Austin drummed his fingers against the back of the couch as he stared out the living room window. The sound of rain pounding down against his roof was adding annoyance to his impatience. He had tracked it online and thus knew it would arrive that day.
Just as he let out a sigh, Austin heard the familiar rumble of a mail truck pulling into his driveway. He rushed outside and met the letter carrier halfway down the path leading to his home. Shielding the package he was handed under his shirt, in an effort to keep it from getting too soggy in the rain, he dashed back inside.
Austin placed the box on his kitchen table. Reaching for a knife, he proceeded to carefully slice open the packing tape. He unfolded the flaps and stuck his hand down into the newspaper shavings to reveal the gem inside.
In his hands he held a lovingly-handmade Twilight Sparkle plushie. He gently removed a few remaining strips of newsprint from her lavender body before stroking her three-toned mane and tail. He ran his fingers along her embroidered cutie mark, its uneven texture bumpy against his skin, and felt a strange but pleasant sensation warming his chest. And as he stared into her amethyst eyes, this feeling grew stronger.
The brony retreated to his bedroom, still cradling the stuffed toy in his arms. He set her on his bed and undressed before joining the pony. He didn't totally understand why this feeling was coursing through his body, increasing with every touch of Twilight's baby-blanket-soft coat. But he wasn't going to fight something that felt this good, and continued exploring every part of her body. The rain crashing down outside was suitable background music as passion rose like the sun at dawn, cumulating in the most powerful rush the brony had ever experienced. But it quickly faded, and in his contented state Austin drifted off to sleep, blissfully unaware of what awaited him the next day.
Austin was pulled from his sleep by the bang bang bang of someone knocking on his door. This was followed by a voice flowing in from the cracked-open bedroom window.
"Come on Austin, I know you're in there 'cause your car's here!" called Rebecca, one of Austin's friends. Austin grunted and tried to fall back asleep as Rebecca unleashed another round of bangs upon his door. He just didn't feel like dealing with his friend's big mouth this early in the morning.
But Austin had forgotten his door was unlocked, and to the nosy Rebecca, an unlocked door was an invitation to enter. Half asleep, he didn't notice the sound of the door opening, or the tapping of Rebecca's footsteps as she searched his house for him. She finally reached Austin's bedroom, and peaked through the gap of the ajar door.
Despite her shy exterior, Rebecca was no prude, and could barely contain her laughter at what she saw inside. A few seconds later she brust into her friend's room, childishly yelling out ''Boo!" as she did so. Austin jolted awake, the Twilight Sparkle plush falling from a conspicuous location on his naked body down to the floor. A storm of profanity escaped Austin's mouth as he tried to cover himself with his blanket, Rebecca nearly wetting herself with her hysterics.
''I... didn't think... you were... that... desperate, Austin!" she tried to say, still overcome with laughter.
''Who do you think you are coming in my house like that?!" Austin demanded.
''That's what you get, leaving your door unlocked! I coulda been a burglar!"
''I could probably have you arrested, ya know!"
''Go ahead! Jail doesn't sound that bad! You get food and TV and health care!"
Austin grumbled at his friend's irreverence. ''Don't speak a word of this to anyone,'' he ordered.
''And if I do?"
''REBECCA!"
''Okay, okay, I promise.''
''Good. Now get outta my room!"
Austin tried to put this whole embarrassing incident behind him. Several weeks had past, and he attended a brony meet-up at the mall with Rebecca and a few other friends. Of course he brought along Twilight to show her off. After purchasing half of Hot Topic's pony inventory, the group settled into the food court for lunch.
Austin soon noticed Rebecca whispering to Trent, a mutual friend, whom she was sitting next to. The two were doing a poor job of hiding a chorus of giggles and snickers.
''What's so funny over here?" asked Austin as he approached his friends' table.
''You perv!" Trent suddenly blurted out, still laughing. ''I can't believe I touched that plushie! Got any hand sanitizer?!"
Austin's face was bright red as he lunged forward, ready to choke Trent. Fortunately he was grabbed from behind by another friend before he could reach his victim. Austin jerked away from his restrainer's grip, still steaming with embarrassment, and retrieved Twilight. He cast a hurt glare at Rebecca as he headed out the mall door.
Austin yawned as he closed his laptop. ''I think we've uploaded enough pics of ourselves,'' he said, turning to the stuffed pony sitting beside him on the couch. ''I'm sure one'll make a nice wallpaper.'' He hugged Twilight close and carried her off to bed.
It had been four months since Austin's humiliation at the mall. Too ashamed to speak to his friends, he cut off contact, even with Rebecca. Nevertheless, she still pounded on his door nearly everyday, shouting apologies. To fill the void, he became increasingly attached to the stuffed Twilight, more attached than he had ever been to any human friend. To Austin, Twilight was human, and he treated her as such, taking her everywhere he went. Even the stares of other shoppers as he pushed a cart through the grocery store with a stuffed pony in the child's seat could not deter him.
Austin awoke with a cough a few hours later. A foul odor permeated the room, and as he opened his eyes he saw smoke was filling his chambers. As he approached the door he could feel the heat of the fire burning in the hall. It would later be determined that the blaze was caused by Austin's charging laptop overheating.
Austin grabbed Twilight from the bed and tore open his door. But stumbling along as the flames nicked his body he lost his grip on the toy. Austin turned around to grab her, and as he did so a thunderous crash knocked him to the floor. Part of the roof had collapsed, blocking his way out.
Slumped on the floor, Austin hugged Twilight close. His path was blocked, and flames were surrounding him. Even trying to reach a window was a hopeless endeavor. As he realized this, he began stroking Twilight just as he did the day he got her. The warmth of desire started to fill him just as the blaze began to reach his body. But he did not flinch or cry in pain, for he was with Twilight. With her, even in death he could feel no discontent.
