"Coming!" Came the singsong reply after a few moments. I took a deep breath, trying to think of what to say.

'I can't just barge in and ask her straight out. That'd be rude.' I thought. 'But I can't be too discreet. Might make me seem like i'm a pussy. This is ridiculous! I hate doing this kind of stuff. I didn't even liked asking Kate, and I knew she would say yes!'

My thoughts were cut off as the door opened, revealing Derpy.

"Oh, hey Anthony." She said, blushing slightly.

"Sup, Derpy." I said, wringing my hands together. 'Fuck, this is gonna be so awkward.' I thought.

After a few moments of silence, Derpy said "Oh, where are my manners! Anthony, would you like to come inside?"

"Sure." I replied, walking past her when she stepped aside. "How are you?"

"I'm good." She said as she lead me into what I thought was the kitchen. "I was just about to make some muffins. You want to help?"

"Yeah!" I said, excited. I had always enjoyed baking. It was one of the things Kate and I did together, to relax. "I'd love to!"

Derpy smiled as we entered the kitchen. There was a small table, probably used for eating on, an oven, a fridge and a countertop, where a few ingredients were on top of. "That's good!" She exclaimed, beaming. "I have all the ingredients ready."

I looked over the ingredients. There was self raising flour, eggs, milk, sugar and chocolate chips.

"We're making chocolate chip muffins, I see." I said. Derpy nodded. "Friggin' sweet! I love muffins!"

Derpy's face lit up at that. "So do I! They're easily my favourite baked goods. Except the ones that Pinkie made one time." She shuddered. "I believe she called them 'baked bads', and I agreed completely."

I looked her with disbelief. "I thought Pinkie was the best baker in all of Ponyville! They couldn't have been that bad!"

Derpy looked me straight in the eyes. "They had potato chips and worms in them. Worms!"

I winced. "Righto. That does sound bad."

Derpy opened a cupboard and pulled out a mixing bowl. "They were. But enough about Pinkie's bad muffins, let's make some good muffins!"

"Amen to that!" I exclaimed. "Do you want me to mix up the ingredients, or do you want to do it?"

She thought for a second. "You can do it." She said. "I wanna see if it's easier with hands."

I nodded. "Fair enough. Can you pass me the ingredients?" I asked.

Derpy nodded and handed me them. "What, no measuring cup?" I asked, confused.

Derpy shrugged. "I like guessing. Most of the time it's wrong, but it makes them so much better when you get it right."

I nodded. Can't argue with that logic. "Rightio!" I said, pouring, what I thought to be, around two cups of flour into the bowl, followed by around one cup of milk and half a cup of sugar. While I was doing this, Derpy had cracked, and beaten, two of the eggs. She handed them to me, and I added them to the mixture, along with a handful of chocolate chips. As I was mixing the ingredients together, Derpy pulled out a muffin tray and greased it. She then put it down in front of the bowl, ready to be filled.

"Wow!" She exclaimed, turning her head to look at the clock on the wall. "That only took about 5 minutes!"

"I'm guessing that's a lot faster than you normally do it?" I said.

She nodded. "Oh, yes. It normally takes around fifteen minutes or so. I guess having two ponies really helps!" She said with a smile.

I started placing the mixture into the tray. "Yeah. I used to do a bit of baking back home. It was one of my favourite pastimes."

Derpy opened the oven and, when I finished pouring the mixture in it, put the tray into it.

"Well, it's nice to know I can ask someone to give me a helping hoof in the kitchen, besides Pinkie." Derpy said after closing the oven door. She then looked me in the eye, her eyes staring straight into mine.

"Yeah..." I said, trailing off. Her eyes were so beautiful.

Then I felt it. A feeling that I haven't felt in nearly two years. That warm feeling you get when you looked at someone you liked.

We held the gaze, for what felt like an eternity.

"Derpy..." I said after a while. I reached out and touched her face. Her fur felt soft against my fingers. Her eyes stayed still, but showed a slight pleasure from the contact. She suddenly reared up on her back legs, putting her forelegs on my shoulders. This surprised me a bit, but I recovered quickly, holding her up. Then her head started moving closer to mine.

'Oh, shit!' I thought, slightly surprised. 'Are we really gonna do this? I mean, she's a pony, and i'm a human!' I looked at her beautiful, golden eyes again. 'Then again, love comes in all shapes and sizes.' I started leaning forward as well, hoping to meet her in the middle. We got closer and closer, until our faces were only a few centimetres away. She had closed her eyes, and I had started to as well. We were so close, I could feel her breath against my face, making that feeling get stronger and stronger with each passing second. Suddenly, I felt her lips, soft against my own. The sudden contact made me recoil slightly, but before she could get the wrong idea, I pressed on. As our lips touched again, the oven decided to be the biggest cock-blocker in all of history.

'DING!'

"Mother of fuck!" I exclaimed in surprise, accidentally dropping Derpy, who shouted as well and flew a few feet in the air, the top of her head nearly hitting the roof. She started blushing, and, when I felt my face turn hot, I realised I was as well.

"Muffins are done." I said, smiling. Derpy's blush faded, and she too grinned.

"I guess they are." She said with a giggle. She then started laughing. Hard. It was one of those really contagious laughs, so I couldn't help joining in.

We rolled around on the floor for, what felt like, a good ten minutes, holding our sides as our bodies convulsed with fits of laughter. When I finally calmed down enough, I looked at Derpy, and saw her staring at me, a smile still on her face.

"I'll go grab the muffins. We can share them while we discuss... Stuff." She stated, getting up and walking over to the oven. I nodded and started getting up, still chuckling. I made my way over to the dining table in the middle of the room, pulled up a chair, sat down, and started recalling what exactly just happened.

As I was collecting my thoughts, Derpy flew into the room, muffin tray held out in between her two forelegs. 'How does that even work?' I thought, as she set the tray onto the table and sat down at the seat opposite mine.

My stomach grumbled, and I realised that I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I reached for a muffin, but my hand was swatted away by Derpy's wing. She fixed me with a stare and said "You should know better! The muffins have to cool down, otherwise you'll burn your mouth."

I grinned sheepishly. "Right. I knew that." My stomach started complaining as I smelled teh muffins. "They smell so good, though!"

Derpy smiled. "Yes, they do. But you'll have to wait, I don't want you to burn yourself."

I grumbled under my breath, but agreed. I looked at her face, and said "So, are we a thing now?"

"I dont know." She sighed, looking down. "I mean, we met, what, just over a day ago! You're nice, funny and i'm guessing handsome, but because I don't know your species, I can't be a judge on looks. This just seems so rushed!" She looked at me, confusion clear on her face, which gave way to a more tired look. "I just don't know what to do."

"Hey, Derpy." I said, in what I hoped was a comforting voice. "It's ok if you're confused. Hell, i'm confused as well, but we just have to take what life gives us. I should be more upset then anyone, seeing as I have been transported to a strange, alien world, filled with mythological creatures and talking horses! But you all have been so friendly and kind to me, that I think, no, I know, that this place is better than where I was from."

Derpy looked at me, confusion once again filling her features. "Don't you miss anypony from your world, though?" She asked.

"No." I said, sadness filling my voice. "The only two people worth missing back home were murdered a few years ago."

Derpy gasped at this. "Who were they?" She asked, concern laced in her voice. "Were they important to you?"

I sighed. "Derpy, I'll tell you everything one day." I said. "If we are going to become a couple, i'll need to wait until the time is right to tell you. It's bad enough that I have to tell Twilight, her friends and the Princesses fairly soon. Shit, that reminds me! I need to see if Twilight has gotten a letter back from Princess Celestia!"

As soon as I finished that sentence, Derpy's face turned from one of concern, to one of anger. "No you're not, mister. You're gonna sit right there, talk with me about whats going on and have a few muffins as well."

When I went to protest, Derpy raised a hoof to silence me. "I completely respect your decision to not tell me about your past for a while, but we still need to talk about, you know... Us." She said, and I couldn't help but agree with her. Those muffins looked great!

"Orright. But as soon as we know whats going on, i'm going to see if Twilight has gotten a response. Deal?" I asked, holding out my right hand.

"Deal." Derpy agreed, putting her hoof in my hand an moving it up and down. After the weird hand/hoof shake, she grabbed a muffin and took a bite. Her eyes widened as she chewed, and she moaned in delight.

"They can't be that good, can they?" I asked. Derpy nodded her head, and took another bite. I shrugged, grabbed a muffin, and took a massive bite out it. My tastebuds were instantly assaulted by the worst tasting thing ever. I spat out the remains of the muffin and saw solid chunks, that were not chocolate chips. I grabbed one and held it up to Derpy. "What in the hell is this?" I asked, gaining a surprised look from the grey pegasus.

"Thats a chocolate covered hay ball." She said. "I thought you said you liked them."

I face-palmed. "I said I liked chocolate chips."

"Thats what they are." Derpy deadpanned.

"Oh. Well, whatever! I can't eat anything with hay in it. My digestive system isn't meant to cope with it and it tastes like arse." I stated, causing Derpy to frown.

"So you can't eat anything with hay in it?" She asked. I shook my head. "Well then, we'll just have to make plain muffins next time!" She said with a smile, causing me to smile as well.

"Y'know, you would make a really good girlfriend." I said, earning another confused look from Derpy.

"Oh." She said, something having dawned upon her. "Is that how you said marefriend back in your world?"

I sighed at the obvious name swap. "Yeah, that's what it was."

She smiled sweetly, and said "Thanks! I reckon you would make a great coltfriend!"

I groaned internally at the title, but smiled at her. "So, is that it?" I asked.

"Is what it?" She asked, confused.

"We're a thing now." I stated, smiling.

"Yeah." She said, grinning herself. "I guess we are." And with that, she leaned over the table and kissed me. At first, I was a little surprised. But then that feeling came back, and I started to respond, putting my own lips in action.

We held that kiss for, what felt like, an hour but when it stopped, I wanted more. That was one of the best kisses i'd had in my entire life. We sat there and stared at each other for a few moments, until Derpy flew up and over the table, and landed gently in my lap. She started nuzzling against my chest, so I put my arms around her body and rested my head atop her head.

"Anthony?" Derpy asked after a few minutes.

"Hmmm." I responded, still holding onto her soft body. Her coat was incredibly soft and warm against my bare arms, almost like a doona.

"Weren't you gonna go to Twilights and see if the Princess had responded?" She asked.

"Meh." I grunted, earning a giggle from Derpy. "I'd much rather stay here."

She giggled again. "Fair enough." She stated, snuggling deeper into my chest.

We stayed in that position for a while, only moving to get a drink or, in Derpy's case, making a quick pasta sauce and putting some water on to boil.

"Since we're a couple know, you might as well stay for dinner." Was her reason, and I wasn't one to complain. We were having pasta, one of my favourite dishes, and I got to spend some more time with Derpy.

After a relatively plain dinner, Derpy asked me to stay the night, and I obliged. I told her that I would have to tell Twilight why I didn't come back. We both laughed at the thought of her panicking over where I was. She had offered to share her bed with me, but I declined, saying it was way to soon in our relationship to be sleeping together. I agreed, however, to taking out the spare mattress and sleeping in the same room.

After a few minutes of rearranging, we finally got the mattress into place. As it was still relatively early (around 9 o'clock), I showed Derpy some more music. She enjoyed all of it, but particularly enjoyed Paradise, by Dungeon, and I agreed with her. That song is beast.

We then looked over at her clock and saw that it was late. Real late. Like 1:30 am late. We laughed, said goodnight, and climbed into our beds. I put one of my headphones in and put my phone on shuffle, like I do every night, before closing my eyes, and drifting off to sleep with a smile on my face.

For the first time in over two years, I was genuinely happy. The gaping hole in my heart had been partially filled, and was closing with each moment I spent with Derpy, like she was a metaphorical shovel, filling it in with happiness and good memories, and burying the darker, more evil side of me.

These were my final thoughts before I fell fully asleep.

==========

I awoke to the sound of sobbing.

'Bloody fuck.' I thought 'Who is cryi-' I stopped suddenly as I realised where I was. 'Derpy.' I thought.

I got up and walked over to her bed, only to see her curled up in a fetal position, crying.

"Derpy." I whispered, shaking her slightly. "Hey Derpy, you alright?"

Suddenly, she gasped and bolted upright, shoulders shaking and her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Anthony!" She half yelled, half sobbed, jumping into my arms, wrapping me in a tight hug. She started speaking incoherent nonsense while I tried to calm her down.

"Shh, shh, shhhh." I said calmingly, having dealt with situations like this with Anna. "It's ok, Derpy."

After a few minutes of calming her, she finally settled down enough to speak. "Can you please sleep with me?" She pleaded, tears still in her eyes.

"Sure, Derpy." I said, climbing onto the bed and under the covers, next to her. She immediately started snuggling up against my chest, sighing contently.

Suddenly, a song, one of my favourites, started playing. It's one of those songs that you can't help, but to sing along. And thats what I did.

You come to me, with scars on your wrist
You tell me this will be the last night, feeling like this
I just came to say goodbye
I didn't want you to see me cry, i'm fine
But I know it's a lie!

This is the last you'll spend alone
Look me in the eyes so I know you know
I'm everywhere, you want me to be
The last night you'll spend alone
I'll wrap you in my arms and I wont let go
I'm everything, you need me to be

I was interrupted by a light snore. Looking down, I saw Derpy, sound asleep with a light smile one her lips. I can't sing for shit, but that didn't seem to matter to Derpy. I smiled at how adorable she looked, before yawning. I realised just how tired I was, understandably, seeing as it was now 4:00 am. I yawned again, before closing my eyes for a second time that night.

Author's Note

The song is The last night, by Skillet, if you didn't know.

I wrote more than half of this chapter in less than 3 hours. I'm pretty happy with myself.