If There's Only One, is it Really a Chapter?
"Is it much farther?" Pensive Reflections asked, pronouncing each syllable with crisp articulation so that it might be heard over the rustling grass underhoof.
Cocoa tried not to giggle at the other's enunciation. "Almost there, Penny!" Cocoa Bean led the way, prancing up the hillside, carefully balancing a small picnic basket between his wings.
Pensive was silent for the rest of the climb, hopefully enjoying the scenery. They were in the shadow of the hill just before sunset, so there was plenty of light left to make out the trees and flowers. It was certainly beautiful! Well-deserving of its status as Cocoa's favorite place.
As he reached the top of the hill and came to a spot between two trees where the grass was not so tall, Cocoa took a deep breath of the warm summer air and spread his wings to catch the breeze.
Pensive stopped next to him. The mathematician was slightly winded, his shoulders moving with each breath. His shirt was slightly damp around the collar, and he had undone the top button and loosened his tie at some point. His long mane stuck to his face in places and was generally a mess. Not that Cocoa minded.
"Are you alright?" Cocoa asked. It wasn't that difficult of a hike, and Pensive looked to be of average constitution.
"You could have warned me about the distance," Pensive said, neither frowning nor smiling.
Cocoa watched the other, but Pensive didn't give any indication of his thoughts. His expression was always so blank, so neutral. "I'm sorry," Cocoa apologized, just to be safe.
He waited for Pensive to say something else, but nothing came. Pensive stared out into the distance, his eyes tracing over the hills and trees in front of them. The sun was still completely above the horizon, but it wouldn't be for long.
Cocoa stared off into the distance as well, though he didn't let his gaze linger in one place for too long. The sun was still bright. "So what do you think?" he finally asked.
"What do I think of what?"
"Of my special hilltop. Isn't it nice?"
Pensive glanced around where they were standing, as if he hadn’t even noticed where he was standing until just then. "Yes, it’s nice."
Cocoa frowned and said nothing. He carefully lowered himself, laying down in a manner not unlike that of a cat, with front hooves tucked underneath his chest. With his wings, he carefully slid the picnic basket off his back and onto the grass.
This little spot was perfect. How could Pensive not be awestruck? The grass here was short, like lawn grass. They were between two huge trees that would have covered them in shade, had the sun been overhead. At the moment, they provided a suitable surface to sit and lean against. The air was warm, but the breeze was blowing steadily, creating the perfect balance of temperature. And the sun was about to set!
Cocoa watched Pensive. Pensive adjusted his glasses and sat down, still not smiling.
Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. Cocoa didn't really have any idea what Pensive liked. But what pony didn't like sunsets? And cookies! Pensive did like cookies.
"Wanna guess what's in the basket?" Cocoa asked.
Pensive glanced at it, adjusting his glasses and brushing his mane out of his eyes. "Some sort of baked goods."
"Come on, mathematician. Give me something quantitative."
"...presumably including chocolate."
"You never know," Cocoa said in a mildly singsong tone. "It could be a few lemon pastries."
Pensive leaned a little closer and scrunched his nose. He was adorable. Cocoa grinned.
"Well, to be perfectly quantitative," Pensive replied, "I would note that my olfactory senses detect an aroma strongly resembling that of homemade chocolate chip cookies. I would also note — in complete scientific objectivity, of course — that they smell delicious." The faintest hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
If Cocoa hadn't already been grinning like an idiot, that would have caused him to start. He could count the number of times he'd seen Pensive smile with his hooves. Most ponies smiled easily and often. As a baker in Canterlot, Cocoa's day consisted of a million opportunities to make somepony smile. Usually it only took a cookie. With Pensive, it took a few months of conversation and a hundred cookies, but it was still worth it.
Cocoa reached out a wingtip and removed the folded cloth covering the picnic basket. The aroma of chocolate chip cookies was unmistakable. "Good guess. Would you like some?"
"Is that a trick question?" Pensive raised an eyebrow.
Cocoa giggled. "Go ahead. I baked them for you."
"All of them? All for me?" Pensive reached a hoof into the basket and took one. His other hoof brushed his mane out of his face again. "It's always a bit concerning when a host offers food but does not partake. How am I to know they are safe to eat?"
"They aren't. I bake every batch with enough love to bring down a fully grown dragon."
That brought a slightly broader smile to Pensive's face. Two smiles in the same day! And teeth were showing! A new record!
"In that case, I have nothing new to worry about," Pensive said. "But please, share them with me. I would feel selfish if I ate them all."
"Of course." Cocoa smiled and did as a good host should do, reaching into the basket and retrieving a cookie of his own.
They were still warm. Perfectly so. The chocolate chips were melted just enough that he had to be careful how he held it.
It was the standard recipe he used. Just plain chocolate chip cookies. No creams or frosting or nuts. They were simple and delightful, a formula tested and refined over time, the object of royal cravings and wars, forged in the great ovens of Snuggle Muffin's Pastries and Baked Goods.
Pensive brushed his mane out of his face and nibbled the edge of his cookie. As usual, his expression was unreadable, but the cookies were good. Cocoa discovered this as he took a bite of his own.
They were delicious. Scientifically speaking. "Hey, Penny?" Cocoa asked.
"Yes, Mister Bean?"
"I have a question."
"So do I." Pensive took another tiny bite of his cookie.
"Oh? What's yours?"
"What is yours?"
"I asked first," Cocoa said.
"And I answered."
Comet paused mid-bite, staring blankly at Pensive. It took him a moment to puzzle out what Pensive meant. "Oh. Hehe." Cocoa finished off his cookie as he tried to find a good way to phrase what he wanted to say. "Well, like... you're always so neat and tidy."
"I'm sorry, all answers must be in the form of a question."
Cocoa smiled and rolled his eyes. "I'm just wondering, like... I'm not super neat, not like you, but I keep my mane shorter and I like to have it neatly combed."
"You think my mane is a mess?" Pensive asked. "I'm terribly offended. And that's still not a question."
"No, I didn't mean it like that," Cocoa said, frowning. "I mean, it's a tad disheveled at the moment, but it's still nice! I like the way you uhm... style it. Just curious as to why."
"Cocoa," Pensive said.
"Hm?" Cocoa couldn't tell if the other was truly offended or not. He wished he hadn't said anything. So the stallion was super neat, yet had a messy mane. That wasn't so strange, was it? Famous scientific geniuses were like that, and Pensive was certainly a genius.
Pensive inclined his head to make eye contact without glasses in the way. A lock of his mane fell in his face. "My mane is a mess."
Cocoa deflated slightly. "If you say so."
"You're wondering about the apparent contradiction between my mane and my neatness?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"I don't have a good explanation," Pensive said. "I suppose that sometimes it's just not on my mind, and I forget."
"You could cut it."
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"If I got a manecut, then what would we have to talk about?"
Pensive ate the last of his cookie, trying very carefully not to get chocolate on his hooves.
Cocoa watched the other for some indication of enjoyment. "We would talk about cookies," he said.
"What about cookies?"
"How are they?"
"They're alright," Pensive said.
"Alright?" Cocoa echoed, frowning. "Just alright?"
"That's not a bad thing."
"No." Cocoa looked away. But it wasn't great. "The sun's about to set."
They both looked out to the horizon.
It was beautiful, of course. One would be hard pressed to find a sunset that wasn't. The sun appeared larger than usual. It was an optical illusion of some sort, but it was a pretty one. What few clouds hung in the sky were aflame, their edges glowing. The whole western half of the sky was orange and red.
"How's the sunset?" Cocoa asked.
"It's pretty."
Well, at least that was something. Cocoa sighed.
They watched the sunset in silence. It hung above the horizon for a while, not seeming to move, but once it passed beyond the edge of the world, it seemed to speed up and drop away. Once it was gone, it was a little while longer before the sky actually darkened and even longer after that before the stars were visible.
Pensive stared off into the distance. He didn't say anything. He didn't smile or frown. Cocoa had no idea what the other was thinking or feeling. Pensive was probably bored out of his mind. He was a mathematician and a scholar. He like to spend his time solving puzzles and reading and writing and working on things… He probably hated the whole evening.
It was a waste of time, wasn't it? Just sitting on a hilltop to watch something pretty for an hour. They hadn't even talked for the last fifteen minutes. What was accomplished? Nothing… such a waste of time… Pensive would probably never agree to anything like this again.
"I'm sorry." Cocoa sunk to the ground, splaying his legs and resting his chin in the grass.
"Hm? Sorry for what?"
"I'm sorry for wasting your time."
Pensive tilted his head.
"We just sat here doing nothing."
"And how much longer will we do so?"
Cocoa felt his throat tighten. "Wow," he said. "That's... a little rude.... I'm sorry." Each word was harder to speak than the last. His eyes tingled as tears gathered. "I didn't mean to waste your time. You can leave whenever you want, I guess. I'm sorry."
Pensive frowned.
Cocoa blinked away his tears to make sure it wasn't just another optical illusion. It wasn't. Pensive was actually frowning.
"You misunderstand; I—" Pensive said.
"I'm sorry," Cocoa said again.
"You needn't be sorry, Cocoa. I was not trying to communicate impatience. I'm just wondering what else you had planned for the evening. Just curiosity. I'm sorry for not expressing that as such."
Cocoa sniffled and wiped at the corners of his eyes. "I thought you were annoyed with me or something."
"What could possibly have given that impression?"
Cocoa stared at him. Pensive was… serious. That was a serious question, not sarcasm. Pensive was still frowning, his gaze showing attentive concern.
"You weren't impressed by anything," Cocoa said. "Everything was just ‘alright.' You seemed bored."
"I'm not sure if you've noticed this, but I'm always like that."
"I've noticed," Cocoa whispered. "I just thought that I could make the evening perfect enough to impress you. I'm not sure where I went wrong."
"Perhaps the part where you started crying?" Pensive raised an eyebrow. "Fret not, this is still salvageable. Stand up."
"Huh? Why?"
Pensive smiled. "Because you're a sweetheart and I'll not have you crying on our first date."
Cocoa couldn't help but smile a little bit. "So why must I stand?"
Pensive took a step closer and offered a hoof. "Because, if you have no objections to the idea, I intend to hug you."
Nopony needed to ask twice if they wanted a hug from Cocoa. He took the offered hoof in his own. Once standing, he was promptly embraced by Pensive. He returned that embrace, leaning his head against the other pony's shoulder.
Pensive was a bit stiff and slightly awkward. Being a highly-skilled and sought-after hugger, Cocoa was attuned to such things. He noted Pensive's forelegs trying to figure out a comfortable place to rest on Cocoa's back, not quite used to the act of hugging. But Cocoa also noticed a genuine warmth… both figuratively and literally.
"So," Cocoa mumbled, "this wasn't a waste?"
"Answering that question requires a set of defined criteria for determining whether something is a waste or not," Pensive said. "Of course, if you had those criteria, you wouldn't need another to assess their applicability. But I think you really meant to ask if I've enjoyed this evening."
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Was that an answer to the question?"
"Yes." Pensive gave Cocoa a little squeeze.
"Well, that's good," Cocoa said, removing himself from the other stallion, not wanting to make things too awkward with an excessive hug. "I'm glad."
"Is it not apparent that I enjoy your company?" Pensive still smiled.
Cocoa felt a little tingle in his chest. Pensive was happy just to share time together. "It is now, I think."
"Well, like… Cocoa, there are only six or seven ponies that I actually talk to," Pensive said, looking down at the grass. He was struggling for the right words. "I'm the epitome of an introvert. So… you'd have to be an especially special pony to be my friend. That sounds terribly arrogant, doesn't it?" He looked up. "Sort of implies that I have high standards. That's not exactly what I mean. I'm terrible at transcribing feelings into words."
"I think I understand what you mean, though. You don't open up to just anypony."
"You can actually figure me out. That's one reason why I like you. Can you figure out the other ninety-nine?"
"Hm." Cocoa giggled. "Chocolate chip, vanilla cream, macadamia nut, honey almond…"
"To be efficient in organization, all of your recipes are subcategories of 'baking,' which is only one reason. Ninety-eight to go."
Cocoa's breath caught in his throat. "You really like me that much?" One of his wings twitched.
Pensive nodded. It was hard to tell with things getting dark, but his cheeks might have turned slightly pink.
Cocoa wanted to hug him again, but restrained himself. "Just… try to remind me sometimes, okay? I worry and you're hard to read. It's really hard to see what you're thinking…"
Pensive removed his glasses and placed them on Cocoa's snout.
"Does that help?" Pensive grinned. "I'll do my best, Cocoa."
It was so stupid and cheesy. Cocoa couldn't help but giggle. No, this evening had certainly not been a waste.