Another Horizon

Chapters

A Love That Just Won't Last
Seeing the Past
Out of Sight
Made to be Broken
Made for a Dreamer
Something Wild and Wonderful
Holding it Down
Gonna be a Lonely Night
A Prison of Love
Looking Out at the Future
Your Precious Love

A Love That Just Won't Last

There's something both exciting and frightening about holding a little black box that contained all of my savings in the form of a ring. Years of taking odd jobs and searching for the absolute perfect engagement ring for my perfect marefriend, Parasol, finally culminated to this moment!

Under my right wing, I carried that little box close to my body so I could feel its outline against my side. A piece of jewelry could never have fully expressed my love for her, but it was darn close! I had been all over Equestria to look at the selection in every store I could find, and there it was, in Ponyville all along. There was a skip in my step as I trotted down the street toward our meet-up destination.

"Hey, Silver Script!" a stallion on my right called, waving. "Today's the day?" He winked.

I winked back at him and tapped one hoof to the side of my muzzle. "Just might be!"

"Atta boy! It's about time!"

I laughed. Yes, it was about time. We had been together five years and for the past three I had been on the hunt for the ring and working on the perfect poem to propose with. Scriptwriting was my true talent, so crafting a poem was more than a bit of a struggle for me. She was worth it, though. Every bit, every second, all of it spent for her.

In hindsight, there is a good reason why ponies say never to put all your bits in one box. Or, if they don’t say it, they really should start. I had to learn it the hard way.

Parasol sat at a table for two outside our favorite restaurant, Haut-Savoir. She was a beautiful mare, and my heart fluttered with joy at the mere sight of her. My fiancée-to-be.

"Sweetest love, hello again," I singsonged as I approached her from behind. As I rounded her, I placed a kiss on her cheek and continued, "on this auspicious day! My feelings, simple and plain, I can no longer keep at bay..." I dropped down onto bended knee, removed the box from its hiding place, and opened it to reveal the ring inside. "My wife, I ask you to be, if you'll agree to marry me."

"Oh, Silvy..." Here it was! My new life was about to begin! "I'm sorry, but..."

The look on her face was not elated or anything I expected. There were no tears in her eyes. Instead she almost looked... pitying. Confusion gripped me and I remained where I was, still holding the box in my hooves.

"Sorry?" I swallowed. "Why?" The question escaped me not like a wistful sigh, but more like a rock. A big, heavy rock dropped into a pool of depression that I knew I was about to fall into right after it, judging by how she was, in fact, not accepting my proposal.

She looked at me with those orange eyes I loved. "I like you. I really do, I just, well. You're not the pony I want to spend forever with, is all."

My wings drooped, my heart ached, and my brain screamed, You two-bit dam! I guess I was keen on driving the knife in further because I asked, "Why did you wait five years to tell me this?"

She shrugged. "Because I haven't had any better offers? There aren’t a lot of stallions around here that aren’t farm ponies, and—"

The confusion and hurt coiled around my emotions like barbed wire and agitated me into anger. "You two-bit dam," I spat. My brain rejoiced.

She gasped and raised a hoof to slap me, but I turned and jumped into the air before she could. Why let her get in another hit when I was already down?

My wings carried me away and in the safety of the open skies. Far and away from Ponyville, I let the hurt out. My vision went blurry with tears and my breathing grew ragged. I pulled my foreleg back, then threw that little black box of expensive pain away. I hoped it landed on some happy couple and knocked one of them out cold. I'm not exactly proud to admit I smiled at the idea of that ring ruining somepony else's day, too.

I yelled incoherently at the empty space around me. I think I was trying to exclaim "How could you, Parasol" but I'm not sure if the words came out right. It may have been more like "How could you, you heartless daughter of a worthless nag!" But that doesn't seem very fair to her mother, so maybe my memory is just messing with me. It is fickle that way.

Exhausted from the emotions surging through my veins, I collapsed onto the nearest cloud. It was in the early phases of rain, just starting to turn from fluffy white to dreary grey, so it seemed like an appropriate place to rest. I wanted to just lay there forever until I could no longer feel. The cloud rumbled beneath me and grew so dark it turned almost black.

"Sorry," I mumbled, patting the emotional sponge. "You're going to be one heck of a nuisance for somepony."

One wing extended and flapped, sending the cloud in some direction. Any direction. I was heading away from Ponyville, and that was all that mattered to me.

I felt hurt. Betrayed. Foolish. Angry. But I didn't want to feel anything at all. I just wanted to sleep and never wake up...

...

The tickle of electricity followed by a crack of thunder awoke me from my coma-like slumber. Or perhaps I was roused by the feminine yelp right after that hit my ears. I scooted to the edge of the cloud and peered below to see a pink mare peering back up at me.

Great, a mare. Just what I needed right then.

"Hey, buddy!" she called. "Mind moving that elsewhere? I've got groceries and you're blocking my path!"

I blinked a few times to clear my groggy vision and took in the situation carefully. The mare was standing under the awning outside a grocery store, and the rain from my cloud was like a curtain in front of her. She tapped a hoof impatiently.

I blinked again. "Yeah. Sorry." I flapped a few times to direct my little patch of anti-sunshine away from the mare. When I looked down again, she had stepped out from under the awning, but was still looking at me. "What now?" I asked, frowning.

She rolled her eyes. "What is it with pegasi and bad moods? I swear." She sighed and shook her head. Her mane was tied up in a bun, but two strands were free to frame the sides of her face.

She had a pretty face… Too bad for her, though. I was feeling pretty bitter about pretty faces at that moment. "What’s your point?"

"My point is, I was going to ask if there was anything I could help you with, but if that’s your attitude, then forget it." She turned and walked away.

It was more of a prance, really, or maybe a little haughty dance. She was mocking me, wasn’t she? She had to be. I scowled at her backside and thought about bucking my cloud over her, but that would require more energy than I had right then, so instead I laid back down and tried to sleep.

Of course, when you have a rumbling, grumbling storm cloud for a bed, and your stomach is making the same rumbling, grumbling sounds, going to sleep isn't always easy. Seeing the fruits and vegetables poking out from that mare's saddlebags must have reminded my body of the concept of hunger.

I sighed and got off the cloud, pushing it to send it on out of the city limits. Unscheduled storm clouds generally weren't allowed to be left unsupervised in residential areas, after all.

It seemed like serendipity that the cloud had taken me just above that grocery store, which I descended to and entered. On the other hoof, I had never spent much time outside Ponyville, so grocery stores were unfamiliar territory. I had to take a moment to look around in awe. There were shelves upon shelves of food the likes of which I'd only heard about. We just didn't carry these sorts of things back home. Canterlot really knew how to go all-out!

"If you'd like to buy something, please get out of the doorway," the clerk behind the counter said, one brow raised. "If you’re just browsing, then please get out of my store." My shock must have shown on my face when I looked at him because he sighed and muttered, "Stupid backwater farm ponies."

Anger surged through me like I had been branded with a hot iron. I felt it first in my chest before it spread to the very tips of my hooves and I yelled, "I am not a farm pony!" I glared at the clerk and turned to leave. "Ignorant, self-absorbed Canterlot snob!"

The door shut behind me and my stomach made me painfully aware that it would have rathered I had not insulted the gatekeeper to a meal. Then, a thought struck me and I slapped a hoof to my face, groaning at the newfound realization.

I had no bits on me. Everything I had saved up had been spent on that ring, and there was no way I was going to find it after I had thrown it off to who knew where. For the time being, I needed to find a way to get some bits or, at least for the time being, some free food… and Canterlot wasn't exactly known for its generosity.

I started to walk up the street and examined the nearby shops along the way while I gave my situation more thought. I couldn't stay in Canterlot, and I definitely couldn't go back to Ponyville for a while, so what were my options? My parents lived in Cloudsdale, but forget that! Hers did, too.

The far ends of Equestria were starting to sound appealing to me when my nose caught whiff of something sweet and my stomach demanded I follow the smell. I knew anything that smelled that good would cost more than a smile, and that was all I had to offer. However, ponies that made pastries had to be nice, right? A glance upward revealed that the bakery was called Sunridge Sweets. That sounded like a nice place.

A little bell chimed, and a stallion behind the counter greeted me with a cheerful "Hello!" and a sincere smile. Given his friendly disposition and that he was an earth pony, I had a feeling—or, at least, a hope—that he wasn't a Canterlot native.

"Hello there!" I approached the counter. "I am in a bit of a bind, and I was hoping you might be so kind as to help me out, good sir."

The stallion blinked and tilted his head. "Okay?"

I paused to collect my thoughts, then explained, "My marefriend broke up with me after I spent all of my bits on a ring with which I proposed, and I lost the ring. And now I'm hungry after smelling your wonderful pastries, but I haven't a single bit to my name."

"So..." The stallion quirked a brow. "You’re looking for a free hoof-out?"

I nodded and smiled. "That would seem to be the situation I'm in, sir."

“Oops,” a feminine voice said from the other room behind the counter. “I broke this cookie while frosting it!" Her tone was anything but honest, yet still playful. "I guess I'll have to throw it away." A familiar pink head poked out and into view, familiar mauve strands framing her familiar face. "Hey, you. Can you throw this away for me?" She raised a hoof and tossed a perfectly fine-looking cookie my way.

I fumbled trying to catch it with both hooves, my gaze instead focused on her. "You—" I frowned. "You're the grocery mare."

"No, I'm Velvet Step." She grinned and walked around the counter, glancing up at the stallion that quietly observed her. "It's okay, Dad, I'll take care of him."

Dad? Of course. I just had to walk into the bakery belonging to the parents of a mare I may have offended! She did give me a free cookie—which I had already scarfed down and it was delicious—so perhaps she wasn't all that mad.

"Come on," she said, hooking her foreleg with mine and leading me over to a nearby table. "Let's have a chat."

I shrugged and allowed her to lead me. "I'm willing to chat for more cookies. Or maybe something more substantial like a muffin?"

Velvet laughed. "We'll see about that!" She slid onto one of the stools and after I followed suit, she continued, "So, bad break-up, huh?"

My ears swiveled back and pinned against my mane. "I don't really want to talk about that."

Velvet raised her brow. "You already did, so you might as well keep it up if you want a muffin."

"Fine," I relented with a sigh. "Yes, bad break-up."

"Tell me about it." She hooked her forehooves together and rested her muzzle on them, smiling.

"Why?" I frowned. What was she, some kind of sadist?

Another laugh escaped her and she rolled her eyes. "The faster you cooperate, the faster you can get fed. Depending on your situation, I might have an offer for you."

"An offer?" I stalled.

Unfortunately, she seemed immune to stalling. "Tell me about the break-up."

I leaned back and looked away from her, instead taking in the interior of the bakery. A black-and-white checkerboard floor stood out against the bright walls of pink and white stripes. While the display counter and tables were white, the chairs were black with intricate scrollwork, like a fancy Prench cafe.

Prench, like Haut-Savoir.

My wings clasped in tight to my sides and, finally, my gaze returned to her. "I've been dating a mare for five years, finally proposed, and she rejected me. Does that sum it up for you?" My gut wrenched when her mouth wriggled, then she burst into laughter. I tried to hide my hurt feelings and slight embarrassment by scowling. "What's so funny?"

"Five years?" she managed between laughter and gasps for air. "You waited five years to propose? What the hay were you waiting for, the stars to align?"

I crossed my hooves over my chest and jerked my gaze away. This conversation was quickly going way past sour. "What does it matter? It turns out if somepony better looking or richer or whatever it was she was after came along, she would have left me. I was just the best apple within reach on the tree." The metaphor made me wince. That's the sort of metaphor a farm pony would have used, and my chest grew tight with ache and anger.

Velvet wiped her eyes, her laughter calming down to giggles. "Sounds like her loss! Come on, I'll get some muffins, then we can talk some more."

"I like the first part of that," I grumbled, but she didn’t seem to hear me, instead walking away to go back behind the counter.

I contemplated just leaving. After all, she was clearly just trying to get some sick, twisted enjoyment out of my plight. But the moment I moved to flee, my stomach cramped up to protest the potential loss of muffins. I sighed and settled back down into my seat just as she came back with a box balanced on her back.

"First, I'll need you to run an errand for me," she said, smiling.

"Muffin first." I held out a hoof.

Velvet raised a brow and said in an annoyingly coquettish way, "I said I'd get muffins, not that I'd give you muffins. These aren't for you. I need you to be our delivery colt, because we've got our hooves full here." Without waiting for me to accept or reject the request, or even acknowledge that she had spoken, she pushed the box to me. "The post office is just up the road if you turn right. Can't miss it. Take these there, then bring the payment back if you want something for yourself."

She stood in front of me with a harrowing expression of utmost seriousness. "And if you run off with these muffins, I'll give your description to them. You don't want the whole Canterlot Post Office squad after your flank, do you?" The seriousness was quickly replaced by a smile. "Okay, get along, then!"

What sort of crazy, scheming mare had I gotten myself attached to? I groaned but my hooves forced me to walk to the door, apparently in cahoots with my stomach. Traitors, the whole lot of them.

Wait, attached? No, no, no! I was attached to the promise of a muffin, not to the mare that gave the promise. Or at least made the tempting offer. She hadn't really made any promises by that point, I realized too late.

I could smell the freshly baked muffins resting on my back as I walked along the streets in the direction she had given me. What was really stopping me from taking off? They didn't know my name. Equestria was a pretty big place, after all.

Of course, mailponies were some of the most dedicated workers across any career. Rain or shine, snow or sleet, they would suffer through any weather just to deliver one letter.

With a sigh, I kept walking. Good job, Silver. You've been single for less than twenty-four hours and you're already entangled with a mare. And now she has you doing errands for her.

The post office was indeed hard to miss. Aside from the big sign that stated exactly what it was, there were lots of ponies wearing mail carrier uniforms coming and going. When I got closer, a few noticed me and—more specifically—the box on my back. I guess it was a popular bakery or something, because they immediately stopped what they were doing to follow me inside.

"Delivery from, uh—" My mind drew a blank.

"Sunridge Sweets!" the stallion behind the counter filled in for me, his hooves outstretched to take the box. "Right on time! Though, where's Velvet?" He paused to eye me with what seemed like suspicion.

"Busy," I replied, trying to shake off the feeling of so many gazes on me. It was like I didn't belong. Well, technically, I didn't. Not in this role, in this building, or even in this city. But how did they know that?

After a moment, the stallion chuckled. "She always is. Nice of her to keep helping out her folks, though." He reached under the counter and retrieved a small pouch of bits that he tossed my way. "Thanks for the muffins!"

I could barely take a step away from the counter before the mailponies swooped in like they hadn't eaten in weeks. Well, for how hard they work, maybe they hadn't. I just decided to get out while I still had all my feathers intact, payment in hoof.

Standing outside, I looked up at the sun, then at the pouch of bits. One simple errand and I had enough to get some of those muffins for myself. Plus, it didn't feel like my money, really. I had run an errand for the bakery. Technically it was theirs.

I made my way back to Sunridge Sweets, pausing at the door to glance around. I wasn’t in a picky mood, but I still wanted to get an idea of what seemed to be popular here. The place was absolutely full of ponies eating muffins, cookies, cupcakes, and other little pastries. Some even had milkshakes or smoothies. The group of foals in the corner sitting at the colorful little tables and chairs sized just for them were devouring a plate of ooey, gooey chocolate chip cookies.

All of it looked delicious, nothing seemed more popular than anything else, and my stomach urged me to take a place in line.

Before I could make it to the counter, however, Velvet appeared at my side with another box on her back. "How did it go?"

I glanced at her. She wasn't looking at me. "Fine. I got the bits, so now I'm back for muffins."

"Great!" She shifted to pick up the box and held it out to me. "Deliver these to 221B Baker Street. Just go left and follow this road until it curves around, then take the first right. It's the big condominium building straight ahead."

My stomach growled, and so did I. "My muffins first."

Velvet eyed me with a small grin playing on her muzzle. "Fine, but then you'll have to make the delivery."

"What's stopping me from taking my muffins and leaving?" I asked as I took a step forward in line, returning my gaze to her father behind the counter as he helped another pony.

"What's stopping you?" she repeated, then hummed in thought. "I guess nothing, but you don't seem like the type of pony to just walk away when somepony asks him for a favor."

My wings flicked in close to my sides. No, I wasn't. "How can you be so sure of that? We just met."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her struggling against a wicked grin. "Because you dated a mare for five years that didn't love you. That kind of makes you a pushover."

Anger flared in my chest and I wanted to yell at her, but the fire fizzled out just as it started to roar. She wasn't exactly wrong. I had given Parasol everything I had, and now I was left with nothing. What was the use in fighting about it?

I felt all the energy drain from me and I turned my head away from her. "Fine. Muffins, then delivery."

"Great, thanks!"

When I glanced over, she was still standing beside me, staring at me, not seeming the least inclined to leave. It was like she was waiting for something, so I asked, "What?"

Her brow furrowed for a brief moment, then she scrunched up her nose. "What did you like about her?"

I blinked. What did I like about her? Parasol? It'd be easier to answer what I didn't like about her—the fact she didn't like me. Everything else was perfect. The way she laughed, the way she smiled, the way she was afraid of thunder but loved lightning...

Velvet's expression softened. "Oh, wow. You really did love her."

I blinked again. "Huh? What?"

"Your eyes." She raised a hoof and gestured at my face with it. "I've seen that look in them before." The hoof lowered to rest on my shoulder. "I'm sorry."

And with that, she finally left my side, disappearing around the counter and into the kitchen. I could still feel the weight of her dainty hoof on my shoulder. I shivered to try to chase away the sensation.

"Sorry about her," the stallion behind the counter said. "She can be a little off-putting, but she's not a bad pony."

I looked up at him and tried to smile, but something inside of me felt strange. "Oh, uh, no worries." Wasn't he her father? Of course he'd say she wasn't a bad pony. I shrugged. "Anyway, can I have some muffins?"

"Sure!" He tapped a hoof on his side of the display case. "What kind?"

Stomach growled as loud as it possibly could. I winced. "I do not care as long as it gets in my mouth sooner rather than later." Setting the bag of bits on the counter, I added, "However many I can get with this much."

With a laugh, he grabbed a variety of muffins—six in total—and put them in a box that he gave to me. "Enjoy!"

I could only nod in response as I juggled both my box and the one Velvet had given me over to the nearest unoccupied table for two. All sense of dignity was lost the moment I picked up one of my muffins and shoved the entire thing in my mouth.

And, apparently, all sense of reason was lost, too. Muffins, while delicious, aren't intended to be eaten whole. And I realized in that moment just how thirsty I was. No matter how moist the muffin was—and it was so absolutely wonderful—it stood no chance to dehydration. My eyes went wide as I looked around, only to discover Velvet walking toward me with a glass of water and a smug expression.

"Here," she said, laughing when I couldn't stop myself from snatching the glass, swallowing the giant mass of muffin, and chugging the water to ease the pain of that much muffin going down my throat all at once. She slid into the seat across from me and leaned back. "So, what do you do? When you're not making storm clouds and begging for hoof-outs, that is."

"Why?" I managed in a raspy voice and took another long drink of water.

Velvet shrugged. "I told you before. I might have an offer for you depending on your situation."

She had said something like that, hadn't she? I thought that was just about the delivery, but apparently there was something else. One ear flicked and I sighed. "I'm a scriptwriter. I write scripts for films."

"Films?" Her nose scrunched up before she laughed. "Like, that's it? That's all you do? How do you make enough money doing that?"

My mouth wanted to say something, but I shoved a muffin in it before it could. I wasn't quite ready to offend her and get kicked out of the bakery. She seemed like the type of mare that would take away my muffins before showing me the door.

Finally and carefully, I replied, "There's not a lot of work, but when there is, it pays well enough to make up for it."

Her amusement faded into something that seemed contemplative. "Oh, cool." She drummed her hooves before she reached across the table and pulled my box over to her, closing the lid. "Can you do that delivery now?"

I tried to glare at her, but it was difficult to look irritated when my cheeks were full of muffin. "Ahm eatin'."

"And I'm trying to help my parents run a business here." She waved a hoof. "The faster you get it done, the faster you can eat."

That seemed to be her favorite phrase. Hurry up and do what she wants, then I get what I want. Throughout the day, every time I sat down to eat, I could barely finish one of my muffins before she'd come over with another box and another question. She wanted to know about my foalhood, my failure of a relationship, my future plans, my desire to stay in Canterlot, and—

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Where are you staying tonight," she repeated as she trotted over to the bakery doors to flip the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'. "Like, a hotel? A friend's place? That angry cloud of yours?"

My brow furrowed as I watched her move about the bakery to stack chairs onto the tables while her parents cleaned up in the back room. Sunbeam and Pepper Ridge were their names, I'd learned over the course of the day. They seemed nice. Velvet, on the other hoof, was strange. She still is, but that's part of her charm.

I gave a shrug and set about helping her stack the chairs. "I don't know yet. I hadn't really thought that far ahead."

"Cool," was her response. It was strange like the rest of her. She didn't ask or say anything else until her father came around the corner and called her over. They whispered back and forth; I couldn't make out the words, but he sounded concerned and kept glancing at me.

Did he think I was hitting on her? I tried to look casual, like a pony who had no interest in her whatsoever. I leaned against the wall, then frowned. Wait, what was I doing? I could just leave. I should just leave. Deliveries were finished, my stomach was sated, and she had let me keep some of the bits from the work I'd done.

My ears perked at a thought. Perhaps I had the situation all wrong. Maybe today had been some kind of weird interview and she was going to let me work full-time as a delivery colt. Not what I wanted to do long term, but I'd at least get paid.

Finally, with the box on her back, Velvet came over to me and nodded her head toward the door to indicate she wanted me to follow. I complied, if only because on the off-chance this was a job interview, I wanted to do well.

Instead of more questions, however, she walked, and I followed. Was she on a delivery? I glanced over the box on her back. There wasn't any address or order number written on it, though.

The silence grew too much and I couldn't help but blurt out, "Is this part of the job interview?" I slapped a hoof over my mouth and winced. Oh, smooth move. Nopony had said it was a job interview. And the confused yet amused look on her face pretty much confirmed it wasn't.

Finally, Velvet giggled. Why did it have to be so cute? "It’s not a job interview. It's a personal interview."

I blinked as my hoof lowered. "A 'personal' interview? What even is that?"

Velvet hummed for a moment, her gaze lifting to the sky in thought before it dropped back down to the road ahead. We were approaching a set of condominium buildings, which started to raise my hackles. I had enough sense to be suspicious of them, even if I didn't know why at the time.

"It's an interview to be my roommate," she finally said.

That stopped me dead in my tracks. "Your what?"

"My roommate," she repeated, continuing forward. "You don't have to pay any rent. I'll take care of groceries, though if you want anything special, you're on your own for that." She opened the door that led into the building, waiting for me to catch up.

I did. I still don't know why I didn't just turn around and leave right then and there, but instead I followed her, despite my better judgment. Rooming with a mare I had just met? The very idea was preposterous!

"Anyway, I have a two bedroom condo and there's only one of me. I'm doing pretty well financially so I can afford to let you live like a leech. So, it’s up to you." She stopped outside a door and turned to look at me. "You can live here with me, free rent, free food, total freedom, or you can take these muffins and walk away. Of course, if you stay, you also get the muffins. As thanks for your help today."

She paused, then corrected, "What I mean is, the muffins aren't part of the deal. A completely free lifestyle is, though."

We stared at each other in silence while I thought it over. It was a really good offer. In fact, it was too good to believe. What did she get out of it? Was she just lonely in the condo by herself? No, the smirk on her lips suggested there was something else, but what?

I eyed her with what I think was reasonable suspicion. "What's the catch?"

Velvet lifted her nose in the air and turned to the door. One hoof fiddled with the lock and once the door creaked open, she flicked her tail in my face. "Don't fall in love with me."

Fall in love? With her? After what I'd already been through, the idea of another relationship turned my stomach. Yes, she was cute, and she was giving me way more than I could ask for, but that didn't change how I felt.

"Oh, don't worry," I muttered under my breath as I rolled my eyes and followed her inside. "There's no way in Tartarus that's going to happen."

Seeing the Past

The inside of Velvet's condo was, well, nice enough. Nicer than my little rented room back in Ponyville, at the least. The main area was pretty spacious and flowed to the left into a small but serviceable kitchen. There were three doors: two set against the wall opposite of the entrance and one off to the right. The living room was home to several sitting pillows, one of which Velvet nestled into.

I remained where I was right by the door. While I looked at the wall that was covered in floor-to-ceiling mirrors, Velvet looked at me. I tried not to notice.

"So, where's my room?" I asked, the awkwardness in my voice more apparent than I'd have liked. "You said it was a two-bedroom, right?"

"Yup." She pointed at the door off to the right. "That's your room. It's a little bare, but it's got a bed and a dresser for your belongings." Giggling, she added, "Well, if you decide to get any, that is. Feel free to decorate it as much as you want. Or don't. It's yours."

I swallowed. "Right." My legs felt stiff as I walked over to the box of muffins. Of course, she had set them where I had to walk around her to get to them. She watched me the whole time, as if studying my every move.

"What?" I finally asked after taking the first of many bites, but she just stared, smiling.

"Nothing. You're just so tense." She waved a hoof. "I don't bite unless you ask me to first."

I stiffened, she laughed, and I rolled my eyes. It was so hard to get a read on her because she had such a serious look in her eyes, but she kept joking around like that and throwing me off whatever trail I thought I found.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and sighed. "Okay. Anyway, so what is this all about? Don't you have friends that can keep you company or something?"

Velvet gave a lopsided grin. "Wow, are you complaining already?"

I shook my head. "No. I just—I'm confused, all right?" I paused to take another bite. "We just met. You know nothing about me. I know nothing about you. And you want to be roommates, just like that?"

"Yup."

And that is the way Velvet is. Once she makes up her mind, there's no changing it... and while I'm sure you know that, I didn't back then. I just sat there, chewing on the muffin and trying to figure her out. She gave me nothing but a grin to go on.

"So," she prompted, her tail swishing to curl around her folded legs, "what's your answer?"

I froze. This was it. I had to make a decision, but rooming with a mare I barely knew was crazy. Especially one who made as little sense as she did. I had other options. Plenty of them!

My employer, Maj, certainly had lots of bits. Unfortunately, generosity wasn't a trait he was known for, and he could be impossible to deal with if he decided he wanted to dig his hooves in the ground. And if I tried to ask for anything from him, he'd probably turn it against me somehow.

My parents. Even if I didn't want to move back to Cloudsdale, I could ask them for help. They'd help me. And then complain about how I don't visit often. And likely convince me to stay the night, and then another, and another and another until I was living there again.

That's right! I'm a pegasus! Pegasi build cloud homes all the time. Of course, they tend to drift, so if you want to stay in one place, you have to be careful, and cloud-wrangling isn't exactly high on my list of skills...

Groaning, I put my hooves over my eyes. I didn't want to see her face as I replied, "Okay. For now."

Blocking my sight didn't block my hearing. She giggled, and I could hear her rise up off the pillow. "Great! Well, for now, you have a place to stay. I've got plans tonight, so you'll have the place to yourself. You can get acclimated to it and all that without me around."

When I heard her moving away, I peeked out from under one hoof to watch her disappear into what I presumed was her bedroom. The room where she'd be sleeping. In the condo I'd be staying. Me with her. Her with me. Two total strangers living together.

It still hadn't quite sunk in yet as my new reality.

My hooves lowered to my lap and I sat there in relative silence. A clock ticked on the wall to remind me that time was slipping past, so I stood up and started to walk the perimeter of the main room in hopes that it'd feel more like home if I got to know it better.

The floor-to-ceiling mirrors were interrupted only by a bar at about shoulder-height that extended all the way across the wall. It reminded me of something, but all my mind said was that I was staring at some kind of freaky sex thing. Glancing at the bedroom Velvet had gone into to ensure I had a moment of privacy, I lifted a hindleg and rested it on the bar.

How was it supposed to work? The angle seemed all wrong. And, not to mention, it was just plain uncomfortable.

Curiosity got the better of me and I shifted to put both forelegs on the bar. Yeah, that didn't seem right, either. What sort of weird stuff was Velvet into?

Laughter filled the air behind me and I froze in place, wings pressed tightly to my sides.

"Oh, sweet Celestia," Velvet exclaimed, coming up beside me and swatting at my hooves. "You're doing this all wrong!"

I could only stare at her as I backed away from the wall. She had glitter in her coat that made her sparkle in the light. And were her lashes always that long? No, it had to be makeup. Mares, whether they were unicorns or not, were all capable of magic when it came to makeup.

Velvet rose up onto her hindlegs like a ballerina—and that was when I noticed her cutie mark: a ballet slipper. She wasn't like a ballerina. She was one. Everything clicked into place and I tried to keep my embarrassment from showing on my face, instead focusing on her movements.

She rested one foreleg on what I now know as a ballet barre, then leaned forward and raised the opposite hindleg up, up, up into the air until I was sure it was going to snap off. Then, her foreleg that wasn't on the barre swept forward and around to touch where the hindleg curled back.

Every sweep and glide was precise, a swan drifting across a still lake or a ribbon dancing in the gentle breeze. I had never seen ballet moves up close before, and it would be a lie to say I wasn't in awe.

The spell broke when her lips quirked with a grin and she dropped down onto all fours. "Got it? Now, if I come home and catch you doing weird stuff on my barre again, I'm going to have to ban you from using it." Her tail perked and her coat shimmering, she pranced for the door. "See ya!"

"Bye," was all I could say before the door shut.

Wait, was she going on a date? Of course she was! Why else would she have coat glitter? She was going on a date—she had a special somepony after all. That thought gave me some relief, and I felt the tension leave my muscles.

So, she was a ballerina and had converted the living room into, more or less, her practice space. That explained why there was so little furniture. I rolled my shoulders, looked around, and decided to continue my self-guided tour.

There was a small bookshelf over near the sitting pillows. My gaze traveled each spine, trying to take in the titles to build a better impression of Velvet from them. The first row held three books all from the same author, C.W. Step: The Mare's Temptation, The Princess of the Knight, and Her Silent Love. I struggled to imagine her sitting with a box of chocolates and swooning over stories like them, and the lack of creases on the spines agreed with me.

I smirked to myself. What would she have said if I told her that I was the one who wrote the script for C.W. Step's film, The Desert Rose? I tucked that little tidbit away just in case an appropriate situation arose later.

Next to the romance novels was a large collection of books all featuring a character named Prima Donna. I surmised that from the fact that each one was titled Prima Donna and the Cliché Something. My right wing stretched out to tip one of the books out so I could see its cover, and the reason for the well-loved spines became clear: Prima Donna was a ballerina.

How cute. Velvet had an idol. I bet she even dressed up as whoever this Prima Donna was as a filly. Maybe that was how she got into ballet in the first place.

The other rows didn't hold any books, but held picture frames instead. Most were of her family, including the little foal I had seen wandering Sunridge Sweets. They all looked so darn happy, including Velvet. Her sincere smile is really something, you know? I found myself smiling just looking at it, which felt weird, so I quickly looked at another picture.

I was surprised to recognize the pony in it: High Horse, the mare who runs Haut-Savoir with her husband, Savoir Fare. She was young in the picture—very young, in fact, but I could recognize her easily. She had the same blue coat and side-swept brown mane as she did last time I saw her. That, in and of itself, wasn't much of a surprise, as she wasn't the kind of mare that I expected to look radically different as a foal. She is just one of those gentle souls that not even time can change, you know?

The surprise, for me, was that Velvet knew High Horse. And High Horse knew Parasol. The hairs on the back of my neck raised and I tried to chase away the creeping suspicion that this was all some sort of elaborate scheme, but how could that be? They would have had only a few hours while I was asleep on that cloud to put everything together.

Not to mention that I should have been the one doing the revenge-scheming, not Parasol! No, it didn't make sense at all for her to hurt me more than she already had. Why would she do that? She said she liked me, as worthless as that affection turned out to be. She didn't have any reason to do this to me.

I took a step back as I felt overwhelmed with sudden anger. Even though I knew it was extremely unlikely that Parasol was behind me meeting Velvet, just thinking about her brought everything back to the surface. Anger began to boil and bubble with shocks of pain, confusion bounced around haphazardly inside my ragged breathing, and sadness tried to drown it all under its unfathomable weight.

No single emotion won out over the others. They just ended up making an entire mess of my mind and heart until the room started to spin.

My room was to the right, and I stumbled my way to it. Light poured into a dark room that held only the essentials: a bed, a dresser, and thick curtains covering a window. I kicked the door shut as I walked to the bed and dropped down onto it.

Parasol. The vision of her face flashed before my eyes. Her smile. Her eyes. Her pitying look when I proposed.

I couldn't see in the dim light that escaped from underneath the door and around the curtains, but I knew my vision was going blurry.

Everything ached from the mere thought of her name. I had loved her—I had loved her so much.

Memories consumed me all at once. I remembered our first date, when I had fumbled my ice cream and she snorted as she laughed. I felt our first kiss, which I had been so nervous about that I nearly chickened out. I mourned our first night together, with the window open so we could say we made love under the stars.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried. In fact, I outright sobbed. I was sprawled on a bed that smelled unfamiliar, in a room that looked unfamiliar, living with a mare that was basically unfamiliar in a city that was entirely unfamiliar.

I was alone for the first time in five years.

It wasn't until the smell of something burning awoke me that I realized I had cried myself to sleep like a foal. I sniffed the air a few times with clogged nostrils to confirm that there was, in fact, the distinct smell of something cooking for too long. That was when I pushed myself off the bed and hurried to the door. Had Velvet left something in the oven before she left? She hadn't told me that!

When I skidded to a halt in the living room, I noticed that the condo was dark. Like, not just curtains blocking out the sun dark—it was basically the middle of the night with only a single light on in the kitchen. Velvet was standing in the kitchen with the haze of smoke billowing around her from the oven.

"Sorry," she coughed, taking something out and closing the door. "I started making myself something to eat, and... then fell asleep."

My brow furrowed. If she had fallen asleep long enough to burn food, how long had I been asleep?

"What time is it?" I asked, my voice hoarse and groggy. I hoped it sounded like I was just tired and not that I'd been crying my heart out.

Velvet paused to glance at the clock I could have easily read myself. "Just past midnight. So, you know, proper dinner time for night owls." She snickered, dumping whatever she had been making into the trash. "I'm going to have some cereal. You want anything?"

The smell of burnt something was still in the air, and I had eaten like almost ten muffins, so I shook my head. "I'm good, but thanks."

She shrugged. I noticed, in the clearing haze, that not only was her glitter and makeup gone but her mane was down. Apparently, when she didn't keep it in a bun, it was curly. Really curly. Adorably curly. I had to quickly distract myself before I went further down that train of thought.

"So, where did you go? Who were you with? Did you have fun?"

I tried not to frown at myself. That was almost worse than thinking about her cute curls. Honestly, I don't know why I asked all that. I guess my mind had thought small talk was a good idea and failed horribly. Or maybe it was still a little bit suspicious of her for no good reason.

Velvet paused, standing tall on her hindlegs to reach for a box of cereal. Slowly, she lowered it and herself, her gaze holding steady on me. "Who are you," she finally asked, grinning, "my mother?"

I slumped into one of the two seats at the tiny dining table and returned her grin with a frown. "I'm just curious."

She poured the honeyed oats into a bowl, put the box away, and retrieved a spoon. She then turned to face me, leaning against the counter to support herself while she had both forelegs raised to eat with. "Okay, well, I was out with some friends. I do that. If that's going to be a problem, well, it's your problem, not mine." She paused to munch on some of the oats.

"It's not a problem, okay?!" I bit back a little too loud, a little too angrily, then winced. "It's not a problem," I repeated in a more calm voice. "I just woke up to you nearly burning the kitchen down. I'm still waking up. And forgive me for trying to figure out more about the pony I'm living with."

Velvet gave a snorting laugh. "So you're not a midnight pony, got it." She stirred her spoon around the bowl in thought. "I work hard, so I like to play hard, too. I have some friends I go clubbing with. Sometimes I don't come home, so by the way, don't freak out if that happens."

My ears twitched and I felt tension creep back into my muscles. So she didn't have a special somepony. That put me somewhat ill at ease. "I won't."

"Cool." She chomped down on another spoonful of oats. "Sorry for waking you up, by the way."

I just nodded, instead trying to calm down and rationally think things through. It was hard, given the lingering smell of smoke, the crunching of cereal, and the fact I was still groggy.

Velvet worked hard and played hard. Did that mean she wasn't around very much? Was I going to, more or less, have the place to myself? That seemed way too good to be true on top of everything else.

As I stared at her, she stared back at me. I still wonder what had been going through her mind at the time; all I know is that when I smiled to cover up my growing suspicion, she grinned.

I wanted to—no, I needed to know more about her. In the morning, I'd have to tail her and figure her out. There were just too many uncertainties in the air: who really was she, what was she after, what did 'work hard, play hard' really mean...

And, as crazy as it sounds now, I just had to know for absolute certain that she wasn't in league with Parasol in any way.

Author's Note

If you have enjoyed this story so far, please consider taking a look at Anzel and my's website QuillnBlade.com for extra content such as mini stories, an Ask Us form to submit questions, responses to said questions, and special rewards for the awesome folks who support our Patreon.

Out of Sight

Despite the fire of suspicion burning in my veins, it took me a few days to successfully stalk Velvet Step.

The first day, I overslept.

The second day, I lost her after ballet practice.

The third day, I discovered there was a back door to the studio that she left through.

The fourth day, I lost track of time while waiting for her practice to be over when I discovered an antique store selling a typewriter that I had to have. Unfortunately, the bits I had earned from working as a delivery colt one day weren't nearly enough, and the shopkeep insisted that haggling wasn't a thing in Canterlot.

It wasn't until the fifth day that I woke up on time, followed her to the ballet studio, waited patiently for her to finish, and discovered she went straight from the studio to Sunridge Sweets, which gave me the idea to wait there so I wouldn't look so suspicious.

So, when it was nearing the end of my first week of living with Velvet, I walked to Sunridge Sweets with two goals in mind:

One—Find a good reason to stay at Sunridge Sweets long enough to find out where Velvet went after that.

Two—Try to garner additional information from her parents, Sunbeam and Pepper Ridge.

As a bonus, if I helped out some, I would also get to have one or two of their delicious baked goods. It was a win all around.

The happy little bell of Sunridge Sweets chimed to announce my arrival, though the sound was largely washed out by the onslaught of giggling mares. At least, I suppose they would be considered mares, but they looked like fillies to me. Young Academy students filled nearly every seat, and Sunbeam was trotting around with a tray of treats on her back.

She noticed me and flashed a tired smile. "Hello, sugarplum! Velvet's not here right now."

I already knew that, but saying so was what a crazy pony would do. Instead, I feigned, "Oh, that's fine. I just wanted to see if I could help out."

With a grin on her muzzle, Sunbeam didn't even reply. She's never been a mare to waste time beating around the bush. Before I knew it, I was an hour into an unexpected shift, a tray balanced on each wing to bring milkshakes and other sweets to eager ponies.

I won't lie and say that I hated the work. But I didn't particularly enjoy it, either. It did allow me access to the back room where Sunbeam normally worked, however, and I was able to ask her questions between orders.

"How long have you owned this shop?" was my first question. It didn't have anything to do with my investigation directly; I was just curious. It would also start things off simple so I could delve into the more serious stuff later.

"Goodness!" Sunbeam clasped a hoof to her cheek and tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling. "It's been, hmm, it wasn't long after we moved here that we opened up. Velvet was still a filly as cute as a cupcake!"

I tried to imagine a young Velvet. Then I tried to imagine her as cute as a cupcake, and my mind drew a blank. She struck me as more of the type of filly to show a colt she liked him by tugging on his tail or knocking over his sand castle.

"Anyway," she continued, "Pep just got an order for three chocolate mint swirls."

Back to work for me. Which was fine, because I needed a buffer between questions to keep things feeling casual. It wasn't too long before I was in the kitchen with Sunbeam again with enough of a break to ask my second question. It was time to get some answers. "By any chance, do you know a mare named Parasol?"

Sunbeam blinked at me. "Parasol? Hmm, let me think!" She paused to add little pearl-like decorations to a cookie. "Parasol. Well, my mane stylist is Aerosal. And there's a mare I know named Baby Doll. Oh, and one time, Pepper and I took a trip and ended up getting stuck in a snowdrift with a Snowball!"

I hadn't known Sunbeam very long, but I knew her well enough to tell that she was having fun. At least one of us was. I just remained quiet while she continued to tease me along.

"And I think Velvet brought home a Fireball one time when she was going through her little rebellious phase." Finally, her gaze turned to me. "I'm sorry, plumdrop, who were you looking for, again?"

"Parasol," I said, forcing a smile over my gritted teeth.

"Oh, nevermind. Afraid not! Why do you ask?" She smiled, mischief twinkling in her big blue eyes.

All I could do was shake my head, mumble some kind of platitude, and turn my attention back to work. The hours were drifting by and Velvet would be there soon. I had so many questions, but I couldn't ask them all at once. Sunbeam was catching on, I could tell. I probably could get away with one more question before she would confront me about it all.

I settled on: "What about a mare named High Horse?"

Recognition filled her face and her ears perked; apprehension filled my chest and my stomach dropped.

"Horsey! My little cinnamon roll?" Sunbeam clasped her hooves to her cheeks. "She and Velvet were such good friends before she moved to Ponyville! Of course, I think they're still good friends, but, you know, moving changes things." Her hooves lowered some. "How do you know Horsey?"

Great. Such good friends. I had left Parasol at the restaurant owned by the good friend of the mare I'm staying with. It was irrational, it was illogical, and at the time, it made perfect sense to me: this was all some kind of ruse.

"I'm from Ponyville," was all I could say.

"Right! I remember now." Sunbeam smiled as she stared at me, her head tilting to one side. "Silver Script?"

"Huh?" The hairs of my coat stood on end. This was the first time she'd ever said my name. It was always sugarplum, plumberry, plumbleboo—a quick glance down at my purple coat made the repetitive 'plum' suddenly make sense.

"I'd like to ask you a question now, if you don't mind. And I'm sure you don't!" Her forehooves tapped together and angled toward me. The softness in her face and voice were gone, as if all her sugar had been used up. "What are your intentions with my daughter?"

My mouth opened, but she kept talking before I could reply.

"Velvet is not a traditional filly, you know. Pep and I support her, but we worry. We especially worry when she does things like bringing a stranger into her home as a roommate." Her ears flattened against her curly blonde mane. "Somepony fell in love with her once, and it burned the both of them. I don't want to see that happen a second time. You seem like a nice stallion, but it's the part where you're single that worries me. I don't want my baby girl crying again."

And just like that, all of the fire within me was blown out. Velvet, crying? I couldn't imagine it.

"Hey, Mom!" the voice of the very mare called just as she trotted in through the doorway. "I got out of practice ear—Silver? What are you doing here?"

I looked over at her while Sunbeam launched into a sugary sweet greeting as if nothing had happened. Velvet stood there with a half-cocked grin and eyes that seemed to view the world from a distance. There wasn't a part of her that seemed gentle or weak enough to cry.

And perhaps that's exactly why. In the week I'd been stalking her, I didn't see her hang out with other ponies. She went from home, to work, to the bakery. The other ballerinas exited through the front doors, but she left out the back. She didn't talk about friends or about herself; instead, she kept a wall between her and everypony else.

My chest ached when I thought about how lonely that must be, and here I was, suspecting her and following her behind her back.

She held my gaze as I just kept staring, and her nose started to scrunch up. I knew that face—she was about to laugh.

I wished I'd had a good answer. Something altruistic, like that I enjoyed helping her parents out.

"I used to sleep with a plush bear," I blurted out instead. It's a bad habit I'm still trying to break; when I can't think of something smart to say, I just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.

Velvet paused, then released the laugh I had interrupted. "What?"

Well, there was no way of navigating my way around this awkward conversation I'd just started. I guess my subconscious wasn't feeling good about stalking her and interrogating her mother, because the confessions just started falling out one by one.

"His name was Sir Bearington." I shifted from one hoof to the other, dropping my head low. "Also, as a colt, I was a bully. I don't know why, but I was. I've been called stubborn and impossible to work with. I don't like green beans, but I like peas. I—"

"Okay, okay." Velvet raised a hoof, her laughter replaced by a confused arch of one brow. "Silv, seriously, what's gotten into you?"

I heaved a sigh. I didn't want to say it, but I felt terribly guilty, so I had to. "I've been following you since I moved in."

Her ears shot up. "Huh?"

"Oh!" Sunbeam rose from her seat. "I think I heard somepony calling for me. Be right back!" Hurriedly, she trotted out of the back room, leaving us alone.

Velvet eyed me with what I think was reasonable suspicion. "What do you mean by 'following me'?"

"Exactly that." I dropped my rump to the floor and sat up straight to look her in the eyes. "It sounds preposterous to say aloud, but I thought you were in league with my ex-marefriend to get, I don't know, revenge or some such nonsense on me. So I was following you and asking your mother for information about you."

"In league with your ex?" Velvet slowly sat down as well. "Yeah, that is kind of preposterous. I mean, why would she want to get revenge on you? And how—"

I flinched. "Yes, yes, in hindsight, it wasn't the most well-thought leap of logic. I apologize."

She stared at me for a while before a grin quirked her lips. "So, wait, you told me that stuff about you to try to make us even?"

I could only nod.

"Aww, that's sweet." She scooted closer. "So what did you learn?"

What had I learned?

I stared at her, trying to puzzle through what little information I'd gleaned in the past week. I knew she was serious about her work and her family, and that she often came home very late. I learned that she had been hurt before when somepony fell in love with her. I suspected she was lonely, and perhaps that was why she had me, a stranger, move in with her.

I wasn't associated with either of the things important to her.

I wasn't a one-night stand.

I wasn't anypony important that could make life difficult for her.

I could keep her company, and she could keep me at a comfortable distance.

But I couldn't say any of these things. What I did know, above all else, was that nopony wanted to hear the truth. Years in the film business had taught me that. So, I did the next best thing.

I grinned.

"What?" Her brow raised. "What's that look for?"

"I'm just thinking about what your mother told me," I said as I rose to my hooves and started walking out of the back room.

She scrambled to her own to chase after me. "What did she tell you?" When I didn't respond, she changed direction to trot toward her mother. "Mom! What did you tell him?!"

Sunbeam looked across the bakery at me with a quizzical frown. I returned it with a grin, and that was all she needed to catch on as her frown curled upward. "Oh, sweetie, you know. This and that."

"This and that! This and what?" Velvet looked between us. "What and what!"

"Bye, Sunbeam, Pepper!" I called over my shoulder as I headed outside, chuckling at the sound of Velvet's confusion filling the air behind me. Sunbeam would surely have a lot of fun with what I gave her.

The day was drawing to a close, and my evening was free now that I wasn't wasting my time following Velvet around. I was still waiting on a reply to a letter I sent my employer in the hopes that there was new work to be done. The few bits Sunbeam and Pepper gave me for helping out weren't going to get me what I needed.

I made my way through the city to what I could only assume was an older part of Canterlot. The shops that lined the streets were aged but well-loved. I felt more comfortable here than in the prim-and-proper stone buildings that had no character, no personality, no special quality to them whatsoever.

An antique store called to me, and I responded by going through the front door. "Hello!"

The clerk was an old stallion I had come to know as Mr. Heirloom. From his faded vest to his oversized spectacles, he was the perfect embodiment of the store that smelled of eras gone by. There was something comforting in the unique scent of an antique store, and I happily breathed it in.

"Back again so soon?" Mr. Heirloom gave a friendly smile and crossed his forelegs on the dark wooden counter. "I told you last time, we don't haggle in Canterlot."

I flashed a smile back at him as I headed toward the prize I had been eyeing since I found the store: a beautiful black-and-gold typewriter. "It's still here, though, so perhaps you should reconsider that stance."

"It's already quite the bargain, son." Mr. Heirloom shook his head. "Sixty bits, and no fewer than that. You got sixty bits?"

I certainly didn't. I tried not to let how destitute I was show on my face, though, and instead idly fiddled with one of the typewriter's two keys. "Oh, hmm."

"Hmm?" Mr. Heirloom leaned forward. "What?"

I pulled my hoof back and sighed as I turned away from the gorgeous typewriter. "What a shame. Oh well."

Mr. Heirloom frowned, eyeing me from head to hoof. "What is a shame, son?"

"I'm sure somepony won't mind, but I need a nice, smooth keystroke. The left key has a hitch in it that could slow my work, and I just don't have time for that."

Grumbling to himself, the old stallion dropped down onto all fours and walked over with a small limp. He had a bad hip—I knew that because he'd complained about it several times. He put one hoof on the key and wiggled it about. "Seems fine to me."

"Of course, of course." I shook my head. "How many years have you used a typewriter?"

He eyed me over the rim of his spectacles. "Before you were born, I reckon."

"Yes, yes, you've used them, but have you used them?" I moved a hoof in a lazy, circular gesture to try to distract him from thinking too deeply into my words. "A typewriter is my life, my very being. There are some days where I have been so deeply invested in my typewriter that I lose track of where I end and it begins. A single hitch, so small that a casual writer such as yourself would never notice, is the difference between running and crawling for me."

There was a long silence before Mr. Heirloom burst into deep-bellied laughter. He clapped a hoof on my shoulder, shaking his head as the laughing made him wheeze as he tried to say, "All right, all right, my boy." Wiping the corner of his eye, he heaved a sigh and smiled. "You can have it for twenty."

I beamed so brightly that he burst into another fit of laughter. "Thank you! I'll treasure it!"

"I can see that," he said, moving his way back behind the counter to ring me up while I maneuvered the typerwriter onto my back, my wings raised just enough to hold it in place.

It was heavy, which made it perfect. I was so excited to take it home that the whole way, I felt like I was walking on air despite its weight tethering me down. Finally, I could get the scenes trapped in my head out onto paper while I waited for new work from Majesty. Sleek and antique, this typerwriter was truly a beauty.

Of course, when I got to Velvet's condo, I realized one flaw with my plan: I had nowhere to put it.

With a sigh, I made a mental note to buy a desk tomorrow. For now, I set the typewriter on the bed, retrieved some paper I had gotten earlier in the week, and gingerly climbed up to sprawl in front of it.

Paper primed and ready to go, my hooves began to get a feel for the keys. Equestrian typewriters were an art; maneuvering the keys took skill and practice. Every direction was associated with a different character, punctuation, or the shift to capitalize. It had taken me almost four months to get used to the contraption, and now I couldn't imagine writing without one.

I smiled and tilted the right key to shift, and rotated the left key to bring the scene that had been rattling in my head to life. The typewriter clicked happily and printed out, letter by letter, the words that gave my imagination life.

FADE IN:

I paused and stared at the two, meaningless words. Great start, genius! Where is the scene? A vision flashed in my mind of Parasol sitting outside Haut Savoir, but I tried to shake it off. It was too late; my hooves were already typing away.

EXT. RESTAURANT -- DAY

It was fine. It was just a restaurant. Any restaurant. I tried to imagine it, to let the scene come into vision on its own, but all I saw were little round tables with hay seating.

A MARE and a STALLION sit at a table sharing a meal. They look at one another with love in their eyes.

This was how it was supposed to go, wasn't it? This was the dream I had held onto for so long.

STALLION (V.O.)

But she had rejected me.

Today was the dya.

My hooves began to tremble, the words becoming uncertain and unfamiliar through blurry vision.

She wsa the lvoe of m ylifeeeeeeeee

The 'e' ran on until the typewriter clicked at me to inform me I'd run out of room. My hoof remained pushing on the key while a single, hot tear fell down my cheek, followed soon thereafter by another.

She was the love of my life. I could try to continue on, try to pretend I was okay, but what was I without her? How was I going to move on with my life when it had been wrapped up in her for so long?

Author's Note

Made to be Broken

Somehow, Velvet and I had fallen into a companionable routine.

I would wake up and start to make breakfast. I'd gotten pretty good at making scrambled eggs flavorful and fluffy, and she'd gotten pretty good at not laughing at me in an apron. Hey, if it wasn't meant to be worn, then she shouldn't have had it hanging next to the stove.

As soon as I set a plate on the dining table, Velvet would stumble out of her bedroom, summoned by the prospect of food. Sometimes she would have her mane all a mess, other times it would be wrapped in a towel. There were mornings when she'd be smeared in coat glitter and reeking of alcohol.

Occasionally, there was no Velvet at all, and I ended up eating both of our breakfasts by myself. I didn't ask where she went, she didn't offer, and I didn't want to know. It was better for our relationship that way. A respectable distance between our personal lives made for a healthy living situation.

One particular morning, I stepped out of my bedroom to find Velvet already awake. She was in the middle of her stretches and I spied two plates of toast sitting on the table with a spread of strawberry, peach, and starberry jams.

"Hey," she said, in the middle of a particularly limber stretch that involved her hindleg curled back and her spine arched so that her hoof touched the top of her head. She always made it look so easy. "I forgot to mention. My practice is cancelled for today, so I thought we could go grocery shopping and stuff."

I trotted past her to take a seat at the table, smearing strawberry jam onto one of the toast slices. "Sure, if that's what you want to do. I don't have any plans."

She looked at me with what might have been a sultry expression... if she weren't contorted into a painful-looking pretzel. "What do you want to do?"

Carefully, I chewed over my response options—literally. Velvet enjoyed innuendos, sass, and snark. I stalled for time by feigning choking on my toast so I could take a long sip of orange juice.

The rule was to not fall in love with her. That didn't preclude sexual jokes, especially not when she made them all the time, right?

"If it were up to me," I said slowly as I licked my lips and tried not to grin when her eyes flickered down to watch. "Well, I think I'd like to get my hooves on something and really work at it."

Her brow arched and she slipped out of her stretch to sit upright. "Like what?"

I hummed and leaned back in my seat, allowing my hindlegs to spread apart in the worst way possible. "Something long and hard. I mean, I've got all day to just jerk around, after all."

Okay, okay. It wasn't the best attempt at sexual humor, but it was the first thing in the morning, so cut me some slack and stop making that face. She made one just like it before she started laughing.

And laughing.

And laughing.

If I had been serious, my male pride would have been seriously wounded. Instead, I just felt stupid and stuffed toast in my mouth while I waited for her to remember how to breathe without cackling and wheezing. It took longer than I thought necessary for a dumb joke.

"Silv," she gasped out. "Silv, please, please tell me you can flirt better than that. Please!"

I rolled my eyes. "Flirt? Sure. But that wasn't flirting. I was just being stupid."

Velvet choked on an attempt at saying, "You can say that again."

Once she'd wiped the tears from her eyes and found a sense of composure, she joined me at the table to start on her own breakfast. "So, in seriousness, groceries? Yes, no?"

"Sure," I muttered, still feeling petulant. The feathers of my wings were ruffled for emphasis.

She just grinned at me between bites of toast.

When I say that we fell into a companionable routine, I'm not just kicking clouds. We ran errands almost like an old married couple, with dumb jokes that nopony else around us got. I'd bat my eyelids over a box of cookies and she'd proclaim that her favorite brand of chips was missing because of me. At one point during our grocery shopping trip, she asked me to get a cantaloupe. I came back with what was apparently a honeydew melon.

"Not honeydew," she drawled and waved a hoof at the fruit held in my hooves. "Cantaloupe."

I looked down at it, frowned in an exaggerated way, then shoved it out toward her. "Well, sorry, honey. Dew it yourself."

Velvet sputtered into laughter and probably would have swatted it out of my grip if that wouldn't have resulted in a mess on the floor. "You're so lame."

I've learned over the years that when a mare like Velvet calls you lame, it's actually a compliment. I was still figuring her out at the time, though, so my ears drooped and I muttered a vague apology as I turned to exchange the fruit for the right one.

There was a weird, bitter gratefulness over how she didn't remark that I should have known the difference since I was from Ponyville, like a farm pony. It probably wasn't a thought that crossed her mind. I wasn't anything to her but Silver Script, her roommate under somewhat peculiar circumstances. The lack of strings or expectations was a comfort with Parasol's voice still lurking in my mind's ear.

When we were in the frozen aisle, however, something weird happened. Velvet stopped and looked through the glass at some boxes with what I struggled to recognize as a sad smile. It just wasn't a face she made often. I stepped closer to take a look and saw rows of Hungry Mare meals.

"'Because filly food isn't filling food,'" I read aloud.

She glanced at me with an oddly open expression of apprehension. "Huh?" She blinked and looked back at the boxes. "Oh, yeah. That's the slogan. They were okay." A smile tugged at her lips. "When my best friend and I first moved in together, neither of us had a real income. Not enough for, like, this stuff." She gestured at our cart without looking at it, gaze still locked on the Hungry Mares. "We kept going between instant noodle cups and these."

I tried to imagine it. Velvet took great care of her body and, as far as I could tell, that included what she ate. I hadn't yet seen her dig into a cake or bury herself in chocolate. Maybe she did that when I wasn't around, but, no—I had a feeling that wasn't her style. A balanced diet seemed to better fit the ballerina who spent almost all of her downtime keeping her body fit, limber, and ready for anything anytime anywhere. Because ballet is something that sneaks up on you, obviously.

Velvet turned away from the frozen meals and trotted down the aisle, leaving the half-spoken memory behind with a suspiciously cheerful hum. The sound was at complete odds with the face she had been making. But I didn't know any better, so I didn't pry.

After we got home and put away the groceries, I took up residence on one of the large sitting pillows. Velvet was pacing the condo with tension clear in her muscles. She didn't handle practice being cancelled well. Velvet loves to dance, and being kept from it was as close to torture as I can imagine for her.

"Do you do any other kind of dancing?" I blurted out into the awkward silence.

Velvet stopped and looked at me, blinking a few times before she broke into a lopsided grin. "Tons. Why? You wanna show some moves?"

"Me?" I put a hoof to my chest. "Oh, uh, no. I don't dance. Four left hooves, grace of a newborn foal, and all that stuff. But I'll watch if you want to show some moves."

She didn't need to be asked twice. Not because she was eager to strut her stuff, but because a knock on the door interrupted before I could try to badger her into it. Both of us looked at each other with the same unspoken question: 'Are you expecting somepony?'

When I shook my head, she moved over to the door and greeted the unexpected guest with a casual, "Yeah?" I saw her back tense up and a name slipped past her lips with a mix of surprise and, strangely, something like reverence. "Crystal?"

A long pause held Velvet and the mare I could barely see around her until a pair of creamy white forelegs and a long blonde mane came into view when Velvet was embraced in a sudden hug.

"I'm sorry—" the mare sobbed out. I felt like I should have recognized her, but I couldn't put a hoof on it. "Miss—I just—please—!"

I watched in stillness and silence. Was she one of Velvet's mysterious late-night excursions? Jilted lover, perhaps? She seemed distraught. Had Velvet broken her poor heart? And where had I seen her before?

Velvet sputtered through a response. "Oh, uh, okay, okay. Shh, okay." She dropped down to sit on her haunches and awkwardly tried to return the strangling hold the mare had on her. "What happened?"

The mare was pretty, her sobs notwithstanding. She had a long blonde mane with a few streaks of pink running through it. Velvet whispered something and she jerked her head up, and that was when I got a good look of her face.

She was Crystal Wishes, the mare whom I had worked with a little under a year ago on a film script. My gaze flickered over to the bookcase where a copy of all of her books rested, unread but proudly displayed.

Velvet wasn't just a fan of C.W. Step. They were friends, or something close enough to result in tearful sudden visits. A chill ran through me at the thought that, apparently, Velvet knew another mare in my life.

"Why don't you, uh, I guess you can come inside," Velvet said through the haze of confusion and paranoia running through my head.

Crystal sniffled as she startle to detangle herself from Velvet, but our eyes met and she froze. Why was she freezing? Was it surprise? Guilt? What was she hiding? Why was she here?

I couldn't put together a coherent thought long enough to say something to her. I wanted to accuse her and Velvet and let them know I was on to them. Whatever their scheme was, I knew about it. They couldn't hide from me. What could I say to make that clear?

"I know who C.W. Step is," I heard myself say and then cursed under my breath.

Velvet shot me an odd look, which I thoroughly deserved. "What?" She broke into a laugh and shook her head. "Silv, you are weird sometimes."

"'Silv'?" Crystal repeated with completely believable confusion. "You know him?"

"Yeah. Wait—" Velvet's tone was also believably confused as she looked at Crystal. "You know him, too?"

It was possible that this was yet another coincidence, so I tried to play along until I had more concrete information. "You two know each other?" I raised my forehooves in an innocent gesture. "I don't know what's going on, but I have nothing to do with this. I just live here."

That was, apparently, the wrong thing to say, because Crystal's expression turned into shock. Earnest shock. Definitely not faking that kind of a look. And at her side, Velvet practically wilted as if I'd just revealed some major secret.

"He lives with you?" Crystal asked Velvet with the incredulity of a mother interrogating her foal over where they were last night.

Velvet shifted and rubbed her leg, not quite meeting Crystal's questioning gaze. "Uh, yeah. He's been living here a, uh, a couple weeks? Not long."

Crystal legitimately had no idea I was living here. It was evident in her eyes, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that there were too many coincidences going on.

Velvet's ears flattened to the sides as she glanced between us. "How do you know each other?"

"He's the script writer that worked with me on Desert Rose." Crystal's hoof raised to point at me like I was the guilty party here, eyes narrowed just slightly. "How do you know each other?"

I didn't want to go into it. Especially not right now, and not with her. "It's complicated."

And that was, obviously, the wrong thing to say... again. Velvet glared at me before she sighed and dragged Crystal inside so she could shut the door. Crystal didn't stop staring at me, though. It was like staring at an overprotective mother on prom night.

"Listen, Silver," Velvet said, dropping down onto an unoccupied pillow, "Crystal and I have some talking to do."

Silver. Not Silv or, when she was teasing me, Silvy. Was it because I kept saying stupid things, or because now that they had acted perfectly innocent to throw me off the trail, they were going to discuss me? I held Velvet's gaze, pausing only to glance at Crystal, and raised my brow.

"Does she know Horsey, too?" I asked in a hushed, private voice.

"What?" Velvet rolled her eyes. "No, this isn't part of your conspiracy theory. Crystal, Horsey, and I were fillies together. It's a coincidence." Her hooves waggled at me. "Jeeze, just give us some space, okay?"

As I stood up, I groused, "There are whole lot of coincidences with you."

Velvet, the epitome of all that was mature and eloquent, blew a raspberry.

I shot a glance at Crystal as I walked to my bedroom; her expression was still skeptical. Well, two could play that game. I didn't drop my guard until I shut the door behind me and slumped against it.

Now that I had a moment to think about it, there was a picture on the top shelf of the bookcase that had three fillies in it. Velvet, Horsey, and a little blonde unicorn. Her mane was shorter and not as full, and the lack of makeup made it hard to recognize her as the high society Canterlot lady I knew.

Turning my head, I pressed an ear to the door to try to hear what was going on. Their voices were hushed and I couldn't make out full sentences, but I could hear the emotions behind the words.

"—You and I—" Crystal said, softly and full with pain.

Mumbling. Pauses. Sniffling.

"—What do you want me to do?" Velvet's tone was gentle, but a little guarded, too.

More mumbling, then a stark exclamation from Velvet.

"Oh sweet Celestia, don't make that face, I didn't mean it like that!"

I frowned. I couldn't make out enough of what was going on. Their words became tender again and I heard the sounds of movement. I slid down, trying to peer underneath the door, but all I saw was some dust and the vague figures of furniture.

My ear twitched, however, when it heard Velvet say the strangest thing clear as a bell.

"I might be trying the foal thing again. I'm not ready to give up, not just yet."

Foal? I recoiled away from the door to stare at it. Did Velvet have a steady coltfriend? My head whirled and I just had to look. I had to see if things would make more sense if I snuck a peek.

The door was mercifully silent as I pushed it open just a hair and tugged it back shut when I realized what I was seeing: Velvet and Crystal, together, snuggling on a pillow. Like lovers.

What? What! Yes, Crystal was married. I knew that. I also knew she didn't seem like the kind of mare to have an affair, but a second peek out into the living room definitely confirmed what I saw wasn't an illusion. Velvet even had a foreleg draped across her in a loose but intimate embrace.

I didn't know what to think. I didn't know either of them nearly well enough to understand why you're rolling your eyes. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable conclusion at the time with the sobbing embrace, the odd reaction to my presence, and the hushed conversation about foals.

What I did know—or very much believed I knew—was that this revelation meant something big, especially for me and where I fit in Velvet's life. I was their cover. I was the stallion to be seen in her home so that nopony would think twice about her and Crystal.

"Hey!" Velvet's voice called and my ears perked. "Silv! I'm heading out! Bye!"

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to respond, but the sound of the door closing confirmed it didn't matter. The moment Crystal had entered the room, I might as well not have existed. I should have been grateful Velvet had spared the thought to say goodbye.

A grin started to spread across my lips as I mulled over all this new information. Finally, I understood Velvet Step. I knew her secret, and it explained everything.

She was in love with Crystal Wishes.

Made for a Dreamer

I had to wait for the right time to strike. Accusing somepony of being involved in an affair wasn't exactly something you just throw out there over dinner. No, I needed the perfect occasion.

It was a lazy afternoon only a few days later when my opportunity senses tingled. Velvet was humming a song and I could hear movement outside my bedroom, so I paused my writing to take a look at what she was up to.

Velvet was standing upright on the tip of one hoof, the other curled around to reach for her raised forelegs. She pushed off to leap into the air, twirled the raised leg around and down to carry her with momentum, and landed on the opposite hoof. One foreleg swept down and when she turned to face where I stood in the doorway, I saw a look of bliss that shattered into a grin upon eye contact.

"Oh! Hey." She dropped down onto all fours. "Sup?"

I blinked a few times. "What was that?"

With a wave of her hoof, she tried to dismiss the question. "Nothing much, just practice."

"Uh-huh." Attempting to look casual, I leaned against the doorframe. "You seem like you're in a good mood. Things going well between you and Crystal?"

Her brow arched at the name. It was, well, a reaction. Not quite one of guilt or fear of her secret being exposed, but I had to take this slowly. "Uh, I guess? Why?"

"Why? I mean, we've been living together just about a month now. Sorry if I'm the only one interested in the wellbeing of my roommate."

Yeah, well done, Silver. Calm and casual, my arse. That was more than a little foalish, but I added a light grin to try to make it playful.

Velvet seemed none the wiser as she snickered, turning to prance her way to the kitchen. "We're just roommates. We don't have to be friends."

For some reason, that statement hurt, which gave me pause. Why? It was like she had thrust a wall between us, and I really hadn't expected it. I guess a part of me thought we were friends, sort of, in a way.

"Oh," was all I could say.

She froze mid-step and, slowly, angled her head to look over her shoulder. "Unless you're saying you want to be friends?"

My ears went flat. This conversation wasn't going how I had expected it at all. Why was I the one in the spotlight? "It'd make living together easier, wouldn't it?"

In contrast, her ears perked straight up and she turned to face me completely. "Of course it would! I just figured you didn't like me all that much."

"Why would you think that?" I moved to flop onto one of the sitting pillows with a petulant huff. "Just because I don't engage with you much and hole up in my room most of the time doesn't mean I dislike you. I thought we were getting along pretty well for two complete strangers living together."

She broke into a chime of laughter. Normally, she more barked the sound, like the amusement had snuck up on her, but this was something different—it sounded like she was delighted. "Hey, that's great news as far as I'm concerned!" A wicked grin overtook her muzzle. "I was gonna give you space until you'd, you know, recovered, but if you're already ready to be friends, then let's do it, buddy."

Oh, Celestia, I did not like the way she said that. I shrunk into the pillow as she stepped closer. "Uh-huh. And what does this new relationship status entail?"

"Always perceptive at the most random times," Velvet remarked with another laugh. "So, you saw me practicing, right? I've got a show tomorrow night. I have a friend who was going to go with her coltfriend, but he's out of town on a surprise work thing and she's embarrassed because they got front-row seats."

My brow furrowed. "Why is that embarrassing, and what does that have to do with me?"

Velvet rolled her eyes, as if it was totally obvious. Well, it wasn't. "Because that means there will be an empty seat. In the front row."

"Uh-huh."

She noted that I still didn't understand the importance, so she sighed and elaborated, "I dance for the Royal Ballet of Equestria, Silv. We don't have empty seats, and we definitely don't have empty front-row seats."

It took me a moment to reel from that new information. Even a totally clueless pony like me knew that the Royal Ballet of Equestria was a big deal. My roommate was a big deal.

"So?" she asked, and I realized there had been a question there.

I blinked a few times, gazing at her with newfound respect. "Sorry. What?"

"Will you be a seat warmer? Nightin and I don't have any friends that are available on short notice." The grin returned in full force. "Buddy."

It's hard to really complain about a free ticket to one of the premier ballet companies in Equestria. A part of me suspected there was more to the request, like this 'Nightin' pony was a gabby never-stop-talker or something equally annoying.

"Sure," I said, forgetting my prior ulterior motives.

"Great!" Her tail swished. "Well, if you don't mind, I've still got the wiggles. Which is a totally professional term, I'll have you know, so stop grinning."

I didn't.

With a huff, she tipped her nose into the air and trotted into her bedroom. A moment later, she came back out with a record player balanced on her back, which she slipped onto the floor next to me.

"I've got my biggest role yet, so I want to make sure it's just perfect."

I glanced down to see a record primed and ready, labeled: 'Sleeping Mare — Prologue — Entrance of the Fairies'. "Okay," I said with halfhearted enthusiasm. I didn't know much about ballet, and I knew even less about foal's tales. Sleeping Mare had fairies in it, but I didn't remember them being a big role. I wondered if perhaps my roommate wasn't as big of a deal as I had thought.

But, I won't lie; I was eager to see her dance up close and personal. The memory of that blissful look on her face when I had interrupted earlier was still fresh in my mind. That sneak peek of her dancing was too brief to know how good she was.

She sat with her hindlegs stretched out in opposite directions for a perfect split. She stretched out to touch one hoof, then back to touch the other. Her back gave a few pop!s that made me wince, but she seemed unfazed by them. After a few minutes of limber but otherwise boring stretches, she stood up on the tips of her hindhooves.

And then nothing. She just stood there, one foreleg raised in the air. Then she broke her poise to glare at me. "Silver!"

"Oh, right." I reached out and dropped the needle to the record. Music sprung forth and came to life.

Just as I looked from the record player to Velvet, she leapt into the air and similarly came to life. With every rise and dip of the song, so, too, did her legs in perfect sync. I know a cutie mark is tied to a pony's talents, but it was more than talent that fueled the fire behind her movements. It was a passion that burned so bright that it captivated me.

She danced across the living room and I simply watched in awe. It was as if the world faded away and all that remained was her, me, and the music. The way she moved her body moved my soul, causing my heart to pound in my chest with an eagerness to express myself. When the music drew to a close and she struck the final, graceful pose, my voice filled the silence unbidden.

"Velvet, that was... You are beautiful."

Velvet scrunched up her nose before she laughed. The beauteous mask shattered and the mare I had come to know returned with sarcastic spirit. "Uh, thanks, I guess. Can you put it back to the beginning? I don't feel like I got the lines quite right, and the Lilac Fairy needs to be perfect."

I didn't know what that meant, but I was more than happy to comply. The second time around, I noticed that her eyes were always fixed on her reflection in those floor-to-ceiling mirrors that I now fully understood the purpose of. She watched every movement she made with keen awareness, noticing details and flaws I'd never see.

So, after watching her practice for hours, it shouldn't be a surprise that I was eager to see the performance. Waiting for the next day was grueling. I actually, at one point, found myself considering the idea of writing a letter to my boss to propose the idea of a ballet film. Of course, I didn't. I'm just the film writer, not the idea maker. That's Majesty's job.

The evening finally arrived, and I stood in the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror while I adjusted my tie and tuxedo collar. This was a formal affair, but not so much so that it warranted a full tuxedo jacket. I was trying to decide on whether I should stick with the lilac tie or switch to my go-to silver one when a knock came from the front door.

I knew who it was: my date. Or, well, my sort-of date. The mare who paid for my ticket and I'd be sitting beside. Either way, it was time to face the music and see what kind of strange friend Velvet had. Sucking in a breath and forcing a smile, I went to the door and opened it.

Seeing Nightingale for the first time was breathtaking. It's hard to describe, but she's one of those mares who seems so ordinary that she's beautiful. She has a tawny brown coat that sets off her dark brown mane, which was tied up into a fashionably messy bun. Her eyes of an even darker brown look like rich, bittersweet chocolate. Some of her wing feathers are light brown while the rest match her coat or her mane.

All in all, she is a delicious sight of every shade of brown, and that particular evening, she was wrapped in a teal dress that I found myself trying not to imagine what it felt like. A matching ribbon around the middle of her neck drew my eyes there, and for Celestia's sake, I can't repeat the thought that went through my mind.

I realized, in that moment, that I was, maybe, possibly, perhaps starting to get over Parasol if I could look at another mare that way. Or I was just lonely. Either way, I knew Nightingale had a coltfriend, so I suppressed the unbidden thoughts about her neck.

"Hi," she said, and her voice was too cute not to adore. "You're Silver Script, right?"

I nodded, dumbly forgetting how to speak.

She giggled and Celestia help me, it was the cutest sound. "Well, are you ready to go?"

Word still lost to me, I just nodded again. Nightingale had a little sashay to her gait, sending the skirt of her gown swishing back and forth. At the time, I was embarrassed that, as I followed behind her, I kept glancing at her rump. Of course, I later learned that she was having the time of her life teasing me, and I was playing right into her hoof.

"You know, I'm kind of glad Velvet finally found a nice, compliant roommate." Nightingale giggled again. "A filly like her doesn't take orders well, and the last one was just so bossy. Gosh, I think he only lasted a week before she kicked him out."

Compliant! Was that what Velvet was saying I was? And more importantly—"The last one?" I said, my voice cracking just a little.

Nightingale glanced at me with a curious raise of her brow. "Oh, I guess you two haven't had 'the talk' yet. My bad!"

"What?" I frowned. "What talk? About not falling in love with her? She told me about that from the very beginning."

With a little sound that resembled a strangled laugh, Nightingale's wings fluttered against her sides. "Something like that, yeah. And how's that going?"

Now it was my turn to choke on a laugh. "She and I are friends. Just friends." Was it wrong that a part of me was hopeful that she was asking out of personal interest? No, yes, of course it was. Bad Silver! She had a coltfriend, and I've never been a mare-stealer.

"Good. I'd hate to have to watch you get your heart broken," she replied with what I could only interpret as sincere concern for me.

I cleared my throat as the revelation from before came back to me. "Right, because she's already in love with Crystal."

Nightingale came to a halt. I stopped to look back at her when I noticed that and saw her cheeks were puffed to keep laughter at bay.

My brow furrowed and I asked, "What?"

The laughter that burst forth was definitively not cute and giggly. It was a deep laugh from her belly, rasping and wheezing as she struggled just to stay upright on three legs while the fourth clutched at her chest.

Normally, I don't get laughed at so often, but something about me had changed lately, I guess. Or maybe it was just Velvet and her friends that found me funny.

"You—" She squeaked. "You think—"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't think. I know. I saw them together."

She sputtered into snickers and snorts as she tried to smother her laughing into submission. "Okay." She waved a hoof at me. "Okay, okay, hold up, okay." Wheezing, she shook her head. "First of all, Crystal is not only totally into stallions, but she's super into her husband. Like, you don't even know the half of it! And Velvet? No, sorry, I can't even. They're just basically sisters. Maybe in an alternate universe or something, but in this one, you're way off course."

Sisters? Did sisters really cuddle and talk about foals? My nose screwed up as I unfortunately thought of Parasol and her little sister. They hugged, sometimes nuzzled, and even used terms of endearments with one another. And her little sister used to tease us about foals all the time. Was it really possible I had completely misread the situation?

And where did that leave me in the scheme of things, especially now that I knew there had been others living with Velvet before me?

With a sigh, I gestured my hoof to encourage her to keep walking. "Let's pretend I never said that, then, and just get to the opera house, okay?
Please?"

The whole way there, Nightingale broke into little fits of giggles. She was going to tell Velvet, so I just resigned myself to the tormenting I'd receive later and tried to prepare myself for enjoying the show as we took our seats in the front row.

"This is going to be great," Nightingale whispered to me. "This is one of the most difficult ballets, you know."

I didn't, but I nodded anyway.

"Aurora's role is so tricky! The first act alone, oh my gosh, the Rose Adagio! I've always wanted to try it."

I glanced at her, tilting my head to the side. "Oh, are you a ballerina, too?"

The loose strands of her mane bounced as her head bobbed. "You bet! I'm not like Velvet, though. I'm happy as a corps dancer. She has a lot of potential as a soloist. If she decided to stay as a dancer, maybe she'd work her way up to a principal."

"Decided to stay?" My brow furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

She waved a hoof as the lights started to dim. "Shh, it's starting!"

What convenient timing! Lucky for her, eh? I grumbled under my breath and directed my attention to the stage.

For the record, when it's called a front row seat, it's not actually front row to the stage. The orchestra was between us and where the dancers were on the stage. Live music, live performance.

Even I'll admit that there's a good reason why ponies prefer live entertainment to films—I could feel the music move through me, like I was breathing it. Projectors and speakers couldn't even begin to replicate the feeling of music reverberating in my bones.

At first, it was just darkness and music. I guess to set the mood, which was somewhere between excited and frantic. It was quick-paced and powerful in a subtle way before, suddenly, becoming soft and gentle. I just kept waiting for the show to finally start while Nightingale bounced in her seat with palpable anticipation.

Finally—finally—just when the music drew its way back up to full strength and petered back out into a quiet but merry little tune, the curtain began to lift. The theater was still dark, drawing attention to candle lights that started to make their way across the stage. As more of them came into view, the stage lit up and I could see several well-dressed ponies with one clearly in charge of the affair.

They were preparing for something. Honestly, I couldn't remember much at all about Sleeping Mare, and I knew nothing about the ballet version. Were stories and ballets the same? I was about to find out that, no, while they may be similar, there are a lot of differences, too.

There also wasn't a lot of ballet going on. And by a lot, I mean any. It was just ponies moving about in preparation. Two ponies who were definitely a queen and king from centuries past came out with what I assumed was a foal wrapped in an ostentatious number of blankets.

"Baby Aurora," Nightingale whispered to me. "It's a celebration of her birth."

I made a small 'o' with my mouth to acknowledge her, but otherwise kept my attention on the stage because the music had changed and proper ballerinas were starting to enter.

"The entrance of the fairies," Nightingale explained again.

That made my ears perk up—wasn't that what Velvet's record had said? "Which one's the, uh, the Lilac Fairy?"

Nightingale just grinned and said, "Oh, you'll see."

Soft music drifted over the fairies as they were guided by their partners through gentle movements across the stage. Though, I wasn't sure if the partners actually existed in the story, or were just there to help make the movements seem more ethereal. I really don't understand ballet.

Then, as soon as several fillies—representing lesser fairies—in purple danced in from the sides, all attention shifted to the center and the music swelled to greet Velvet Step, striking an elegant pose and held high in the air by her partner.

She was gorgeous in costume. The lilac complemented her soft pink coat so well, and it glittered under the lights above. Her mane was done up beneath a glimmering crown and, more than anything, was her expression that I could see from sitting so close. Was it possible for an expression to be beauty? I don't care if it's not. Hers was.

All bowed to her as she was set down. I wanted to bow to her, too. She carried herself with a commanding presence while her partner spun her in a slow circle. Everything else was lost to me, my gaze locked on her every movement. I was practically drowning in the vision of her, but pleasantly so.

Ah, but then Velvet went off-stage just as it was getting good, followed by the fairies who had preceded her. Of course. This was Sleeping Beauty, not Lilac Fairy. Her moment was over.

"Don't look so disappointed," Nightingale teased. "She'll be back."

I tried not to frown and failed; she giggled. I huffed and focused my attention on the group of purple-clad fillies, who had sprung back onto stage with a sprightly dance. Their movements were in harmony with not just the music, but with each other, too. And after a few moments, Velvet and her retinue returned to join them.

When the song came to an end, the queen greeted the fairies with a smile and drew her forehooves around one another above her head. Velvet replied by gesturing at the fairies who stood behind her and then making the same twirl of her forehooves, but with so much more finesse.

"It's a mime." Nightingale mimicked the gesture. "It means 'dance'. In the ballet, their dances are how they give their gifts to the baby princess."

Thank Celestia for Nightingale. I'm sure it all would still be enjoyable without the explanations, but I truly appreciated having them. Who knew that there was a whole unspoken language within ballet?

They all rose onto the tips of their hindhooves and their partners returned to guide them through the appearance of gliding, flighted movements. It was then I noticed how close and intimate they all were; the lilac stallion had his hooves on Velvet's hips, turning her, gripping her, lifting her, holding her.

But before I could analyze why I was irritated, the stage cleared and each fairy came out for a solo. It was interesting to me how different they were from one another. I'm sure they all represented a gift that Aurora would receive: song, dance, strength, courage, beauty, grace? It was lost on me, and Nightingale seemed too enthralled to take a moment to fill me in, so I just watched, especially when it was finally Velvet's turn.

Sweet mercy, was it so much different to see up there than in the living room. As the music flowed through her in perfect form, she reminded me of a book. One that was bent back so that the covers touched, wide open and exposed—you know, like a literal open book. Except she was written in another language that I didn't understand. So not like a metaphorical open book at all.

Listen, what I'm trying to say is, I was completely enraptured with her performance, but at the same time confused because the Velvet I knew and the Velvet I saw were like two totally different ponies. Velvet the ballerina was poise, grace, beauty. Velvet the roommate was sassy, snarky, lewd.

The rest of the ballet was a blur to me. I just couldn't stop watching Velvet whenever she was on stage and waiting for her to reappear when she wasn't. Thankfully, it turns out the Lilac Fairy plays a significant role in the ballet version of Sleeping Beauty, so I got to see a lot of her.

And while I may not remember every sweep, dip, kick, twirl, and move that Velvet's legs gave, I'll never forget how she looked to me that night. It's burned into my very soul: true beauty.

Something Wild and Wonderful

Things changed for me after that night: I found myself looking at mares. Was I just lonely? Maybe. Was I going to give in to desire? Not if I could help it, and sweet mercy, did I need a lot of help.

I wasn't ready for a relationship; I knew that much. My heart still felt an ache when I thought about it, and I wasn't sure what would happen if something went wrong so soon after the incident with Parasol. But that didn't stop my mind from wandering, especially when I'd watch Velvet doing her morning stretches.

She's flexible. Really flexible. Can you blame me for wondering how that'd translate to bedroom activities? Well, er, disregarding the obvious answer to that... ahem.

Even if there wasn't the Rule, I knew that Velvet isn't my type of mare. I want commitment, foals and a white picket fence, something that will last. Velvet, on the other hoof, liked everything to be penciled in so she could back out at the last minute. She wanted quick thrills and anything that was short-term. Her whole life was predicated on being flexible.

So much so that she could bend in the most mind-boggling of ways.

I shook my head and buried my attention in breakfast: a meager spread of assorted fruits and a cup of tea. This was ridiculous. When I'd been with Parasol, I'd never been such a cad. We'd been intimate, of course, but it was always based on feelings of love. This? This was just loneliness-fueled desire, and I needed it to stop.

"I'm going out," I announced as I hurried out the door before she could question me.

The air out in the hall was easier to breathe. It had barely been a month since Parasol rejected me, and I was drooling like a starved fool. But, to be honest, there was a part of me rejoicing over these muddled feelings for Velvet's limber body and Nightingale's swishing rump. It meant I was starting to move on.

Or it meant that I was desperate for a rebound because I didn't know how to be alone after five years of a committed relationship. Either way, it was better than wallowing.

Once I was outside, I stopped to look around while the sun warmed my back. Canterlot was busy as always, full of ponies with too much time and not enough sense. I could hear them talking about what hat was in season or which cafe served the best low-carb cucumber sandwich. Briefly, I longed for the simple life I lived back in Ponyville with ponies who spent their time working hard rather than whatever it was Canterlot ponies did.

My wings started to quiver and I gave in, spreading them out and taking a running leap into the air. The feel of wind against my coat brought an immediate sense of calm to all the noise in my head and I soared up and up, away from Canterlot.

I settled on a cloud high above everything else and nestled into its puffy softness. I could see Equestria stretching out in all directions far below, composed of rolling hills, mountain ranges, vast forests, and fertile farmland. A thought struck me, and I smiled as my eyes closed to imagine it.

If my feelings for Velvet didn't settle down, I could leave. I could just live from cloud to cloud, sneaking onto farms to snag an apple or some corn. Sure, my typewriter wasn't cloud-friendly, but who needed a job? Majesty would get along just fine without me.

Ah, but I'm not that kind of pony. I need my job to keep my mind entertained, and eventually I'd either succumb to the guilt or I'd get caught stealing. It'd probably be a very lonely life, too.

For a while, I just sat there, thinking nothing. I let the wind ruffle my feathers, the mingled scents of different places tickle my nose, and the cloud beneath me lull my mind to a fuzzy happy place.

It may sound weird, but the first thing I did was reflect on my relationship with Parasol. Not in a sad, depressing way, but just the parts of it that had been good to, I guess, remind myself of what I wanted. Watching the stars together while cuddling on a cloud just like this one was one of our—my favorite things. For Hearts and Hooves Day, we'd bake cookies together and end up eating most of them before we finished decorating.

Just being together made me so happy. I felt so much love when I was with her, and I wanted to feel that way again. I missed it... a lot. More than I can really say. I wasn't ready to risk having my heart broken again, but it was nice to confirm that I was on the mend.

My thoughts drifted to what I'd look for in my next marefriend. I wanted her to be sweet and kind. Maybe an interest in films or, at least, plays. Manehattan seemed like an ideal place to start, in that case. Once I had my life back in order, I could start looking for a place there.

I must have dozed off at some point because when I opened my eyes, I was greeted by a darkening sky. I stretched out my limbs and took one last look out into the horizon before descending back to Canterlot. Velvet was likely already off on some clubbing adventure by then, so I wasn't surprised when I got to our condo and the lights were off.

I was, however, surprised when I turned them on and saw Velvet sprawled in the least modest way on a pillow. Sheer black stockings adorned her hindlegs and I tried to tear my eyes away from them but I absolutely could not.

Okay, I don't think you understand the draw here. 'But we don't wear anything normally!' Yes, that's right. And that's why it was so sexy that she was wearing stockings—because they weren't supposed to be there, so it drew attention to them, to her legs, to her—

"Hello, Silver." Velvet pushed herself upright, her tail swishing from side to side.

Heat crawled up my neck as she approached me with what were definitely bedroom eyes. "Velvet?"

"Do you know how hard this has been for me?" she asked in a low, sultry voice. "Having somepony here, especially a stallion, means I can't bring any dates home. It'd be too difficult to explain."

I swallowed and backed up, but she kept coming closer. The smell of her gardenia shampoo wafted over me and my knees went weak. "You're the one that asked me to be your roommate!"

Velvet rolled her eyes. She closed the distance between us and placed a hoof on my chest. Her touch was both soft and firm... feminine and straightforward. "Yes, I asked a stallion to be my roommate." Her hoof started to slide down, reaching the top of my stomach. "Why else would a mare ask a stallion to live with her?"

"I—I don't know." My mouth went dry and my mind started toward one direction. The same direction as her hoof. If I didn't get out of this situation soon, things were going to get hard. Literally.

"Silver," she whispered, my name rolling off her tongue like silk.

Just as I started to think more about that tongue, something snapped. I put both hooves on her shoulders and pushed her away. "No!" I frowned, though more at myself than her. "What's wrong with you? You've made it clear that nothing is ever going to happen between us!"

She pouted. "Don't you want me, too, Silver?"

"I—" There was a painful clank as I snapped my mouth shut and ground my teeth together. "Yes, but no! Okay? I'm sorry, I can't help how my body feels, but this can't happen."

After a long, curious pause, Velvet tilted her head to the side. "Why not?"

I groaned and stepped away to put some space between us, even though some part of me was calling me a fool. I wanted it, she was offering it, so why was I turning it away? "Because," I muttered, "you're not my type. I mean, you are. Sweet heavens above, if the situation were different, I'd be tripping over my own hooves to get you. But there's the rule, and not to mention there's you."

"Right. Me." Velvet arched a beautiful brow. "The one who's your type. I still don't see the problem here, Silver."

"You!" I waved my forehooves in a gesture even I didn't understand. "You told me that your heart is in your career, that you just want to work hard and play hard! One-Night Velvet, right? Whenever you go out and stay out, you come home smelling different each time."

Velvet blinked a few times before she sputtered into a laugh. "The fact you pay attention to that is weird."

I huffed and shook my head. "Weird or not, it's the truth, and that's why I don't want this. I don't want to just fool around for the fun of it. I want a commitment."

"I see." Velvet lowered herself onto one of the dining chairs and started to slide her stocking off. "That's great!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to insist on this, I—" There was a pause before my hindlegs gave way and I slumped down onto the floor. "Wait, what?"

She shot a playful grin in my direction, her tongue poking out just a little. "You've got some serious willpower to reject me like that, and that's what I need: somepony with half a brain and twice the willpower. So, listen, I've got a new deal for you on top of the old one."

"What?" I repeated, still trying to catch up.

"It's sooner than I planned on bringing this up, but you started to look at me the way stallions always do right before I have to kick them out." She tossed the stockings onto the table and leaned back, running a hoof through her mane, releasing the curly tresses from the bun. Almost to herself, she muttered, "It's a shame you're a pegasus, but I guess that's fine. I mean, it's not a guarantee, and how hard could it be, anyway?"

I raised a plaintive hoof and wiggled it to get her attention. "Sorry, but what's going on?"

She looked at me and blinked. "Oh, right, yes. So, let me make sure I understood you correctly. A relationship isn't going to happen between us because I don't want one and you do, right?"

I just nodded.

"Right. But the problem you're running into is you're attracted to me. Totally only on a physical level, which nopony would blame you for." She started to grin, but something about it almost seemed off, like she was nervous. "Here's the thing. I want a foal."

A lightbulb in the back of my mind started to buzz, but didn't turn on all the way. "Okay?"

Velvet's grin faltered. "It's dumb and irrational and I don't think even my parents fully understand me, but I can't explain it. Having a baby brother has, like, triggered something." She raised a hoof before I could ask the obvious question. "Yes, I've tried adopting. Do you know how many foals need homes? Not a lot, buddy."

With a hum, I crossed my forelegs over my chest. How did this relate to me? She wanted a foal, I wanted a relationship, and—

My eyes went wide. "Oh, sweet Celestia. You want me to get you pregnant?!"

Her hooves shot up. "Wait, before you freak out, listen to my proposal! I mean, yes, that's the basic gist of it, but that makes it sound weird." She sighed and slouched in her seat, twiddling her forehooves and not looking directly at me. "I want a foal, but I don't want a husband. That means we have no-strings-attached sex, which I know isn't what you're after, but I do know a little something about relationships.

"I know you're more likely to just fall into a bad rebound than something real. So, while you wait until you're totally, truly, completely ready for the real deal, why don't you have crazy wild sex with me? For your sake, I'll even be monogamous, because I know that would really bother you. The catch is the first rule is still in place, but on top of it, once I'm pregnant, you get out of my life. Forever."

She was talking so fast that my head hurt. I rubbed my temples and clenched my eyes shut, trying to push out all thoughts and focus on what was going on. Was this a joke? This was like something out of a dirty romance novel: average mare meets hot, sexy stallion who lets her do anything she wants to him. Except I was the average mare.

Finally, I found a question I could put into words and looked at her with a frown. "What do you mean, get out of your life? You're going to just raise it—um, the foal all on your own? By yourself?"

Velvet's eyes narrowed just slightly and I got the distinct impression that she'd already been asked that question by somepony else. Probably several times with the way her mouth twitched. "Yes, Silver. I'm not a damsel, and even if I were, I won't be by myself. I have a lot of ponies in my life, whether you realize it or not."

I quickly raised my hooves. "Okay, okay, sorry. It's just a lot to take in all of a sudden! Couldn't you have, I don't know, not dropped all of this on me at once?"

The irritation gave way to a sheepish expression. "Yeah, sorry. I'm just—I've never gotten to this point before. I had the speech all prepared and got kind of carried away with excitement and nerves, I guess." She sucked in a deep breath and lifted her gaze back to mine. "So, what's your answer?"

"What's my answer?" I pinched the bridge of my muzzle. "Celestia's sake, I mean, it's not like a stallion gets this opportunity very often. If ever. You're going to let me basically use you to vent my sexual frustration in exchange for a foal that I don't have to raise or take care of." I tried to grin, but it didn't work. "Seems like the deal is pretty slanted in my favor."

Hope filled Velvet's voice as she leaned in toward me. "It is. And if you meet somepony before I get pregnant, the deal is off. This isn't a soul-binding contract or anything. I just, well—" Hesitantly, she rubbed one foreleg and dropped her gaze to the floor. "It's something I really want, okay?"

This was it. I had to make a decision. Velvet was putting herself out there, so much so that her fun and easygoing demeanor was almost completely gone. She was vulnerable and possibly even scared. This meant everything to her, and it didn't require a lot from me. In a way, it wouldn't just be fooling around for the fun of it. It was kind of like a commitment, just one that had a known expiration date.

I rose to my hooves and made my best attempt at a husky, sexy tone. "So I can do anything I want to you?" I put a swagger in my stride as I closed the distance between us so I could whisper in her ear, "Even..."

Her eyes went momentarily wide as I detailed the dirtiest thing I could think of, but she didn't blush. Instead, she—she laughed. Why did ponies keep laughing at me? Now it was starting to hurt my pride.

"Oh my Celestia, Silver!" Velvet batted a hoof at my chest. "If that's your secret fantasy, then I've got my work cut out for me. I have so much to teach you." A saucy little smirk crossed her lips, and I swallowed. "Does this mean you agree to the terms?"

I nodded. "Rule One: Don't fall in love. Rule Two: Leave once you're pregnant. That sounds easy enough to me." I hesitated and then asked, "Can I make a rule?"

"Oh, uh, sure?" She tilted her head. "I mean, it's only fair. What's up?"

My hooves shifted and I tried not to avert my gaze like a shy schoolcolt. "This is going to sound silly, but I'd really prefer we didn't kiss. That's, uh, that's just an intimate thing to me, and this isn't about that, and—"

Velvet put a hoof to my lips, laughing. "I get it, I get it! No kissing. That's fine by me." Her hoof lowered to trace a line down my throat. "Now, are you ready to try out your secret fantasy?"

Was I? Oh, I most certainly was.

I won't go into the details, but I think there's something I should clarify: sex. You've probably had the 'birds and the bees' talk by now, right? Well, there's some things parents don't really tell you because it's hard to explain, or they might just not know.

There is a stark difference between having sex and making love.

I'd had sex a couple times before. Parasol was my first love, but not my first marefriend. I enjoyed being intimate with the mares I dated, of course. And then Parasol and I made love for the first time. She was embarrassed because she kept making sounds she didn't like; I didn't have the endurance I expected from myself.

And I'll always remember it as perfect. Nothing compares to making love. It is the quintessential act of intimacy that puts all others to shame.

However, if there was ever a close second, it was sex with Velvet. The experience was stars, explosions, sugar, spice, and everything nice. The ways she could move, the things she could do—oh, but I'll stop there before I say too much.

Holding it Down

I felt like I was on top of the world, like I was capable of anything. My body felt more alive than it had since, well, since Parasol broke up with me. Being with Velvet in an intimate way—sans the actual intimacy part, of course—reminded me what it was like to feel pleasure.

Once the literal heat of the moment died down, however, I was filled with sudden dread. All the spine-tingling sensations vanished, leaving behind a hollowness that echoed a single question: what had I done?

I'd thought with the wrong head, that's what. Typical stallion, I cursed mentally.

From around the corner, I could hear the shower running. I blinked and looked at the empty space beside me; when had Velvet left? Had I just been sitting here, lost in my own mind? Obviously, the answer was yes, but nopony wants to believe they can be that oblivious to the world around them.

But, the plus side of her being out of the room meant that I could puzzle through the pros and cons of my current predicament.

Pro: I had just slept with Velvet Step, and it was amazing.

Con: I had just slept with somepony I wasn't romantically involved with.

Pro: She insisted that she wasn't interested in me, either, so it wasn't like I was leading her on.

Con: I had agreed to get her pregnant, and that was kind of a big deal.

Pro: I didn't have to take care of the foal—?

That was where my mind ground to a halt. The idea of there being a foal with my blood in her veins that I didn't raise, that didn't know I was her father. Was I really okay with that? I wanted foals of my own someday, but I wanted them with a loving wife.

The sound of water hitting porcelain grew louder and I knew Velvet had moved out from under the spray. Her voice hollered from the bathroom, "Are you going to shower or should I just turn it off?"

"One second," I called back with a small squeak to my voice. I still needed time to think. Was I okay with being an absent father, with a foal of mine never knowing who I was?

My legs felt wobbly and weak as I slipped off the bed and made my way to the bathroom. Velvet had already stepped onto the bath mat and was drying her mane with a towel, though she paused to look up at me. I saw apprehension in her eyes and so I took the opportunity.

"So, uh, about what just happened," I started, then stopped when the look she had turned to panic.

She asked in a voice that sounded as fragile as I felt, "What about it?"

I released a sigh through clenched teeth and pushed past her to step into the shower. With the curtain between us and hot water massaging my back, I could think a little more clearly. "I'm not going to go back on my word, I just, can we talk a little more about it?"

The shadowy silhouette of Velvet's form shifted behind the curtain as she leaned against the wall. "Okay."

"I guess my first question is: is this why you let me stay here in the first place?" I closed my eyes and tilted my head back to get it under the spray.

She sighed. "Yes."

I felt a little betrayed by that, and my immediate thought fell out before I could filter it. "So this whole time has just been about using me for what you want?"

The curtain snapped back, startling me into looking over at Velvet's serious expression. "Look, you're my friend, okay? You seemed like somepony that this might work out with, but if it isn't what you want, then just say so."

It was hard to stay bitter when she was staring at me with such conviction. "I—" I swallowed around a lump in my throat. "I told you I won't go back on my word."

Velvet's ears folded back against her mane. "Technically, you didn't give me your word. You didn't promise me anything. I put you in an impossible situation." Her hoof withdrew and the curtain separated us once again. "You pushed me away when I tried to make a move on you, sure. But then I made the offer too soon right after that. I should have let you cool off first. So, okay, you can back out."

All I could do was groan and rub at my temple with one hoof. "Can I think about it a little while longer? I'm not saying I want to back out, I just—I just want to think it over without the smell of sex in the air."

She barked a laugh at that and her shadow softened as she moved away. "Sure. That's fine."

I still had so many questions, but I didn't think Velvet was the right pony to ask them. I needed somepony else's perspective, but who could I talk to? I didn't know very many ponies in Canterlot, and I sure as hay wasn't visiting Ponyville for this.

After I finished my shower, I dried off and snuck out of the condo like I was doing some sort of walk of shame. I lived there! And, yet, right then, I felt like a stranger in my own coat. No-strings-attached sex, friends-with-benefits roommate, future absentee father? These were not things that were normal for me.

There was only one place in Canterlot that felt safe and normal—Sunridge Sweets. Sunbeam and Pepper Ridge were two of the nicest ponies I'd ever met, and they always had work for me to do. Bussing tables and helping them out would give me time to clear my head so I could really think things through.

The happy little chime of the bell above the door already put my mind at ease. Pepper was behind the counter like always, his expression the very essence of calm and collected.

"Well, good morning, Silver," he said, waving a hoof as I approached. "Did you have breakfast? I just baked some cranberry muffins." He winked. "Red's going through a phase."

A smile tugged at my lips at the mention of that cute little guy. "Aww, I thought he was into banana nut muffins just last week?"

Sunbeam scoffed from the doorway to the kitchen. "If you ever have a foal, then listen to me, silverbell: their attention span is much shorter than a week."

And just like that, my mind was a whirlwind again. There was an assumption there that if one had a foal, then one raised the foal. What Velvet wanted from me was wrong, then, wasn't it?

Pepper's eyes became filled with concern. He's always had a knack for picking up on things like fear and uncertainty, and I was full of both.

"Sugarbeam," he said, giving his wife a casual smile, "could you mind the counter for a moment? I have some stallion stuff to talk to Silver about."

Sunbeam raised her brow and her lips pursed into a fine line while her gaze travelled over my face. She was judging me right then and there, as if Pepper was going to invite me into the family and she had only a moment to decide how she felt. Finally, she shrugged and trotted over behind the register. "Sure thing!"

As Pepper walked past me, he gave a bob of his head in silent demand that I followed. What was it with Velvet's family and being able to lead me around without a word?

Pepper took me to a little green space not far from the bakery and sat down on a bench, patting the spot next to him. I sat down with a little harder of a drop than I intended, but my heart was pounding all the way to my ears.

"So, Velvet made her move?" he asked, his gaze focused on the clouds overhead.

"Move?" I squeaked. "What move?"

A sigh slipped past his lips. "I know my daughter. She wants a foal, and the adoption process is too slow for her. She asked you to live with her and you haven't been run off." He glanced at me with a calm smile. "It doesn't take a lot of thinking to put two and two together."

I couldn't meet his gaze. I'd slept with his daughter! And he knew it! How could this get any more awkward?

He waited a while longer before sighing again. "Silver, it's fine. I don't need the details—please spare me those, thank you. But I know that she's put you in a, well, abnormal position."

"What do I do?" I blurted out, clasping my forehooves together and squeezing tight. "I mean, what am I supposed to do? I don't want to say no, but is saying yes the right thing to do?"

Pepper hummed in a moment of thought. "Why does there have to be a right or a wrong? I think this is a situation of many shades of grey. Of course, I'm biased." He chuckled. "I want my daughter to be happy, but I also don't want her to hurt somepony in the process."

There was a small inhale of air and I saw his gaze dart to the side. I knew that face. Ponies made it when they were stopping themselves from saying 'again'.

I sucked in a breath and pressed, "What happened before?"

His eyes widened and he burst into an awkward laugh. "Oh, well! Before? Hmm, what do you mean, before?" He looked back up at the sky. "Before what?"

"I don't know, because there's a lot about her I don't know." I started to find strength in having the advantage for the moment when Pepper gave an uncomfortable squirm. "She told me that somepony fell in love with her once, and it ended badly. What happened? Why is she so desperate to have a foal? Why now, and not later? She has a great career. Why give that up?"

Pepper raised a plaintive hoof. "Okay!" The hoof moved to run through his mane. "Okay, you have some valid questions. Some of them, I think, you should ask Velvet herself." His nose scrunched up and he shook his head. "But I will tell you something she probably won't out of pride and stubbornness."

I turned on the bench to face him completely and nodded to implore him to continue.

"You see, I come from a family of bakers. Sunbeam comes from a fairly normal, average family. Househusbands and housewives with an office-worker spouse. Velvet getting her cutie mark as a ballerina came as a huge surprise, so we researched ballet to try to prepare ourselves for her future. What we learned scared us."

My brow furrowed. "Scared you?"

"Very much," he replied, nodding with a solemn frown. "Ballerinas are so prone to injury. Velvet's always been healthy and she takes great care of herself, but accidents happen. And there is so much pressure on them. 'The show must go on' and all that. Last year—" His lips twitched, as if reliving whatever he was able to tell me.

"Last year?" I prompted after a pause of silence between us.

He blinked out of his fugue. "Not even a full eight months ago, she hurt herself on stage. Twisted her knee and tore the muscle. I don't know the name of it, but it wasn't good, that's for sure. And she made it all the worse by pretending she was fine, continuing to dance until the performance was over."

Eight months ago? That was when I was in Saddle Arabia—with Crystal Wishes. My ears drooped as I realized that meant Crystal hadn't been there for Velvet when she likely needed her most. I couldn't imagine how that must have felt: lying in the hospital with her best and closest friend overseas and totally unaware.

"But I think," he continued, unaware of my little inner monologue, "the worst of it wasn't the injury itself. Before, she seemed to accept that adopting a foal would take time. Then she started to get, well, manic about it. That injury changed something in her."

He shook his head and looked at me with a sad smile. "My daughter's scared of change, of the unknown, of loss. We all are, but for some reason, she is more than others. I think she's afraid that if she keeps waiting and waiting for a foal, she might injure herself again in the meantime. And next time, it might be permanent."

Slowly, I nodded, running through the facts again in my head. "Most of that makes sense, except—well, even if she got hurt again, she could still be a mother. I mean, you're not talking about her dying on stage... right?"

"No, no, certainly not!" He gave a soft huff of a laugh. "But say she can't walk on one of her legs, can't play with her foal in the park, can't chase after her in a game of tag. Say she gets seized up with pain and has to stay in bed instead of spending time with her foal. If I know her, these are the kind of fears she's got running through her mind." His lips quirked. "No pun intended."

I didn't have the mental capacity to laugh at the pun. I was feeling bad for Velvet. Was pity enough of a reason to give up my foal? My jaw clenched and I looked over at Pepper again, hoping to find an answer in his face. Though his expression was soft, it wasn't helpful.

"What do you think?" I asked in a voice that was surprisingly weak. "What would you do?"

Okay, I hadn't thought that question through, and I immediately regretted it when his nose scrunched up. "Well, ignoring the fact she's my daughter—"

"Sorry," I squeaked.

"—and looking at the situation solely as a stallion, well, I don't know. I'm a family stallion now, but when I was young? Before I met Sunbeam?" He shrugged. "I didn't date much, but that wasn't for lack of trying. I'd like to think I'd have been against the idea of it ethically, but when you're actually faced with an attractive mare making an offer like that, it's not the same.

"What I do know is that Velvet is determined, she was a great caretaker for Red, and she has our support no matter what path she takes. I know that she wouldn't be the only single parent in Equestria. And I know that I'd be happy to call you my son-in-law, but I also know that won't happen. Velvet just isn't that way."

He reached out and clapped a hoof to my shoulder before standing up. "If it helps, you can say no and it won't mean the end of the world. You don't have to do this. Just make sure that if you do, you're serious, because this won't be something you can change your mind on later."

"Yeah," I said, remaining where I was on the bench. He bobbed his head in acknowledgement of my desire to stay. "Thanks, Pepper. This helped."

The smile he gave me was, finally, comforting. It told me that I couldn't be wrong. That my decision was mine to make, and nopony else's. I really appreciated it, so I smiled back. He trotted back to the bakery, and I closed my eyes to focus on my thoughts.

Velvet was trusting me with something deeply personal to her. She was afraid, and that wasn't a word that came to mind when thinking of Velvet Step the graceful ballerina or Velvet Step the sexy clubber. Confidence was her mask, and I was being shown what was behind that: a mare who wanted to be a mother so badly that she was afraid.

She was willing to give up not just her career, but the life she was accustomed to just to have a foal. That was a level of dedication that I really admired.

My hooves twitched and, suddenly, I was standing. In my heart, I had already known I wasn't going to back out. Even if I hadn't made a verbal promise, I'd agreed by sleeping with her. But now I had certainty that I'd made the right decision for me.

The walk to the condo was much better than the walk from it. Indecision had guided me before; now I was leading with determination. I flung the door open and announced, "Velvet Step! I've made a decision!"

Velvet looked up with wide, startled eyes. She slowly lowered the book she had been reading to the floor beside her sitting pillow, then folded her hooves in her lap. "Um, okay."

"I stand by my word."

She waited for more, then blinked with realization. "You mean—"

"Yeah." I closed the door behind me, momentarily flushed with embarrassment at having left it open so the whole hall could hear me. "This definitely isn't how I imagined my life going, but I'm okay with it. If you want a foal, then that's what I'll do."

There was a glimmer in Velvet's eyes, something between relief and joy. Her voice, of course, belied none of this. "That's great news, then!" The grin that her lips were usually cocked into found its way onto her muzzle. "I mean, what if you got me pregnant last night and you decided to back out now? That'd be super awkward."

I'm not a psychologist, but I know that Velvet Step covers up her emotions with humor. And even then, I knew how happy she was to realize her wish was coming true. With a smile, I crossed the room and took her in my forehooves.

"Silver! What are you doing?" she sputtered, half laughing, half pulling away from me.

"Showing you how to be happy like a normal pony!" I squeezed her to my chest. Reluctantly, she returned the hug, and we remained like that for a while. "Hey, just promise me one thing?"

Her body tensed in my embrace. "What?"

I put my lips to her ears and whispered, "Promise me you'll be a little less amazing in bed so my future marefriend stands a chance."

Velvet slapped a hoof against my back and laughed, fully and wholly this time. "Okay, but only a little." She pulled back to wink up at me. "I have a reputation to maintain, you know."

I knew. I also knew that she was, behind that grinning reputation, actually really sweet and kind of fragile. I could only imagine how she felt when her knee had twisted. Not just the physical pain, but the fear that must have welled up inside her as she continued dancing.

This was the least I could do for her. The least I would do for her. And once my part of the deal was done, I'd move on and start looking for my future marefriend. Surely by then I'd be ready. That was my hope, anyway.

How naïve I was to think anything is that easy.

Gonna be a Lonely Night

Velvet and I found our stride with one another again in no time. She still liked to go out clubbing with her friends, but for my sake she came home each night to our bed. Oh, yes—that's right. Our bed. I'd moved out of the second bedroom and into hers because she wanted to get started on planning the nursery right away.

I thought the same thing you probably are when she said that: planning the nursery so soon? Well, never let it be said that I'd let my personal feelings get in the way of a mare's happiness. I moved out, and a crib moved in. Then a different one to replace it. Followed by blue walls, pink walls, blue and pink, green—she wanted to try everything. We had to keep the windows open all the time so the fumes didn't make us sick.

One particular evening, when I was too tired to work on a script, Velvet strode into the living room with a projector, a film reel, and a bowl of popcorn balanced on her back. "Since you're being lazy," she proclaimed with an air of authority, "we'll watch Desert Rose."

My lips pursed into a thin line. "You know I wrote the script for that, right?"

Velvet arched her brow at me before starting on setting things up. "Kind of a hard thing to forget. You know it's based on me, right?"

"My point is—" I flatlined. Wait, had I known that? Crystal had said a lot of things about Desert Rose when I worked on the script, but I had sort of ignored things not directly relevant to my work. "What do you mean by 'based on you'?"

With a triumphant toss of her mane, Velvet spread a white sheet across one wall. "Yup. Crystal wrote it for me." She trotted over to flick the lights off, then settled on a pillow with the popcorn placed between us. "I've never felt like I belonged, you know?"

There was nothing I could say to that, and I was pretty sure she wasn't expecting me to, either; I just watched her while she watched the images flicker to life on the makeshift screen.

"I didn't want a typical 'happily ever after' as a filly. Crystal was in love with all these stories about true love and stuff, and they meant nothing to me. It scared me, like, I thought I was broken or something." Velvet took a hoofful of popcorn and paused, making a strange face before she continued, "I know I'm not the only pony that prefers one-night stands. But just because I'm not alone in how I feel doesn't mean I'm not wrong."

My brow furrowed. "Velvet, you—" Her hoof batted at me until I started to laugh.

"I know I'm not now, d'uh! But try to imagine how it felt, being a young mare with parents who love each other, two friends who are in love with love, and grandparents who always talk about me meeting the right pony. It's just expected, like that's just what a mare does. She finds her true love. End of story."

She rolled her eyes and took another slow mouthful of popcorn. "I've heard it all. 'You just haven't met the right pony'. 'It'll happen, just be patient'. 'You don't really know what you want, you're still young'. It took years for my mother to stop trying to set me up on dates with her friends' kids."

The film played out in front of us, but she didn't seem to be watching anymore. I didn't mind. The small quiver in her voice told me that she just needed to talk and be heard.

"And the worst, though? The worst? Some of my friends feel sad for me. 'Cause I'm going to miss out on love, like I'm not complete without a special somepony. And then Crystal, my dumb, stupid, sweet best friend, wrote a story to prove them all wrong." One hoof raised to wipe at her eyes. "If I was ever going to love somepony, it'd be her." Before I could say anything, she glared at me. "But I'm not and I don't, because she's basically my sister. Creep."

I threw my hooves up in defense of myself. "I didn't say a word!"

Velvet rolled her eyes. "You were thinking it. Just watch the film, okay?"

To be honest, Desert Rose wasn't my kind of story. No offense to Crystal Wishes, I just prefer crime mysteries. I've never been any good at figuring out 'whodunnit' before the protagonist, but when I do, it's more satisfying than reaching the climax of an adventure or the, heh, climax of a romance.

So I sat there, feigning watching, but instead making a grocery list in my head. We were out of tomatoes, and—oddly—the jar of pickles had been opened and drained of its juice.

"Did you season the popcorn with something weird?" Velvet blurted into the silence between us, staring down at the bowl with her nose scrunched up.

My brow arched. "You made the popcorn, not me."

"Yeah, but when I wasn't paying attention, you could have done something. Did you?" Her gaze lifted to meet mine.

She was seriously asking, so—after a confused pause—I seriously answered, "No."

Velvet released a huff of a breath through her nose and looked back at the screen. "Weird. I wonder if I grabbed the wrong thing? It tastes funny to me."

I normally avoided popcorn that Velvet made, because for some strange reason she liked to sprinkle sugar over it. Curiosity got the better of me, however, and I took an experimental bite of one piece. Trying not to sound as disgusted as I felt, I muttered, "Tastes like it usually does to me."

She just shrugged and watched in silence, the popcorn going untouched for the remainder of the film.

☰

I was at a loss. The words for this script were just outside of my reach, and part of that may have been due to the fact Velvet was in the middle of a particularly provocative series of morning stretches. When she spread her hindlegs as far apart as possible, the little grin she sent my way told me she was trying to get under my coat.

And it was working, but I wasn't going to give in.

Mercifully, a knock at the door demanded attention, and Velvet nodded her head toward it. "Mind getting that? I'm a little preoccupied."

I rolled my eyes and gestured at the typewriter in front of me. "And I'm not?"

"Since you haven't typed more than a few words the whole time I've been awake, uh, no?" The knock came again, more determined this time. "Go on, lazy rump."

As I walked past her, I muttered, "You're one to talk about rumps." I couldn't help watching as she gave her hips a little wiggle. She was the most relentless flirt I've ever known. My attention returned to the task at hoof and I opened the door to find a little blue filly standing there, her expression the epitome of righteous indignation. "Uh—"

"Where is Velvet!" the filly squeaked more like a demand than a question.

I heard the shifting sound of Velvet standing up. "Azurite?"

The filly—Azurite—stormed through the gap between my legs and marched right up to Velvet. "Where have you been? I want to play with Red!"

My heart melted at that. Red had a little fillyfriend! I turned to watch, unable to keep the goofy grin off my face as I watched Azurite try to give Velvet an intimidating stare.

Velvet laughed. "You can play with him without me around, you know."

"No. No, I can't."

I stopped grinning. Oh, did the filly have a crush on Velvet instead? That was an adorable turn of events.

Azurite huffed. "It's just not the same if you're not there! We used to go on picnics and fly kites and catch frogs, all three of us. When it's just Red and me, he kinda just stares at me like he wants me to say something, but whatever I end up saying doesn't seem to make him happy." She poked Velvet in the chest with a hoof. "He's only happy when you're there, too, so, I'm going to ask again: where have you been?"

"You know." Velvet shrugged. "Around."

"Around!" Azurite repeated with a high-pitched squeak. "That's not an answer! I could arrest you for contempt."

Velvet snorted at that and put her hoof on Azurite's head to push her down. "Sure, okay, Officer Runt. You do that."

A tinge of red showed through the filly's blue coat. "I'm not a runt! I'm fun sized! Now, are you gonna play with Red and me or not?" She turned, finally acknowledging me with narrowed eyes that suddenly widened, then glimmered. "Oh! Oh, I see. I see. You're too busy playing with him, is that it?"

I nearly choked on a surprised bark of laughter. "Yes, Velvet and I have been 'playing', sweetie."

Azurite's ears went straight up and rigid. "Sweetie? Sweetie?" She whipped around to face Velvet again. "He's just being folksy, right?"

Velvet looked up at me with a wicked grin. "Nope. I think he thinks you're a filly."

I gawked. "She's not?"

"I'm not!" Azurite stomped her little filly-sized hoof and glared at me with big filly-like eyes. "I'm an adult, and I'm going to play with Velvet and Red, and you're not invited." She stuck her little nose in the air and trotted through my legs again, seeing as I hadn't moved out of the doorway. "Come on!"

Velvet's grin didn't lessen one bit. "Yeah, I'm coming." She brushed past me, snickering when I shuddered from the way her body slid against mine. "See you later."

Mares. I huffed and shut the door behind them, then tried to vent my frustration by pacing the living room. All of my nerves were firing haphazardly from the phantom sensation of Velvet's lithe muscles. She was definitely trying to drive me mad and, to be honest, it was working.

I dropped down in front of my typewriter and found my hooves navigating the keys with wild abandon, fueled by a desire to express all the emotions roiling in my chest.

Stallion (V.O.)

She walked into my office, all long legs, curly mane, and dark lashes that begged for attention. Without a word from her, I knew I was in trouble. This dame was going to be the end of me.

☱

It was a good thing Nightingale was in a committed relationship. Sure, I thought she was cute, and if she were single, I would have been very interested in her. But I understood boundaries, and at the time, I needed a friend more than I needed a date.

The two of us sat in a small, two-pony booth at Café Au Lait, her with a cup of herbal tea and me with a mug of black coffee. She looked at me with soft eyes that didn't pity me or judge me, but just saw and understood.

"I don't know," she finally said. "If my coltfriend told me he had a foal somewhere out there in Equestria, well, I guess I'd rather he told me sooner instead of later."

"Right?" I ran a hoof through my mane and slumped in my seat. "I won't be able to keep it a secret. That's just wrong and makes it seem like I'm hiding something. But I don't think that's something you lead off with, right?"

Nightingale sputtered into a giggle. "Yeah, no, definitely at least get through the first date." She hummed as she took a sip of her tea, then raised her eyes to the ceiling. "You'll have to be super careful with how you bring it up, too. 'Babe, there's something I need to tell you.' Oh my gosh, nothing says 'he's about to tell me about his weird sex kink' more than that."

I choked and had to thump a hoof to my chest to try to keep the coffee from getting in my lungs. "That's your first thought when you hear that?"

"Of course! What do you think?"

"Something a little more normal?" My ears flattened, but admittedly, I was grinning a little. "I'd think I was being broken up with."

Her eyes rolled in an over-the-top way, but as she reached out to put a hoof on mine, her voice was soft. "That's because you're still hurt from Parasol. I don't blame you, either. That's going to take a lot longer to heal than, how long has it been? Two months?" She smiled and squeezed my hoof. "But you're too nice of a colt to stay single for long. When you put yourself on the market, I'll be your wingmare, okay?"

The sincerity in her offer struck something deep in my chest. I couldn't help the small crack in my voice as I said, "Thank you."

She pulled her hoof back to her cup and chirped, "So! Back to your question. How do you tell your mare that you've got a foal running around?" With a small wiggle of her nose, she mulled it over before speaking up again. "Honestly, your best bet is to just wing it. I mean, it's going to depend so much on the mare and how you two meet and what kind of a relationship you have with her. Just be honest and if she's the one, she'll understand."

All the nerves that had been jittering about my past few days were alleviated in one fell swoop. Nightingale made it make sense, so much so that I was a little embarrassed I hadn't figured it out on my own.

Seeming to somehow sense this, she winked. "It's okay. You can say it. My parents should have named me Nightingenius."

We stared at one another for a long while until breaking into laughter. The ponies in the otherwise quiet cafe stared at us, but I didn't mind, and neither did Nightingale.

Finally, I wiped a tear from my eye and smiled at her. "That makes me feel better, strangely. I'm still a little nervous about how everything will turn out, but Velvet's been so happy that this has to be the right path for us."

"Right?" Nightingale gave a playful roll of her eyes. "She's been too happy lately, honestly. She doesn't even stay out as late as she used to! Either she really wants that foal, or you are a super stud."

Heat filled my cheeks. "I, uh." I cleared my throat and cocked a grin. "Who says it can't be both?"

"Oh!" A chime of laughter escaped her and she leaned in to swat at me. "You're getting better at sexual banter. Love it!"

Companionable silence fell on us as we sipped on our respective drinks. I still had a lot on my mind, however, so I was the one to break it. "This is the right path, isn't it? Do you think I'm making the right choice?"

Nightingale's ears perked up before swiveling back in thought. "The right choice?" Her nose scrunched up, she offered a meek shrug. "I'm biased. This is what Velvet wants, and she was my friend before you, so, yeah, I think so. But I guess that's not what you mean, is it?"

The feathers of her wings fluffed up before giving a small shake, then she settled back in her seat. "The foal will be spoiled rotten. Like, Velvet has"—she began to tap one hoof on the other as she listed off names—"me, Sunbeam, Pepper, Crystal, Silent, High Horse, Dawn, Thunder, Ephemeral, Azurite, Sunny, Soarin... There are a lot of ponies that are going to make sure the foal is happy. Does that answer your question?"

I smiled and looked down at the remainder of my coffee, turning the mug slowly between my hooves. "I guess so. I just don't want to be 'the stallion who ran out on Velvet and his foal'."

She reached out to take my hoof in hers again with a tight squeeze. "Do you want the honest truth?"

I nodded.

"Nopony is going to think that about you, because I honestly doubt Velvet's going to tell anypony who doesn't already know that you're the father." She smiled, but there was a little bit of pity in her eyes that churned my stomach. "I know it sounds cruel, but it's better that way. For both of you."

The churning turned into a twisting knot, but I relented with an attempt at a smile. I was doing this for Velvet's sake, not mine. If it hurt a little bit to think about leaving these ponies behind, well, that was just the price to pay for kindness.

☳

Velvet didn't have 'off days', so when I walked out of the bedroom to find her curled up on a pillow with a damp cloth over her eyes, I was immediately worried.

"Are you okay?" I asked, sitting down beside her. "What's wrong?"

Her ear flicked and a rumble of a groan acknowledged me, but she remained otherwise immobile.

I winced. "Is it the curry I made last night? I'm sorry, I knew it tasted off. We should have just gone out to eat instead."

Her hoof made a wobbly effort to find my face, and once it did, she patted my cheek. "It was fine. I'm fine. I just feel like my eyes are going to throw up."

My brow furrowed and I put my hoof around hers. It was warm. "That doesn't sound 'fine' to me."

"I mean, yeah, no, it doesn't, and it isn't. I just don't want you to feel bad for making curry that's trying to kill me." Her lips quirked into a lopsided grin. "Can you just go to the store and get me some ginger to chew on?"

I practically sprung to my hooves. "Definitely! I'll be right back. Just stay there and stay calm."

The store wasn't far. If I flew, I could be there and back before her condition got worse. My head was spinning with a strategy when I opened the door and—collided with something that gave a squeak of surprise. "I'm sorry!" I exclaimed reflexively, looking down at the mare that stared at me with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"

Her voice was as soft and sweet as fresh honey that melted my heart into a gooey mess when she replied, "Oh, yes, just surprised." She eyed me with confusion before she lit up, as if remembering something. The honey was replaced with a sense of urgency and desperation. "Sorry, but is Velvet home?"

Velvet appeared beside me, practically shoving me out of the way. "Dawn? What happened?"

Before I could fret over Velvet being up and moving, the mare named Dawn rushed forward and embraced her tight. "Velvet! He's coming home!"

"Oh my gosh! Dawn, I—I'm so happy for you!" There was a telltale hitch in Velvet's voice; she was on the verge of tears.

That was when I realized this was something important... and private. I backed away to give them personal space, a part of me wanting to go get the ginger for Velvet and the other admittedly curious about what was going on. Curiosity won.

"How? Why?" Velvet pulled back to look Dawn in the face and moved a hoof to wipe away tears from the smiling mare's cheeks. "I'm so happy, but why?"

Dawn sniffled and leaned in to the touch. "He was injured, so they're sending him home. He says it's not too bad, that I shouldn't be worried, but if they're sending him home, it must be worse than he's telling me."

Velvet's voice lowered to a near whisper. "Did he—You don't think, he lost a leg or something like that?"

"I really don't know, but what I do know is we talked about... it." Dawn put on a serious expression. "I know why you said no before, but we're serious. We're both okay with it, for you."

One of Velvet's ears swiveled toward me and she cleared her throat. "That's really sweet, but I think you two should focus on your own, uh, possibilities instead of mine."

Dawn shook her head. "We're not ready for that ourselves." She took Velvet's hoof in her own. "But you've been waiting for so long. Please, let us help you."

"Oh, sweetheart." Velvet smiled, shook her head, and nosed Dawn's cheek. "I've got it covered. Okay? Besides, I wouldn't want that to come between us. It'd just get awkward and complicated and, well, I appreciate the thought, but don't worry. Everything's going to be fine."

There was a pause before Dawn's eyes flickered to meet my gaze. Realization dawned on her and a light flush filled her cheeks. "Oh!" She swallowed and forced a smile that quickly became genuine. "Well, he still wants to get together after he's home. Maybe your, um." She glanced at me again. "Your friend could join us?"

Velvet glanced over as well. "Silv? Uh, maybe. We'll see." She nosed Dawn's other cheek. "Anyway, as much as I love seeing you, I'm actually feeling kind of sick today. I'll come visit you as soon as I'm well, though, and we can talk about Tumbler and the 'welcome home' party we're going to throw him. Okay?"

"Oh, no, really?" Dawn's brow knitted with worry. "I'm so sorry! Is there anything I can do to help?"

Velvet cocked a grin. "Yeah, you can stay away from Silv's cooking. The contagion has to stop with me." She put a hoof to her forehead. "This is my sacrifice for the sake of Equestria."

Dawn made a small 'o' with her lips while I exclaimed, "Hey! It was just this one time!"

Giggling, Dawn hugged Velvet one more time. "Then I'll bring some soup by later this evening, to save you from his cooking. Rest up and try to feel better." She looked over at me. "It was nice to meet you, Silv!"

Before I could correct her on everything she said wrong, Dawn trotted off and Velvet shut the door. We stood in silence for a while before I heard the distinct sound of Velvet choking on a sob. Or vomit. I honestly wasn't sure which until she looked up with tears in her eyes.

"Velvet?" I took a step toward her. "Are you okay?"

"No," she bit back, eyes narrowing into a glare, "I'm obviously not okay! Do you have any idea what just happened?"

Trying to not feel irritated with her tone, I lowered myself to sit on my haunches and crossed my forelegs over my chest. "I have some guesses, but why don't you explain it to me?"

Velvet gave a long, drawn-out groan. "Celestia, where do I even begin?" She slumped against the door and put a hoof over her eyes. "That was Dawn. Dawn Walker. I broke her sweet, perfect, loving heart."

The irritation was gone, just like that. "Oh."

"And yet, even though I did, she's still willing to let her coltfriend—who I also hurt!—knock me up because she just cares so much, too much." Her shoulders trembled as her other hoof lifted to cover her face. "I'm an awful, terrible pony! I don't deserve friends like them."

I didn't really know what to do. I felt like there was a lot more to the story, but she wasn't in any condition to elaborate. All I could do was move closer to her and wrap a foreleg around her shoulders.

"Hey," I whispered, "it's okay. You can't be that terrible if she cares that much about you, right?"

"It just makes me even more terrible," she muttered with a bitter laugh. "Try to imagine making a sacrifice for Parasol, even after she hurt you so bad. It's impossible, right? But Dawn's just that way. I just—I don't know why, but she's just that way."

My hoof moved to stroke her mane, which was out of its usual bun. "It's okay. I don't think you're terrible."

She laughed again with a little more sincerity. "That's because you're dumb."

"Guess so." I kissed the top of her head. "Why don't we get you back to bed? I think you need a nap."

She lowered her hooves to look up at me with one brow arched. "I'm not a foal, you know."

I widened my eyes in mock surprise. "You could have fooled me with all that crying."

"Oh, whatever. Idiot." She punched me in the foreleg, but her grin took the sting out of it. "Fine, yeah. A nap sounds good. My stomach feels better now, anyway, so can you—" She hesitated. Velvet hardly ever hesitated, so I coaxed her with a tilt of my head. "Can you just stay with me while I fall asleep?"

I nodded and stood, offering a hoof to help her up. "I'd be glad to."

☷

"You know," I called without looking up from the book in my hooves, "I like this Prima Donna mare more than I expected."

I could hear Velvet moving around in the bathroom, but she didn't reply.

"I think it's cute that these books inspired you to find your cutie mark." I flipped the page with the tip of my wing. "I'm surprised you didn't end up pursuing crime fighting, too, though. You have the feisty personality for it, that's for sure."

That earned a chuckle, only slightly muffled by the closed door between us.

I hummed to myself as I was swept through an exotic city, sights and sounds filling the imagination of my mind. Prima navigated a busy street with her eyes locked on the Mesmeric Miscreant. Oh, no, the villain's names were never very clever, but that was part of the charm.

"So," I mused aloud, "I bet she's going to catch up to him, but it turns out to be a decoy. Mesmeric has already broken into the bank and is stealing the Flawless Diamond of Prance while she's out in the streets, running around."

To my surprise, no—the stallion she was following was actually Mesmeric, but he charmed her with poetic words about her beauty. I couldn't help laughing a little at that. "Huh, I guess even crime-fighting ballerinas succumb to a suave pick-up line."

I heard the bathroom door open, but kept on reading. Mesmeric got away again. Well, I was only halfway through the novel, so I suppose it would have been too soon for her to catch him.

"Well, that didn't take long," Velvet interrupted my thoughts with mild surprise in her voice—and just a hint of trepidation.

I looked up to see her standing in the doorway with something in her hoof. The dim light pouring in from behind cast her in an ominous shadow that stretched all the way to the pillow I was sprawled on.

"What's that?" I asked as I set my book on the nearby shelf.

"I'm pregnant."

A Prison of Love

"You're pregnant," I said, momentarily too stunned to do anything but dumbly repeat her.

Velvet took a shaky breath that was somewhere between laughter and hyperventilating. "I can't believe it!"

My eyes went wide. "You can't believe it?"

She turned back to the bathroom and set down the thing she had been carrying. That prompted me into getting up and hurrying over to stand in the doorway, looking between her and what appeared to be a small beaker of green liquid.

"Wait." The gears started clicking back into action. "How do you know? What is that?"

"Oh, uh, that, well." One of her ears flicked and she started to pace in the small space. "It's something Runic concocted. Normally I don't trust things he doesn't sell in his store given his, well, history, but I really didn't want to go to a doctor over and over, you know?" She gave another shaky, breathless laugh. "It's kind of weird. Not important. I'm pregnant."

So many emotions swelled in my chest that a lopsided grin spread across my muzzle. I grabbed her by the shoulders to stop her from pacing and looked her in the eyes. "Velvet, this is—this is great!"

She returned my grin with a smile that grew into a beam, then fell into an uncertain frown. "Oh, you can—yeah. You can stay until you find a new place. That's fine. That'll be fine. I'll help you look."

My grin vanished. "A new place?"

"Right. It's short notice, but you'll be fine. Canterlot is expensive. You don't want to go back to Ponyville, right?" Her gaze darted about, avoiding mine. "Maybe we can look at Manehattan. Oh, wait, isn't your employer in Baltimare? That'd be a good place to start."

There was a strange empty feeling in my chest, as if all emotion had been drained from me in that moment. "Velvet, I can't just leave. You're pregnant, with our foal!"

Her expression hardened. "No, I'm pregnant with my foal." A soft, almost pleading look slipped through the cracks as she all but whispered, "We had an agreement."

Those words set the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. "Agreement? How can you think like that right now!" I tried to cup her cheeks in my forehooves, but she batted them away. I snapped, "Don't be so stubborn! Velvet, you may not like to hear it, but these past few months? We've been a couple in everything but name."

"Excuse me?" She released a huff of laughter, her nostrils flaring. "No, we haven't!"

I rolled my eyes. "We go shopping together. We sit together and read most afternoons. I watch you while you stretch, I wait for you to get home. I make breakfast, you make dinner, and even though you go out most nights, you still come home to me. Every night, you come home to me. How is any of that not being my marefriend?"

Velvet recoiled as if I had struck her, her eyes going wide before they narrowed. "Silver, you knew what this was. I'm sorry if you got your hopes up, but I've been clear about this. You're just so blinded by this right now that you're mistaking my friendship for something more."

I did, but that didn't make it any easier. In fact, it made it even harder, because sometimes the things that hurt the most are the ones you watch coming straight at you. The delusion that, maybe, you can just stand there and things will work out because you're doing what you think is right—it really stings when it shatters in your face.

"So that's it?" I asked, my throat feeling tight. "You got what you wanted, and I'm just supposed to leave?"

Velvet stepped closer and shoved her face up into mine, her ears pinned back against her mane. "Yeah. And you can leave now, thanks."

There was a very strong part of me that wanted to fight, but the weaker side just wanted to cry. I didn't want her to see that, so I growled as I turned and stormed out of the condo. The door slammed shut behind me with a loud bang that felt more finalizing than it had any right to.

I stood there, breathing in through clenched teeth. My stuff was still in there, but I could come back for it later. Some distance would do us good. She'd realize she was wrong, I'd forgive her, and we'd raise our foal together.

My ear twitched at the distinct sound of crying through the door. That softened my heart; she wouldn't need much time, then. I forced myself to walk away, down the stairs and outside so I could get some fresh air. We both needed to cool off. It would be fine.

Before I knew it, I had walked all the way to Sunridge Sweets. It made sense, though—this bakery had become sort of a second home, a safe place I could go to whenever I needed a break from writing or lazing about the condo.

The little bell chimed when I pushed open the door and the scents of all things sweet greeted me. I relaxed into a warm smile as things felt normal all of a sudden, like it had all been a bad dream. Pepper Ridge smiled at me and waved a hoof to usher me to the counter like always.

"Hey, Silver!" Pepper crossed his forelegs on the counter and leaned in. "The old typewriter giving you trouble again?"

I tried to raise my brow in playful surprise, but even I could hear the bitterness in my voice. "Kind of weird to call your daughter a typewriter, but yes, she is."

Concern wove its way into Pepper's expression. At the time, I thought it was for me, but I wasn't his son. He always was and, I imagine, always will be Velvet's father before anything else. "What's up?"

Delusion drove me to blind honesty. "She's kicking me out because she's pregnant."

I heard the clattering of something hitting the floor before Sunbeam practically threw herself out of the back room. "She's—"

"—pregnant?!" Pepper finished, both their eyes wide with excitement.

It was in that moment that I realized my mistake. Dread curled in the pit of my stomach as I carefully said, "Yes. She is. And she's kicking me out, even though I'm the father."

Sunbeam and Pepper looked at one another. In the span of a few seconds, an entire conversation took place solely through eye contact between them. Finally, Sunbeam came around the counter and tried to put a hoof on my shoulder, but I withdrew a few steps back.

"You don't agree with her, do you?" My brow furrowed. "How? How would you have felt if Pepper had left? If Velvet didn't have a father? Why are you okay with this?!"

There was a brief frown that flashed across Sunbeam's otherwise soft expression. "Sugarplum, I'm not Velvet. I wanted a husband, but she doesn't. I gave up on that years ago, and trust me, that was after a good few fights on the subject."

Pepper nodded, shifting unsteadily against the counter. "Celestia knows we don't always understand her, but she's our daughter. We'll always support her. Even if—" He winced and bit his lower lip, then sighed. "Listen. What can we do? Do you need some bits to get on your hooves?"

I had to blink a few times, as if that would change what I had heard. "Bits? What, you just want to pay me off and send me on my way? Is that what this is?"

"No!" Pepper quickly shook his head. "Not at all! Silver, I—"

Sunbeam looked over at her husband with pursed lips before returning her gaze to me. "I'm sorry." She stepped forward before I could recoil and hugged me. She smelled like warm, freshly baked cookies and frosting. "I'm so, so sorry." She really sounded like she meant it, I have to admit, and it somehow made it all worse.

"For what it's worth," Pepper said with a clearing of his throat, "if she wanted a husband, I'd want for him to be you. You're a good colt, Silver. You deserve to be happy with a mare who loves you. I—I guess this is going to be goodbye soon, then, isn't it?" He looked down at his folded hooves almost penitently.

"Goodbye?" I practically yelled as I pushed Sunbeam back so I could glare at the both of them. The anger was back, red hot and uncomfortable, and I didn't care that the entire bakery had gone quiet to stare at the scene I was causing. "What is wrong with you two?! Velvet—I don't care if she doesn't love me! I love her, and I want to be here for her and our foal!"

The sound of the bell chiming as the door swung shut pierced the silence that immediately followed my words. A shiver ran down my spine as an all-too familiar voice said, "Wow. I thought I'd find you here."

I turned slowly to see her expression the very opposite of her tone: for how hollow she sounded, I wasn't expecting for there to be tears running down her cheeks.

"I came to apologize." She took a step toward me. "I was going to tell you how I was sorry for springing too much on you all at once, again, and for saying some pretty awful stuff back there." She stopped when her face was right in mine, and I could see the trembling of her frame. "That I'd do what I could to help you find a new place, and maybe even play wingmare for you to find you a nice gal."

All I could do was stand there, conflicted between anger and guilt. When I tried to open my mouth to speak, she jabbed me in the chest with a hoof.

"No. No, you don't get to speak right now, not after you yelled at my parents like that!" Her voice lowered, despite the fact that even whispering was loud in the silence around us. "I trusted you. I told you so much about me. I—I thought you understood how I felt, how I feel."

My voice surged forth, almost unbidden. "I do! I'm not asking for you to marry me, Celestia's sake! Just let me be here. Let me help you. Velvet, please."

Velvet shook her head, stepped to the side, and pointed at the door. "Get out. We'll talk some other time, but not right now. And definitely not here." Her eyes narrowed again to emphasize how she felt on that last part.

Panic seized my chest in a tight, burning grip. I didn't know what to do; I looked over at Sunbeam and Pepper, but they just gave me pitying looks. My gaze darted about and all around me I saw pity, confusion, concern—and in the midst of it all was Velvet, her expression stern but her eyes sad. Hurt.

All I could do was whisper a soft apology before galloping out the door.

The sun was more blinding than I remembered it being just a few moments ago. I staggered when I realized that was because I was crying, and my tears were the problem. Without really giving it thought, I spread my wings and took to the skies, the only place that felt safe anymore.

The wind whipped through my mane as my thoughts became a disjointed cacophony of noise, of chaos that made it hard to breathe. Pain shot from my constricted chest and through the lean muscles of my wings as they snapped in to my sides. I felt so lost and helpless that I needed to feel like I was in control, and—as contradictory as it seems—I did so by letting go for just a moment.

Which meant I was falling.

Because Velvet was pregnant.

Pregnant with my foal.

And she didn't want me around.

Once again, I'd gotten tangled with a mare who didn't want me, who was just using me for her own purposes.

Then there was silence. Oh, don't worry—I'm obviously fine. My head cleared up when I was barely halfway down the length of Alicorn Spire and I reverted to instinct, letting my wings stretch out to catch the wind and send me into an aimless glide. While I don't recommend my method of choice, sometimes you need to let go of control to realize how much you really do have it.

A quiet question bubbled up from the emptiness of my mind: what now? That spurred a line of thinking that came at a slow, drawling pace. I had nowhere to go except back to Canterlot to finish our 'talk', but how could I face Velvet after I'd made her cry? Besides, there wasn't much to talk about. Her mind was made up. Nothing I could say would matter.

The sky was fairly clear, but I still had to tilt occasionally to avoid the few stray clouds. Down below, I saw the dark and foreboding expanse of the Everfree Forest. Hadn't I thought about being a hermit months ago, after proposing to Parasol? Suddenly, that idea seemed really appealing as the twisted woods reached its gnarled trees for me. I could hide there for the rest of my days.

My gaze lifted to trail from the woods to the town that bordered it. Ponyville looked as quaint and peaceful as the day I left, as if nothing had changed. Why would it have? It's not as if I had been a particularly important pony there.

Something came over me—perhaps it was nostalgia—and I found myself angling toward the little town. The colorful shapes I knew to be ponies became clearer as I grew near and I recognized a few of them. One spotted me and waved; I didn't return the gesture. I wasn't even sure why I was there, but I knew it wasn't to socialize.

I landed in the town park that I'd always thought was somewhat unnecessary. Ponyville was essentially one big park; just take a stroll outside the outermost houses and, voila! You're in nature. It's not like Manehattan or Baltimare or Chicagoat where the grass and dirt have been replaced by pavement and cement, or Canterlot with its pristine cobblestone.

There weren't a lot of ponies around; most folks in Ponyville had jobs and didn't just wander the streets to go shopping and gossiping. My nose wrinkled up as I realized how much I really disliked Canterlot after all.

"Yoohoo!"

Every muscle in my body tensed before I forced them into action to carry me in the opposite direction. I knew that voice. Everypony in Ponyville knew that voice.

"Hello! No, you're walking the wrong way, sorry!" Before I could react, my vision was filled with pink as Lovey Dovey, Ponyville's own Matchmaker Extraordinaire, swooped over me. "Hi!"

I could feel my stomach twisting into knots. If Lovey had her sights set on me, that meant she saw something, and I wasn't in the right emotional state to handle her. "I'm sorry, I—"

Lovey practically touched her nose to mine as she stared me in the eyes before she pulled back with a bubble of giggles. "Oh, I remember you! We met at the Summer Faire a few years ago. You and your pretty fillyfriend!"

My jaw clenched. "Yep. I remember. Nice to see you again. Now—"

"I'm sorry about how I acted." Her voice was almost as if it was from a different pony. Even her eyes were sad, and in all the years I'd known Lovey—and I hadn't known her well, mind you—I had never seen her look like that. "I know it didn't make sense back then, but I can't help myself sometimes. I see a severed love line, I can't help it, I just have to try to do something."

There was only a briefest of pauses before she perked up and continued, "Oh, but look at you now! Did it work out? Your love line looks stronger than ever!"

I can't really explain it, but when she said that, I wanted to scream and cry and storm away and collapse. It was like she was just there to torment me, to remind me of what an awful day I was having. Then I lifted my gaze to meet hers, all ready to give her a piece of my mind, and I saw her smile falter.

Lovey reached out a hoof and cupped my cheek. "I'm sorry. But I promise it'll be okay. The right pony for you is just around the corner, I just know it!"

"I already found her," I found myself saying before I could really think the words through. They set my throat on fire, constricting around a lump of emotion. "She's in Canterlot."

With a delighted squeal, Lovey's wings started to flutter and she pranced in place. "Oh my gosh, that explains it! That's why your love line looks so strong! Though—" She paused to stare at my chest in that unnerving way I remembered from the Summer Faire. "Canterlot? Well." Her head turned one way, then the other. "Okay, maybe." Beaming, she looked back at me. "Tell me about her!"

What else could I do but sigh and walk over to the nearest bench to take a seat? When Lovey settled down beside me, I explained, "I met a mare."

Lovey nodded emphatically. "Uh-huh!"

"She's—" A short laugh escaped me. "She's not my type. She's a little obnoxious, stubborn, and snarky. She likes loud music and night clubs and drinks."

There was a distinct fondness in Lovey's voice as she breathed, "Oh, attracted opposites are my favorite love type."

I just shrugged. "But she doesn't love me."

"What?" Lovey sat up straight, blinking a few rapid times. "But she does! She must! Love lines don't go one way, no, never! And yours is, it, well." Her wings quivered as her gaze dipped. "Admittedly, yours is strong, but it's not glowing yet." She furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. "Are you sure you found the right mare?"

The scowl I sent her way was a little harsher than I'd intended. "I think I know my love life a little better than you, since I'm the one living it right now. Yes, I'm positive! She's pr—" My throat tightened and tears rushed to my eyes. "She pre—She..."

Silence fell on us, save for the light twittering of birds and the wind rustling a few nearby trees. Lovey squirmed in clear discomfort before she nudged her shoulder to mine. "She sounds, um, nice. What's her name?"

"Velvet Step," I replied, the name nearly as difficult to say as the word 'pregnant'.

Lovey's hooves flew to cover her mouth as she gasped and I shot her a sidelong glance. She looked at me with wide eyes and, exasperated, I snapped, "Great, let me guess. You know her?" When Lovey gave a meek nod, I threw my hooves in the air. "Of course you do! Every mare in my life is connected somehow! Sure, of course you know her."

There was a long pause, then I looked at her again. "Wait, how do you know her?"

With a meek look down at her lap where she was twiddling her forehooves, Lovey sighed. "I met her, um, um. Two years ago? Golly, it's been a while, but I'll never forget her!"

"Who could?" I said more wistful than I would have liked.

"I've seen a lot of things as a matchmaker, you know? I could go on and on and on and on about it! But Velvet Step was a first. I ran into this mare, Crystal Wishes—" I scoffed and she glanced at me, but I gestured for her to continue. "She brought me home, which was really sweet of her, because I was feeling super down. I went right up to Velvet to see what I could see. Do you know what I saw?"

Uncertainty filled my chest with a heavy weight and I shook my head.

"No love love line, which is okay! There are lots of ponies with no romantic love line. But I saw a faded line, all curled up and kind of distant and just waiting to bloom someday. Maternal love!" Lovey looked up at the sky with a lopsided smile. "I couldn't figure it out, you know? She had so much love to give as a mom, and of course lots of lines for family and friends, but I've always wondered about that little one that'd someday be for a little one."

There was an uneasy tension in the air between us as I tried to decide if I wanted to laugh or cry. Velvet was literally destined to be a mom without me, then? Great. Some ponies were destined to be great inventors or wizards or doctors. Me? I was destined to be used and tossed aside.

Just as the pain started to force tears to my eyes, Lovey reached out and grabbed my hoof. "You're going to be okay."

I looked at her for a long moment. The soft smile on her lips told me she really believed it, but I couldn't see how. I withdrew from her, muttering some kind of platitude of appreciation, and jumped into the air again.

I don't know where I thought I was going, but I do know it didn't matter at that point. I just wanted to get away from everything.

Unfortunately—or perhaps not so unfortunately—something grabbed my tail and spun me around, my surroundings becoming a brief blur. When I stopped, I found myself staring at Lovey, though it took a moment for her features to come into focus through the dizzy haze.

"You were going the wrong way," she said with a brightening smile. As if I were a foal, she leaned in to place a kiss on my forehead, then turned me around to face away from her and pushed against my back. "Go find them. They're waiting for you."

It was stupid and spiteful, but I just wasn't in the right state of mind at the time. I shot her a glare over my shoulder and pumped my wings to put distance between us as I purposefully headed in a different direction than she was trying to force me. The last thing I wanted right then was another mare sending me down a path of heartache.

There's some irony there, don't you think? I'll always wonder how things would have turned out if I hadn't been such a stubborn brat. Ah, well. I suppose it's a good thing, because the chapter of my life with Velvet Step wasn't quite done. Not just yet.

Looking Out at the Future

So, there I was. Standing outside the door, sweating like I'd run a marathon. Maybe, just a little bit, on the verge of tears.

After over a year of trying to stay away, of failed relationships, of doing everything I could to forget, I was finally standing in front of the door that separated me from you. All I had to do was open it and explain to Velvet how I felt.

I didn't need her to love me; I just needed to be your dad. You were my foal just as much as you were hers, after all.

I took a deep breath and tested the door. It was unlocked. Proof that she needed somepony around! What if you wandered outside? You could have fallen down the stairs! I pushed it open and started in my strongest voice, "Velvet Step, we need to—"

There was a stallion lying on the floor with you in front him, a few scattered blocks between the two of you. The cautious fire that had been burning within me burst into a furious uproar. Why in Tartarus was there a strange stallion playing with my foal? After all of that talk about not needing me around, she ran off and found somepony else? I prepared myself for a fight right as the stallion stood to his full, imposing height and turned to face me.

The righteous fire within my soul was immediately extinguished. This wasn't just some random stallion. This was Silent Knight, a veritable hero of the gryphon war. Whatever fatherly bravado I was feeling would be no match for him; he was nothing but large muscles, a hardened look, and all intimidation. The scars visible on his jaw and forelegs told me in no uncertain terms that others had tried to fight him… and failed.

"—nevermind! Don't mind me! Bye!"

It was too late for me, though. Whatever soldier's instinct that coursed through his blood had kicked in. Silent Knight had leapt over the couch, closed the distance, and threw a ruined, brace-clad wing out to stop me before I could shut the door in my attempt to escape. I squeaked like a mouse. So much for strong and stallionly.

"Can I help you?" he asked, the seriousness of his voice sending a quiver to my knees.

I had just burst into Velvet's flat. Silent Knight had no idea who I was. He was a both a guard and a soldier. I was going to spend the rest of my life locked away in a dungeon, and that was only if I was lucky.

I shrunk back and tugged on the door that was now wedged open by one of his big, scary hooves. "Wrong condo?" I tried to smile, but it may have trembled. Probably because all of me was trembling.

His brow arched before he cocked his head. "You burst in, looking for Velvet, so I highly doubt that. Are you a friend of hers?" Without waiting for an answer, he called over his shoulder, "Velvet, you appear to have an intruder."

From the side room—which, briefly, I remembered was either green or blue or some color in between the last time I'd seen it—Velvet leaned out to look at us. Her eyes widened when they met mine before she trotted all the way out. "Silver Script. Wow, it's been a while."

"Hi," I said in a voice tinier than I thought possible.

“Should I throw him out?” Silent Knight asked gruffly, never taking his eyes off me.

Velvet snorted a laugh. “No, you oaf. Leave him alone. He's basically harmless.”

I watched Silent return to your side and my heart seized up when I finally got a good look at you. You were so tiny, just a little wiggling mass of legs and wings with a drooling head. It was impossible not to feel a swell of pride at your purple coat that matched mine, even though the tuft of mint green mane had to come from Velvet's family.

Silent's whole demeanor changed when he got your attention by wiggling a red block in the air. Who could blame him? I felt like soft pudding just looking at you from a distance. He actually got to play with you.

My thoughts were interrupted when Velvet cleared her throat. It was probably a little too obvious that I was staring. When I looked over at her and our eyes met, all I could do was stare as she walked up to me. So much had changed in a year; she looked both tired and totally at peace at the same time. Her mane was still in a bun, but it wasn't the same as it used to be. It was messier, more "Mom"-like.

Finally, she broke eye contact to flash Silent a smile. "Actually, can you watch Velour for a bit?"

My heart leapt into my throat and I choked on a whimper. It was the first time I'd heard your name.

Silent nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Velvet nudged me a step back as she walked out of the condo, shutting the door behind her. "So, uh, how have you been?" She eyed me from head to hoof with a guarded expression.

"How have I been?" The haze around my head cleared and I frowned. "Terrible, actually. But that doesn't really matter. We need to talk."

Velvet snorted. "You think?" She nodded her head to gesture for me to follow her. I didn't really want to leave, but she started walking, so I followed. Just like the first time we met. "We've needed to talk for a long time."

With a cautious glance down at her, I mumbled, "Yeah. Things didn't exactly end on good terms."

"That's an understatement." At the end of the hallway were two lawn chairs by a window that overlooked the streets below. She took a seat and waited for me to do the same.

I frowned down at the cheap plastic before carefully lowering myself onto it. "Why are there chairs here?"

Her lips quirked into a lopsided grin and she shrugged. "New neighbors used to have a house with a porch, or something. I like to come out here with Velour sometimes, and he likes to watch the ponies come and go."

"Velour," I repeated, the name reverent on my tongue. The brief glimpse I'd had was more than enough to note: "He has my coat."

Velvet shifted uncomfortably in her seat and turned her head to look out the window. "I guess he kinda does. Wings, too." She sighed, leaning back. "I'm sorry."

My ears perked upright before folding back. "We both made mistakes. Honestly, I think we're past apologies at this point."

"I'm not." She shook her head, chewing on her lower lip for a moment, then finally looked at me again. "I don't understand how Crystal can still love Silent when he left her to go to war. I don't understand why Nightingale was hopping from stallion to stallion one day and then serious about one the next. These things don't make sense to me, okay? So, I thought I had everything figured out with you. That if we had a deal, if I made it really clear, that'd fix things."

Sighing, she raised a hoof to brush back a stray strand of her mane. "I still don't understand it, like, not really, but I get it. I screwed up, okay? Especially when it all blew up. I was overwhelmed and emotional and kind of freaking out. And I'm really sorry for that." Her jaw set as if to fight back against herself. "But I don't regret it. Velour is the—" Her voice cracked with sudden emotion. "He is perfect," she finished in a whisper. "He's perfect and I love him so much."

I felt so small in front of her as she spoke of you. A year had passed, one that I'd filled with anger and bitterness. But Velvet had spent it with love. You must have been not even six months old and already you had entirely changed her life.

Slowly, I reached out a hoof to set it on hers and gave it a squeeze. "I was overwhelmed, too. I don't know if I—I'm not sure if I actually loved you. I think I was just angry and confused, honestly. But I've had a lot of time to, you know, think about things, and my thoughts always come back to you and our foal." She flinched and tried to pull away, but I held on. "Velvet, I'm not asking to be anything more than his dad. Let me help raise him. That's all I want."

She finally wrenched her hoof free, giving a quick shake of her head. "Silver—"

"I'll get my own place," I quickly interrupted. "We can work this out."

Velvet's brow furrowed and she crossed her forelegs over her chest. "Silver, let's talk this out like we didn't do last time, okay? There's a reason you can't be around. Do you know what that is?"

I didn't want to risk saying something to upset either of us, so I kept my mouth shut and just shook my head.

"Because you say it's fine, that you're not asking for more. But that's not fair to you." Her expression softened. "You want a relationship. You deserve a real one! With somepony who loves you and you can have your own foals together and live happily. Just like Vel and I will."

Chewing on my lower lip, my gaze fell to my lap. "Why can't I do both? I can help you take care of Velour and date at the same time, you know."

Velvet shook her head. "Because that's not who you are. You'll pour your heart into him and have nothing left for anypony else. That's fine, you'll tell yourself, and you'll believe it. And for a while, it will be fine. But what happens in a year from now? You'll look for love, because that's what you want. I can't give that to you, and we'll be right back where we were when you left."

What was I supposed to say? I hated hearing it, but she wasn't wrong. There was still a part of me that thought maybe—just maybe—if I was better, if I tried harder, if I expected less, then I could have a relationship with her. Maybe it wouldn't be picture perfect and there would be no white picket fence, but it'd be good enough.

And that line of thinking wasn't fair to either of us.

"But," she continued, her voice growing firmer, "it's also not fair of me to ask you to just forget about us, because you obviously can't. So, why don't you come inside and spend some time with him while I show you the photo album?" She smiled at me and my heart fluttered—which was exactly when I knew for certain that I couldn't stay with her.

All I could do was nod and follow her back to the apartment, where we found Silent Knight sprawled on his back. You were perched on his chest, bubbling and gurgling and gnawing on one of your own hooves.

Silent looked up at us with a serious expression. "I taught him too well. He attacked from my weak side. There was nothing I could do to resist."

"Yeah, he has that effect on ponies." Velvet snickered as she walked over to the bookcase. All of the pictures of her friends and Prima Donna novels I remembered had been replaced with foal toys and books. "That's enough war today. You're dismissed, soldier."

There was a pause before Silent carefully put you back down and rolled over to stand up. He looked at the back of Velvet's head and I felt the tension between them enough to send the hairs of my coat standing on end. Velvet didn't even glance at him after she told him to leave, and he resigned himself with a light nod of his head.

"Nice to meet you," he said to me in passing as he walked out of the condo, leaving the three of us alone.

I looked between the shut door and Velvet's back while she hoofed through the collection of books. "So, uh, Silent Knight, huh?" I cleared my throat. "What's up there?"

Velvet froze just long enough for me to notice the way she went rigid. "He's Crystal's husband, and Crystal's my best friend. Nothing's 'up' there beyond that." She picked out a blue album dotted with white stars and flopped onto the colorful, plush rug. "Don't be a perv."

"I'm not being a perv!" I settled onto the floor by you, who'd had taken an interest in a little blue pony figure. And by interest, I mean it went right in your mouth. "I meant, why are you giving him the cold shoulder if he's your best friend's husband?"

Her ears flattened against her mane and she avoided my gaze. "That's between me and him. Let's just enjoy some pictures, okay?" She flipped the book open. You stared at her with big eyes full of awe and wonder, completely ignoring me. "Here. This was taken when he was born." A soft, fond smile overtook her expression. "Though, I guess you can't see much of him, can you?"

I tore my attention away from you to look at the photo and my heart swelled with a strange mix of joy and guilt. There were so many ponies crowding you and Velvet that the both of you were almost crowded out. Sunbeam and Crystal were on either side of Velvet, both in tears, Pepper holding his wife by the shoulders and Horsey was clutching Crystal's hoof in her own. Red was on the bed to look at his newborn nephew with a curious tilt of his head, and I recognized the back of Nightingale's head. Too many ponies filled the frame that I didn't recognize, sending my heart back to the pit of my stomach.

The others, Velvet explained, were friends and family. Her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, and even Crystal's parents had swarmed the hospital room to meet you the day you were born. All these ponies had been there to shower you with love. Nightingale had been right—you would never want for anything.

"Crystal and Silent are his promise parents," Velvet continued, tapping on a photo of you with the two of them. "They take it pretty seriously." She gave an exaggerated sigh. "And even if it annoys me sometimes, Vel really likes Silent."

I reached out to set a hoof on the photo album to stop her from flipping to another page. "I get it."

She blinked a few times, then cracked a lopsided grin. "Get what? That he's the cutest little thing in Equestria?"

"No. I mean, yes, but, not that." Standing up, I looked down at you. You were so happy and content, and even though I was right there, I didn't exist in your world. "You don't need me."

Her lips pursed into an 'o' and she lowered her gaze to you as well. "No, he doesn't," she said in a soft voice. "He's got more ponies than I can keep up with. Did you know that they bribe each other to get to spend time with him? Upper Crust actually bribed my mom. Like, straight up, just dumped bits on the counter and announced she got him for the weekend."

I couldn't help a small snicker at that. "I don't know who that is, but I can't imagine Sunbeam took that well."

Velvet scooped you up and set you on her back so she could stand, too. "She threw a cupcake at her. I wish I had been there to see it, because Mom was bragging for days about it. Apparently it smacked right into her horn, getting frosting all in her mane and everything."

There was a pause before we both burst into laughter. You giggled and gurgled, both of your forehooves wrapped around a lock of Velvet's mane. When we settled down, I lowered my head to nuzzle Velvet's cheek. "Then, I'll make good on our agreement and leave, but I'd like to ask for one thing first."

After just a brief hesitation, she nodded. "Okay. I think I can agree blindly to one thing after what I've put you through."

"When he's older, if he asks about me—" My gaze flickered between hers and yours, even if you weren't looking at me. "I'll send you a postcard when I find a place to settle down so you have my address. If he asks about me."

"Of course," she said with a weak smile. "I wasn't going to keep you a secret if he asked, you know. I'm not a total monster."

I grinned and cocked my head with a playful arch of one brow. "You could've fooled me."

She swatted at my face, but laughed nonetheless. "Yeah, okay, I apologized, all right?" She followed me when I started toward the door. "Where are you thinking of going?"

"Honestly?" I shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. I might move around a bit and try to see where feels like home. I mean, I assume I have time. He's not even speaking yet, after all, right?"

"Yeah, you dork, you've got time." She put a hoof on my shoulder to stop me from walking out and our gazes met again. "Thanks for coming back. I—I kind of needed this. The closure. Knowing that you were okay." She glanced away. "When you just disappeared, I was really worried, you know? Nopony knew where you'd gone and we'd kind of had a fight, and—yeah. Thanks."

Careful so as not to disrupt your spot on her back, I pulled Velvet into a hug. I smiled down at you from the new vantage point, and you finally acknowledged me with a curious tilt of your head. Who knew it was possible to want to smile and cry at the same time? "Me, too. Goodbye, Velvet."

"Take care of yourself, Silver," she whispered against my neck.

Yep, I definitely needed to leave, because I hadn't had any intimacy in months and the light brush of her lips from that little whisper felt great. It was especially embarrassing because she wasn't even trying to be sexy right then. I was ruining a perfectly heartfelt moment.

It was hard, but I pulled away. I gave Velvet one last smile, then turned and started down the hall for the last time. As I descended the stairs, I could hear Velvet cooing at you. "Do you even know who that was, little buddy?" her voice echoed down the hall. "Aw, Vel, no, don't—stop putting my hair in your mouth, seriously!"

Warmth filled my chest as I stepped out of the condominium building and into the city of Canterlot. I felt refreshed, somehow. Velvet was right. I'd be miserable with her, pining for something more and eventually growing resentful that there was nothing, and that wasn't fair to her foal.

Velvet would be happy. So would you. I knew that now. She had more friends and family than I really appreciated that would take care of you both. Now, it was finally time for me to take care of myself.

I took to the sky to find myself a nice, fluffy cloud and hitched a ride, nestling in and smiling. For the first time, I felt free. While I drifted away from Canterlot, I looked out into the horizon that held my future. A new horizon. Or maybe just... another horizon.

Don't look at me like that! It's a legitimate phrase, I swear. Because life's journey is never really over, it's just moving forward? Oh, come on...

Your Precious Love

Velour stares at me from across the diner's narrow table. I know it was a lot to take in, so I sit and wait for him to process everything while I gaze at him with fondness. He's grown so much since I saw him last, but of course he has—that was so many years ago.

Anypony around us would easily believe he was my son with our purple coats, but I can tell. It's not my coat, but Velvet's eyes that he takes after: that vibrant shade of purple with pink hues that make it all the more beautiful. And that mane with so many curls! Velvet had always worked hard to straighten her mane, but I really liked her curls. It's nice to see them displayed proud and unabashed on Velour.

Really, beyond his wings, he's all Velvet. The way his brow furrows to make cute little wrinkles, how svelte his long legs and lithe body are, and most of all, his laugh. It's her laugh, through and through.

"So," he finally says in a voice also much more like Velvet's than mine, "you really are my dad."

I shake my head. "I'm your father, but not your dad. That's how Velvet wanted it."

Velour's wings tuck in against his sides and his gaze falls to his coffee cup. "Wow."

"Yeah." I look him over and smile. He's big, taller than me for certain, but he's got a gentle demeanor about him I instantly adore. "How is she?"

His ears twitch as he glances up at me. "Uh, fine, I guess. She's different from the way you describe her, though."

My head tilts. "How so?"

"She's, uh, she's less..." His nose scrunches up and a shiver courses through him. "Sexual, ugh. I can't even imagine my mom being like that."

I can't help but laugh. "Really? Sorry, sorry. It's hard to talk about her without those parts."

"I think you could have left out some of it," he mutters, ears flat against his mane.

The laughter comes back twofold. "Okay! Sorry. But what's done is done."

There is a distinct look on his face that can be only described as 'gone'. His mind has wandered off in what is definitely an attempt to scrub itself clean from the images I accidentally placed there. It's like when a cat misses a jump and freezes, hoping that its mistake will just vanish if they try to ignore it hard enough.

"Okay," he finally says, resurfacing from his deep thoughts several moments later. "Okay. Well, then, uh. I guess. What now?"

I try to shrug noncommittally; I don't want to look too eager. "That's up to you, Velour. You can walk out of here and go back to life in Canterlot with your mom. It won't hurt my feelings any. I was never there for you, so I don't expect you to even think of me as a father." I can't help a shy, uncertain grin. "But, if you want to stay, I can introduce you to your half-siblings."

His ears stand so tall that it almost looks painful. "Half-siblings?"

"Yeah. Not long after I left Canterlot for good, I settled down here in Baltimare and met my now-wife. We have three foals of our own." I pause to mull over my next words very carefully. "My wife knows about you, and about Velvet. I didn't keep any secrets from her."

It's no surprise why that stuns Velour into silence. I mean, telling him about a whole family he has—kind of, sort of—that he's never known about is a lot to take in. I let him work through the revelations at his own pace, twiddling my hooves in my lap.

Velour, finally, swallows and gives a nervous shake of his head while his wings quiver at his sides. "Um, maybe, next time? If that's okay? I should probably start home. I don't want Mom to worry." His eyes dart between the table and mine. "This was... nice. Yeah, nice." His lips quirk into a brief smile. "I always kind of wondered what you were like."

I chuckle and tilt my head to one side. "What am I like?"

"Hmm." The smile returns, this time bringing mischief to his eyes. "I'll tell you when I visit again, uh—" He hesitates. Whatever he says, I'll agree to it, but he doesn't know that. "Next week? Same time, same place?" He shifts a little in his seat.

"That sounds great to me." I slide out of the booth and he follows suit. We fumble through an awkward hoofshake before he trots out into the streets of Baltimare. The door swings shut behind him, and I release a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

Seadust, who owns both the diner and my heart, sidles up next to me and we watch him leave together. "He seems happier'n when he came in," she comments, a lilt of curiosity in her voice. "Good talk?"

I just love how her country accent hasn't faded in all the years I've known her. "Great talk." I turn my head to kiss her cheek. "Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't catch on to the way you kept hovering nearby."

Her lips purse and she shoots me a dirty look. "Oh, an' you were much better! Tellin' him all 'bout his mother like that. Shame on you." She raises a challenging brow. "This where you tell me that your li'l trip down memory lane made you miss her?"

A hum rumbles in my chest as I playfully mull over the question as long as I can before she huffs, and I laugh. "You know better than to ask questions you already know the answer to, saltshaker. But—" I lean in to place a quick peck of a kiss on her lips. "—no. I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

"Don't I know it." Her head turns to look at the door, the mirth still in her eyes but her lips falling to a somber line. "He'll be back, won't he? I'd like to meet him proper." There was a brief pause before she glanced back at me. "If that's all right with him."

I drape a wing across her back and use it to pull her to me. "I think so. He said there'll be a next time."

The smile returns in full force. "I'll bake him somethin' special, then. He like cherry pie? Apple? Maybe pecan? Oh, come on, sugarbowl. What does he like?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure." I press a kiss to her temple. "But I look forward to finding out together."