When an unexpected visitor crash lands in Apploosa, one pony's life will be changed forever.
When Splatterpaint, a refined pony of the arts, crash-lands in Apploosa, Braeburn comes to the rescue. Her wing is broken, so her only choice is to stay in the one-horse town until she heals. However, she never would have foretold what happens in that time...
As I flew towards Manehattan, I enjoyed the breeze in my long, curly, red and white mane and through my teal wings. The satchel full of my artwork weighed down on my back, but I didn't mind. Having the curator of the Manehattan Museum look at my work was like a dream come true.
My name is Splatter Paint. Ever since I was little, ponies have shied away from my crazy appearance (It's not every day you see a pony with an unruly red and white mane, a teal body, and deep orange eyes) but when they see some of my works, they're amazed. Ever since I was a little filly, I loved art. The day my parents gave me my very first paint set and easel was the day I got my cutie mark- 3 splatters of purple, green, and orange paint right next to each other. At first I thought they were legitimate splatters and tried to scrub them them off in the shower. When I found out it was my cutie mark, I had never been prouder. I dropped out of flight school and my parents signed me up for a professional art tutor so I could "expand my horizons". As an only foal, they spent a lot of time and money on me. Not that I'm complaining, of course.
After I mastered most forms of art, I decided I was better at abstracts and splatters than more traditional kinds of art. I moved into Canterlot as a starving artist- pompous unicorns mostly visited me because I was one of very, very few pegasus artists. After a year or so, many ponies had heard about me and I got a call from the Curator requesting to see some of my best works. I would be staying in Manehattan for two weeks while he critiqued my work and, possibly, requested more.
I looked back on my past fondly as I flew over a pretty deserted-looking stretch of land and felt the sun on my back, wings, mane and tail. In Canterlot, everypony was as delicate as a flower, fanning themselves with fans and complaining about the heat on summer days. However, growing up in Cloudsdale I was used to very direct sunlight and actually enjoyed the warmer temperatures. No kind of weather usually bothered me, but if I could go back, I would have definitely gone another route. A shadow passed over me- I assumed it to be a cloud. That is, until I felt a sharp pain on the right side of my back.
Hooves descended on to my right wing with an audible crack. I screamed in pain. A dark blue, young pegasus was was flying back to his buddies, as they laughed at my pain. "West side, motherbucker!" he yelled at me as I quickly lost altitude. There was no way I could pursue them- the only thing I could do was extend my wings as best as I could to slow down my fall.
As I was rapidly dropping out of the sky, I looked around for anything to soften my fall or a nearby city to help me with my wing and, hopefully, transport me to Manehattan. Luckily, it just so happened that I was nearby a small-looking town. hopefully it'll be bigger when I'm in it, I thought, but it was no time to be picky. I aimed myself towards the town in a way that only a pegasus knows how to do and began to approach the town.
Good thing I was so high up, I thought as I came near the city, Or maybe I would have had to walk the whole way there.
I had never been to this town before, and I wasn't exactly an expert on Equestrian cities, but this was no city like Canterlot. The buildings on either side of me were very small. I faced forward- I was really close to the ground! Even worse, There was a pony right in front of me!
"Incoming!" I shouted as I crash-landed. Thankfully, I didn't crash into anypony- but that was the least of my worries at the moment.
I groaned as I opened my eyes. I was laying on the dirt road, belly-down, with my legs splayed all over the place. I tried to flap my hurt wing, but pain struck like lightning through my body, making me gasp. Then, to add embarrassment to injury, as it were, I remembered there were a whole lot of ponies watching me, too. I struggled to get to my hooves and turned, expecting to see a crowd far away from the site of my crash, but I actually came muzzle to muzzle with probably the most attractive stallion I've ever seen. I blushed from the closeness of the sexy stranger, but his emerald green eyes showed that his intentions were innocent.
"Are you okay, sugar cube?" he inquired in a southern accent. "Are you hurt? That was quite a crash." I blushed even more from his almost motherly questions. I stepped back a bit, because I knew that if I was going to stay that close to a stallion like that I would quickly get a wingboner, which would be unpleasant given the circumstances. "Um, I, uh, I'm fine from the crash, but somepony hurt my wing really bad," I replied shyly. "Medic!" He yelled, surprising me quite a bit. "Where's the town medic?!" "Ah'm right here," a pony from the crowd spoke up. "Let's get her to my office"
***
The medic's office was nothing like the clean hospital I was thinking of. The inside was dusty and not very well lit, but it was better than nothing, and at least I didn't have to share it with some sick or dying country pony. The strange stallion accompanied me the whole way and waited by the cot as the doctor tested my wing in various ways, most of which involved pain.
"Welp," he said, trotting to the end of the cot, "seems you've got quite a situation there. Yer wing broke in two different places! We're gonna put it in a splint and it should be fine in, oh, maybe a month or so." "A MONTH?" I yelled, distraught. "No! Nonononono. I have to go to the Manehattan Museum!" Just then, I remembered my satchel full of paintings. "My satchel! Where is it?!"
The attractive stallion piped up. "Oh, ah got your satchel when we were takin' ya here. Didn't want you to forget it. By the way, my name's Braeburn. Ah know you're in pain, but... Welcome to Aaapploosa!" he said excitedly. I blushed a little bit as I opened the latches on my satchel. On the right side, one piece was broken and another was bent from the attacker, and on the left side several were dented and damaged from the crash. Tears sprung up in my eyes. "Nooooo," I moaned in despair.
"Common, sugar cube," Braeburn tried to console me. "I... I know it looks bad, but... ya know, in time... it'll all work itself out in the end." Even he didn't sound too sure of himself. "No," I sniffled, my voice thick from tears. "Nothing's okay. My wing is broken, and I can't fly to Manehattan, and almost all my art is ruined, and I don't know where I am-" "I already told ya! You're in Aaapploosa!" said Braeburn excitedly. "I mean, I don't know how far away from Manehattan, or Canterlot, or anywhere else I am!" I replied angrily. It didn't come off quite right, though, because I was still crying a bit. "And I'm all dirty, and I don't know how I'm supposed to get out of this Celestia forsaken town, and if I can't I don't even know where I can stay!" The last of my troubles ended out in sobs.
"W-well..." he was obviously having trouble consoling me. I put my hooves to my face to wipe away my tears. "Hey.. hey! Come on now, sugar cube! We don't have much transportation- just horse-drawn carriages and a train that-" I looked up with hope. "A train?" I asked excitedly. "Well, now, let me finish. The train won't be back until two weeks from now-" At that, I began crying anew. He began to speak louder to be heard over my sobs. "But it wouldn't trouble me none if you boarded with me 'til then!" My loud sobs turned down to whimpers and my breathing got all hiccup-y. Braeburn was definitely one of the hottest ponies I've ever met. The situation I was in was horrible, but being babied by him wouldn't be half bad.
"I-I g-g-guess," I managed to get out. He grinned. "All right!" he said happily. "Common, I should give you a tour of the town!"
After an extensive and, frankly, underwhelming tour of the town, Braeburn began to lead me to his house. "House" being a loose term, because it was literally nothing more than a shack. When I saw it, I stopped in my tracks with my jaw dropped.
Braeburn was on his front porch when he realized I was still a few yards away. He blushed. "Ah know it's not much, but it's actually better than most pony's homes in town. You've had a rough day, but just give it a chance." He extended his hoof to me on his porch, making me blush again. He's just going to think my cheeks are permanently pink, I thought.
The house wasn't actually all that bad, but it was still not as grand as a standard cloud home or Canterlot apartment. However, I would have to grant that the kitchen and living room were nice enough, the kitchen with copious wood embellishments and an old-fashioned looking stove, and the living room with an actual TV and a lounge chair. In addition, there was an indoor bathroom. Seriously, I had seen a lot of outhouses in town. I was suddenly grateful for the small home. However, there was one problem-
"There's only one bed," Braeburn blurted at the end of the tour. "What?" I asked incredulously. As much as I liked Braeburn- and I did! A lot!- I was very opposed to sleeping with a stranger, in any sense, especially with a broken wing. "You don't have an extra cot or couch anywhere?" "Ah never had the need," He said bashfully. "All my close friends and relatives live in town and Ah, uh.. Ah've never had a special somepony." I blushed yet again. Braeburn seemed to be an open book.
"Fine," I relented. He seemed trustworthy enough, I suppose. "Ah'm gonna fix us up some lunch," He called over his shoulder. "How's carrot stew sound to you?" "No!" I yelled, slightly panicked. "No carrots. I'm horribly allergic." If Braeburn was going to tell me all about his life, he might as well know mine- at least the important parts. "Oh," he said, embarrassed. "Ah, uh, Ah'm not in the mood for carrots anyways." He was lying. Everypony loves carrots- even I like carrots, that is before my throat swells up and I can't breathe, but I was appreciative of his compliance.
"Um, Ah guess Ah'll fix somethin' else up, then," He said, rummaging through his wooden pantry. "You can go ahead and look around." I decided to look at his bedroom. His bed was big enough to fit two ponies comfortably, but his room was extremely messy. I guess that's how stallions live, though, so I decided that in payment for taking good care of me, I ought to at least clean up a bit. I made sure to keep things in their general areas so he could find where they were easily. I heart hoofsteps coming down the hall. "Lunch's ready!" He called. "By the way, Ah forgot to ask your name-" He walked in the room and saw my handiwork. His eyes grew wide and a grin cracked his face. "Splatter Paint. My name is Splatter Paint," I replied, thrilled at his happy response. "Well, Splatter Paint, this is the cleanest Ah've ever seen this room! Thank you!" I blushed. "It was nothing, really, compared to what you're doing for me." "Well, Ah've warmed up some tomato soup and crackers. Wanna eat now?"
***
The soup was delicious. However, the highlight of lunch would have to be when Braeburn dribbled tomato soup onto his chin and wiped it onto a napkin. Yes, it sounds funny, but the shape struck something in me. I grabbed it and gingerly used my spoon to drip spots of red onto the white napkin around the dribble. I lost myself in my work, and when I looked at it, it was a delicious abstract of swirls and dots. Well, it was simply swirls and dots the first time you looked- but when you looked again, it was an exquisite apple.
Braeburn marveled at my handiwork. "Wow, that's amazin'!" he exclaimed. "Aw, it's nothing. It's just... what I do," I replied. "Would you... Would you mind if I kept that napkin?" I asked, embarrassed. He gave me a kind of funny look. "A'course," he said, soaking up the last of his soup with a cracker. I tucked the napkin gingerly into a pocket in my satchel. Thinking of art reminded me of the curator, which reminded me-
"Do you have a phone?" I asked Braeburn. "Yes, but it's old-fashioned," he replied, putting the bowls in the sink. "It's better than nothing," I said as he showed me the old-fashioned phone with the circular dial. With some difficulty, I dialed the museum.
"Manehattan Museum," greeted a gruff voice- the curator. "Um, Mr. Fartsy, its Splatter Paint-" I began meekly. "Please, Ms. Paint! I'd like you to call me Artsy. What's the matter? I'm excited to see what you have to offer." My eyes began to water. How was I supposed to break this to him? "Well, you see, Artsy, there's been some trouble. My wing is broken, and I'm stuck in this little town called Apploosa. I can't fly to Manehattan as I was planning, so I'm going to take a train-" "Splendid! See you tomorrow then," He said heartily. I could almost see the sideburns on his roundish face. "No, wait! The train isn't coming for two weeks," I said, flinching a little at what he might say.
He simply sighed. "I'm very busy in the next few weeks, Ms. Paint. In fact, I'm completely booked until three weeks from now. If you'd like to secure another date for maybe Tuesday or Thursday then, I suppose that would be okay, but I absolutely cannot do anything earlier." I exhaled in relief. If I could find a cheap motel in Manehattan for a week, that would work out perfectly! I still had the bits in a small compartment of my bag- enough for a few days of lodging and maybe some "emergency" shopping, but the shopping would have to wait. I re-counted the bits- If I could find a place that charged 15 bits a night or less, I would be okay, with some left over for food. I smiled. This was the best news ever!
I told the good news to Braeburn. He seemed excited for me, but he also had a funny look on his face that I couldn't place. Oh, well. Soon afterwards, my wing started to hurt and Braeburn gave me ice and let me sit in his chair and we watched a movie together. Who knew he liked Ponies of the Caribbean too? I was so happy, even getting in bed with Braeburn didn't seem that bad.
The next day I woke up to find Braeburn sitting up in bed with an open book in his lap. However, his eyes weren't on the pages, they were on me. I pretended, for both of our sakes, that I didn't notice. It was easy, since I had only opened my eyes a crack, to pretend I was just waking up. I yawned and stretched dramatically, making noises like a baby foal. After my awakening routine, I shimmied up into sitting position and lazily watched the dust motes dancing in the golden patch of sunlight that, thankfully, rested in between us and not on my pillow.
"Mornin', Sleepin' Beauty," Braeburn drawled, looking up from the book he hadn't really been reading. "You're a late riser, ain't ya?" I nodded in agreement. When there wasn't something I really needed to do, I tended to sleep late, sometimes even to 1 or 2 PM. I was usually quite the night owl, which I paid dearly for when I needed to attend an early morning appointment. However, when I checked Braeburn's old analog clock (with some trouble- I was used to the easily-readable digital clocks in Canterlot) it was only 10:30. Then again, I fully expected a cowpony like Braeburn to be up before now, bucking apples or something. "I didn't think you would be in bed still this late," I admitted to him.
A relaxed grin spread on his face. "Ah am usually up before now, but the biggest harvests are over so the apple trees can go a couple days without being harvested, and the apple shop doesn't open for another hour. Besides, Ah thought it would be, ya know, kinda nice for you to not wake up alone. A'course, if you'd slept in much later Ah'd had to have gone," he said. He seemed kind of nervous with his babbling- he was usually talkative, but now it was just kind of odd how extensively he was talking. I looked towards the still-open book, and realized it wasn't his back legs supporting it, if you catch my drift. I had to hide my laughter so he wouldn't get embarrassed. I decided it would be pretty funny to mess with him a little- even though I lived around pretty stuck-up, serious ponies, and I was into refined cultures, I wasn't beyond a practical joke here or there.
I squirmed out from beneath the warm covers and trotted over to the corner where I had dropped my custom cyan bag with a latch that matched my cutie mark. It was covered in marker doodles I made on it when I was bored. I made a big deal about leaning over and swishing my curly tail back and forth. I heard Braeburn quietly grunt in frustration- he may or may not know what I was doing, but I knew either way he would be frustrated and embarrassed if he stood up. Finally I grabbed my sparky red manebrush and casually tossed over my shoulder, "I'll just be in the bathroom, freshening up! Join you for breakfast afterwards!" "Mmkay!" Braeburn called back as I quickly trotted to the bathroom and locked the door behind me.
I quietly snickered as Braeburn chided himself for being such a pervert. As I ran the brush carefully through my bed-headed mane and tail, I almost felt guilty about it. I would have admitted it to Braeburn I was just picking on him a bit, but I didn't want to make it awkward again between us, so I decided against it. No more tricks on poor, sweet Braeburn, I thought as I gave the brush one final flick through my mane to give it a nice finish. I also gave it a quick run through my coat just to make sure it didn't look too scraggly, taking special care of the feathers on my good wing and completely ignoring the broken one. Thankfully, I hadn't rolled onto it in the middle of the night. Once I looked nice and presentable, I put away my brush and sauntered into the kitchen.
The heavenly aroma of fried dandelion greens and hay bacon strips hit my nostrils before I even entered the kitchen. "Wow, Braeburn, you are really quite the cook," I drooled, beginning to set the table as the busy stallion cooked and fried away. I, myself, was an expert at cooking Daisy-flavored Ramen Noodles. Not much else, though. After he carefully served up breakfast, he said bashfully, "'Tain't much. Ah'm pretty good at fryin' up apple fritters, so on day Ah just went home and experimented a little. Turns out I ain't half bad at cookin.'" "Well," I mumbled with my mouthful of delicious bacon, "I'm really grateful you're taking care of me like this. Especially since we just met."
"It's the Apple Family way to be hospitible to a pony in need," he informed me. I noticed he was a fast eater-he was almost done with his breakfast, and I had barely eaten half of mine. I don't know why I kept noticing all these little things about him. I guess I just really liked him and I wanted to always remember how nice he was to me. His voice snapped me out of my own thoughts. "After all, if it were me with a broken, er, Ah guess maybe a broken leg since Ah ain't a Pegasus, then Ah would want somepony nice t' take care of me."
I smiled appreciatively at him. I hurried to finish up my breakfast as I realized Braeburn was just scooping up the last of his breakfast. "Well, I wanna make it up to you," I told him around my last few bites. "How about I help you with your shop today?" Another one of those Braeburn grins spread across his muzzle. "Sounds great. Ah'm gonna straighten up n get in my vest, n we'll head into town," he said.
***
The town was a bit nicer than my original impression, I thought, as we trotted together towards Braeburn's apple stand. Sure, there was dust everywhere and not many clouds to block the sun, but I didn't mind. As I thought of clouds, my mind drifted off to flight and then to my broken wing. I looked sadly back at it briefly. It stuck straight up, as it had to be in the splint, and I realized it was extremely itchy. I decided to take my mind off it by looking at the little shoppes in town. Lemons, asparagus, a real live saloon... It was very cute and rustic, actually. We arrived at Braeburn's stand and he dug the key out of a pocket in his vest- there was a small back room in which to have breaks and shade and take inventory. My art-influenced mind wandered to the paper, pencils, colored pencils and markers, probably for some poster idea that never left the theoretical drawing board.
It was a small town, so customers were few and far between. I was also no expert on apples, so I fumbled around when Braeburn asked for a certain kind. A few hours passed and I got incredibly bored. Suddenly, an idea struck. "Hey! You!" I called to a passing yellow pony with 3 horseshoes as his cutie mark. "What are you doing?" Braeburn hissed at me. "Trust me," I whispered back.
"Me?" Asked the surprised stallion. I nodded. He trotted over, looking confused but curious. "Can you just sit right there, really still, for maybe 10 minutes?" I asked. He was more confused than ever. "Uhh, okay." I galloped back to the back room and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and began to draw him from the neck up. Now, I was no caricature artist. There was no way I was drawing him in any way less then 100% realistically. I took care in care in coloring it in, too, and when I was finished, I showed it to him.
"Wow!" He exclaimed. "That's amazing! Can I keep it?" I replied in a carefully calculated response. "Well, I was going to keep it to show the other customers," I baited, "but I suppose I could let you have it for 3 bits." I got a nibble. "Well, it is an exquisite drawing. Fine, take the bits." He relented, spilling three shiny bits on the table and snatching up the drawing, carefully stowing it in his bag. "Have a nice day!" I called as he cantered away.
Braeburn stared at me slack jawed. "That was amazin'!" He exclaimed. "That was the best drawing Ah've ever-" he was cut off by another interested Apploosan, a pretty green mare with a yellow mane. After her, there were two more ponies. Soon enough a line formed, waiting for me to draw a beautiful portrait of them. This benefited Braeburn too- many ponies grew thirsty in the hot sun, and Braeburn had a few barrels of nice, cold apple cider.
Before I knew it, the pencils were drawn down to nubs (thankfully there was a sharpener, or I'd have gone out of business much faster) and the line was gone. There was a pile of bits to my left and we were all out of paper. I grinned and hoof-bumped Braeburn. What a great money-making scheme! "You can have all the bits," I said. "You know, as payment for the hospitality." He shook his head, almost violently. "No ma'am! " he exclaimed. "You've paid your dues just by bein' here! Lookit all these bits you got me from that apple cider!" He smiled sweetly and looked me dead in the eyes. "Ms. Splatter Paint, you are one special filly."
I blushed at such a compliment. I couldn't believe Braeburn! He was so nice and handsome and sweet! Then I remembered something. "Shoot!" I said. " I still need to make some more art for Manehattan. Is there a craft store around here?" "Easel's got one down the road aways," Braeburn replied. "Ah could show you it if you'd like." "Sounds great," I said, glad I'd brought my saddle bag. "We should hurry. She'll be closing soon, right?" "Oh, yeah!" He exclaimed. "Quick, let's go!" After he locked up, we ran, giggling like foals, for the craft shoppe.
We galloped in with the ding of a bell to a bored looking earth pony with an orange coat and greenish yellow mane. "Howdy Braeburn," she said, perking up a bit. "Got yourself a fillyfriend?" We both blushed deeply and looked towards the ground. "Naw, Easel," he said bashfully, "Ah'm just takin' care of her til the train comes. Her wing's hurt real bad and she needs a place to stay.
The storekeeper shrugged, becoming bored as the piece of gossip slipped from her hooves. "Well, it's almost closin' time, so hurry up now." Her tone wasn't mean, just in the tone of an annoyed mother with two unruly foals. I galloped through the isles with a basket, picking up eight easels (I only needed five, but three extra paintings never hurt anypony) the colors of the rainbow in paint, plus black and white, and a few other art essentials and extra paper for the next day at the stand. The total was a fraction of what I had to pay at any Canterlot store, and the materials were just as good. Plus, the leftover bits meant I did have shopping money left over. Score!
Back at Braeburn's place, the first thing I did was sit down, set up the travel easel I'd bought (I didn't even know ponies sold these!) and began to replicate the abstract I'd painted on the napkin. Thankfully, both the napkin and the canvas had a subtle grid, it was easy to do. I showed Braeburn proudly afterwards.
"Wow, it sure looks nice on a real canvas," he told me. "It's not much," I replied, "but thanks for the inspiration." He smiled. "Come on, lets have some cabbage and clover sandwiches."
After that day, the next few progressed rather monotonously. I would wake up earlier than usual for me and later than usual for Braeburn, he would make us fantastic meals (without carrots) and we would go to work at the apple stand. After the first three days, everypony in town had gotten a portrait of themselves and I had gotten quite a few bits. That day, I got an idea. The stand wasn't getting much traffic and it struck me. "Braeburn, I'll be right back, I gotta go to the bathroom," I lied. Thankfully, I was a pretty good liar. "Uh, okay," He said, "Ah'll probably be fine takin' care of the stand myself, so you can take your time."
Inside, I did a dance of triumph. Yes! Just what I was hoping to hear! On the outside, however, my fiery orange eyes maintained a passive glance. "Okay. Be right back!" I called over my shoulder as I trotted out the door.I picked up my saddlebag that I had hidden outside the stand that was full of the bits I'd earned. As soon as I was a few yards from the apple stand, I galloped as fast as I could to the furniture store I'd seen in town. I found myself wishing I could take off, because it would be so much faster, but if I could fly then I wouldn't have even met Braeburn and I wouldn't be doing this right now. When I got to the furniture shoppe, I slowed down to catch my breath as I walked in the front door of the air-conditioned store.
The bell ding-ed behind me as the door swung shut. I took in the large showroom with furniture of all kind, color, and fabric. I trotted towards the recliners and easy chairs and began to look around for a really comfy, stallion-ly stallion kind of chair. There were a lot that seemed kind of ridiculous- Fire engine red, a super plushy velour, and even one with cup holders and a back scratcher. I was almost going to give up, until one perfect recliner caught my eye- A large, plush-but-not-too-soft, deep brown vinyl reclining chair. I bought it, using up two thirds of my bits- I told myself the stuff in Manehattan wouldn't be that great anyway, and there was still enough money for a train ticket, an impulse buy, and an emergency- and rode on the truck with a grey and brown employee pony who helped me install the chair in Braeburn's house.
Afraid that I had taken up too much time, I galloped back to the apple stand. I took a few seconds to fan myself off and cool myself down, re-hide my saddle bag, and trot into the back room like nothing had happened. Braeburn shot me a quizzical look because of how long I was gone, but he didn't pry. After a long, anticlimactic rest of the day, he started to close up shop. I could barely contain my excitement, to the point where I almost had a pained look on my face.
"You alright, sugar cube?" He asked me. "Yeah, I just... I'm feeling kinda dusty and I'd like to take a shower." I lied again, relocating my saddlebag and sliding it back on. "Okay," he said, seeming confused. "Ah guess we'd best hurry then?" "Yes! we should definitely do that!" I nearly yelled. He shot me a playful look. "Race ya!" He took off running towards his shack. "Hey, no fair!" I giggled, taking off after him. Thankfully, I'd had some resting time and I was pretty fast, so I caught up with him pretty quickly. We ran side by side and bumped each other and laughed out loud. Sometimes he would pull ahead and sometimes I would, but mostly it was about even. Finally, we collapsed in a snickering, sweaty mess on his front porch.
"You're lucky I have a broken wing and a saddlebag," I exclaimed between breaths and giggles, "or I would have creamed you!" "Oh really?" Braeburn purred. I quickly became acutely aware of the fact that I was on top of him and our muzzles were almost touching. I blushed a bit and giggled nervously. So did Braeburn. "Ah'm sorry. I just... I wasn't..." he stuttered. "No, it's okay," I assured him, sliding off his belly and offering him a hoof to help him up. "It was funny." Still, he wouldn't meet my gaze as he opened the door for me. I made sure to go through the living room and I watched Braeburn slowly turn his gaze up as he bumped his shin on the new chair.
"What in the hay...?" "I did that," I piped up. "I felt guilty that you let me have your only chair, so I got it for you. Go ahead, try it out!" Experimentally, he climbed up and settled onto the soft brown vinyl. At first he held himself stiffly, but then he relaxed. A sound of comfort left his mouth. Ahhh. I decided to amp up the comfort. I trotted to the side of the recliner and pulled the lever with my mouth. As the back of the chair went back and the bottom flew up, Braeburn yelled in confusion, but then looked like he settled in, even comfier. I leaned over him, my peppermint-striped mane making a curtain over both of us. "How do you like it?"
"Ah love it," he said sleepily. "You didn't have to go and do this for me!" He said, sitting up. I frowned a little. He shouldn't be feeling guilty about it. "You didn't have to let me stay here until the train came," I countered. "Just let me do something nice for you!" He seemed a little surprised at my force. "Alright then," he said, pushing the lever back down with his hoof and hopping out of the chair. "How does spaghetti alfalfa sound?” he asked. "Sounds great," I replied.
After being Braeburn's sous chef, we brought our plates of pasta to the living room where we ate and watched CSI: Phillydelphia. I realized that after a few episodes, Braeburn had fallen asleep in his comfy new chair. I gingerly eased his plate from him with my mouth, carefully stacked it on top of mine, and washed both off in the sink. By the time I was finished, I was tired, despite it only being 11:00 PM (Being a night owl, I can stay awake for hours after 12). I didn't want Braeburn to wake up alone in the living room, so I scooted the lounge chair right up next to his, settled carefully on my left side, and rested my head on his arm rest. I fell asleep to the smell of Apploosa dust, apples, and Braeburn.
The next morning, before I was up I felt a warm-ish breeze on my cheeks. Whatever I was laying on felt funny- wasn't I in a bed? No, a chair, my groggy, sleepy mind managed to put together. I was down here with Braeburn. So most likely the breeze wasn't a draft, it was Braeburn. I snuggled into the cuddly little crook between the chairs, still lost in pleasant, lucid sleep. What I wouldn't give to have him all mine, my stallionfriend, my Very Special Somepony... My own thoughts startled me a bit. I didn't even realize how much I liked him, how badly I wanted him, until my sleep-addled brain revealed it to me, and frankly, it was startling. In fact, it startled me so much my eyes fluttered open.
Staring at me were two bright emerald orbs. "Surprise!" Yelled Braeburn. "AHHH!" I screamed, jumping in... Well, surprise, right off the back of my chair and onto the dusty wood floor. I landed, thankfully, on my belly, so no real injuries (especially to my bad wing). I groaned at the sudden awakening and fall and reluctantly picked myself back up. For the third time that week, I found myself muzzle to muzzle with Braeburn.
"Say, ain't we met like this before?" He asked, his relaxed green eyes looking straight into mine. I blushed and smiled shyly, but he maintained the same amused smirk. I giggled nervously at his ever-closeness. "W-what was the surprise?" I stuttered. "You may wanna sit down for this," he told me, his eyes still holding a happy sparkle. I unceremoniously plomped my flank down on the chair I'd been sleeping on. "Come on, Braeburn, don't leave me hanging!"
He took a deep breath. "Somefriends'aminearecomin'ifromPonyvillenforashortstayandthey'rerealimportantsothetrain'scomin'early!" What. I understood maybe 5 words of that. "Braeburn! Geez, slow down. It sounds like exciting news but I can't get excited if I don't understand you." He took another breath. "Ah!" I interrupted, putting a cyan hoof over his gold muzzle. "Keep it slow." He grinned. "Some friends of mine are comin' in from Ponyville for a short stay and they're real important, so the train's comin' early!"
My eyes widened and a huge smile swept across my face. "Yay yay yay omigosh omigosh omigosh!!!" I cried, jumping all around the room like a schoolfilly. "Oh goodness there's so much to do! I have to finish the rest of the art and pack up all my stuff and thank Easel and call the curator, and oh Braeburn you'll love Manehattan-" I babbled, until I suddenly stopped jumping and talking all at once. The realization hit me like the floor hit my face. Braeburn wasn't coming with me.
"Are you okay, sugarcube?" Braeburn asked, galloping over to the other side of the living room where I had face planted, all of my legs going behind me and my plot straight up in the air. I shimmied my front legs out from under the rest of me and began to get up. "Yeah. I'm- I'll be fine," I said, wiping the tears in my eyes from the impact. Braeburn's concerned expression immediately ironed out into a calm one, but his normally bright eyes remained dark. I gave a weary smile- my muzzle still hurt, but it was just a bruise- and asked Braeburn to help me gather up my supplies.
***
A few hours and one red, gold and green splatter painting-hehe-later, I was just about ready to head off. First we would meet Braeburn's friends, wait 10 minutes for everypony departing or coming in to sort themselves out, and I would be gone. Since I had quite a while before my meeting with the curator, I would be able to finish my art by then and hopefully he'd like them.
I sat in front of my expertly prepared oat burger trying to cheer myself up. Just think. The Manehattan Museum. Everypony who's anypony in the art world is featured there, my brain told me. However, my heart cried a different tune. Stay with Braeburn! If you just stay a little longer he's bound to fall in love with you...
Shut up, heart. What do you know anyway? More than you, obviously. Think about how many bad decisions you've led us into. Does this happen to normal ponies or just me?
This internal arguing went on for a while. Before I knew it, my oat burger was cold and Braeburn was saying "Er, sugarcube? We gotta go soon..." I shook my head to clear the thoughts. Suddenly, all I had was instinct. Eat. Train. Hurry. Run! I gobbled down three monster bites of burger and loaded my satchel onto my back. Wow, great burger. Two more bites. I turned to Braeburn and told him with my mouth still full, "Er'm rerdy, lert's go."
He smiled and shook his head. "Alright then, here we go." We trotted leisurely towards the train station together. I made sure to get a good look of the town I might not see again, at least for a while. I couldn't believe I thought so little of it before- now it was hard saying goodbye to the amiable ponies and cute-although-dusty shoppes and stands.
Finally, we arrived at the train station, and in perfect timing since the train had just squealed to a stop. Six colorful mares got off first- purple, blue, pink, orange, white, yellow. My eyes widened in shock. However, my jaw completely dropped when Braeburn trotted over and greeted them. Those were his important friends?! After recovering slightly, I joined Braeburn, meaning to have a talk with him. His smile got even wider as I came over. "This here is Splatter Paint. Ah've been takin' care 'a her, since her wing was broken. Now she's going to Manehattan, to show off her art in the museum," he said almost proudly.
"OMIGOSHOMIGOSH THAT MUST BE SO EXCITING!! ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE A PARTY?!" Cried a bouncing pink blur that must have been the element of laughter. I had never seen them in real life, but everypony has heard about them saving Equestria- multiple times, I might add.
I blushed. "Actually, I-" suddenly I was acutely aware of a presence over my right side. A rainbow-maned Pegasus was hovering over me. "A broken wing, huh? Yeah, I've had one of those before. Hurts like buck. Hey, have you ever-" "Rainbow Dash!" Chided a sophisticated-looking pale unicorn. "You should not use such language in front of such-" she batted her heavily mascara-laden eyelashes at Braeburn, making him blush uncomfortably- "Nice ponies."
The prismatic Pegasus-Rainbow Dash?- rolled her magenta eyes. "Whatever! Like I was saying, ever heard of Daring Do?" I shook my head. "Um, no, but-" "Hey you remind me of my friend Fluttershy," she interrupted. "Neither of you talk very much." "Um, did somepony say my name?" "Boy howdy, cuz! Sounds like y'all had a great harvest this year!" "You gotta shaaare, you gotta caaaare," "Rarity, help me with this map Princess Celestia gave me. We don't have much time!" "Sorry, darling, I was just looking at-"
All this noise swirled around me. I folded my ears back. All I wanted was some quiet. All I wanted was to have one last special moment with Braeburn before I left. "Oh my Celestia, make it stop!!!" I shouted, stomping my front hooves down in frustration. Elements of Harmony or not, they were damned annoying. "Well!" Huffed miss fancier-than-thou, subtly sidling up to a slightly shocked Braeburn, "a proper lady never makes such obscene outbursts!" I frowned. Little Miss Priss sure did seem to want Braeburn's attention pretty badly. Talking about the element of generosity, she sure was generous with all that makeup.
"Look, I'm just really stressed, okay? I have a ton of thoughts right now and I just need some peace and quiet right now!"
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry and we didn't mean to cause any trouble," the Element of Kindness almost whispered. "Come on, girls," declared a lavender unicorn-Princess Celestia's student?- "I know how it is to need some peace. We need to figure out this map Celestia sent anyway." So she was the student. I was grateful for her graciousness. "Thank you," I sighed.
After the six elements trotted away, Generosity shooting me a wicked glare and a fluttery glance to Braeburn, I trotted into the station to get a drink from the fountain and collect my thoughts on a wooden bench. I didn't wait for Braeburn. Maybe it would be easier if I just pulled away from him like a bandage. If he was just a fond memory...
I felt a shadow go over me. I hadn't even realized I had closed my eyes until a figure blocked the sun from them. It was, of course, Braeburn. He laid down next to me on the bench and lifted my downturned head with his hoof. "Listen, sugarcube," he said gently, "Ah know those mares can drive anypony crazy, but listen. Ah need you to go to Manehattan." I looked at him, kind of puzzled. That was exactly what I had been warring over in my head. And, well, in my heart too- whether to go and follow my dreams, or stay with Braeburn, the stallion of my dreams. "You seem kind of reluctant to go because you're leaving me behind. We've become real close friends in the short time you've been here-" Damn. Friendzoned. "But Ah think it's best if you go on ahead." A small half-smile graced his unusually sad face. "Ah'll be right here." Tears sprung up in my eyes. I didn't know if they were happy or sad, but it didn't matter. "Thanks, Braeburn," I said. "For everything." "All aboard!" "We'd best get you on that train," he called over the noise of the engine starting up. A giggling mess of Elements made it on just before me, a slightly frazzled looking pale unicorn fanning herself with magic and winking at Braeburn. That filly... I thought angrily. I had no right to be-Braeburn wasn't mine, but still... We said a wordless goodbye. It was all in the eyes. I'll miss you. Good luck. Have a nice trip. Take care. Only one thing was left unsaid as the train pulled away. I love you.
***
Not five miles out of Apploosa, a sudden crashing and several thumps were heard. The brakes squealed to a halt, throwing everypony forward. I straightened myself up and saw a familiar gang of pegasi flying away. A pony burst through the door of the car and announced that the engineer and coal colt were knocked out and the engine tampered with. We were to walk back to town and it would take a week for somepony to come up and fix it.
I wasted no time. As soon as I heard the news, I galloped as fast as I could back towards Apploosa. My heart pumped to the beat of my hooves and my left wing flapped involuntarily, giving my extra speed but no lift. Oh Celestia, thank you for those punks. They keep guiding me in all the right directions...
I galloped and galloped and galloped some more, until the train station appeared and then became the size of a grape... A plum... An apple... Finally, I arrived. Adrenaline pumped through me. Braeburn, Braeburn, Braeburn, where are you?! I couldn't find him anywhere. I galloped towards the apple stand. He wasn't there, and I felt myself running out of energy. As a Pegasus, I was something of a natural athlete, but I had lived a cushy life. There was a stitch in my side. I couldn't run any longer.
No! I needed to see Braeburn RIGHT NOW. I stomped and kicked, but my breathing was still labored. In a fit of rage, I turned my head around and ripped off the bandages and rods from my wing. I bent it into folded position. Ouch! I suppose I wasn't thinking straight, but I galloped as fast as I could for exactly 10 yards and took off.
The pain seared through my body, but I ignored it. All I could think of was him, getting to him, never letting him go-I focused on his little shack in the distance, blocking any logic from my mind. The thrill of flying was all around me, as palpable as the pain in my wing. Just a little farther.
My wings gave in mere feet from Braeburn's porch. Panting heavily, I bust in the door and found Braeburn at the kitchen table with his head in his hooves, next to several glasses of hard apple cider, most of which were empty.
I was so thrilled to see him, I tackled him right off his chair. Once again, I was lying on top of him. "Oh Braeburn! The train broke down and I realized, I can't live without you! I want to stay with you, I don't care the costs, because, Braeburn, I love you!" His glazed eyes looked right into mine, as expressionless as the dirt outside. My eyes filled with tears. Oh Celestia, I blew it. He doesn't love me. I wish I'd never even landed here. I wish I had never met Braeburn at all. I wish-
My thoughts were interrupted as Braeburn wrapped his fore hooves around me and drew my head closer to his and planted a soft, gentle kiss on my lips. I started laughing in pure joy, my eyes filling even more with happy tears. I didn't even have any words- I just hugged Braeburn close and kept laughing joyfully.
"Aw, sugarcube," Braeburn whispered tenderly in my ear, "Ah've been waiting ever since Ah laid eyes on you to find a way to tell you just that."
His soft tone and beautiful words sent a warm tingle through my body. I lifted my head from his mane and began to place kisses all over his muzzle. He chuckled and began to kiss me back. We were just a bubbly mess of giggles and kisses until-
"Erm... Are we interruptin' anythin'?" Drawled another familiar southern accent. Braeburn and I turned to see the elements staring at us. The silence was broken by the element of laughter giggling and squealing, "Braeburn and Splatter Paint, sittin' 'neath a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" I blushed, but Braeburn just grinned lazily and drew me closer, him still below me. "Eeyup," he agreed with a slight slur. I remembered he was drunk.
"Well! What a way to be greeted!" Exclaimed the prissy unicorn. "We were simply going to ask for a place to stay for the following week-" She was interrupted by Braeburn. "Ah believe-hic!-That there's a hotel-hic!-not five blocks from here," I grinned as Generosity harrumphed. That would teach her to mess with my Somepony. The other elements awkwardly shuffled out of the room, and with a slam! of the door, I felt content to cuddle into Braeburn again. As he shifted his hooves across my back, one nicked my right wing. "Ahh!" I yelled in pain. In my ecstasy, I had forgotten about it, but the reality of the injury hit hard.
"Oh sugarcube, ya took off yer cast? Ah s'pose we oughta get you to the medic so's he can fix ya up," he drawled drunkenly. With some trouble, we disentangled ourselves from each other and stumbled towards the medic's office. As he re-casted my wing, Braeburn rested on a cot and drank some water to keep away a future hangover. "Now miss, you shouldn't be flyin' on a broken wing. Keep this one in a cast 'til it heals, okay?" Said the medic. I vehemently nodded my head in agreement. I needed nothing else as much as I needed Braeburn, so I wouldn't have any more little "incidents".
When we finally returned to Braeburn's house, I wanted desperately to kiss him, but he was still out of it and I was tired, so we cuddled up on his chair (thankfully, it was really oversized) and watched whatever we could find on TV. I was content and warm and sleepy with my head resting on Braeburn's vest-covered chest when I heard his stomach growl loudly. I had heard once that eating when drinking alcohol can soften some effects of it, so I reluctantly left my cozy spot and trotted to the kitchen, determined to make something to eat. After some searching, I found a simple-enough looking recipe for apple fritters. Yum. I heated up some oil in a big pot on Braeburn's old-fashioned stove and began making the dough and fixing up the apples. I followed the recipe the best that I could, but the fritters didn't look like they did in the picture. Oh, well. They're just fritters. I dropped them in the oil with an audible plop and watched the clock for the recommended cooking time. After they were done and looked satisfactorily golden brown, I used the little slotted spoon thingy (I'm not very familiar with kitchen tools, but I didn't want hot oil on the plate) to serve them up and proudly brought them back to Braeburn.
He smiled appreciatively at the food. "Wow," he said, most of the slurring gone, "these look delicious." They weren't, really. The outside was nice and crispy, sure, but on the inside the apples were undercooked and under seasoned, but Braeburn made me feel better about it by showering me with complements. He was so sweet.
After we'd finished the fritters, a thought came to me. "You looked so sad when I saw you," I told him inquisitively. "And I've never seen you drink. Why... Why did you do that?"
He looked at me with an almost forlorn look on his gorgeous face. "Because Ah thought Ah'd let you slip through my hooves," he answered plaintively. "Ah couldn't believe Ah'd let myself lose you."
I teared up again and hugged him tightly. I didn't need any words to express my feelings anymore. Just the beating of my heart.
***
That night as we went to bed, we talked a lot by candle light. Most of it was playful and fun and cute, but some of it was serious. "Splatter Paint, Ah'm really glad you came back, but what about the museum and the curator? Ah can't keep you from your dreams. Your cutie mark is paint, not me or apples or this little one horse town." "Braeburn, me staying here for another week won't hurt anypony. I'm still not done with most of my art, which I can work on here, and... I want you to come with me. I have enough bits for another train ticket, and I'd love to show you what cities are like."
At that, Braeburn looked away, with a kind of sad look on his face. I lifted his head up with my hoof. "Hey, what's wrong?" He shied away again. "It's just... One time, when Ah was just a lil' colt, Ah visited my Aunt and Uncle Orange. They... They live in Manehattan too. When Ah was there, they were havin' guests over and so they combed my mane and straightened me all up but when I stayed for dinner all their friends laughed at me anyways. 'Cause I was just a country foal."
My heart softened at his adorable story. I could imagine a tiny little Braeburn all combed and dressed up in front of company. "Oh, Braeburn, they won't laugh at you. Manehattan has changed. There aren't as many stereotypes anymore."
He sighed. "Fine. Ah'll go for you." I smiled, blew out the candle on the bedside table and snuggled up next to Braeburn, feeling like everything was perfect.
I woke up cuddled next to Braeburn, our forehooves wrapped around each other. He was still asleep and he smelled like morning breath, apples, and stale alcohol, but nothing could erase the fuzzy feeling I still had on the inside. I loved Braeburn, and the feeling was mutual. I tried falling asleep again, but my eyes refused to stay shut, so I decided to utilize the time I had to make another painting. I got all set up and just let my paintbrush guide me to where it wanted me to go. When I was finished with it, I don't think anypony but me could figure out exactly what it was- it was my feelings at that moment, captured forever on canvas. It was love, it was joy, it was peace, it was pain... It was perfect. I set it out to dry and walked to Braeburn's side of the bed.
I nuzzled his neck and his mane. "Wake up, sleepyhead," I giggled. He chuckled a bit and turned from his side onto his back and cracked his eyes open. "Now that's a great way to start a mornin'," he drawled sleepily, kissing me softly on the lips. "Oh, stop it, you," I replied playfully. "Come on, we gotta take care of the apple stand."
He groaned. "Five more minutesss!" I laughed again, but promptly yanked the covers off him. "No way, cowpony. We gotta get going, and if you make me make you breakfast you will not be happy." He moaned loudly and rolled off the mattress. This was starting to get annoying. He was never like this in the morning! In exasperation, I took his golden highlighted tail in my mouth and commenced pulling him out the door. "Owww!" He complained like a school colt. "You're gonna get splinters in my belly!"
I facehoofed. So help me, at the next chance I got, I was going to dump all of his hard cider down the drain. I promptly trotted to the kitchen and poured myself a pitcher of water, making sure to add plenty of ice cubes. When I went back to Braeburn, without hesitation, I dumped the entire thing on his head.
"WOAH MY GOOD CELESTIA WHAT IN LUNA'S NAME IS GOING ON?!" He exclaimed as the icy water shocked him awake. I chuckled in triumph and gave him a quick peck on his wet cheek. "That's what happens when you don't wake up on time. You're lucky you weren't dressed. Now hurry up, I'm sure plenty of ponies need apples today." As I was talking, Braeburn had fetched a towel from the bathroom and dried himself off. "Actually, Ah believe it's about time to applebuck again," he replied.
I must have had a pretty horrified look on my face, because he chortled at me. "Not THAT kind of buck, silly. Buck as in kick them off of the apple trees." I sighed in relief. It was weird ponies used that as a cuss word as well as a gardening word. Are apple trees considered part of a garden? I realized that even though I had fallen in love with a cowpony and the little country town he lived in, I wasn't more than a city slicker myself. "You're going to have to teach me how." He grinned. "Aw, 't'ain't nothin'. All ya gotta do is kick it with your hind legs, like this," he mimed bucking a tree, thankfully, without breaking anything. The motion looked simple enough, and I figured it wouldn't be too tough to execute it on a few apple trees.
After a quick breakfast of oatmeal with some apples and cinnamon, we raced to the apple orchard. I was excited to begin, sure that I was going to be great at it. Braeburn helped me pick out a good-looking, fruitful tree and showed me where to put the basket. "You remember what Ah showed you?" Braeburn asked. I waved him away with a hoof. "Yeah, yeah, I got this. How hard can it be?" He shrugged and went off to work with some other trees not too far away.
I looked up at the great green tree. The branches were heavily laden with big, red, juicy-looking apples. My mouth watered a little bit at the thought, even though I hadn't had breakfast that long ago.
Well? What are you waiting for, then? Those apples aren't gonna buck themselves.
I turned around, flank facing the tree, and in one swift motion, lifted my hind legs into the air and gave the tree a swift Kick! I heard some thudding behind me. Giddy as a schoolfilly, I turned around and peered over the edge of the basket. A measly 4 apples glistened in the sun. What?! But I kicked so hard! And there's so many apples... I looked up and saw Braeburn, his coat glistening with sweat, bucking apples off trees left and right. He had already filled several bushel's worth.
I frowned at the tree and, in anger, turned around and kicked it again, several times harder than the first time. I could feel the force of the kick vibrate out over its branches and its fruit. Thud! Thud th-thud thud thud! apples rained into the basket and I grinned. I was triumphant! I dragged over another basket to another heavy tree and focused some sort of anger into my kicks.
When that dumb filly, Lightning Dust, made fun of you for being slow.
When that bully griffon took your lunch money.
When that unicorn flirted with Braeburn.
Taking out my anger on the trees, I got bushel after bushel off the trees and into the baskets. When we took a snack break, Braeburn was extremely proud of me. "That's great... For a beginner," he teased, shooting me a wink. I shoved him playfully. "Aww, you gotta admit I was good!" "Yeah, okay, okay, you were great," he relented. I shot him a proud glance and straightened my stance. He rolled his eyes and offered me a plump, deep red apple. I took it and attempted to take a graceful bite. I would have pulled it off, too, if a bunch of apple juice hasn't squirted all over my face! Braeburn fell over laughing as a single drop of juice escaped down my muzzle. I wiped off the apple juice with a hoof and pounced on him. "You think that's funny? What do you think of THIS?!" I asked, squeezing the apple so juice squirted all over him as well. We laughed and goofed around for about ten more minutes, until Braeburn took a deep breath and got more serious.
"Ahhh... Come on, we still gotta finish up some more trees." I sighed sadly and reluctantly grabbed a basket and began to plod off towards another tree.
***
Several apple-filled hours later, it was time to go home. Braeburn uncovered a grill out back and we had spicy grilled corn. Yum! After dinner, we settled down in Braeburn's oversized chair again and started watching a romantic comedy (my idea). Suddenly, a steamy kiss scene came on.
I glanced at Braeburn affectionately and kissed him. The kisses started getting longer and more passionate, until his hoof slid down my back and onto my cutie mark. I broke the heated kiss and took a breath. "Woah, Braeburn, slow down," I panted. He looked down, embarrassed. I lifted his head with my hoof. "Hey, it's okay! It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I don't think I'm ready. And with my wing broken... Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. I don't love you any less!" He smiled appreciatively and gave me a quick peck on the end of my muzzle. "Ah love you too, darlin'."
That night I went to sleep with a smile on my face.
The rest of the week progressed slowly. The next day we finished with the apple orchard and put the apples in the apple stand to sell. Two days before the train was due to be finished, I decided we should find something suitable to wear for Manehattan. Needless to say, he seemed reluctant. "Come on, darlin'!" He complained after I told him we were going shopping. "Ain't my vest fancy enough for Manehattan?" I raised a quizzical eyebrow as I looked at his vest. It was worn and cracked and dusty, definitely not big-city material. "Nope! We are going to get you a new vest and that's final. I'll get something too, so we both look nice."
He smiled, knowing he had been defeated. "Alright. I wouldn't do it for anypony else but you, though." I grinned, putting on my saddlebag and watching him put on his over his old vest. He'll look so charming in a new vest, I thought. "Come on, let's go!"
As we trotted to the small boutique, Braeburn got excited and distracted by every little thing. "Hay, don'tcha want some lemonade?" "Ah think Ah'm out of bread. We should get some more!" "Now, don't tell me you don't like scuba gear!" Why do they sell scuba gear out here? I asked myself as I practically dragged Braeburn to the shoppe. I grinned as I finally got Braeburn through the doors of the boutique. Ding!
"May I help you?" Asked a friendly royal blue stallion. "Um, yes, actually. I'm looking for a nice dark vest for my coltfriend here," I answered, giggling a little. Braeburn blushed but smiled genuinely for the first time on our trip. The salespony's face lit up. "Ah, vests vests vests... I just made a few... Oh! Here we are. I have some in black, gray, brown, blue, green, purple-or are you looking for a fabric? There's silk, satin, wool, velvet, velour for if you're on a budget, but I don't think it beats the real thing-" the flamboyant stallion might have gone on forever, had I not interrupted him. "Um! We're just looking for a good, high-quality black or gray vest." Braeburn opened his mouth but I blocked it with a hoof. The blue stallion led us to the vests of those colors. "Just holler if you need anything! I'm Haute Couture." I smiled appreciatively at him as he trotted back to the counter.
After looking through, feeling, and holding up a couple different vests, I picked out a few choice ones and told Braeburn to try them. I have to say, he looked nice in all of them, but in the end we picked two black ones and two gray ones in varying hues and fabrics that looked the best. Next, we trotted over to the ladies' section and picked out a few simple but nice dresses for me- one ruffle-y white one, one purple one with lace, a silvery, sparkly one and a black velvet one and, thankfully, the dresses wouldn't bother either of my wings. We made out with some pretty good prices, too, considering the quality of the products. Haute Couture chattered on and on as he rung up our purchases, and as nice as he was, I was kind of glad to say goodbye.
***
When we got home, I helped Braeburn pack up. We packed his new vests and small amount of toiletries (his toothbrush, toothpaste, vest and hat would be packed up before we left) and his extra bits from the apple stand. I packed up my dresses, my more extensive toiletries, and my finished art (I had done the last two in a small fit of homesickness, thinking of my family and friends and felt better afterwards). When we were done, I smiled at the way things were all turning out. I couldn't have wished for a better experience than the one I was having now. I realized I was just standing there, smiling like an idiot, when Braeburn pecked me on the cheek. "Come on, Sugarcube. We gotta make somethin' to eat." I grinned wider and kissed him on the lips. "Sounds good."
***
Finally, the moment had arrived-the train was working and it was time to go to Manehattan! We got all packed up and dressed (we decided it would be best to arrive in Manehattan dressed- I wore my black velvet dress and Braeburn wore his black satin vest. We agreed that we both looked very nice and headed off for the train station, saddlebags on our backs.
The day was as hot and dry as ever, Apploosan dust kicking up beside us. I took care to not let it settle on my fancy dress until we reached the train. When we finally arrived, the ticket mare showered us with complements on our attire as we bought Braeburn a ticket. My eyes softened as I realized how much I would miss this small town and its friendly ponies. We displayed our tickets as we trotted on the train. The inside had been fixed up a little too since the last time I was on it- the upholstery and floor seemed to be cleaned and the luggage racks dusted. Braeburn seemed to be fascinated by everything again, but this time it was genuine. "You've never been on a train before?" I asked.
He blushed and rubbed the soft seat cushion shyly. "Ah never really had reason to leave Apploosa..." He trailed off. I gently grabbed his face between my hooves and kissed him. "There is no reason to be ashamed of your roots. They're going to love you. Just like I love you." We both smiled and shared another kiss.
Just before the train left, six bouncing, noisy mares jumped on. Ugh...
I glared somewhat resentfully at the elements as they noisily took their seats. A few other vaguely familiar ponies got on board, and with a slight jolt, we were off. Braeburn and his cousin Applejack, the element of honesty, kept up small talk mainly involving apples throughout most of the train ride. Rainbow Dash had her muzzle buried in a book with a mustard-colored mare on the cover, the element of magic levitated a pen over a scroll and was furiously scribbling, Laughter quietly hummed or sang to herself, bouncing up and down like she couldn't quite contain herself, Kindness was taking a nap and Generosity was admiring herself. It seemed like everypony else had something to do but me.
With a sharp and sudden snap, Generosity magically closed her compact and turned to face me. "So, um... Sputter Paint, is it?" She asked nonchalantly, mistaking my name on purpose. Gritting my teeth to keep from yelling, I answered, "Splatter, actually. It's Splatter Paint." "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, darling! I'm usually much better with names. Anyhoo, what exactly is your line of work?" I raised an eyebrow at her. Either she was a fabulous actress, or she was just plain stupid. "Art," I replied curtly. Magic perked up at my answer. "Have you studied Ponycasso? Or Moneigh? I have a few books in my library, if you haven't-" "I've actually studied intensively on most famous artists and forms of art," I cut her off, feeling a little bad afterwards since she stuck up for me before. "To become a great artist, one must first master each form and begin to create their own." She nodded in agreement. She opened her mouth to say something, but Generosity was faster. "So you master in all the fine arts?" I nodded. "Realism, cubism, modernism, abstract, still life, even some sculpting-" "So, no offense, but why do you do those... Erm, 'abstract' pieces when you can make something beautiful, like water lilies, or-" at this, she flipped her mane-"maybe a diamond?"
Again, I raised an eyebrow. How did she know I did abstracts? I looked at my saddle bag and noticed that my apple piece was poking out. Then I realized she was dissing my style of art. That mule! I pulled out the canvas covered in red swirls and dots to display to her and the other elements. "I believe that abstract is the best form of art because everypony sees it differently." The others looked up from what they were doing. When Braeburn realized I was showing off the piece that used to be on a napkin, his chest puffed with pride. Most of the elements let out a slight ooh, except for Generosity, who let out an exasperated puff of air.
Applejack grinned. "Why, you made an apple! It looks mighty nice." "No no no! It's obviously a fish! See, right there! No, a duck. No, it's that bush in front of Sugarcube Corner.... Oh wait! It is an apple." Babbled Laughter. "It looks... Nice," commented Kindness.
I smiled. The other elements were nice mares, except for Generosity... "Hey, I forgot to ask, but what's your name anyways?" I asked her. She lifted her snout up in the air and proclaimed, "I am Rarity! And if you didn't already know," (her tone of voice implying that I should definitely have already known) "This is Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Applejack." As I tucked my art back into my bag, I smiled and said hi to each pony in question. Now I wouldn't have to keep referring to them as their elements in my head. After a few more minutes of idle chat and Rarity making eyes at Braeburn, the train stopped in Ponyville. "It was nice meeting you, Splatter Paint!" Twilight Sparkle called over her shoulder as she trotted off the train, her friends quickly following after and calling similar goodbyes. With one final glare, I was finished with Rarity for, hopefully, the rest of my life.
I slouched back in my seat and exhaled in relief. Braeburn smirked knowingly. "That's how Ah feel sometimes," he told me. "You shoulda seen it when they came in and we and the buffalo tribe were still fightin'... They sure did make a mess outta things. But its alright, cuz they DID fix it in the end."
I rolled my eyes. I had had enough of the Elements of Harmony for the rest of my life. I didn't need any stories about them. To distract myself, I got out my hairbrush and began running it through Braeburn's mane. "Seriously, did you brush your mane today?" He chuckled a little. "Nah. Ah usually don't need to brush it, and so Ah don't brush it that often." No wonder I was having so much trouble getting it all the way through. It took some time, but after a while I could run it through any part of his mane, no problem. I leaned back and looked at him with his mane all combed. He looked more polished and refined, he could even pass for a city pony in his new vest. I began to repeat the process with his tail and before we were to Fillydelphia his mane and tail were shiny, healthy and glowing. I rubbed my nose to his. "Who looks nice all polished up?" I asked in a baby-talk voice. He smiled and rubbed noses back, but his emerald eyes remained dark, betraying him. "Oh, come on, you're not still scared about Manehattan, are you?"
He gave me a big-eyed puppy dog pout and bashfully nodded yes. I rolled my eyes in exasperation as he tried to defend himself. "Aww, come on, Splatter! Ah haven't been to any big city in years! It ain't my fault Ah'm a lil nervous." I kissed him on the top of his muzzle and told him, "for the last time, I don't want you stressing about this. Just chill, be yourself, and if those stuck-up city ponies don't like you, who cares?"
***
We talked about anything that just came out over the course of the ride. Every thirty minutes or so, the somepony would proclaim, "Fillydelphia!" Or "Galloping Gorge!" The number of ponies rose and fell with each stop, but I didn't know anypony...
Until He came.
I made myself as small as I could. Don't see me, PLEASE don't see me... "Hey Splatter!" Shit. The tall white pegasus stallion with a blue mane approached. Oh my Celestia, why did it have to be him? "You gonna introduce me to your friend here?" He asked in a way that meant he wouldn't care if I did or didn't. I slouched my shoulders while Braeburn gave me a quizzical look. "Yeah, sure. Braeburn, this is Daredevil Dasher. Dasher, this is Braeburn." They shook hooves. "I gotta say, Splatter, I never thought I'd see you again after you left like you did. And with a broken wing, no less? Been mixin' it up again?" He asked, winking. "Hey, mind if I join you guys?" Yes. "Not at all," Braeburn answered, friendly and curious. On the inside I groaned. Braeburn didn't know anything about this stallion.
He didn't know that Dasher used to be my Special Somepony!
I stared at my teal hooves while Braeburn and Dasher talked. "So, er, Dasher, what d'you do for a livin'?" asked Braeburn. "Well, for a couple years after high school I was a royal guard. That's how Splatter and I met, see, 'cause she had just moved to Canterlot at the time. Anyways, it was a pretty solid gig at the time, but I got canned for 'unruly behavior'. Now I'm in the Wonderbolts Academy," Dasher answered smugly. "Uh, if you don't mind me askin', what was the 'unruly behavior?" Braeburn inquired. "Ahh, it was stupid," said Dasher, pushing the question away with his hooves. "Fought with some other guards. Knocked some teeth, drew some blood... Whatever. The worst part about that little squabble was the real fight afterwards." At this, he winked at me, making me blush. Braeburn peered curiously at me. "Um... Yeah, Dasher and I used to, uh..." I stuttered.
"We were together," finished Dasher smugly. What I wouldn't do to wipe that smile off his face! I gave him a poisonous glare and turned to Braeburn. "Thankfully, I came to my senses when he sent 3 of his coworkers to the hospital." Daredevil Dasher, always able to roll with it, leaned back in his chair and answered, "What can I say, babe? It's all in the name." Why is he so annoying? Why won't he leave me alone? Why did I ever date him in the first place? I took a glance into his beautiful purple eyes. Okay, I knew why I dated him in the first place. Admittedly, he was gorgeous-on the outside. Braeburn was perfect inside and out.
Still leaned back and relaxed, Dasher asked, "So, where're you two goin'?" "Manehattan," I replied, trying to maintain an air of superiority. "I'm going to showcase my artwork in the museum." If Dasher had a mouthful of water, he would have done a spit take. "No way! That's where I'M headed!" Oh dear sweet Luna help me. I managed to muster up a smile that felt like a grimace. "That's...greeeaaat...."
The engine screeeecchhed to a stop. "Manehattan!" Called out the engineer. I almost started to hyperventilate! Braeburn shifted out of his seat and held out a hoof to help me down. I extended my good wing over his back and held my head high. He cocked his head to the side and gave me a quizzical look. I remembered he was an earth pony... All of my stallionfriends had been pegasi, and we would hold wings when we walked, but I couldn't do that with Braeburn. Blushing, I retracted my wing and began to walk towards the door.
As we were about to go out the door, I looked behind me to see if Dasher was still following, and the perv was attempting to look up my skirt! I flicked my tail at his face and watched him jerk his head back and see me scowling at him. He blushed deeply and kept his eyes on the ground. Serves him right! I thought as Braeburn accompanied off the stairs. I gaped at the sheer size of the station and the skyscrapers around it. Oh my Luna, this is HUGE! It was bigger than I'd ever imagined! Only Manehattan could rival Canterlot in sheer size. I began to hyperventilate again. Everypony there was so refined, so beautiful. I had a feeling they wouldn't be easy to impress. I got ahold of myself long enough to start to try to make a game plan with Braeburn. We were to find a nice but not too fancy hotel to stay in for a week, meet with the curator to discuss showing my art in the museum, and hopefully leave with compensation.
I sighed. It wouldn't be easy, but there were two things I always had: hope, and Braeburn.
Finding a not-too-expensive hotel wasn't too hard, as Manehattan was somewhat of a tourist city. Once we put our small amount of luggage into the hotel dresser, Braeburn proposed that we would go out to eat at a fancy restaurant.
"Oh, come on Braeburn, we shouldn't," I told him.
"Ah've already made up my mind, sugarcube," he replied. "Ah didn't get dressed up this fancy to just sit around the rest of the day. We both look great, so let's go!" I blushed, but decided he was right, we both did look great. I brushed my mane and tail again, and made sure Braeburn brushed his too, and we were off.
Manehattan had no shortage of nice restaurants, but Braeburn insisted on going to the best. Pulling over several ponies on the street, he asked where the best restaurant was. The winner, without a shadow of a doubt, was Le Poney Affamé, apparently the most delicious (and expensive) place around. As we trotted towards the restaurant, we got several odd looks, making Braeburn seem uncomfortable.
"Don't worry about it," I whispered to him as we neared the street a nice pony told us Le Poney Affamé was on. "They're probably just looking at my wing. Nopony here knows you're from Apploosa." He nodded, but the he still seemed ill at ease.
When we finally got to the restaurant, Braeburn opened the door for me as a walked in, and the smell hit my nose like a bullet. It was fantastic-delicately grilled apples, Caesar salads, celery flambé, all paired with the sound of light chatter, beautiful classical music, and faint sizzling from the kitchen. From the look on Braeburn's face, he was in heaven too. I realized that he had probably never been to a place like this before, so he might not know all the weird recipe words on the menu. Thank goodness I'd lived in Canterlot so long, or I might not have known either. We walked up to the maître d' slowly, so we didn't seem too rushed.
"Table for two, please," I said to the moustachioed pony at the front desk.
"Oui, mademoiselle. right this way, please," he said as he guided us to a small table. Placing the menus on the table, he told us, "Your waiter will be right with you." As he walked away, I grinned at Braeburn. "Pretty great place! You have very fine tastes, sir," I joked.
He smiled. "Only the best for you." Picking up his menu, his face scrunched up. "What... What is all this?" I looked over and saw what he was struggling with.
"That's oats in a cream sauce, that one is lightly sautéed daisies with a side salad and vinaigrette sauce, and that's potatoes au gratin-that is, with cheese."
He shook his head in disbelief. "Now, why can't they just say that?"
I grinned. "They make it sound fancier so they can sell it for more money. Now lets see... I think I'll get the grilled apples with a side salad. What about you?"
He gave another weary glance at the menu. "Ah think Ah'll have that too," he replied. The waiter came to take our orders and give us drinks-iced tea for me and sparkling apple cider for Braeburn. As we chatted, I noticed a pretty pink unicorn giving us dirty looks. Deciding not to make another enemy, I ignored her and continued to chat with Braeburn and sip my tea.
Finally, the food came! Without a bit of hesitation Braeburn and I dug right into the apples and salad. I know grilled apples and salad doesn't really sound five star restaurant quality, but believe me, they were. The spices on the apples were just right to create the perfect blend of sweet and savory, plus the light smokiness of the grill that added another whole dimension to the flavor. Plus, added with the salad (ordered sans carrots) and the perfect vinaigrette, I can without a shadow of a doubt say that it was the best meal I've ever had. Braeburn looked like he was fully enjoying it too-most of the time his eyes were closed so he could just sit back and enjoy the flavors. I have to say, I was proud of him for taking it slowly and not diving into his meal.
Too soon, we had cleaned our plates and had to pay the bill. We tipped the waiter and began to leave. On our way out, Braeburn accidentally ran into the same pony that had been glaring at us earlier.
"Ah'm very sorry, ma'am," Braeburn apologized politely.
The unicorn gave him a poisonous look before snootily replying, "what a nice accent you have there. Did you acquire it by working with other country ponies?" With that rude note, she trotted off. Braeburn was blushing like mad, looking a mixture of sadness and embarrassment.
"It's okay, Braeburn. Don't worry, she was just one mean pony. I'm sure the rest of Manehattan is very nice. Don't be sad because of one mule." He simply nodded and we continued towards the hotel.
***
The next day I woke up earlier than usual, remembering today was to be my first meeting with the curator. My heart was leaping out of my chest so badly that after I got all ready I had to order some calming tea to keep myself from having a panic attack. I let Braeburn sleep in a while since I had accidentally woken up three hours early.
After what seemed like years, Braeburn was awake and ready and we were headed to the museum. Since it was only nine in the morning, not too many ponies were in the streets, since the foals were probably in school and the adults were just arriving at their jobs. Admittedly, it was nice to just enjoy a walk with Braeburn without the big bustling city-it was almost like Apploosa again.
When we finally got to the museum, I marveled at its grandeur. The floors and pillars out front were white marble, and the walls were filled with beautiful, famous works. I struggled to keep my jaw up and maintain an air of professionalism. When we walked in, the curator greeted us with enthusiasm. He was just as large and jolly as he sounded on the phone, with a cream colored coat and a tan mane, tail, and set of impressive side burns.
"Ms. Paint, I presume?" He asked as he headed over to shake my hoof. Without even allowing me to agree, he continued. "By the looks of those saddle bags, you've got quite the selection for me to look over! Well, lets head up to my office. Another pony has entered their art as well, and I only have one spot open, so it'll be a close call."
"I... I have a competitor?" I asked, confused. Over the phone, it had kind of seemed like he only wanted my art.
"Why yes, of course!" He answered as he led the way to his office. "Both of you have quite a lot of press regarding your artwork, and we only allow the best here. I'll have you two get acquainted while I look over your works. May I?" He asked, gesturing to my bag. I handed it to him and watched him walk into his office, which had a small frosted window. Braeburn and I say down on the chairs outside his office to wait. As we sat there, a familiar pony trotted in and took a seat as well. When I finally recognized her, a gasp escaped my mouth.
"You again!" I exclaimed, jumping from my seat. It was none other than the snooty pony who had snubbed poor Braeburn. When she saw me, she sneered and recoiled.
"Ugh, it's you and your redneck friend! What are the likes of you doing here?!"
Maintaining an air of superiority, I answered, "I happen to be applying for the empty spot in the museum! What are you doing here?"
She gaped at me. "I'M applying for the spot in the museum!"
Emerging from his office, the curator saw our little meeting. "Oh good, you're both here. Splatter Paint, this is Sassy Sculptings. Sassy Sculptings, this is Splatter Paint. You two are competing for the empty spot. Won't this be fun?!"
***
By the way, here's a picture I drew of Splatter. With hope, I'll do Dasher and Sassy Sculptings soon too. Sorry it's sideways, but the thing was being weird.
Fun. Sure, real fun, I thought as Sassy ruffled her light orange mane and stared me down with a gaze of jade.
"Why of course, Artsy! I'm sure we will get along quite nicely." She said, sucking up to him harder than a vacuum.
"Quite! Now, girls-erm, you aren't included in this," he said, gesturing towards Braeburn, laughing heartily, and turning his attention back to us, "I've deemed both of your artworks absolutely exceptional, so I've decided to put together a little competition. You have a deadline of two days to create the most beautiful, dazzling piece of work you can put together. Since we are always expanding, I need to know who I can count on to give me cathedral-ceiling worthy artwork in the least amount of time. The fastest piece will be put up, but only if it is as good or better than the pieces you have shown me. Is this alright with the two of you?"
We agreed and were forced to shake hooves. Her magenta hoof was perfectly manicured, polished and conditioned, while my turquoise one had been barely more than washed. Because of this, I grinned. An artist that works with their hooves are the most exceptional and rare, like Moneigh. Unicorn artists were a dime a dozen, because they lazily float their paintbrushes or chisels, while more skilled and dexterous earth or pegasus ponies do the work by hoof. My smirk must have gotten on her nerves, because she ended the shake promptly.
"See you soon, Artsy!" She called over her shoulder on her way out, paying no attention to me and Braeburn.
The curator turned to me. "I understand you had a few complications in transport and such?" He asked politely, handing me my bag.
I nodded, carefully positioning my bag on my back so it wouldn't rub against my wings. "Yeah, my wing was broken by some gang member. Thankfully, though, it led me to my wonderful stallionfriend, so it's really not so bad. It'll be healed soon."
"Well, as long as it worked out alright in the end, I suppose. I do look forward to seeing what you will have to offer. Knowing you, something wonderful, no doubt!"
I chuckled. "Thanks, Artsy. I'll be back in two day's time, or less!" We waved goodbye and headed out the door. As soon as we were out of range of the curator, I groaned.
"It's just, I poured all my creativity into those paintings and now I have to make another? I don't even know where to start!"
His brows creased, worrying for me. "Well, Ah know it seems pretty bad now, but things will look up soon, because you ARE the better artist, Ah just know it!"
I smiled at his optimism as we walked out the door. Our meeting had taken much longer than I realized, hours even, although it didn't feel like that long at all. "Thanks, Braeburn. You're the sweetest. Where do you wanna eat today? I'm in the mood for Chinese."
***
After a delicious meal of stir-fried daisy and fried rice, I set up my easel and a canvas to use later-good thing I had bought a couple extras in Apploosa!-we settled down to watch a movie.
"What do you wanna see?" Asked Braeburn, flipping through the great hotel channels. "There's The Avengers, Manticores on a Plane..." He trailed off, letting me read the guide.
"Ooh! That one!"
"What? The Zebra King? Really?"
I nodded. "I used to love that movie! I haven't seen it in forever!"
Braeburn sighed and rolled his eyes. "But isn't it a foal's movie? Ah've never seen it for myself."
I gasped in mock astonishment. "Then that seals it, we have to watch it now."
Chuckling, he selected the movie and set the remote aside. At first he kind of dismissed it, but as it went on he really seemed to be into it. He even got a little emotional when Scar pushed Mufasa off the cliff.
When the movie finally ended, I realized Braeburn had stayed awake the whole time, although he usually tended to doze off during movies.
"What did you think?" I asked, pleased he had stayed conscious for the full experience.
"Ah think you're very good at picking movies," he stated lazily.
I grinned warmly at him. Did he have a single flaw? I didn't think so. "Thanks for watching the whole thing with me, Braeburn."
He smiled, his eyes closing rapidly. "It's no problem, sugar cube, but Ah'm plumb tuckered out. Ah think Ah'll hit the hay."
Giving him a soft, quick kiss on the lips, I shimmied out of bed. "I need to work on the painting. I'll join you in a sec." I trotted over to where I had set up the easel and canvas. Sighing, I dabbled my brush in both the pink and orange, making a brilliant salmon. Painting a few strokes of the color I created as well as a few other blends of yellow, red, orange and pink, I coated the top half of the canvas with bright swirls and radiant patterns. When I saw it, I surprised myself with the beauty of just the top half, but I wasn't exactly sure how to continue it. Oh well. I still have two days to continue it, if I can...
Rinsing my brush and palette, I put my art stuff away and snuggled up to Braeburn. He was warm and smelled of apple spice, as always. Cuddling with him always made me feel better, no matter the circumstances. I heard his heart beat and felt his muscles under his bright yellow coat, eventually falling asleep to the rhythm of his peaceful breaths.
***
Okay, so I drew Dasher and Sassy. They're not the best, but here they are:
The next day when I woke up, I had a mini heart attack since we weren't in Braeburn's bed. After realizing that we were just in the hotel bedroom, I decided there was too much adrenaline pumping through me to go back to sleep. I slid out of the soft cream-colored sheets, gazed at Braeburn for a single lingering moment, and trotted downstairs to the complimentary breakfast.
After loading up my tray with a bowl of oatmeal, an apple, and a sweet iced tea, I sat at one of the smaller tables to eat, savoring each bite. Like all the food there, the oatmeal was fantastic.
Just as I scraped my bowl clean and began on my apple, Braeburn trotted into the dining room kind of squinty-eyed and bed-headed, even missing his trademark hat and vest. I took a bite of apple and waved for him to sit down. Thankfully, he spotted me and say down on the other chair.
"Morning, sleeping beauty," I teased him as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
Giving me a blue steel it's too early for that look, he said, "Ah thought you were a night owl, but now you're gettin' up earlier than I am."
As I chewed the bite of red delicious in my mouth, I pondered his statement. "Yeah, I guess that is true. You must have converted me. Anyway, you look like you need some coffee." Before he could object, I set down my apple and trotted over to get him a mug with the works- cream, sugar, all that jazz.
When I returned, he gave it a suspicious glance. "Ah usually take it black..."
I chuffed at his words. "Just try it, it's delicious. No offense, but it's much higher quality than that of Apploosa."
Braeburn rolled his eyes, but brought the mug up to his lips anyway. He took a gulp, smacked his lips, and mumbled, "Not bad"
"What was that?"
He smiled. "Okay, it's really good! It tastes great. Thank you."
I finished off my apple and sipped my sweet tea. "Damn right it's good. Anyways, today I'm either going to be pulling my mane out over the piece I have to finish, like, soon, or wandering the town until I have inspiration for said piece. So my point is, you can just stay at the hotel and chillax, maybe check out the pool, you can check out the town and see a play or something, or you can follow me around, being my weird artist self."
Braeburn cocked his head and quirked an eyebrow, creating a surprisingly sexy face (pretty much any face Braeburn makes is sexy.) "'Chillax?'" I pushed him playfully-I was one of the few ponies to still use that term. Still, he scooted his chair close to mine and nuzzled my neck. "Ah wanna go wherever you wanna go, Sugar Cube."
I blushed a deep red. "Braeburn, not in public!" I whisper-yelled, weakly pushing him away. He pulled me close with a hoof around me instead. "So you're just going to follow me? I'm kinda low on inspiration here, so I might be kinda moody."
He hugged me a little tighter. "Ah sure am."
***
After Braeburn finished breakfast, we went back up to the room, where I would add a few strokes, pace around agitated, gaze out the window, have a snack, and basically perform all my normal shenanigans.
"Ugh, Braeburn! How am I going to finish this before Sassy?" I asked in despair, flopping down on the bed after adding only a few more strokes. All that was on the canvas was the strange reds and oranges and yellows, with a few dark grey streaks on it. Where was I going with this?
Braeburn lied down on the bed and pulled me close. We just stayed like that, in a close embrace, for a while. Finally, too soon, he kissed my forehead and hopped off the bed. "Just follow your heart."
Follow your heart.
"I've got it!" I exclaimed, leaping off the bed with the enthusiasm of a school colt. I galloped to the canvas, picking up the brush and letting my hooves and heart guide me. The brush dabbled in the blues and greens, swirled in the blacks and whites, and stroked across the canvas. I couldn't tell you how much time passed, but pass it did, until it was dark. When I finished, the scent of take out snapped me out of my trance.
I weakly trotted over to Braeburn and the food, realizing I had skipped lunch. "Thank you so much, Braeburn. You're the best. Do you even have any flaws at all?" I asked, inhaling the aroma of five cheese baked ziti.
He blushed, swirling his fork in his spaghetti and hay balls. "Well, ya know I have this accent-"
"I don't consider that a flaw"
"Sometimes Ah forget to brush my teeth?"
"Doesn't everypony?"
He blushed a bit and shoved a bite of spaghetti in his mouth. "Thumtiez ah wahht-"
"Swallow, please"
He blushed deeper and swallowed. "S-sometimes Ah watch... Mi Caballo Amor."
I tried to keep back laughter as I continued to eat my pasta. "That cheesy Spanish soap opera?"
He blushed again. "There was nothin on TV one day, and Ah kinda got sucked into the plot line, and I got a Spanish dictionary, and-"
"Shh. If your worst feature is that you enjoy watching Samba and Flamenco fall in love, be proud."
We both smiled as we finished our pasta. Suddenly, I realized something. "We need to get my painting to the museum right now!"
"What?" He asked, wiping tomato sauce from his mouth.
"What if Sassy is already done? We need to get there first! Get dressed, get dressed!"
We slipped on our clothes, I put my new painting carefully in my bag, and we rushed out the door. The dark city sidewalks were lit with bright yellow street lights, and the nightlife was bustling. Not as bustling as the morning life, of course, but bustling enough so that Braeburn and I had a hard time getting around. Every time I saw a flash of pink or orange, I would urge Braeburn to go faster. Finally, the large marble structure of the museum appeared.
"Hurry, Braeburn! They close soon!" We sprinted hard to the doors of the museum and busted through. Thankfully, not may ponies were there because of the late hour and the more interesting attractions to visit in the dark. "Turn, turn, it's over here!" I guided him to the curator's office. Before we entered, we took a pause to catch our breaths and straighten up. As soon as we did, I opened the door.
"Splatter Paint! What are you doing here at this hour? I was just closing up."
"Sir, I'm done with my painting!" I panted, still catching my breath a bit.
"You are, are you? Well then, by Starswirl's beard, let's see it!"
I brought out the painting gently from my saddlebag, gingerly placing it on the large mahogany front desk we stood before. Braeburn puffed out his chest with pride while I cringed, expecting the worst. Artsy looked it over from every angle for quite some time before uttering a single sound other than "hmm."
"Well, Ms. Paint, I-"
"Artsy!" Somepony cried in a sing-song tone. "I'm done with my piece!" Sassy Sculptings strutted haughtily into the building, her bag heavy with a sculpture. However, her jaw dropped as she saw me and Braeburn standing by the curator.
"Well, Sassy, I'm afraid-" before he could finish, the curator was interrupted by a violent smash. Sassy's piece hit the floor with the fury of Nightmare Moon as she began to pitch a fit. She kicked and stomped and uttered no limit of obscenities regarding me, Braeburn, and the curator, and most of the time I found myself wishing I had a camera to record her temper tantrum.
Her fit lasted a full five minutes, at the end of which the curator promptly kicked her out, proclaiming, "Anypony who acts so immaturely does not deserve to let their art stay in this museum." I didn't quite realize what that meant to me until it was smacking me in the face.
"Miss Splatter Paint, will you allow me the honor of hanging your art in my museum?" Artsy asked after closing the door on an extremely pissed Sassy.
I stood there, stunned, for a few moments. After all that I had been through, I was finally here-in this museum, being asked to put my art in a prestigious museum. Wow. Like, WOW!
I snapped out of my trance. "Yes! Yes, Please, yes!"
Both Braeburn and the curator smiled. "Great!" Cried Artsy. "Now, let me grab my checkbook-one moment, please-" he dug around in his coat pocket for a second before pulling it out and levitating a pen over the paper. After scribbling a few figures on the check, he ripped it off and showed me. "How's this sound for all six pieces?"
That's a lot of zeros. I stumbled to sound intelligent in the face of all that money.
"Um, yes, that will do fine, thank you."
"Excellent!" Exclaimed Artsy, levitating the check into my bag. "Now, I'll expect the other pieces on my desk tomorrow. It was a pleasure doing business with you, miss Paint. You are truly a magnificent artist."
***
After side-stepping broken pieces of marble on the way out of the museum, Braeburn and I whooped and hollered in joy.
"You did it!" He yelled, excited for me.
"I know, I know! I can't believe it!" I exclaimed. "I couldn't have done it without you." He gave me a funny little half-smile, like you could have done it without me, but I won't correct you, because you're so happy. We shared a quick kiss and continued towards the hotel. When we realized the sun was completely set and the only light came from the moon and the street lights, our energy faded to a solemn haste to get back to the safety of the hotel.
The trek back was no fun. It involved a lot of paranoid running, nervous giggling, and reassuring chatting. A few blocks from the hotel, however, we heard a clattering noise, making me stiffen up like a board. "What was that?" I whispered nervously.
Braeburn seemed nervous too, but was quick to say "Probably just a cat. Nothing to worry about."
We were about to continue walking when we heard a gruff voice with a city accent say "Yeah, just a cat." We both jumped in surprise. The voice belonged to... One of the thugs rapidly closing in on us! I began to hyperventilate. The five large stallions gave us no time to run as they each blocked our path from every angle.
"Listen up, yous two, 'cuz I ain't sayin' it twice. Give us the good stuff in the bag and no one gets hurt. But, if you try to pull any funny business, me and my pals here are gonna show ya why that ain't such a good idea. Capiche?"
I nodded shakily, tears in my eyes. I hated to give my money that I had earned to these horrible ponies, but if it meant Braeburn and I would get out of it safe, I was willing to do anything. I was just turning my head to unlatch my bag when I heard a sickening crack one of the big stallions went down. Braeburn had kicked him right in the jaw!
