Denial

Dreams

  The lively town of Ponyville was a nice one, with its happy atmosphere. There were indeed problems every now and then, but those were normally overlooked by the town "savior", Twilight Sparkle and her friends. They were wonderful ponies indeed, each with their own sets of morals and beliefs, but together, they made a great group of friends...

Which is why DeNile hated them.

  The unicorn has his own friends, sure, who joke around all the time, and even go out to have some fun occasionally. Hell, they were all dating each other, so that kinda just proves their strong friendship.

  Vinyl and Octavia had met at a music convention, in which they argued about classical music vs modern. But, then again, opposites attract. The two seem very lovey-dovey towards each other, but that's mainly on Vinyl's end.

  Lyra and Bon Bon met at Bon Bon's candy shop and Lyra suggested that they hang out because they seemed to get along. One day, Lyra kissed Bon Bon after a trip to a carnival, and their relationship started up.

  DeNile and Carrot Top however... They were an interesting couple.  The two met through school, in their History class, which they signed up for in the begin of the school year. At first he absolutely hated her, since he hated carrots, but once seeing how timid of a mare she was, he decided to be nice and befriend her. And, well, one faithful day when Carrot Top was studying in her dorm, he arrived. The first thing that happened when she opened the door is... Well, he kissed her. And how they all came together as friends? Well... It all came down to... DeNile.

  He was practicing the drums for his music class in his own dorm, and Octavia and Vinyl got annoyed, and so did Lyra and Bon Bon. Went they went to complain, DeNile pulled them into the dorm instead of telling them to fuck off, as he normally would. They started to play some instruments, and found that it was pretty fun. And they had a few classes together, then why not become friends?

  So, that is how their friendship came to be. DeNile hated those 6 ponies out of jealousy, which he had a tendency to do. It was his biggest flaw, as Carrot Top had always told him. This had caused him to contradict his special talent, keeping friends together, which was represented by his cutie mark of an icicle, which he never understood, since ice was so fragile.

  His day started as usual, with him waking up next to his roommate, which just happened to be Carrot Top after she moved in with him. That made him happy. He would've never expected that Ponyville University would like stallions and mares bunk together, but hey, that just made him even happier.

  He got up and immediately went into the bathroom, brushing his teeth. Right before he was about to rinse, he felt somepony jump on his back, causing him to shriek. "EEP!" He fell to the ground, Carrot Top landing on top of him with a devious smile.

  "Good morning~" She said, wrapping her legs around him.

  "...Thanks for that, Carrot," he giggled, giving her a soft kiss. "Now, I would appreciate if you'd ever so kindly get off of me."

  Carrot Top laughed, rolling off of her coltfriend. "Well, excuse me for trying to be romantic!"

  DeNile got up, brushing himself off. "It's October. Hearts and Hooves day isn't for some time now, babe." He stepped into the shower and closed the curtain. "Thanks, though. Just don't try doing anything 'romantic' while I'm showering, 'kay?"

  Carrot Top's face flushed red as her face went blank, then defensive. "H-hey! I would never do something like that, geez! That's so inappropriate..."

  He laughed, peeking out of the shower. "Don't act we haven't done it before, C," and with that, he dipped his head back into the shower, leaving Carrot standing there, blushing like a mad mare.

                                                            ~

  "...Pssstttt... Hey, De. What'cha listenin' to? One of my songs, am I right?" Vinyl asked, leaning over to DeNile during a lecture in Psychology class, who had his eyes closed as he leaned back, his headphones shielding his ears.

  "Nope. One of Octy's. Moonlit Sorrow. I really like it."

  Vinyl sighed. "Well, play one of mine next. I can kinda hear it!"

  "Miss Scratch, Mr Blackthorn, is there something you would like to share with the class?"

  DeNile snapped forwards, opening his eyes and levitating his headphones out of view. "Oh... Mr. Minds, I was just listening to last classes lecture, since I missed it. Vinyl was just making sure she'd given me the correct recording, sir."

  "Fucking nailed it, De."

  Careful Minds, the psychology professor, smiled. "Very well, although then you'd have to listen to this one's recording, and the cycle would continue. Just put it away for now, alright?" He said, then continuing his lecture.

  He heard a couple of ponies giggle, particularly Bon Bon, who was sitting in the front of the class.

  DeNile giggled, amused at his favorite teacher's attitude. Careful Minds was a simple pony, but a great professor nontheless. He was like a father to the stallion, since he never had one of his own. He was the closest thing DeNile ever had for a dad. And Minds lived in the building, too, so that's a plus.

  Once class was over, DeNile exited with all of his friends, standing close to Carrot Top. "So, whatdd'ya mares wanna do? We don't have anymore classes, right?"

  They all shook their heads. "Besides a recital in a few hours, I'm good," Lyra said, swaying her head as she walked. "What about you, Octy?"

  Vinyl glared at her. "Hey. Only I can call her that."

  Carrot laughed. "Oh please, Vinyl. We've been calling her that for years now. It may be your pet name for her, but it's OUR nickname for her," Vinyl grumbled, slumping a bit.

  Octavia laughed. "No, no. I'm all set for today. Although, I was thinking of going to Vinyl's concert tonight, since it's all she's been talking about lately..."

  Vinyl grabbed Octavia, looking into her eyes as she pressed their muzzles together. "Thinking? Oh no, you're going. It's my first gig in like, two months! I've just been BURIED in piles of homework and stuff..." Vinyl swayed her head, all grumpy.

  "I've been pretty set on homework. I just do them when I get to my dorm with Lyra. It's a lot easier when someone's helping you, Vinyl," Bon Bon said, making Lyra feel special.

  Vinyl narrowed her eyes. "Yeah? Well, blame Octy then. She never does her homework with me..."

  "I HELP you with your homework. I don't do it with you. You need to learn it on your own. Get a tutor or something," Octavia replied, adjusting her collar.

  Carrot Top beamed, a smile spreading across her face. "Hey! Why not DeNile? He tutored me and a few other girls, and that worked! He really knows how to connect with ponies."

  DeNile slowly turned his head, facing Carrot. "The reason it worked so well is because you got a reward every time. A reward that only you in particular could have."

  Lyra began to giggle. "Oh, and what would that reward be?"

  Carrot Top blushed furiously, awkwardly smiling. "Uhh... Um..." DeNile leaned next to Lyra's ear and whispered it to her, causing her to fall to the ground in laughter. "Sh-Shut up! Jeez, it's not like it's anything weird... We're dating after all..."

  Lyra raised an eyebrow, smirking at her. "Well that's not excuse for temptation, deary."

  Carrot glared at the mint colored unicorn, thinking of a comeback. "Oh please, Lyra. You act like we don't hear you an Bonny every night," this caused Lyra to blush, embarrassed. Bon Bon joined her in this.

  "Heeeyy... Don't bring me into this, i'm innocent..."

  DeNile laughed. "Sure, innocent. Let's just say you're on my 'naughty list' for this year, you bad bad mare..." Bon Bon was about to retaliate, until Vinyl interrupted.

  "Alright, alright. Can we quit talking about how everyone's fuckin' each other and get back to the topic? The tutoring thing?" DeNile gasped in disgust.

  "Vinyl, such language! Octavia, shove soap in her mouth when you two get home... Oh, and yeah, I'll tutor you. You need the help," DeNile stated.

  "Oh, River?"

  "I hate that pet name."

  "Whatever. We have to go see Princess Celestia at for your appointment. About your book?"

  Octavia interrupted. "I never got that. You're special talent is keeping friends together, which is why your cutie mark represents bonding, yet your a writer. Why is that?"

  "Well, you see my dear Octy," DeNile slid towards Octavia, putting his front leg around her. "There isn't exactly a job for keeping friends together, see? And I love writing, so boom: Writer. Simple, right?" To close off his explanation, he gave Octavia a big kiss on her lips, triggering a heavy blush.

  "HEY!!!" Carrot Top and Vinyl yelled at the same time.

  When DeNile pulled away and slid back to Carrot, smiling. Octavia just stood there, looking as adorable as usual. "D-DeNile..."

  Vinyl softly punched him in the side. "You know I hate when you play around like that, dude."

  DeNile giggled. "Hey, that's just my sense of fun. If you didn't like it, you wouldn't be friends with me."

  Carrot Top jumped in front of him to face him, standing her ground. "Well, to make up for that..." She grabbed his face and pressed it against hers, locking him in a kiss that seemed to last forever.

  Lyra nudged Bon Bon. "Hey, Bonny?"

  "Hm?"

  Lyra sighed. "We have the weirdest friends."

                                                                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Carrot Top and DeNile arrived at one of Ponyville's many parks, and immediately saw the tall white pony standing next to the tallest tree in the park. Standing on both sides of her were members of the Royal Guard, who were standing firmly in place. Most of the ponies in the park were staring, while others were struggling not to.

  When Princess Celestia spotted them, a smile spread across her face. "DeNile, Carrot Top! Glad you could make it! You've come to discuss your book, have you not?"

  DeNile nodded. "Yes, Princess. So, I was wondering... Do you like it?" He asked with a hopeful smile.

  The Princess clapped her hooves. "Of course! The plot was invigorating, and the way you wrote about the scenery and characters was outstanding! I'll definitely have it published as soon as I can!"

  Carrot Top beamed, her green eyes shimmering with happiness. "Really? Oh thank you thank you THANK YOU! You have no idea how much we needed this money! I'll never forget your wonderful gift to us!"

  DeNile sighed. "We didn't really NEED this money, C... Okay, we did," DeNile bowed, showing his gratitude. "Thank you, Princess.

  Celestia shook her head. "Oh, no. Do not thank me. I'd hate to turn down such talent... This is the first in a series, correct?"  DeNile nodded and Celestia obviously grew happier. "Perfect. Now, I'd HATE to leave so soon, but I have some errands I must run, adieu!" The Princess walked back to her chariot and her guards followed, only to be stopped. "Oh yes. Wikstrom, Silver, if you wouldn't mind, would you visit Princess Twilight Sparkle in her library? Tell her that I've accepted her request. Thank you."

  One of the guards, Silver, gave a salute. "Yes, Princess," she said. And with that, the Princess was carried off. "...Phew. Great, now we can get back to our conversation. So, apparently she was blown back to the Crystal Mountains. Like, woah."

  "Dude, that's insane! And it was all from the POWER OF LOVE!" The other guard, Wikstrom stated mockingly.

  Carrot nudged DeNile, whispering. "Hey, do you know what they're talking about, De? Did you read anything about something like that?"

  DeNile answered with a headshake, focused on the two. "You know that they had kids!? Two of 'em. A unicorn and a pegasus."

  Wikstrom stared at Silver in awe. "Awww, what? No way! Why hasn't he mentioned anything?"

  "If I were him, I wouldn't. It would probably just get me banished or something. Anyway, they both live here in Ponyville. Well, the unicorn lives in his University dorm, and his sister lives with that one baker. I should know her name..."

  "No way!!! Dude, how do you all this stuff?" Wikstrom said in obvious wonder.

  Silver smiled. "That zebra that lives in the forest. I went to visit her to get some medicine for my dog, and and I saw her little fortune orb thing and boom. Quick info."

  Carrot Top decided to speak up. "You know, you two are being very unprofessional right now."

  The two shrieked, not used to critisism, and spread their wings, flying off. "Thank goodness for that..." Carrot Top turned to DeNile, who had a blank expression on his face. "...DeNile? Are you alright? You seem a bit... Off. What's the matter?"

  "...They were talking about me."