Love-Hate

Chapters

Introductions
Chapter 1- "I'm In a Love-Hate Relationship With My Life."
Chapter 2- "Another Boring Day"
Chapter 3: Where Did the Time Go?
Got Some 'Splainin' to Do!
Chapter 6: Yin-Yang
Chapter 7: Visitation
Chapter 4: What's Cooler Than Being Cool?

Introductions

“Nice hair, asshole.” This was what greeted me as I stepped through the great iron doors of the facility. Now, on a good day I could tolerate a comment such as this without so much as a glance, but today wasn't one of those kinds of days. I woke up early, without a shower and coffee, or alcohol, and felt like shit from a stomach bug after I ate that expired rotisserie chicken last night.

I shot the one who regarded my hair so brashly a quick glare, enough to instill fear in him and keep him quiet. Sweat quickly formed on his brow, and he looked back to his friend of whom he was talking to before I came along. The look of shock on his face was amusing, and it got me to smirk, if only for a second. Continuing on my normal path, I looked around, watching the machinery work its magic and create boundless amounts of energy, every little blink of light around me made me slightly happier to be there. But only slightly.

I love this place, I truly do. Not the ponies, as much, however. Not very many of them have much more value than being our little lemmings. This place though… As I sit myself at my desk, and look through the overwatch window, I see the pillars glow a faint blue as the reactors underneath did their thing. My own creation, those things were – at least, this generation of them – and I was proud of it. Very rarely did they have a problem, and when they did, it was usually an employee being an idiotic bitch.

My office’s thick metal door swung open, and in the opening stood my own personal Hell. She had a shrill, monotone voice, with a hint of sarcasm in every breath. “FLUX!” She screamed in her oh-so-lovely-to-hear-I-don’t-want-to-kill-her-right-now voice. “Do you realize how inefficient you’re being?! Three reactors, at under-clock! Are you trying to drive us out of business?!”

What a great day this was already turning out to be. No coffee, no alcohol, ponies making fun of my messy mane again, Daxalog yelling at me early in the hours… I love my life. The silver-plated bitch’s blue LED eyes lit up brightly in a rage. Her light blue, short mane sparked as well, making a pretty sight for a not-so-pretty mare. Only reason she hasn't been decommissioned and destroyed yet, as well as her lightning-fast calculations.

With a sigh, I replied, holding in all my rage, “For fuck’s sake, you know I built these things, yeah? You think you could shut up for one god-damned second, and just let me run this thing my way? Need I remind you, I am the motherfucking Chief Executive?”

Fucking god-dammit. Lost control again.

Dax softened up, if only the smallest amount, and held back her own angry reply. “Can you please, just, set them normally? Soon?”

I nodded at her, while looking at myself in the mirror. She left, without me noticing, and I had simply stared at myself. My hair was so very curly that morning, it was almost… Cute, I suppose you could call it. My hair, it had a nice and silky look, it complimented my pinkish-purple eyes rather well. I put my hooves together and held them over my mouth. Small tufts of hair would hang from over top them. The scratchiness of my stubbly beard was tickling my sensitive skin, and I dropped my hooves to see myself with a slight grin, a tooth poking out from my upper lip made me look rather badass. I love myself.

What a boring work day this is turning out to be, I thought to myself. A few hours had passed after Dax ran in to bitch at me. Nothing interesting, the occasional few complaints of employees I don’t pay enough, Greenback coming in to berate me and remind me of my past failures, and how he thinks he deserves my job. I’d tend to agree, but, I like the money.

The time rolled by as I watched the television in the corner of my small office. It was to the right of the door, so I could see out of the circular window of it. On the television today, was a show about these three ponies that went into abandoned or haunted locations, and would try to debunk or find evidence of ghosts. It’s silly how they feel the need to prove they exist. I’ve met a few in my lifetime, and met with the very woman who overlooks their souls. Obviously, they’re here among us.

I was done, with today. The sun went down; the employees were leaving to head home to their families or to eat tubs of ice cream and jerk off in the shower, crying about how they’ll never have anyone to love.

My jacket on my back, and my head as clouded by thoughts as ever, I left the facility and locked up, looking behind me and to my sides, in a paranoid scan. The enormous sign above me, which glowed in the night like the moon, read “Manehattan Power Industries.” After I turned the key, a mechanism in the door shut off the lights inside, and the sign, but you could still hear the hum of the generators within at work, underclocked for safety. It was soothing. Once I recorded the noise and listened to it to help me get to sleep. I love the sweet songs of science.

The walk home is tedious, and quiet, and relaxing, and peaceful. Nobody comes out this late at night, so it’s safe on all fronts. Nobody’s usually awake either, so it’s just the tranquil sound of the wind passing through my mane keeping me company. It’s a chilly night, but just warm enough to keep me from shivering. Looking up, I see nothing but a clear sky, patched with some clouds, but nonetheless a very starry night. It’s funny, the street lights are off tonight, but, I won’t complain. I’d rather it be pitch black and quiet than lit and loud.

I took a deep breath, and the sweet smell of Manehattan’s gardens filled my nostrils. This was the last part of the city I had to walk through before I would get to my apartment, which was only a minute away by then. That was my favorite part of the walk home, just being alone in the dark with the flowers’ scent, with nothing but my thoughts and the air. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, as I arrived back at my apartment.

I didn’t need a key, the lock’s been shattered for a year now. My actual job, as a stand-in machine, is to lift up the parts of a nuclear reactor shell and such as it’s being built. By the end, it can weigh up to 7 tons, and it took me two years to get the endurance and strength to get that far. It hurt, and I injured myself hundreds of times. But now, I can do it with nary a problem, and I have extreme strength to boot. Today, though, the production line was offline, and nothing was built. Just another day of nothing being done, I suppose. I won’t complain, though, I may be ultra-strong, but I still don’t enjoy the tedium of lifting that shit. Then again, it wouldn't be a punishment if I enjoyed it.

Darkness. That’s all there is in this place. Darkness, ice cream, and a few pieces of furniture. I toss my jacket aside to the couch, head to the kitchen, grab a tub of ice cream, and get ready for another long, lonely night. At least the shower understands me.

Chapter 1- "I'm In a Love-Hate Relationship With My Life."

“Fuck… My head… How much did I eat last night…?” Murky headed, that’s what I was, and looking up to twelve empty tubs of ice cream answered my question. “Jesus…” It was morning, the shades were opened and the sun hit my eyes full blast. I always hated the sun, especially when it pulled that shit.

I rolled over onto my stomach, grumbling, and hugged my pillow tightly. How I wished that were a mare and not a fluff-filled bag of lies. Looking around the red tinted room, I noticed that the time read nine-thirty in the morning. I almost panicked, but then realized that it was the weekend, and sighed a breath of relief. But what was a man to do that day?

I decided on pancakes. There was a local pancake house not a few miles from my apartment, and I knew the manager of the place all too well. Belgian, was his name, he was a good friend, very close. He’d always give me free food, if I couldn’t afford anything. This was rarely the case, though. I got up out of bed, and walked out the door. I didn’t bother with the shower, wasn’t really up for it. Besides, I was scared that someone would be there waiting for me inside.

It was a long walk to Belgian’s pancake house, and the sun was unusually hot that day. I saw to ponies getting mugged on the way there, as well. I was forced to stop a mugger at one point, because he got in my way. He pointed a knife at me, and I simply slapped it away and tackled him into the alleyway, at which point I began to make my teeth useful. Thank God the police are really stupid around these parts.

Mother FUCK! I promised to never do that again!

I shook my head, thinking of what that poor pony’s family would think when they learned of his passing. Quickly, I stopped caring, and kept on my way over to the pancake house, which was now within my line of sight. The red roof a beacon of the building, it complemented the yellow paint of the main walls rather nicely. There was this huge, spire of a sign that had in big bold letters, “Belgian’s Waffle House”.

Belgian had bought new revolving doors, it seemed, as I ran face-first into them in the opposite direction they spun. Not knowing where to go, I simply let the mechanism drag me back to the entrance, where I tried again in the correct direction. I was inside, and it was a pretty normal day. Not too packed, but definitely not empty. It looked rather homey, decorated with fifties style diner booths and decorations. It was very clean, and had neon lights in plenty of places. A jukebox was playing an old eighties song, by ‘Depeche Mode’. Good band.

I sat myself down, as this diner would allow a pony to do, and waited until Belgian called me up to order. Staring at the menu, I almost didn’t notice Caritas bounce up to the window and yell for Belgian. I was thoroughly annoyed within a millisecond of her arrival.

Caritas was a changeling, and she was open about it. She was actually a changeling queen, and we’ve… known each other for some time now. It was her doing that created me. Or, well, what I am at the moment anyway. Her black carapace reflected myself back at me, and I noticed the slits in my eyes had shrunk, and my eyebrows furrowed angrily. I didn’t get to look for long though, as she sat more normally and her green hair flopped over my reflection. Damn, and I was enjoying the show, too.

“Flux! How you doing, buddy? Here to order or just to relax?” Belgian called to me.

My ears perked up, and my back arched. “Here to order, man. Give me the usual.” I guess my gruff voice scared Caritas, because she jumped and looked over at me, for a second that is. She said not a word, but I knew she was thinking a million insults to spew at me.

“Large hot pumpkin latte, one sugar, whipped cream, and a nice stack of waffles,” Belgian read off my usual order, in a cheery tone. I nodded back, with a smile. “You got it!”

This cute little mare was sitting over next to Caritas. Her fur was snowy white, and her cotton candy mane hung down in small curls just above her shoulders. Her cutie mark of a pencil-butterfly looked rather nice, but staring at asses is usually frowned upon, so I instead stared at her face intently. Icy blue eyes. I would marry this mare right here just for her looks, but, I knew I would have no chance at that with my luck. Sighing loudly, I looked down to the counter and examined every little black speck that was on it.

It must have had been at least a half hour before I tuned back into reality, and I realized my coffee and food was already sitting in front of me. A conversation between Caritas, Belgian, and that cute mare was going on just beside me. Obviously, I was not included.

“… how about at seven-thirty! My place?” Caritas said, staring at the mare with her fake friendly grin. I knew what she was feeling, me and her were connected in a way. She wanted that mare for herself. Caritas, the queen, always gets her way no matter what. I felt sorry for the mare, considering I remember hearing she only liked dick. Wonder how she’ll feel waking up to the taste of pussy?

That’s when I decided I would tag along, without their knowing. Hell, if Caritas could get free pussy and a date for life, I thought I had a chance too. If anything, I could at least talk to the mare. Get her number, maybe, bring her back to my place… Fuck her senseless and marry her? Never know.

Caritas hopped down from her chair, and laughed. “I like you, Ghostly. Can’t wait to see you at the party!” So that was her name?

She shot me a look that said, ‘don’t you dare’. I took it as a challenge, and made it a promise to myself that I’d get in and ruin her chances of stealing that mare’s virginity. Heh, maybe I could even solve my love starvation problem. I’m smart, I thought to myself. Never use it for good though.

I never know what I love or hate. Sometimes, I just think I’m in a love-hate relationship with my life.

Chapter 2- "Another Boring Day"

My television at home had woken me up, but I wasn’t exactly sure how it had turned itself on. It was the morning news, as usual, and… There was that cute mare, uh, Ghostly behind the desk. I smiled warmly at her, as if she could actually see it. However, it didn’t last for very long, as suddenly her coffee spilled over onto her lap, and she stood up with a screech. I stifled a laugh, and my slight amusement quickly turned to anger. I saw that bitch next to Ghostly, I saw her smirk. She thought she hid it with her hoof well, but no, I felt her thinking she had conned everyone into thinking it was an accident.

That bitch.

I slammed my hoof into the remote, shattering it and thusly turning off the television. Damn, it cost me at least ten bits for that thing, too. Whatever, I got up off the couch for work, recalling how mischievous I thought I was last night on my walk home. Apparently, though, the party wasn’t for another week, as Belgian filled me in over the phone yesterday. Another boring week of work, and this week was the beginning of production month. Yippee. I get to throw out my fucking back again.

Internally sighing, I simply put my jacket on once more, and left the house, hearing my door creaking loudly. Ugh, I needed coffee really bad. Even worse, I didn’t get to sleep until midnight again, and I was up at five in the morning. I felt like shit, and probably looked like it. But, a man’s gotta bring home the bacon.

Speaking of bacon, I found a box of homeless puppies outside yesterday, thought I’d cook them up and treat myself.

Anyhow, the walk to work was like any other, however that morning was unusually sunny and cheery. I hated it with a passion, though, it was better than it being rainy, I suppose. The power plant was within my sights as I picked up my pace, itching to get the day over. Unfortunately, my luck never allows for the work day to go by quickly.

I’d reached the steps to the massive facility, feeling the warmth of the reactors inside. I took a deep breath, and smiled, and forced the doors open. Ponies inside, all working monotonously and in sync all turned to look at me. Many sneered, some got sweaty and looked away, and others simply ignored my presence. None would look at me invitingly. I looked around for Greenback, or his wife Peppermint, but neither seemed to be around. Sucked, I rather liked having Pepper as company; at least she treated me with respect.

“Morning, man.” I said to a random co-worker. He was taken aback by my overtness.

“U-uh, g-g’morning? Uhm… I, uh, I have to uh… Go!” The little one darted off, tail between his legs. He was one of the ones I had to evacuate the first times the plant had a meltdown. Poor guy’d been scarred since. I felt some sympathy, but not enough to give him any reimbursement.

Chuckling to myself, I walked along the blue tiled path to the production line, where Hell awaited me. Now, mind you, I can lift quite a lot. A damn lot. I can easily lift these reactors and their tons of parts, but it ain’t fun nor is it comfortable. The bases usually have lots of sharp corners and bolts poking out of them, which dig into my skin and spine, and just hurt in general.

I came to the intersection, where three different colors pointed to three wings of the facility. There was the red, for the chemical wing, green for the production wing, and blue for the main wing. I took a left, to the green area. I heard the working machines grinding their gears, and the supervisor yelling my name over the loudspeaker. “Flux Chord, you’re early. Get to work; you have twenty of them to assemble today. Greenback would also like to speak to you in his office after lunch.”

Ew, I had to deal with him again. Another thirty minutes of his condescending speeches to me, reminding me that I’m not the real CEO anymore, prolly gonna yell at me for messing up his desk again. I sighed mentally, and longed for my old job back. Curse Radiant for blowing up the place twice…

I stood on the yellow line in front of a conveyor belt, waiting for the first part to be—“HURK!”

Jesus Fuck, this hurts, this wasn’t my team’s design! This a new… Thing…? I looked back, and noticed this was an old model of reactor. The original. Just a big box base with nothing but screws and pointy bits on the bottom, and it weighed a lot more than normal.

“FUCK YOU!” I screamed out at my supervisor, knowing he was the one who put the workers up to this. I know it’s a punishment, for my past mistakes, but come on. This isn’t cool.

It hurt, and as more and more parts got welded to each other on my back, the pain only escalated, until bolts were digging under my skin. I attempted to change my back into carapace, to no avail. The bolts still dug under. I had to suffer this time, and for real. I would get Greenback back for this later. Mark my fucking words.

It took four back-breaking hours before I was able to take a break, and by the time I got back to my locker to put on my jacket, blood was trickling down my legs and leaving a trail. I decided against trying to wear anything that time, and just slowly crept my way up to the office. My office, Greenback’s office, they were both one in the same.

Swinging the door open in a huff, I took a step inside and looked Greenback in the eyes as he looked up from his paperwork. “Mr. Chord, welcome back. Third time this month, already?” I supposed he noticed my bloody back. “Well, feel better. So, about what I called you up here for…” He began.

“What, what could I possibly have do—“

“Do not come back in this office while I’m away again. You were banned from ever taking the chair again, and I will not be the one punished if they catch you again. Need I remind you of what happened the last two times you sat your ass in here?” He sounded panicky. Perhaps he had a run-in with the higher-ups, I thought. Those three can leave even the toughest ponies with their tails between their legs.

I ignored his comment about the last couple times. He knew how to get under my skin, and with the raw wounds, it’d be easier, but I chose to ignore the urge to tear off his lips. “No. No need. I won’t do it again, if it makes you happy.” I responded tersely, biting my lip.

“Good. Now, any last things to say, or can I let you go?”

I smiled slightly. “Where’s your wife, eh?” That made his face go red, and I walked away, closing the door with a flick of my tail.

Author's Note

-His comment about Greenback's wife is cryptic at the moment, for good reason.

Chapter 3: Where Did the Time Go?

While I was sipping from my mug of coffee, I had noticed the time stated on the clock. It was already seven o’clock, in the evening. Quickly, I booked it out of the facility, clocking out on my way through the door, and I dashed for the pancake house. The sun had already gone down and once again on this Friday night, the lights had been turned off. It was another cool night, and the wind felt wonderful on my sweaty face. The coolness quickly aided in my back healing, drying up the little trickles of blood and causing it to scab. Thank God, it was really starting to hurt.

The overgrown sidewalks of the slummy parts of Manehattan nearly tripped me up as I sprinted over to Belgian’s to stalk the trio. Hopefully that cute anchor didn’t forget the time and place. Everything was off that night, however, the last light that was on illuminated me ever so slightly while I surveyed the area. Nobody was out, once again. But I didn’t feel quite alone. Ignoring this weird sensation, I pressed on, using the shadows to my advantage. The lightbulb I was previously under shattered from an electrical burst.

It took a while, about twenty minutes, to get to the meeting spot. I couldn’t be spotted though, or else I would have no chance of getting into the party. I took a vantage point, going behind the restaurant and up to the roof. I had a feeling that Belgian saw me, but he was a good friend, he wouldn’t rat me out.

He better not, at least.

One of those funny spinny things was on the roof, and I stared at it intently until I heard a female voice. It screamed, “’Sup, bitches!”

It was definitely Caritas. I peered over, my eyes glowing slightly to illuminate the scene. Caritas was in a casual-type gown, Ghostly was in this lacy white dress, with a pair of silver crystal earrings in. It complimented her eyes wonderfully. Belgian was in this stupid looking plaid shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his knees. I listened in to their conversation, without hinting to them at all that I was watching. For good measure, I made a coo noise to fool them into thinking I was a pigeon!

“Well, the party’s waiting for you two!” She said, “We have to return quickly, before a certain someone decides to crash it.”

Welp, game over, man. I was just about to come out of hiding, before Waffle continued. “It’s not really a bad thing if he’s there, you know… You’re the one who did it to him.”

“He asked me first! What, was I gonna deny a new minion? Come on, everyone wants an extra slave or two.” She responded, bounding forward in some other direction, where I assumed the actual party was.

“Unless that slave rebels and leaves your hive. You know he got a job that’s really strengthened him up, right? Aren’t you worried he’ll come back and kill you?” I pondered this notion for a good few seconds, before my attention was brought back to Caritas.

“Nah, he a bitch, he wouldn’t dare. Besides, I got Saber on my side!”

Little did she know of the surprise me and Saber had in store for her. But I digress; I followed along through alleyways, rooftops, street lamps, sewers, and trashcans for a good while, listening in to their conversations, and Ghostly’s lack thereof.

I smelled the air, and it reeked of death and decay. Most likely caused by the trashcan I was sitting in, but nonetheless, I knew where I had ended up after a good hour or so. I was at Caritas’ apartment building. I knew I smelled a rat!

I looked down at my nose, and on it was the very rodent I was thinking of, and I flicked it off. It squealed in fright, and I climbed out of the trashcan, following the trio into Caritas’ home. Lights were flickering, from this neat spot-light device. This ball hung from the ceiling, reflecting these lights, and it made quite a spectacular show. If this weren’t a mission of stealth, I’d ‘Ooh’ and ‘Aah’ loudly, staring at all the pretty colors.

This was a stealth mission, however, and I immediately snapped back into action, leaping through the door and looking casual. There were other party-goers here, besides the three I knew of. I slipped in with them all, awkwardly smiling at a mare I accidentally faceplanted into. “Sorry, uh, just, trying to get a drink.”

“Think y-you had too many there, already, buddy.” She stammered. I had a feeling she was talking about herself.

Ponies chattered about inside, about their own personal lives, who they’re getting it in the sack with that night, how much they vomited in the past few minutes, and how big their manly-bits were. It was a conglomerate of everything I didn’t want to hear, and I shoved through all of them and picked up a cup of whatever the hell Caritas was serving.

It tasted like root beer, to me, but spiked with something. Not a bad combination, I thought. I put my back to the wall, and watched a few of the stallions here playing beer pong, whilst slouching my back so as to remain unseen. The game was funny, I’ll admit, what with how drunk they all were. One of the ping pong balls flew off the table and hit someone in the eye.

Occasionally I’d glance up and look at Ghostly, who was eyeing around for someone to talk to throughout this experience, I imagined. Her eyes locked with mine, and I, with a sense of embarrassment and flusterednessitude, casually looked away and played it off as if I were some kind of cool cat.

It didn’t work. She started walking in my direction, and I looked over at her with a hopefully unnoticeable blush on my face. Time seemed to slow down for me, and I saw every strand of her bounce with life as her hooves hit the ground. Her eyes started to gleam, as if they were filled with joy, and she picked up her pace. I contemplated moving up to meet her, and I started to smile. Caritas cut her off with a sharp grab to her arm, and pulled her aside, shooting me the stink-eye.

Damn, I was really hoping to get things swinging with her. Oh well… Maybe I still got a chance.

Screw it, I went up and stood behind Ghostly as she and Caritas had a whispering match. Caritas kept shooting me glances, and I returned in kind, gnashing my teeth at her. “… heartbreaker…” Was all I got out of the conversation. I assumed Caritas was talking about me, for some reason, to keep me away from Ghostly.

Ghostly pulled away from her, yanking her hoof away, and she turned to leave. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that I was standing there, and it seemed that she thought I was a wall. She muttered angrily, then looked up at me in a stupor. I smiled down at her, giggling softly, which seemed to confuse her a bit. Did I giggle too evilly?

My forehoof was around her neck, I just noticed, presumably to keep her from falling down from hitting me. Letting go of her and looking off to the distance, I could sense my face getting pink already. My ears felt hot, as well.

“O-Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there, eheh.” She managed, as she moved one of her curls behind her hair with a sheepish smile on her lips.

I chuckled again, more loudly, and this apparently scared Caritas, as she backed away from us both, ears flat against her head. “It’s alright; you didn’t know I was there!” I said to the cotton-candy mare.

Caritas hissed, almost growling at me, “You weren’t supposed to be here…”

I got angry right back, and when I’m angry, I get sarcastic. “Well, come on, doll, I only wanted to have some -fun- like you planned!” Hopefully, Ghost caught what I was hinting at. The green-haired predator stomped away, growling in anger. “Don’t worry about her, dude, she gets bitchy if she doesn’t bang.”

She giggled at that, “So you know her really well, then?”

“Yeah, but, we really don’t like each other.”

With a smile, she retorted, “Oh wooooow, I would have never guessed!”

I laughed quietly again, “Must be pretty blind then.”

Ghostly found a stack of cups, and poured a drink for herself. I looked at her with worry, because knowing Caritas, that drink was probably spiked with a shitload of stuff. But I said nothing, for my own reasons.

She started again, “Hey, uh, why are you here then if you and Caritas hate each other?”

Hah, I could answer that easy. “Because I wanted to crash it! I heard Belgie and her talking about a party and decided to tag along.”

“Well, whatever floats your boat then, I guess. Oh!” She stuck a hoof out to me, and I stared at it blankly. A little forward of her, eh? “I’m Ghostly Mist.”

I stared for a while longer. She wasn’t afraid of me, to the point where she openly let herself be touched by me? Normally ponies just say hello from like, two miles away, but her?

It took me a while, but my own hoof soon grabbed hers. “I’m Flux Chord, and I already knew your name.” Her hoof was soft and small, and delicate like a true lady’s. Warmth started to flow through my forehoof, and to my chest, and I sighed with a slight hint of a growl.

Damn. Accidentally fed off of someone again.

“Nice to meet you.” Her silvery words fluttered out, while I was in the middle of both hating myself and being all shy from a mare feeling safe enough with me to get this close and talk to me. I patted the back of my head in embarrassment, and smiled all sheepishly.

She took a drink from her cup. I gasped, and my smile broke. Cari’s drugs usually took a while to set in for normal ponies, but either way, I didn’t think she was safe alone.

Guiding her over to the wall where I stood earlier, I talked to her casually, waiting for the drug to set in, so I could get her out of there. I discussed the Manehattan facility and its problems, my past, the coworkers… Apparently, aside from her co-anchor, she had coworkers that had large poles up their asses like mine. I drummed my hoof on the wall a few times to break the sudden silence, while not looking at her, until she stopped responding to me calling her name. She fell over onto me, and I knelt to keep her standing.

“Woah, honey… Are you alright? Ghostly?” I called, but she didn’t answer. She just mumbled and sighed. “Hmhm, come on, up on my back. I’ll take you someplace safe.”

I coaxed her onto my back, and laid my jacket over her, and I heard her sigh again. Wonder why she sounded so happy?

Sauntering forward with Ghostly in tow, I slammed the door open, probably making a hole in my wall. No matter though, I had to get this girl to a bed or something, I dunno how many more tummy rubs I can take. She’d been doing it the past, uh, hour I’ve been walking her with me.

Sweetly laying her down on my bed, with her head just under me, she awoke with a start from the movement. My hooves laid on either side of her head, leaving large dimples in the sheets. Ghostly was still drunk, and apparently, she was a horny drunk.

“H-hey, you… You got… You got a nice deeeeick…~” Slurring her words, she barely had enough focus to look me in the eye. But she definitely had good aim for my dick. As she said those words, she poked it with a hoof, and I immediately jumped back.

“W-woah, hey now, I’m not taking advantage of a drugged mare! I refuse to!” Hey, I had morals. Momma always said that she’d slice off my lower half if I raped a girl, and this was technically just that.

“No, no, no… Get, get your ass over here, think of the good feeeeels! Think of them, y-you could… Lemme suck you… Kn-know what? Let’s just, just fuck.”

I took my sweet ass time apparently, and that just made her get impatient, so she yanked my tail, and positioned me accordingly. I wasn’t gonna look, having not been touched in God knows how long, I was just too embarrassed to. Think it mighta made things worse though, as I felt something wet brush up against the tip, and I let out a noise.

“U-Uh, what’cha… Doing?” I asked her.

And just like that, my question was answered, when she forced it as far as she could take it, and added a sort of suction. “Jesus fu—“

That kind of motion went on for a while, occasionally her tongue would hit a real sensitive spot, and immediately I’d seize up and bend over the bed, shivering and grunting to myself. For a woozy, unfocused, slurry drunk, she was good at this. Amazing, I might even say.

After a time, I felt my underside spasm, and I fell on top of Ghostly, sighing and panting loudly. “Y-you… woah…”

She swallowed it all. Man, none of my past girlfriends even tried to, they didn’t even get far enough for it to get up in there in the first place.

“Flux, bro. Fuck meeeee!”

And with that, I did, for two rounds, until I was rubbed raw and she was sore as hell. I passed out next to her, under the sheets, after looking at the clock.

3:37 AM.

Got Some 'Splainin' to Do!

Caritas was being her bitchy self, even while her tooth was grasped tightly by my hoof. “I refuthe!” I pulled harder, attempting to rip it out from the root.

“Bitch! If you don’t talk now, I will rip this fucker out and stab you in the fuckdamn EYE!” I started to twist, seeing Caritas’ eyes well up with tears, and heard a loud crack. If that wasn’t the tooth, then I hurt something bad.

“A-ah! Okay, okay, just stop! Ow!”

“Good call.” I said, ripping the fucker out and tossing it aside, Caritas shouting in what I imagined was pretty bad pain. What a nasty boo-boo!

“SHIT! Ack!” I grabbed her by the throat and forced her onto my couch, and I lay on top of her, pinning her. “Tell me now, or else.” I threatened. In my current position, she was a prime easy target; however I didn’t exactly want to go that far.

“Okay! Flux, the thing… The wendigo spirit I captured, it was for you, I meant to kill you with it. But when I saw Ghostly, and knew that you loved her, I thought I would kill two birds with one stone.”

Enraged further, I leaned in closely and put a tooth to her jugular. “Oh yeah?”

“Ah! You, you don’t deserve anyone, Flux. You never did. And if I couldn’t have her, nobody could, especially you. But then the mare managed to survive…”

A chain rattled in the distance, Ghostly must have shifted in her sleep. Remembering that I wasn’t there to solve me and Caritas’ differences, I eased up, and simply stared at Caritas. “Next time… Fucking do your research. Because now you have an all-powerful hate-fuelled monster against you, and a wendigo.”

Caritas looked up at me, and spat in my face. From my body heat, the spit evaporated near-instantly. “You have ten seconds to get out of my house, and disappear forever.” I spoke as I hopped off of her, glaring at her.

“Ten. Nine. Eight…”

And with that, Caritas ran away in a puff of smoke, most likely to hatch another hair-brained scheme to try to punish me for whatever the hell. I lay back down on the couch, and brushed my hair back with a hoof.

“Damn… How am I supposed to deal with this now…?”

I slept, but not as peacefully as I would have liked. The nightmares, they were… Horrid. As if Ghostly’s possessor was inside my head, trying to use my fear and hatred to fuel itself. Caritas had killed Ghostly successfully in it. I broke down crying, right before that bitch of a queen, and she stood over me. My dream self’s anger was so great, that I became a flame being, so powerful that one punch turned Caritas into a pile of ash, and the resulting shockwave woke me up.

It must have started thundering not too long ago, because otherwise I would have woken up at the first boom. Outside the sliding glass window of my apartment, little pitter-patters of raindrops hit my ears, and I turned my head to stare at a forming puddle on my balcony. Now, I loved weather like this, but, I really wanted a sunny day today. Just because yesterday was a lot to handle.

Alas, today was not gonna be one of those days. I simply went into the kitchen, and decided to cook up some bacon.

Thought maybe a cannibalistic hate demon thing would like some, considering I haven’t been eating much as of late.

The strips sizzled on the pan, plenty of hot oil jumping from the heated metal, and onto my skin. Suuuuure did hurt.

After a time of sarcastic ow noises, I put the strips on a plate, and walked over to the storage room, where Ghostly was being held. I felt awful about hitting her last night, but also, sort of, not. I mean, considering what she was saying and trying to do, I suppose it was a better idea to snap her back into reality.

Opening the door, I looked to my right and saw her lying there, sleeping soundly. After the hit I gave her, she was probably still groggy and in pain. I laid her food down in front of her, and sat down, staring at her. My eyes couldn’t adjust to the light. I turned it off, as it had been left on last night. The grey blue sky light poured in through the window, shining on the sleeping mare on my floor.

“Hey…” I called to her. “Ghostly, baby? Wake up. I got something for you.”

Wait, why did I call her ‘baby’?

“H-hmm…?” She responded quietly. She rubbed her eyes, and sat up. Her eyes were aimed at the floor, rather than at me, and she refused to look up at me. “Oh… I-I’m not hungry…”

I sat there for a while, staring at her. She cupped her face in her hooves, and I kept staring. “You’ve been crying.” I said that a bit more coldly than I had wanted, and I think I might have scared her. Also, no shit she’s been crying.

I got up, and left the room, to give her some alone time to eat. Going back into the kitchen, I went to clean up the pan. The grease was hard to get out, especially when the steel wool would slip out of my hooves. It took an hour, but I cleaned it out fully, and went back into the storage room.

“You didn’t eat?” I said as I noticed the full plate of bacon in front of her. Her face was still covered by her hooves, and I sat in front of her. She shook her head.

I sat there for a while, silently studying her to check and see if she was what she was last night. It appeared that she was cured, like a delicious ham. Haaaaaam.

Anyway! She looked up, thinking I had left from the silence, and looked surprised to see me sitting in front of her with my hooves crossed. “Are you… You, now?” I asked cautiously, in case my voice triggered it to come back.

Ghostly simply nodded at me, looking up at me whilst shivering. I moved her plate to the side, and inched up closer. “You cold, Ghost?” I asked.

“I don’t think I can ever be anything else anymore…”

I moved up a little closer, to her chains, and undid one of them. “Well, lemme get you out of here, and I’ll help you with that.” And with that, I undid the second one, and placed her on my lap as I sat on my ass.

“C’mere, can’t have ya freezing.” Wrapping my arms around her and looking up at her bloodied face, I had hoped I was making her slightly warmer. Just to help in any way I could. I took hold of a lock of hair and messed around with it, noticing its slight curls and very silky texture.

Her sighs of relaxation let me know that she was less tense, and more comfortable. I nuzzled into her chest, and kissed it lightly. Now, that might have been pervy, but it was what I thought was the right thing to do that moment.

After a time of cuddling and being sweet, she broke the silence. “U-uhm… you know I didn’t mean any of that bad stuff I said, right?”

Ouch, she just reminded me of that. I thought for a while, about how much it hurt, and thought perhaps that was what she really thought. But, I also remembered what she turned into, and how little control she had over it. I… Decided I’d be the bigger man.

“It wasn’t you, Ghostly, I know that. So I forgive you for all of it. Okay?”

“… Okay.” She responded, and nuzzled into my neck, and I swear I felt an icy tear melt into my cheek.

“Now come on, let’s get you all cleaned up.” I said, picking her up as one would their wife at a wedding, and kissed her forehead. I took her into the bathroom and laid her down in the bathtub, and sat inside with her. Turning on the faucet, at a nice and hot temperature, I looked at her with a hearty smile.

I found a washcloth, wet it, and held it up to her face, wiping away some of the dried blood slowly and tenderly. The bath had filled up by then, and I stopped the faucet, and continued on with cleaning up Ghost’s face.

“Lucky.” She said, out of the blue.

“Excuse me?” I replied in turn, smiling.

“Oh, uh, nothing. Just, you have a showerhead in your bathtub. It’s, just that you’re real lucky to have one.”

Looking up at the showerhead, and back down at her, I cracked a wide smile. Who didn’t have one of those in their tubs? I started to laugh pretty hard, for some unknown reason I found that funny, and I hugged her close, using a hoof to embrace her.

“I love you.”

Oh shit.

Chapter 6: Yin-Yang

“I love you, too.” She replied, with a smile which quickly zipped off as she realized what she said. Was it by instinct that she said it back, or…?

“Uhm. Heheh, whoops!” I started, to fill the awkward silence, and I looked away from her in a flustered stupor. She didn’t reply, so I just kept on going with washing the blood off her face.

The water really made her hair glisten beautifully, I noticed. And her eyes sparkled like diamonds as they reflected the water droplets falling from her mane. My lights started to go out, as per the curfew of my apartment complex, and a lone candle lit up her face and mine. I had lit it before she got here, in case I had an urge to go to the bathroom, little did I know it would be a romantic setting setter-er thing.

I almost let out a ‘wow’, but I decided against it. The last of the blood on her face was scrubbed off, and I stopped to stare at her. A tad bit later, she broke the silence I left up.

“Uh, Flux?” She called for me. “I think the blood’s all washed off.” She was doing this cute thing with her hair where she twirled it around the tip of her hoof and tucked it behind her ear. I was distracted by thoughts about her, but snapped back into it quick.

My hoof circled around her non-face bits, which were still spattered with blood. She jumped and grabbed the washcloth. “I-I can wash my own body!”

I laughed, looking at the washcloth stiffen in her hooves. “Ghostly, dearest, the washcloth?”

She lifted it up and stared at the new frost forming on said cloth. With a blush, she handed it back off to me, and I chuckled softly. The ice melted off in my hooves, quickly, until drops of water fell off the hairs of my forelocks. Ghostly looked rather surprised, and I caught this.

“You know, I can warm you up easily. I don’t really freeze like this poor cloth here.” God was I ever tired, my eyes were burning, and my eyelids were drooping.

“I think that’d be nice. To be warm, I mean.” She looked as if she was nearing me to cuddle and warm up, but she studied my face for a bit. Guess my tiredness really showed. She got up, and I felt her emotion of guilt.

Her hair was played with by her own fingers as she examined her locks, making a disappointed frown. She’d wanted to take a shower, but didn’t want to impose? Ignoring her not wanting me to do any more for her, I stepped out of the tub, and swaggered over to her, a little dizzy from having gotten up so quickly.

I tickled under her chin, and called out her name in a very soft tone. Like a father would do with a daughter. Ah, uhm, I mean, like a person would do with a kitten? Uh. Lover. Yeah, lover, we’ll go with that.

“Ghostly. Lookie?” I called, still tickling under her chin, and holding in the butterflies in my stomach.

She turned her head, with a slight smirk on her face, and she responded, giggling through her lips. “Yes?”

I pulled her into a kiss, a rather deep one at that. My eyes were closed, and I imagined hers were wide open with surprise. In the moment though, I felt a small warm spark travel from my lips to my core, and I got a small burst of energy. I pulled back, and looked at her face, completely covered in red. She was positively tomato-colored!

I studied her for a while, and then she stated bluntly, “I have to go home, now.”

Surprised and choked up, I looked at her pleadingly. “R-right now…?” I asked cautiously, upset that my time with her had to be cut short so soon.

Slowly, she added, “Yeah, I don’t want to intrude.”

“Bu-!” And she interrupted me. “Plus I have work tomorrow.” I looked up at her with puppydog’s eyes and my ears bent down. I saw her lip quiver and her stare break slightly, but she inhaled and gave me a smile. I sort of felt better, because I knew she genuinely didn’t want to go, and I felt a bit of love in that smile of hers.

“Well. If you really have to, then okay. Mind if I walk you home?” Nodding her head, she bumped into me and nuzzled my neck ever so swiftly and slyly, that I almost missed it.

I slipped on my jacket, and walked down the street with her. Most of the lights were off, save for the apartments that were holding parties. Now, normally I’d have gone inside and smashed the fuck out of their sound system, but I had to keep a good impression on Ghostly. If she truly was the one, or at least one I’d like to be with, I can’t have her thinking I’m a wife beater. Or a beater, in general.

The rap music playing in the distance, muffled by the layers of walls between us and it, was slightly calming. Just the beats of the music vibrating around me, I felt it in my hooves. Ghostly couldn’t, strangely enough, and asked why I was tapping my hooves randomly while I trotted along. It was called dancing, dammit!

Anywho, it was a cool breeze that night. Clouds overhead were moving with the wind, as was the rain that fell from them. It evaporated quickly on my skin, turning to a small puff of steam. Ghostly, on the other hand, had snow forming piles on her head and back. Weird how much different we were from each other.

It took a while, but we managed to get to Ghostly’s doorstep, with some help from her amazing knowledge of the city. Left of the Town Hall (I didn’t even know we had one!), straight ahead until the fountain, and I’d be there, at apartment number four-twenty-seven.

We stopped at her doormat, locking eyes for the longest time, taking it all in. I didn’t know when I’d see her again, but I’d hoped it’d be soon. “So um…” I began. “See you around?”

“Yeah… Take care of yourself, Flux.”

“You too, Ghostly. I…”

I wanted to say it. I felt an overwhelming urge to say it to her, and not have it just be a slip, no, I wanted to say it to her fully knowing that I said it, and have her know how much I meant it. But for some unknown reason, I couldn’t utter the last two words. I stood there for a good while after she had gone back inside. Tears started to form in my eyes, and they were quickly boiled over and turned to salty steam.

I had nothing left to do but go home, and hope for the best. A few hundred tubs of ice cream might soothe my nerves and regret.

Chapter 7: Visitation

Opening the door with a slow push, and a sigh, I looked into the dark apartment. My eyes adjusted quickly, and I saw everything perfectly as though the sun were out. Empty tubs of ice cream, my TV turned to the signal test channel, and a small figure off in the distance in my hall. I looked away, closing my eyes, clearing my head so I couldn’t think about it.

When I turned to look back, the white misty figure had gone, and I felt welcomed again. Going into the kitchen, I went into the freezer, and pulled out something cold. A few popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, and a tub of coffee flavored ice cream. All my favorites.

I flopped onto the couch, hearing most of my joints pop from the sudden movement. While I watched a new channel I flipped to, with my magic as my remote was still dust, I scarfed down some cold shit. It felt good to have a cool head sometimes, literally. The TV was playing ‘Horse M.D’, and if I need to describe what that show is to you, then we’re done here.

“It’s never lupus!” The main character doctor guy yelled, as he slumped into a chair. That’s just what gramps said a few months ago, just before he was diagnosed with lupus and lung complications. Eh, always the breaks when you work in the mines. His name was Ol’ Ironside, known for how quickly he could mine out coal and iron deposits, and how he managed to save an entire shaft of workers from a cave-in, and save himself with nary a scratch on him. I planned to meet him in a couple days, as well as some other family of mine. Damn, imagine if Ghostly came along, everyone’d be asking me personal questions of all kinds.

I shook off the thought. My face was already getting red, and if it got any more red, my head’d pop. I dozed off, thinking about Ghostly. Perhaps it’s best to just, let life take its course and hope for the best. Maybe by pure luck, she’ll come over in the middle of the night someday. Not today though. It was already two in the morning by the time my train of thought finally fizzled out, and I barely got four hours of sleep before my phone started ringing.

I grabbed it grumpily, and held it to my ear. The vibrations of the voice on the other end irritated the fur inside my ear, and I cringed. “Flux! Babycakes, me and your father wanted to invite you over for dinner with your pappy and me-maw! Think you could make it by eight tonight?”

Ugh, what time was it even now? Uuuugh, eight in the morning. “Y-yeah, sure, I can probably do it. See you tonight, mama. Love you.”

“Love you too, sweetiepie!” And I heard the click of her receiver.

“Fuuuuuuuck, I love you guys, but I’m really out of it…” I thought aloud to myself. Might as well just grin and bear it, it might be fun. ‘Sides, me-m—I mean, grandma usually gets me nice-ass gifts, I don’t see any issue. Just as long as she doesn’t comment on my friggin’ beard again, things oughta be fine.

I closed my eyes again, after setting an alarm next to the couch for six, and immediately after, heard the incredibly loud ring of an old-timey alarm clock. Fucking sleep, how does it even work?! Pushing myself up and letting my mane fall over my face, I went into the bathroom, and stepped into the bathtub.

It was hard not to tear up, remembering the night with Ghost. I had to push past, though, and turned on the shower, on the hottest setting. To me, however, the boiling hot water felt only lukewarm. I made it quick, I don’t like long showers in the slightest, and I especially hate when the curtain blocks my view of the rest of the bathroom. But if I open it, anyone who walks in could see my dick. I don’t want no ponies craving the Flux D, man.

Okay, so nobody craves my D, but you must always use precaution. I spent thirty minutes in the shower overthinking on myself, until I turned the water off, burned it off my body, and put on my jacket. It was now exactly seven eighteen. I had time to get there, maybe if I speed-walked, or sprinted, or…

And like magic I was there. Wow. Like, you should have seen it, I ran so fast. I ran so fast using my teleportation power thing, at least. One of the perks of being a disgusting love-thieving insect. Moving forward, I got to my parents’ doorstep, and stared at their new doorbell. The shape surrounding the small button was an ornamental griffon head engraved into smooth metal.

Tenderly, I tapped the doorbell, and a lovely tune rang out throughout the house. Ding-dong ding-dong… Dong ding ding dong!

“Fluxy!” My mother yelled, as she swung the door open, and jumped at me to give me a great big hug. She was much smaller than me, but she had a bear-like grip. Hell, if she wanted to, I bet she could choke me to death whenever she felt like it.

“H-hey, mommy! Er, uh, mom!” I coughed, hugging her tightly back. My dad came up from behind her, adjusting his glasses and looking at me with a warm smile. “Cookie, dear, let the poor man go, you’ll kill him!”

She abided, giving me a peck on the lips, and stepped back. I had noticed her mane had been put up in a bun, and was dyed purple. Strangely enough, the light purple went well with her light grey coat. Despite her slight weight issue, she really did rock her manestyle. According to my dad, she also has quite the nice ass. Though, I’d really rather not think about that.

“Son, it’s been a while. How’s life been?” Rusty, my dad, opened with. His goatee looked a little scraggly, and the ponytail he usually wears in his aging dark grey mane was out, long, and straight. He looked into my eyes with his own bright green ones, which complimented his rust-colored coat rather nicely.

“It’s been treating me alright, man. I missed you guys, a lot, I’ll be honest.” I went up, and gave him a tight hug. I heard his back pop, and I immediately stopped. “So! What’s for dinner?”

“Well, your mother’s cooking up pumpkin pie at the moment, and we’re just having a regular Fall-themed dinner as usual during the season.” Aw shit, son. Pumpkin fuckin’ pie!

“Sweet, daddio.” I went into the dining room I grew up in, and saw my grandparents looking back at me. Ironside smiled, but didn’t say a word. That was his way of greeting me. Grandma, however, ran up to me and kissed me mercilessly, and made squeeing noises at me. “My my my, how much you’ve grown, Fluxy! Oh! I have something for you.” She said sweetly, and pulled out a dark purple jewelry box thing. She opened it, and inside was a rather beautiful (if only slightly feminine) necklace. I thanked her profusely for it, and hugged her softly.

After the thanking was finished, I sat down at the table, where my mother and father took their seats next to me. My mother leaned over and kissed my cheek, and thanked me for coming over at such short notice. A half hour passed, and the food was ready, and the pie and other Fall-themed veggies and shit were all free range for the family to fill their plate up with. There were actually two huge pies cooked, and I could smell the warm love within them.

Love is a weird kinda thing, it smells like whatever it inhabits, but alone it smells like strawberry candies. It tastes just as good as it smells, almost all the time. However, if a food is cooked without love, it tastes like shit to us. We’ll grimace and find any way of getting rid of it that doesn’t involve our mouths.

I piled up my plate with one or three servings of everything, and I brought it to the table. My dad piled his up with five servings, showing me up in how much he could eat once again. I suppose it’s good he does that though, otherwise I’d feel bad about eating a whole bunch of foodshitstuff. We had an eating race, much to the chagrin of my mother, and I came out on second.

“So, you have a marefriend yet?” My mother broke the silence with that sentence. My face got quite red, but I answered truthfully.

“There is this one mare I’m sorta hitting it off with. Her name’s Ghostly Mist.”

“Oh! You mean that one news anchor?” Grandma interjected, looking rather excited. Glad Ghost’s getting the exposure she wants.

“Yeah, her! She’s really beautiful in person, and I think she likes me. She went over to my apartment yesterday, she uh, heh… She said that she loved me.” It was hard to admit all that without exposing how exactly we met. I doubt mother-dearest would appreciate knowing I had sex with Ghost while she was drunk off her ass.

“Oooh, nice, babycakes.” My mother gave me a firm sidehug, and we stopped the conversation again. I looked at the grandfather clock, and the little hand was on ‘XII’. I think that meant twelve.

“Sorry, my loving family, but I think I should prolly head home. I got work in the morning and—“

“Wait! Flux, you can stay here tonight. The plant’s closer to here and we still have your old work coat here.” Their offer was tempting. Tempting enough to take it, so I did.

“Well, then if anything, I should head to bed. So, goodnight everyone?” I said, standing up and heading for the upstairs bedroom.

“Alright, sweetie, goodnight. Love you!” I felt a small amount of warmth in my core, and I returned her proclamation of love. The rest of the family began to converse about their random family endeavors, and I opened the door to my old room.

There was my old bed, a TV, and a desk with my old-ass computer on it. Wonder if I still had Doom on a floppy there. Even if I did though, it was probably best I just went to sleep, so I flopped onto the bed and let out a loud sigh. Good God did this feel gooood…

The blinds on my window were open, the shutters letting in minimal amounts of moonlight. This house was the one I grew up in, and everything in my room was the same as I had left it nine years ago. The computer’s mouse moved slightly from the shake my flop gave out. My old screensaver, the stardust moving outward, was mesmerizing. Frickin’ old-ass operating system I have there. XP, man.

Staring at the screen for a while, my eyelids started to droop. After quite a while of lying there and waiting, I fell asleep. I dreamt for once, of the future. Of Ghostly and me. Of possible marriage. Of the destruction of Caritas, and ranking high up in the changeling hierarchy under Chrysalis. And Ghostly cooking for me.

My internal alarm clock went off, and my eyes shot wide open. Outside was still dark, so I imagined it was five in the morning, and I got up out of my bed all groggily. I needed coffee bad as fuck.

Going downstairs and into the kitchen, I started the coffeemaker thing. The beeps started, and water started to heat up in the tank. I put in a coffee ground-filled filter, and closed the lid. As soon as I did, the water rushed through and into the pot, filling the room with the sweet smell of hazelnut.

I stole one of my mom’s slices of pie, and scarfed it down with some whipped cream on it as my breakfast. Once the coffee was done, I poured it into a ‘Number One Dad’ cup, feeling the warmth of the stuff on my face. I drink it black, so no need to use my mom’s special creamer. Good thing, too, she’d kill me if I used it all.

I chugged it all down, got my jacket outta the closet and put it on. Opening the door, I looked back and whispered, “Goodbye.”

The tedious work day went by, and I got more back injuries from the terribly heavy reactors, and my wounds bled all the way back to my apartment. Ugh, I should join a union. Nevertheless, I got back home, and opened my door tiredly. I looked around, locking eyes on the couch, and thinking it’d be the best thing ever. So there, I leapt onto it and moaned loudly.

“Ooooh GOOOOD.” I’m sure my upstairs heard me. This was made clear by the fact that they stomped their hooves on my ceiling, yelling at me to keep it down. Their upstairs neighbors prolly yelled at them too, for causing such a racket.

I read the clock, and it said it was about ten at night. I tried closing my eyes, but I just couldn’t pass out. Unfortunately, despite being exhausted as all hell, I was too tired to sleep. So, instead, I turned on the TV and popped on a movie. The Lion King oughta do it!

So there I lie, watching movies under a blanket with a glass of chocolate milkshake, and popcorn on the side. Last I checked, the time was eleven fifty, and I heard a rapping at my door. I stood up, and draped the blanket over my back, slithering over to the door. “UUUUUGH. Who is it?”

“Gh-Ghostly?” The pony on the other side responded, and my mood immediately lightened up. I thrust open the door, and smiled at her welcomingly.

“Heeeey. What’s up, Ghost?” It had apparently started raining again. In her case though, it started snowing. Lightning struck somewhere a few miles away, and the resulting boom resounded over her reply.

“C-can I come inside?” She repeated, her ears flat against her head. “It’s all rainy…”

“Heh, raining. But yeah, come on in, I don’t see an issue with it.” To her I probably gave off an air of not wanting her here, but on the inside I was more happy than ever.

She came inside, shivering off the layers of snow, and came by next to me to sit on the couch. She stopped though, and looked at one of those other random tubs of ice cream I leave laying around.

“You uh, really like your ice cream huh?”

“Yeah! It’s good shit.” I said, taking a huge sip of my milkshake.

“You want me to make you an ice-cream cake?” My eyes widened in surprise. I replied, calmly. “HOLY SHIT THEY HAVE THAT?” Then I calmed down and asked a real question. “Wait, you came here to make me a cake in the middle of the night?”

“Well no, it, uhm… It’s just a bad habit of mine to bake cakes.” Marry me. “Anyway! I came here because…”

She remained silent for a beat, twirling a lock of her silky, purty-ass hair. “I didn’t want to be alone.”

I blushed ever so slightly, and gestured with my hoof for her to come over to me. She abided by me, and scooted up, to where I could wrap my foreleg around her and hold her in a close snuggle. She took a really deep breath, and sighed happily.

“You’re warm…~” She said softly, and I replied just as softly, whilst bringing her closer, “Am I?”

She nodded at me with dreamy eyes, and I let out a small giggle. We focused our attention at the TV, watching whatever random-ass movie was playing, and for a while we just enjoyed each other’s company. I trailed my hoof down her foreleg, and rubbed it. Just a small massage to help relax her some more.

After some time of waiting around and not saying a word, she climbed up on my back, to which I responded by twisting my body so that she lay on my stomach. Using my magics, I pulled a blanket over us both, and stared into her eyes. “Cold, are you?”

“Yeah, I am…” Those were the last words I heard before one last happy sigh was let out, and she fell asleep, her head resting on my chest. If you asked me now, I’d tell you I really did believe in soulmates.

After we talked and talked about nothing for a while, my eyes got all red and stingy, and Ghost’s eyes were already closed. “Hey, ba- I mean, Ghostly? Wanna head to bed?”

“Mhmm…~” She said, already halfway into dreamland. I didn’t have the energy to move, so I simply cuddled her closer and kissed her lightly on the nose.

“Okay. Hey...?” I started, nervous to say what I wanted to next.

“Hmmm?” She hummed. My face got red while my eyes were closed, and I could feel myself getting hotter. “I love you.”

A small giggle came from within her, and she sighed all happily. “I love you, too, Fluxy…~”

My eyes were fully closed, and I started to feel my brain slow itself down, to a halt, and I was quickly dreaming. But this time, it was more of a nightmare. I dreamt of Chrysalis, my genetic queen, killing Ghostly and exiling me. It was something about getting married before clearing it all with her. She was pissed, and Ghost fought as hard as she could, but even a rage filled wendigo can’t handle an entire cave of changelings. Then I was exiled for my negligence, and stripped of my diplomatic authority. It was a terrible thought, but it gave me fair warning. I thought to myself, after partially awaking from the nightmare, that I’d take Ghostly tomorrow to talk to Chrysalis about the relationship. Hopefully, Ghostly answered her questions right…

I awoke to her screaming, in the opening of the hallway, watching a spectral figure shoot past her body. As it did so, she ducked and whimpered, even long after it had disappeared. In an instinctual action, I scrambled over to her and scooped her up. “Ghostly, Ghostly, it’s okay. You’re okay, I promise, don’t worry about a thing.”

“I-I know…” She snuggled into me as I carried her through the hall, into my room. Last I checked, it was about two in the morning. I laid her down on the bed, on the soft and warm comforters, and hummed to her as I lay down myself. I rubbed one of her ears, and bid her to come closer to me.

She quickly clung to me, burying her face in my chest, and shivering. Consoling her with sweet words and soft tones, she soon stopped shaking, and instead her breath got real soft. A hoof wrapped around me and I was spooned by the Little Spoon. “Ah, what’chu doin’ back there, bish?” I jokingly asked.

“Spooning you!” She proclaimed, rubbing my chest with the tip of her hoof. I couldn’t help but shudder in pleasure. Haven’t been touched in forever and all that, you know. She kept going for a while, occasionally blowing frost on my back.

“Ack! Never been spooned by the Little Spoon before, heh.” She blew more frost on my back in response, and I shivered with a smile. Looking over my shoulder, I asked, “Why do you keep doing thaaaat?”

“To get you back for being so damn sarcastic!” And she blew even more into my shoulder.

“Well it’s working, so staaaaahp!” I yelped, and rolled over onto my stomach, hearing the neighbors upstairs banging on the ceiling. Ghost quickly moved up to my butt and sat on it.

“Wh-what now, then?” I inquired, covering my face with a pillow. I felt a hoof penetrate deep into my knotted muscle in my shoulders, and I let out a loud moan of pleasure. Hot damn, I needed that bad, apparently. She massaged my shoulders deeply, and went along my spine, down to my lower back, and parts of my ass. I was just in pure, non-sexual bliss.

After my wonderful sex-like massage, I snuggled Ghost from the front, nuzzling into her nose. “Aah-hah-haaaaah… God, Ghostly, I fucking love yooooou…~”

She giggled, and squeezed me closer. “I fucking love you toooo~” She professed, and kissed me on the cheek. I smiled big at her, and sighed happily.

God, I’m glad she came over.

Chapter 4: What's Cooler Than Being Cool?

It was all hazy when I awoke, groggy and lightheaded, and close to vomiting. What woke me up? Bleh, it felt like my skull was shrinking in on itself. I felt something beside me move, slowly at first, but then begun to yank at my sheets. Was it some kind of monster? Or assassin? I looked over to my left, perplexed, and tried to focus my eyes.

She looked at me back, with a blush on her cheeks. She was sitting up, the blankets covering her topmost parts, for some strange reason. We didn’t have tits. The blankets were pulled down just a bit more, to the top of my stomach, and she finally stopped. I noticed her rubbing her head and sighing, looking back at me; while I stared at her while not cracking a smile, but all the while being happy.

For a moment while she looked away, I lifted the covers up and noticed how red my penis was. Weird, didn’t burn y—OW. HOLY FUCK.

I made a hissing noise by sucking in through my teeth, and that caught her attention. She lay back down with a thwump, and stared at me for quite a while, not saying a word. I rested my head on one hoof, and stared into her eyes.

After a beat, she opened her mouth, and spoke. “Flux.”

“Hmmmm?” I sighed, but also asked, still in my dreamy, groggy-like state. Most likely came off as all happy that she was there. And I was.

She looked nervous, and antsy. “W-well, uh, did you use protection?” Definitely knew we did the do. I nodded my head slowly, and tilted it as a dog would. “What’s wrong, Ghostly?” I was still very tired.

“W-well, it’s just that, I wasn’t expecting to wake up next to you when I passed out… Uh, especially with my sore… Rear.” A blush came to her face.

“Oh! But, uhm, I know it looks bad, but I did say no at first. But then you kinda, yanked me by the tail and… Started sucking.”

Confusion was prominent in her expression, but she chose not to say anything. She didn’t say much, but I could feel that she wasn’t exactly angry or ashamed, or hell, it almost felt like she didn’t mind that we did it. In a good way.

“So. How did we come to uh, you know, fuck? Why am I here?” Ghostly started.

“Well, at the party, you took a sip of that drugged drink. I was afraid that –someone- was gonna take advantage of you, so I took you home. This is my place by the way.”

“Didn’t you take advantage of me, though?” She asked, with a sly grin.

“No, like I said, I said no at first. It was more like you took advantage of me.” Smiling right back, I started to get up for the door, to give her time to recuperate.

“Wait, did Cari’s girlfriend know about her rapey tendencies?” Ghostly asked. I suppose it wasn’t exactly hard to figure out who drugged the drink.

“Heheh… No. But I’m telling Lee the moment I can. It’ll be good fun. Now c’mon, get rid of that headache and come outside, I should probably get you to your own home.”

Ghostly let out a muffled ‘okay’ as she slumped back into her pillow, and rested up for a few hours. Later on, I had set out some water for her next to the bed, on the table. I’ve heard it was the best cure for a hangover, so, may as well give it a shot.

I sat alone in the living room, feeling both guilt and amusement. I took advantage of her, in a way, but really, she wanted me that bad? ‘She had enough control to not want Caritas, as I had learned last night on my walk home. It was hazy, but she asked for Ghost at one point, and she flat-out refused. I laughed pretty hard back there. So, does Ghostly honestly want me for me? Maybe she wants to date me? Hohooooh, man, I’m feeling pretty lucky right now. Maybe. Hope I’m right.’

I flipped on the television; it was in Russian on most channels but the news for some unknown reason. It was like that when I bought it and assembled it. Rather than ask someone for help in fixing it, I tried learning the language. I can only understand about half of what the characters on-screen are saying.

This weird show that was playing was called Sherlok Kholms. It was about some detective dude, solving crime and kicking baddies in the dick!

After some time, I heard hooffalls coming from the direction of my room, and I heard the cutest little kitten yawn emanate from the source. Looking back, I noticed she looked a lot more awake than before, despite her yawns.

Before I could speak to her and call her a cutie, she interjected.

“Hey Flux, wanna go out for some coffee? My treat.”

The coffee shop loomed over us as we walked through the glass doors of the place, its height blocking out the sun from our eyes and keeping us enclosed in darkness. It was the afternoon hours, so the place was rather empty, with a few regulars here and there. I didn’t take the time to notice the sign.

A neon thing was placed on the window, which read out ‘OPEN’ in big bold letters, while the lights would move around in a circle to advertise the place. I held the door for Ghostly, and she walked inside in kind, with me following just behind her. Her ass was pretty damn nice, if I do say so myself.

I thought she caught on that I was staring, as her tail swished to one side, but I quickly looked away with a slight blush. We sat ourselves down inside, meanwhile I got plenty of stares from the other customers.

“So, you want a…?” I started, and she finished my sentence for me. “A hot chocolate!”

She sounded incredibly happy when she uttered those words, and I couldn’t help but smile brightly at her. She handed me a few bits, and I went up to the counter to get our drinks. The cashier shrunk down as I approached, despite me trying to put on my best smile. I guess those fangs really do scare off some ponies.

He gave me the drinks for free. He said frantically, “H-hey man, it’s cool! Y-you can get them on the house, j-just please don’t suck the love from me!” Huh. Well, can’t complain, but I was truly offended at his overt racism.

I sucked half the love out of him when he wasn’t looking. Hey, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. I looked back at Ghostly, and felt a smaller amount of love emanate from her. It was significant, but not her entire supply. Smiling sheepishly, I turned around and told the cashier what I wanted, and he immediately went and got them, nearly tossing them at me as he came back, and ducked under the counter.

A coffee for me and a hot chocolate, with mountains of whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle for her. My coffee was black this time, but still had a bitter pumpkin flavor to it, which I loved. She took a drink of her hot chocolate (which she was –very- eager to receive, so much so that she bounced up and down when she laid eyes on it!), and brought the cup down to reveal a whipped cream beard.

“So, why did you take me out for coffee, lovey? I mean, I should be making it up to you, not the other way around.”

“Iunno… I guess for being drunk? And, to make it up to you for genuinely trying to help me and keep me safe in my drunken state. You know how rare it is for a guy to do that? Rare.”

I blushed, and looked down at my coffee, thinking back a bit. It’s rare for me to be kind to just anyone. I wonder… Why I was so open and kind to her now, having just met her? I’m not usually like this. It’s almost like there’s some kind of connection, but, I can’t exactly place my hoof on it…

“Flux!” Ghostly said softly, and I jerked my head upward. She booped my nose with a whipped cream covered hoof, and giggled. I laughed heartily, and wiped it off, licking the tip of my hoof.

“Cutie.” I commented, without realizing it. Whoops!

She blushed at that, but before I had time to say a word about it, two large figures burst through the coffee shop’s doors. Shit, I thought, the Royal fucking Guards. Who had called them, and dubbayoo tee aytch, man?

“Ghostly. When I tell you to run, you book it with me.” I whispered, just as a guard came closer to me. I shot her a look to see if she understood, and she nodded at me in agreement.

“You, Mr. Chord. We know about your secret. I think it’s time you came with us.” The sergeant spoke gruffly, and seemed malevolent. I met with this particular one before, his name was Bastion. He was the first on the scene of the infamous Manehatten Power Disaster Number One. The first to see the ruins, and the first to see me climbing out of them alive. “Come on, you need to come with us, or you’ll make things harder for you and your girlfriend.”

Hah!

“Run.” I said that, as I jumped up and bit into Bastion’s throat deeply, causing him to bleed profusely but not enough to kill him. He cried and yelped in pain, begging his buddy to help, but I had already changed into my true form. The shock of it all scared the rookie away, and he sprinted away, in lieu of Ghostly, who had also disappeared.

Finishing Bastion off with a knockout move, I bandaged him up real quick with a towel, and ran for the hills to wherever Ghost had gotten off to. Hopefully she wasn’t too afraid of me after that whole spiel.

I could only expect it, though, it always happens. But, ya never know, so I went to find her, tracking her by her slightly weak love trail. I heard sirens off in the distance behind me, so I was forced to disguise myself as my pony form again, in hopes that they’d forget who to look for. I kept walking towards my apartment, because the scent was coming from around that area.

The sun was beginning to set, an orange-red hue with a dash of purple filling the sky. I could just barely see it over the buildings I was hiding behind, in alleys, but it looked pretty all the same.

Then I heard the screams. It was…

“GHOSTLY!!!” My voice boomed in an echo through the empty scene, and I heard more screams in response. It was coming from my apartment, and I could feel her love trail slowly fleeting. I spared no time, using the teleportation spell I learned in my first days. I arrived at my front door, and kicked it through, nearly making the steel door crumble under my panicked force.

“Ghostly, where the fuck are you?!” I yelled, as she shouted once more in kind. They were shouts of immense pain.

The storage room was where I discovered a bloodied Ghostly laying on the floor, and a stunned Caritas looming over her. Ghostly’s eye was bleeding like a fountain, and she was punching at her nose trying to brain herself. Caritas was grinning, but it quickly disappeared when she saw my pure rage on my face. My muscles tensed up, showing through my fur and making me look colossal.

“You bitch. You fucking whore.” I said under a fiery breath. Literally, as a small green fire spouted from my mandibles. Two spikes on either side of my face poked through, dripping blood onto the carpet. A large horn sprouted from my forehead, breaking through skin. Armor pierced through my joints and chest cavity, and a large glowing purple crystal gleamed in the sunset light.

I took a heavy step towards Caritas, growling loudly at her while Ghost moaned in pain off to the side. She looked more ethereal than before, somehow.

“Come closer. I have a fucking bone to pick right now, and it’s not gonna be pleasant.” I jammed my hoof into her knee, causing a loud snap, and I looked her in the eyes when they filled with fear. Then with anger.

“This is your fault, you tool! You just had to try and st-steal another one from me! Nobody loves you, Flux, just fucking get it through your thick skull! Nobody loves you and nobody ever will!”

I slapped her as hard as I could, hearing jawbone crunch under the force of my hit. Luckily for her, she healed rather quickly, but I placed another hit in the same place, crunching the already broken bones.

“If nobody loves me, then nobody gets to love you.” I said harshly. Growling came off from the side in Ghostly’s direction. Her screaming stopped a few minutes ago, I noticed.

“You’re an idiot, you know that! You blew up Manehattan twice, killed plenty of ponies, and you can never keep a lover for like, more than a week!” Caritas yelled at me, and I hit her in the throat, silencing her.

Ghostly lunged forward, and grabbed Caritas in a chokehold. “Wh-what?! That was supposed to kill you!” She yelped, as Ghost held her tighter.

“Well, you’re stupid for underestimating me then, aren’t you?” Ghost replied, an ice-cold chill to her tone. She froze a spike of ice to her hoof, and cut a line down Caritas’ collarbone, freezing the blood that dripped down.

“You’re naïve,” she said, “using a dangerous power to try and kill me? I’m not a defenseless little filly, Cari.” Her icy hoof cut further down, and she pointed it at Caritas’ eye. Caritas was silent, and I had wanted Ghost to stab her brains out, but I moved forward to stop her.

Caritas was thrust into my body, and I held her stable, while Ghostly readied her arm. “Thanks for holding her, babe!”

A loud rip resounded from Cari’s back, and screams were screamed into my shoulder, as she bit me. I jerked my shoulder, ripping out a tooth, and hit her in the jaw. Ghostly smiled from behind her, looking even more ethereal, and… Pardon the pun, ghostly. And misty. Two wings, that of a changeling, were held in her hooves.

I threw Caritas aside, probably breaking her nose in the process, and grabbed Ghostly by the shoulders. “Ghostly, what the hell is getting into you?” My grip was immediately released as she jerked my arm away, and she moved closer to me.

Tenderly, she brushed the bristly stubble of my beard, and she whispered to me. I felt strange, I wanted her, I still loved her, but… I felt as though she hated me. It was a love-hate kind of thing going on with her.

“Tell me how it feels.” She started lowly. “What does it feel like to love, but to never be loved?”

I clenched my teeth together, in hurt anger, and felt a fang stab my lip. I took a deep breath, and looked directly into her eyes.

“Tell me what happens when you get fired. Tell me what it feels like to be worthless, useless.” She didn’t stop taunting me, for an unknown reason, I wasn’t aware of any reason she’d be like this. I was scared, hurt, and most of all…

Angry.

“Ghostly, god-dammit, will you stop?” I inched forward a bit, and growled. She was unfazed, and kept taunting me about my failures and how I’ll never amount to anything. Finally having enough of it, I shoved her forward and pinned her to the wall. “If you don’t shut up… Bad things will happen…”

“Go on, get angry. Make the bad things happen, why don’t you show me how powerful you are! Or are you really just a weak man in a strong guise?”

I slapped her. Hard. Pinning her to the ground, I demanded Caritas get some chains from one of the boxes. At first she refused, but then I threatened her with a now incredibly pissed off Ghostly. She abided, after I slowly started to let go of her hooves.

Caritas chained her hooves down, and hammered in rivets to the floor to anchor them in, and I was able to get off of Ghostly without her jumping up to kill me. “Now…”

“What, you big oaf?” Caritas interrupted. I grabbed a fang of hers, and pulled her forward.

“Tell me what the fuck just happened.”