "Tistic." And it's tossed from your cloud city to the cold, hard Earth below. You cried for a week and still haven't quite forgiven Rainbow for it. She still isn't sure what she did wrong. Hmm... Maybe if you took this down to that shop... You grab your stories and look in the mirror of your bathroom. The fedora makes you look so cool. Perfect. The bell of the comic book shop gently rings as you enter the establishment. "Welcome to Enchanted Comic Shop, can I help you find something?" "Well... um. Kind of." "Liking the fedora I see?" You smile and nod. "I love it. Um, but that's not why I'm here. You see... I was wondering if you guys had any My Little Human stories?" The clerk looks down at you in a mild disappointment. You look around to ensure he is looking at you. "W-what?" "Nothing... we are just getting more and more ponies like you every day now since Anon came around. Here is what I'll say. We are out of the human stuff, but if you want more you could always check online." "Online?" "Yeah. Don't you have a computer?" You shake your head. "Well I think you can check one out from the library or something. Be careful though, that human stuff can be-" By the time he said library, you were already out the door. "Addictive." Twilight had no problems letting you borrow a computer from the library, but she was wondering why you looked so... unkempt. Silly Twilight. She's just jealous because you have Anon. The minute you get home, you set everything up like Twilight told you. The magic fueled machine roars to life and you are instantly 'cruising the net'. "Let's see... search... My little human." Instantly thousands of results return to the screen. Fan drawn art. Animated comics. Order forms for the old and new books... But most importantly, Stories. You click on a promising link. /mlh/ - We know drama. Everyone loves a good drama story. Maybe something with an over protective mother... or a corrupted human, or maybe YOUNG humans.You drool a little at the thought. Then, you see it. Humanrape. There has to be really dramatic stories in there. You look down at your stack of stories that you've already created. Reading through the stories that were posted, it seems like a pretty friendly bunch. Why not? You highlight over the new post area and it asks for a name. A unique name to identify yourself. But you don't want it to identify you too much... How about... YellowQuiet? Slowly but surely, you begin to transcribe your first story onto the Internet. Several hours later, your hands are coated in a thick layer of cheese dust as you reply to all the users that liked your story. They all liked you. They really actually liked you. A wave of excitement overwhelms you that you cannot express in words. So, naturally, you decide to write a story about it. They seemed to like the first one, so why not another one? And another one. And another one. "We love you YellowQuiet" One user comments. "You should write some fap stories!" "More when?" Another comments. "Thanks! But I should probably go to bed. I think I'm going to see my qt3.14 bf tomorrow." You reply. "Go suck his D." "Awww yeah guurrrl." "I'll do the best I can. Good night everypony!" You type into the computer and then leave your desk to go to bed. Cheesy hoofprints dot the floor as you make your way upstairs and your hair is full of snags and tangles underneath your fedora. Two amazing days in a row. First... Anon... Then you made all these new friends. Nothing could possibly go wrong. You can't wait to go see Anon tomorrow. Crawling into bed, too excited to sleep but too tired to stay awake, your dreams are filled of being in a human world, full of your favorite characters from your childhood show, as well as your Anon. It's another sunny day in Ponyville, but you lay under your warm bedsheets, stained and dirty from the last few days of guilty pleasures. You also wouldn't know it's such a beautiful day outside, due to the curtains being shut tight, keeping out any form of natural light. Instead, the only light filling your room is the warm glow of the computer monitor, turned to /mlh/'s Humanrape thread. As you gently wake up, you stretch with a yawn and toss your long pink disheveled mane out of your face. "Oh my... I need to check for comments!" You say wearily. Setting your four yellow hooves on the floor, you make your way over to the computer and read every comment posted to your stories. You smile. Just like the morning of Hearth's Warming Eve. The wonderful words of the fans for your stories boost you with confidence as you make your way to the bathroom. Today, you get to have a date with Anon, your love. Your future husband. Taking off the fedora you wore to sleep, for just a moment, you let the water warm up in the shower, thinking about what sort of new story you should put into the thread. With a warm smile and happy tune stuck in your head, you step into the shower and let the warm water wash over your fur and feathers. Second dates never need to be anything too special. Especially when you already know Anon is going to be your everything. Maybe just a pleasant stroll in the park... a quick lunch. A movie back here? The idea of Anon coming back with you to your home excites you in more than one way. You bite your bottom lip. Would it be too soon to let Anon have is way with you? It's usually up to the stallion when a mare can... But things are different with Anon. The two of you are going to get married! Plus he is probably dying for it... What sort of marefriend would you be if you didn't let him rut you with his long... hard- Wait a minute. What time is it? When did you wake up? Oh Sugar Honey Iced Tea! You need hurry or you will be late! You hop out of the shower without using soap or shampoo on your coat and mane. The water should have gotten the worst of it... right? You quickly dry yourself off and look in the mirror. There is still so much you need to do! You quickly swish your mouth out with water instead of brushing your teeth. Patting down your mane for water, you try to run a brush through it, but it gets stuck. "No time!" It will have to dry along the way. Darker yellow circles are under your eyes from the late night, so you quickly apply some basic make up. "OH!" Hopefully you won't look too bad. What if he doesn't like you anymore. Think fast Fluttershy... what can you do to help for today.Then, taking some perfume that was handed down to you as a filly, you apply some to your body. Not only will it be able to hide anything that your shower mixed... but, as Rainbow would say, it'll make you smell 20% better. You think to yourself over that last part. That was lame even by Rainbow standards. But there is no time to waste. You nearly leap out of the bathroom, when you realize you forgot something. Quickly you snatch up the Fedora and put it back on your head. A smile fills your face and all your worries go out the window. Come on Fluttershy, there's nothing to worry about. See how fedorable you are? Nothing could possibly go wrong. You gallop as fast as your four hooves will carry you Anon's house. For some reason, flying was much harder than normal. Like you were heavier or something. Oh well. You were late either way. Anon's house nears in the distance and excitement wells up from within you. You missed him so much. If there is one thing you have been looking forward to, was feeling his warm, strong arms surround you and make you feel safe. Or the way his lips felt... You reach the door, panting and gasping for air. Jeez girl, this is -not- your day. But how tired you are isn't of importance. You knock on Anon's door and you become giddy, shifting your weight from hoof to hoof in a sort of self-contained dance. "Just a minute!" His voice is so immaculate. Footsteps move nearer and nearer to the door until it opens, revealing the tall, slender love of your life. "Heya Flutters. Come on in. I'm just cleaning up some dishes." "Okay." You answer with a wide smile. Anon steps aside and you move into the house. His home is remarkably clean for a bachelor. All of his papers and mail is stacked and organized. Not a single dirty dish or stray item in sight, other than a few books. "Sorry I'm running a little behind. I got caught up reading something interesting. I'll just let these soak and we can head out." "Reading? What were you reading?" Anon shifts his weight a bit as he fills his sink up with water and soap. "Oh, just some story that Rainbow suggested to me. She said it was good." "Oh. Okay. Just curious." Anon shuts off the water and turns to you, leaning against the counter in a position that shows off his... Keep it together girl! You gulp and look up to Anon's face. "Alright. Would you like to do? We have the whole day..." You smile and close the distance between you and him. "As long as I'm with you Anon... I could do anything and be happy." That signature smile appears on the edges of Anon's face. "How about just a nice walk then? I would love to get outta the house when it's such a nice day out." "Okay then." Heading out of Anon's home, he holds the door open for you. "M'lady" he teases. "Oh good sir! I am truly honored." you play along. "Oh... It's my -privilege.-" You giggle as he follows next to you on the way to Ponyville Park. Anon is just full of questions this morning, asking about your animals, the Everfree forest as well as the animals that reside in it. You happily answer each of his questions, surely he must be hungry for information. Just like how you are hungry for- Shaking your head, you try to change your train of thought. "So Anon... have you picked up any new hobbies lately?" "Actually yeah. Twilight loaned me a computer to do some research on the Internet about Equestria. I've been looking up all kinds of things lately." "Oh. Have you found anything interesting?" "Surprisingly yes! Did you know that there was an old book series for little ponies about humans a long time ago?" You sieze up. Should you tell him? Can you tell him? Shyness and anxiety begin to fill you up, when the fedora begins to lightly glow. Then, it slowly fades away. You will tell him today, but not right now. "I've heard of it. A lot of my friends in Cloudsdale read it when I was a filly. Plus I mentioned it the other day..." "It's pretty interesting, it's shocking how close they were in some areas, but in others they couldn't be anymore wrong." Wait a minute. Wrong? What could be wrong? If you learned what humans are actually like from Anon... You could write them even better! "Well... it -is- for fillies. What was wrong about it?" "Oh just little things. I didn't look into it too hard. Mostly what we eat and there is NO way that humans are that happy all the time, but uh, I'm sure you don't want to hear me rant on about childrens books. I just thought it was interesting because I'm a human." "Oh. O-okay." Darn it. So close. At least you have a little more to work with now. Now your mind is focused on your writing as the two of you engage in some simple small talk. Maybe you should write more stories tonight after Anon leaves. Wait... you don't want Anon to go. But on the other hand, all the praise you've gotten. It's so tempting to just let everything else begin to crumble away and focus on the website. You shake your head and quietly sigh to yourself as you walk along the path with Anon. A part of you tries to ignore how you would rather be doing other things right now than a walk. For Celestia's sake, you are with Anon! But you can't help but think back to your animals. A part of you wishes you were at home listening to the swans with Anon. Or snuggling in your bed... Reaching down to feel his- Blinking hard, you try to wipe away another dirty thought. Quick... think about something else. The animals. You know... did you remember to clean their trays yesterday? Probably... It'll be fine, you never forget to do something so important. "So, what do you think. It's getting close to noon. Do you wanna grab some lunch?" Your stomach grumbles loudly at the mention of food. Food was something else you forgot on the way out the door. "That would be nice. Do you have anything in mind?" "Hmmmm." Anon wonders to himself. "If you'd like, we could grab something quick and go back to my house to watch a movie or something." "That doesn't sound like a bad idea." Anon concedes. "What's good that we could eat fast?" "I know just the place." "Welcome to Hayburger, home of the Big Hay Bale. Can I take your order?" You and Anon stand in line at the fast food restaurant. "Uhhh." Anon says, inspecting the menu. You sure hope this was a good choice. It's as good as anywhere else, you suppose. Plus it's cheap. Who doesn't like that? "What's popular?” The teenage pony from across the counter stares at Anon blankly. "Hayburgers.” “Well, uh. I'll take one of those.” "Would you like a Combo?" "Sure, I guess." The young stallion breathes the order into his microphone and turns his attention to you. "What would you like?" The teenager says, glaring at you. "Uhm, a number seven." "Okay... wait a minute... didn't I see you somewhere before?" The teen says, inspecting you closely. You examine the young stallion carefully. "OH! Now I remember! The shop the other day! With the purple mare and the dragon!" "Oh. Right... I remember." -Him- Funny, you remember the stallion to be a lot more... what's the word. Socially inept? Why does he seem so normal now? He is just another pony. "Well. Here is your number, we will have it out in a second." "Thanks." "Thank you. Can I help who's next?" The bespecked pony calls to the line. Anon follows you to a table and the two of you sit down. "The shop?" Anon inquires to you. "Oh, Spike wanted to pick up some new comic book, so I joined Twilight and Spike to the shop with them. It's where I found this hat." "Ooohh!" Anon smiles and nods. "That makes sense. I mean, jeez. That stallion looked so... so...” You eye Anon curiously. "So... what Anon?" "How do I word it..." Anon asks himself. "That one has a lot of maturing to do still. I think that's the nicest way to put it." "What do you mean?" "Well, look at him! His uniform is all messed up and dirty. Mane unkempt and greasy. His breath smells terrible. It's absolutely gross." You look over at the stallion one more time. None of these things really stand out on him to you. "I suppose I just don't see it. I'm sure there is some sort of explanation for it." "Hey, all I know is that where I was from, that was extremely frowned upon. We had a word for people like that." You shift in your seat as you begin to draw parallels between the stallion and yourself. This morning's routine was really cut short today... And you suppose you could have put more time and effort into looking nice. Or even keeping your normal sleep schedule. "What's that?" "Back on Earth, we called those people 'man children'. It's just so -slobby-." Oh no. This is really bad. Your place is a mess. You can't mess this up. Maybe you should call off the plan. The fedora lightly glows once more as the server brings your food to the table. "Here's your order." "Thanks so much." He turns his attention back to you. "Hey, uh. You feelin alright Shy?" Anon asks. You shake your head. "I'm feeling a little off. I just don't feel like my usual self today." "Well, if you would like, we could call it early today. I mean I'd hate for you to stress yourself and feel worse." "No!" You answer a bit too forcefully and other tables turn to look at you. "Erm. I mean, no. That's fine. I'm having a really good time today." "Me too." Anon smiles. Your heart seems to relax a bit more. See? Anon is understanding. Just because your place is a mess, doesn't mean that he is going to immediately hate you. You just have to be honest with him. Applejack would be so proud. The two of you continue to small talk through lunch. It never fails to amaze you how Anon can make you laugh. Once the two of you are done, you pitch the wrappers and make your way outside. "Well, what next? I'm still up for that movie." "That sounds good to me, let's go back to my house." "Alright then. We could go to my place instead, if you would want to do that instead." "No, no. I volunteered, so I'd like to have you over, even if I haven't had the chance to really straighten." "Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad. My place is in organized chaos right now. You saw it yourself." Oh yeah, Anon's spotless home. That is his standard for organization? A part of you shudders. He will understand Fluttershy, just calm down. The two of you make your way back to your home as you try to formulate a plan in your head. Maybe you can have Anon wait outside while you quickly try to take care of the worst problems. You and Anon discuss what sort of movie you would like to watch. Horror moves were brought up by Anon, but you quickly froze in your tracks at the very mention of the idea. They were quickly taken off the plate. Eventually the two of you decided on a romantic comedy. Plus... it would be perfect for letting you make your move. As you approach your home, all of your little critter friends greet you or will hop on your back. "Hello little ones. Mama is spending time with Anon for a little bit okay?" They all nod and hop off. "Uhm Anon, would you mind if I quickly ran inside and tidied up just a little bit?" "Oh no, not at all." Anon chuckles. "Plus I can give some these little guys some attention." "Thank you... It will be just a minute." You dash inside and take off the hat to quickly put your hair in a ponytail. A massive wave of self-consciousness and self-doubt overwhelms you as wells as the stinging smell of animal dung. "That's got to go." You grab all of the litter trays and promptly dump them in the back yard in the compost heap. Leaving the smelly trays outside, you grab the strongest air freshener you have and spray down your home from head to toe as you grab dirty plates and shove them in the sink, with soap and water to soak out the food stains. Next you quickly grab any sort of wrappers and throw them into the trash. There are still some stains on the furniture and carpet, but those will have to be dealt with later. For the most part, your downstairs doesn't look too bad. And the worst of the smell is taken care of. With a quick sigh of relief, you place your hat back on your head and open up the door. Anon has baby squirrels all over him. "And the squirrels have toppled the giant! The day is saaaved!" The little squirrels all cheer and giggle. He is so perfect. Why is he so perfect? You stroll over and sit next to Anon and the baby squirrels. "Hopefully I wasn't too long." "Oh no not at all. We were just havin some fun." "I saw." you reply with a giggle. "Well little guys, I'm going to spend some time with Mama Fluttershy now. I'll come over and play again another day okay?" The little critters jump for joy and run to play down by the pond. "Alrighty. I'm all yours now." "Hmmm. I like that." Ahoof comes up to your mouth as Anon cocks an eyebrow. "I didn't mean to just say that. I mean. I'm sorry. That shouldn't have came out." "Naw it's fine." Anon laughs. "I just didn't expect that coming from you." You chuckle to yourself. What is getting into you girl? Calm your wings for a moment. But you can already feel yourself getting more and more excited. "So.. um. That movie?" "Yeah! Let's pop it in." Getting off the grass, you confidently move into your home. Looking around, it's even cleaner now than you remembered it. Silly girl. Always worrying too much. But, Anon has an odd look on his face. "Is something wrong Anon?" "Oh. Nothing. There was just some... odd smell." "Well, I mean, I do take care of a lot of animals." "I getcha. That makes sense." He says with an understanding tone. See Fluttershy? You knew Anon would be fine with this. But why does he still look a little uneasy as he scans your lower floor. It's probably just him seeing your house for the first time. You easily pass off your worry, until you remember that this wasn't his first time in your home... He was here when he picked you up for your first date. "Are you sure nothing is wrong Anon?" "Yeah, yeah. It's just a little different from what I remember." "Alright then. I've got just the movie for us." You answer, popping in one of your old standbys on lonely nights. Truly a classic. Sitting down quickly on a spot of the couch that has a stain, effectively hiding it, you motion for Anon to sit next to you. He sits down next to you with a smile. "What have we got here?" He says curiously. "It's about two little animals who find love in the most unlikely place. It's so good. It's a favorite of mine." "Then I'm excited to see it." He says, wrapping an arm around you and rests it on your back. Your heart is filled with warmth and you feel lighter than air at his very touch. You set your head in his lap and he uses a spare hand to caress your mane. If there was ever a single point in your life that you could freeze time and just live in a single moment for forever, this was it. Just you and your Anon, watching one of your favorite movies, snuggled up in each other's warmth. The movie goes on, inducing a few laughs out of Anon, and you mutter some of your favorite lines to yourself along with the movie under your breath. Then, one of your favorite scenes of the movie begins and you know exactly what's going to happen. This is the big kiss scene. Tearing your eyes away from the screen, you notice it's already beginning to become dark outside. You look up at Anon, seeing the soft glow illuminate his golden eyes. Lifting your head off his lap, you study the features on his face as he turns his attention to you. Your cyan pools trace his jawline down to his lips and your lips slightly part imagining what they must feel like. "Hey." He says softly. Slowly, you move your face closer to his, closing the gap. For a moment, the butterflies in your stomach are gone. The soft glow of the fedora is masked by the television screen. You've never felt this confident before. Not even when you worked with Iron Will. Anon brings his face closer to yours and you lightly close your eyes. That's when you feel his lips press onto yours and lock themselves in a kiss. His forehead bumps your hat, but it doesn't fall off. You feel one of his hands dig themselves behind your face and into your mane. Moving a hoof to his face, you caress his stubbly face. You were wrong before. If there was a moment you could freeze in, it was this one. Pushing your body closer to his, you kiss him harder, savoring every moment spent in this moment. He doesn't fight, in fact, he gets into it more. You can't lose this chance girl. This is the moment you've been waiting for. Gently, you try to slip your tongue into his mouth. He lets it in and you feel his move into yours as well. Then, he breaks the kiss, with an unreadable expression on his face. "What's wrong?" you ask. "Nothing, nothing. Just, uh." You press your lips against his again, cutting him off. Your tongue slips into his and his into yours. Opening your eyes for a moment, his eyes are closed. Good, that must mean he is into it. You are doing such a great job girl. The dance inside your mouths follows a gentle rhythm and despite your lack of practice, you manage to keep up with him. An occasional, quiet moan escapes your mouth as you become more and more excited in your nethers... You have to feel him. No. You need to feel him inside you and consummate your love. The movie ends, and the screen fades to a black, but the two of you don't break your dance. Instead, the tempo has changed, and your waltz has turned into a vicious tango. He clutches your body closer to him with his strong arms and you feel his fingers grab your mane more forcefully. You can't take it anymore. It's now or never. Breaking the kiss, you pull away, a slight trail of saliva connecting the two of you that disappears after a few inches of separation. Without a word, you raise from the couch and flutter in the air, taking his hand and leading him upstairs. You don't notice the smell return, considering you forgot to clean upstairs, instead, you lead him to your room, where the warm glow of the computer screen is the only light source. Your mind is focused on the bed, while Anon shuffles his feet when he sees the dirty dishes, wrappers discarded on the floor, as well as mysterious stains that are illuminated by the light. Pulling the covers down, and wiping off some half full containers of snack food you leap onto the bed and land on it with a pomf. Well, you would if there wasn't so many crumbs. Instead it's more of a crunch. Anon crawls on to the bed, still looking around, unsure what to say. But you fail to notice that, instead, you pull his face into yours again. The kiss resumes, but... it feels different this time. Anon isn't kissing with the same intensity that he was downstairs. It's fine... maybe he's just nervous. You reach a hoof down and begin to rub his cock over his clothes. And o-oh. Oh my... It's -so- big. This is better than you dreamed. His intensity begins to pick up again and you smile, knowing you fixed the situation. Whatever must have bothered him will be taken care of soon. This is your Anon. Nothing you could do would ever drive him away. The fedora remains firmly attached as you feel his hand work it's way to the back of your head once more. He breaks the kiss and looks deep into your eyes. "What do you like babe?" "Well..." you stumble over your words. "It's okay, you can tell me... what do you like?" You feel one of his hands moving down your body to your glistening sex. "I-I..." you gulp, but feel the renewed sense of confidence flow through you. "I like roleplay." "Hmmm... kinky little girl huh?" You blush and look slightly away. "What do you want me to roleplay as?" You snicker and look into his eyes. "You don't have to..." you say in a breathy tone. "But I want to." he smiles. "No... I mean... you don't have to pretend to be anything." He looks down at you confused as you feel his fingers begin to rub your winking clit. You shut your eyes tightly, losing yourself to the feeling of his skillful hands. "You are already... My Little Human." He freezes, looking down at you. You open your eyes and look up at him. "What? Why did you stop?" "Really? Fucking Really?" You go silent, your mouth partially open. "The kid's book? The one I mentioned earlier? You gotta be fucking kidding me." "W-what? What's wrong with it?" He pulls away and gets off the bed. "Anon..." "No. I held my tongue all damn day. I can't believe I didn't see it on the first date. This is ridiculous. The mannerisms. The way the house smells." "Anon please." "Your breath has been shitty all day, you smell like crap and you look like you walked over right after waking up. What happened!?! This is NOT the mare I met a few days ago." You can't bring yourself to say a single word. "The worst fucking part is I should have figured it out. That fucking hat. The universal sign of autism. God damnit. I spent so long talking to your friends to learn more about you. I was so nervous that I wasn't good enough for you, because you take care of so many animals." A part of you feels like it's falling. "But I should have figured it out sooner, because now I've found out you can't even take care of yourself." "Anon... please..." "What!" "Maybe... maybe you have a fetish too... something that you aren't proud of." Anon takes a step back and runs his hands through his hair. "God damnit." "I'm sorry..." "Just. Fuck. No. That's it. I'm done." You can't let this happen. Leaping off the bed, you scramble to Anon, who is wading his way through your room. You wrap your hooves around his leg, when he shakes you off. The fedora falls off and you feel your face hit the ground hard. All of the confidence drains from you and you don't even bother to get up. "I'm going to go. I need to think." What have you done? His footsteps echo through your house as he walks out of the home. You had him... you had everything you ever wanted in your life in your hooves. And now. ~~~ Mandatory Listening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5BQZmfezsw Recommended Listening (after the last link): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUZeSYsU0Uk ~~~ You break into uncontrollable tears, as your sobs ring through the house. Your face burns and your body shakes as you curl yourself into a ball on the floor of litter. He's gone. You lost him. The dreams you had of marrying the one person you felt really understood you have been crushed with a single phrase. You became someone you weren't... but why? Looking up, you see it. The fedora. The gift you wanted to give Anon. You wanted to do something special for him. Something that would maybe show him how much you loved him from afar. All this time, he loved you more than you could ever have guessed. You remember the young stallion from the shop and how he unnerved you and almost scared you. That was what you became. Your body shakes into another fit of cries. What have you done? This is all your fault. You try your best to control your breathing, but the depression has you in a choke hold. Helplessness has been something you felt your entire life... but the feeling now makes every other helpless moment feel like confidence. You lie on the floor for what feels like hours, breaking in and out of sobs. Beginning to calm down a little more, you take the hat in your hands and examine it carefully. How could something so simple define you as a person? You set the hat down and head into your bathroom feeling hollow and defeated. This -thing- led you to do things that... now, you regret. You made a complete fool of yourself in front of the one you loved. Stepping into your pristine bathroom, something that was rarely used over your escapade, you turn the shower faucet to hot. As you feel the hot water mix in your fur and mane, the dawning realization begins to set into your mind. Tonight, you shattered any feelings that Anon had for you. Feelings that you might never be able to repair. It might take forever to get rid of that first impression. You lay on the floor on the shower and let the water that is too hot try to wash away your shame that burns inside. But it can't, the water simply drips off your body, carrying away the filth that was accumulated in your yellow coat. You close your eyes and cover your face in your hooves. The sound of running water muffles the sobs you try your hardest to suppress. The harder you try to suppress them, the more they want to escape. What are you going to do? How can you possibly repair this? You just want to hold your Anon in your hooves and feel him hold you in his arms. With shaky hooves, you try to wash and shampoo yourself. But the way he touched you tonight remains etched in memory on your muscles, filling you with guilt and bringing you to the breaking point with each scrub. He can't be gone. He can't be. Once you've calmed down enough to think straight, you step out of the shower, feeling worse than when you stepped in, despite a clean, pristine coat. With a towel, you stare in the mirror as you off. How do you even to begin to repair the problem? You have to talk to him... but you can't do it tonight. The last few days you've been nearly unrecognizable. Setting the towel aside, you look in the mirror. What do you see? A filly with two sides. The one that shows on the surface and another side, repressed and guilty. The side that you forgot about and never indulged, ever. A side that can't come out ever again. The hat has to go. Leaving the bathroom, you grab a small box from a closet and return to the source of your problems. Before you put it away in a box and bury it in your back yard, you consider a small notion. For these last two days, you lived free from the nervousness of prying eyes constantly judging you. You were able to give into guilty pleasures that you locked away from the world because you knew they wouldn't understand. These two days you learned a lot about what makes you happy and how some things are better kept in private or enjoyed in small doses. In fact, you probably could fill a diary on all the lessons you've learned from this fedora. The question that is stuck in your mind, that haunts you... "Was it really that bad?" you whisper to yourself. You were happy, even though it made you look bad in the process. Caring what others thought about you got you into this mess and you were able to finally be free of that for a moment. Should you be able to be who you are without caring what others think about you? Shouldn't you be able to share with others what makes you happy? You turn the hat over in your hooves. Shouldn't you be able to be yourself? Placing the hat in the box, you take it out to the backyard, under the clear night sky and begin to dig using a shovel from your shed. Everypony needs to wear some sort of mask... you suppose. Twilight never told anypony about her interest in her cards. Rainbow Dash tried to keep her love of reading secret because she wanted to protect her reputation. You toss the box into the hole and begin to cover it back up with dirt. Your stories did make everyone on the Internet happy though. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to just up and quit. Although, how long can you keep up the charade? How long will you be able to do something that you enjoy in secret? Especially when that something is something you are proud of and put a lot of time and effort into? Something ponies consider you to be good at? Patting the loose soil, you come to terms that it will just have to be your secret. The humans you love in your stories and the ideas in your head aren't real and you can't keep going to that website. You have to do the bigger thing and try to enjoy more... acceptable hobbies. That will fix the short term. You head inside, casting the shovel aside and sniffling to yourself. However, it doesn't fix your real problem. Tonight, you lost the love of your life. You lost Anon. He has the completely wrong idea of who you are as a person. To him, you must just be some smelly, foalish whorse. Choking back tears, you walk through your home, examining the damage you've done to it in the form of stains, uncleaned animal bins, and empty food wrappers. What have you done? You ascend the stairs on a heavy heart and heavy hooves, when you stand at the entrance to your bedroom, where the warm haze of a monitor is the only source of light. Tearing down the blackout curtains that keep the room pitch black, the moonlight begins to illuminate discarded drink canisters and unwashed plates of food near the computer. Moving to the computer, you put a hoof on the power cable when you see a message on the screen. "Your stories are amazing YellowQuiet. They never fail to make my day a little better. I can't wait to see what you make next. I'm really looking forward to it." Your body locks up and tears fill your eyes. With a quick tug, the monitor fades to black. You will have to return it to Twilight tomorrow. No chance for a weak moment. No temptation. Tonight, YellowQuiet is gone. You turn to your bed... the altar of your shame. Where moments ago, you had him in your hooves... and you pushed too hard. No. You put the final apple in the cart. Being honest with yourself, he probably had his doubts the whole time... that was just the final straw. You rip off the dirty bed covers and crawl onto the bare mattress. The tears fall freely and create a pool of loneliness for you to swim in. The only thing you can do now is to go see him in the morning. Maybe you can walk over first thing and try to catch him before breakfast. Just knock on the door and try to explain everything. Explain that you weren't acting like yourself. Try to tell him about the hat's powers over you. Hopefully he will listen to you. You close your eyes and try to sleep through the tears and sobs. Hopefully he will try to understand. With some luck, you will be able to feel his arms wrapped around you one more time. One day you can feel the gentle touch of his lips on yours. Maybe he will love you again and not see you as a foalish mare who only wants to get rutted. All you can hope is that he won't think he is wasting his time on -you-. ~~~ Meanwhile, back at Anon's cottage, he logs into a computer he got from the mayor when arriving. It was supposed to be used for research, but you found one place that reminded you of home. Fluttershy's power level was so massive today... how the hell were you supposed to react? She can barely take care of herself. You'd never blatantly give out your power level like that. Hell, this morning was a close enough call. If Fluttershy found out you read these kinds of stories... Maybe if she were more considerate of how she presents herself, you could give her another shot. That doesn't remove the sense of overwhelming guilt for your actions. You shouldn't have been that harsh to her. But, what were you supposed to do? You've dealt with manchildren on Earth. You know how people hate them. But what are you going to do? Defend them? If you told those people that you liked those sort of things... you would be lumped with the rest. Judged for eternity. If anything, you probably did a good thing for Fluttershy. But... You have to face it... The massive pit in your gut right now is eating you from the inside. Your hopes were so high. You loved that yellow mare. Cleanliness can be taught... why did you feel this need to just suddenly attack? Was it because everyone else used to just hate them? You sigh to yourself and try to find something to elevate your mood. Logging onto My Little Human, on 4Hoof, you find a few threads that you find interesting. But that's when you find the thread that you secretly loved. Humanrape. The guiltiest pleasure you have. Quickly, you notice that you missed a few of YellowQuiet's stories. Whoever that is, really knows how to write a good story. If only more of the fans of this sort of thing were able to keep their power level contained like the users of this site. You quickly eat through them as if they were candy. That pony had a way with words that you couldn't begin to explain. You know... maybe tonight's the night. Opening up a reply to one of her stories, you carefully craft the message. "Your stories are amazing YellowQuiet. They never fail to make my day a little better. I can't wait to see what you make next. I'm really looking forward to it." Send. If only there would be some way you could meet the mastermind behind these words. You know that the majority of the posters in this forum are lonely mares, trying to live their fantasies for just a moment. Even risking saying that you are a human would cause a massive shitstorm and easily identify who you are. You could never risk that. But, even then, you can't help but shake wanting to meet this mare. There has to be some beautiful soul that resides behind those words. If only you could meet that mare. Just once.