It's Probably Destinyby The Salamander DJChaptersThe Rain Just Keeps FallingThe Dreams Begin... But Ends PoorlySavior in GrayThe Next Day Starts Well...The Rain Just Keeps FallingIt was raining. It wasn’t just any rain, but the rain that soaked through your clothes and puddled in your shoes. It was raining hard. You could put your hand, or hoof in this case, in front of your face, or muzzle, and not be able to see anything but a blurry shape. In the rain stands a light brown Pegasus mare, soaked to the bone. She’s walking through the streets of Ponyville slowly, not caring if she gets wet. Tears mingle with the water running through her coat. She wanders through the empty streets, not knowing where she is going, not even caring. A street lamp illuminates her face, and her tear-stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes become obvious to any observers, not that there would be any in this storm. She stops under an awning, hoping the storm will pass quickly so she may continue her way. “Destiny!” She spins around and sees a gray stallion barreling towards her. They collide and land sprawling in the street. “I’m so sorry, I was flying and lightning struck right next to me and I spooked and I lost control,” He babbles quickly, blushing. They quickly untangle themselves and the stallion lowers his head ashamedly. “I-its fine, Chills.” He raises his head, hearing the strain in her voice. “Hey, you don’t look so good.” “I’m f-fine.” He stares at her, not believing a word of it. “Destiny, you've been crying. Tell me what’s wrong.” She looks away, trying not to cry again. “I c-can’t. I’m sorry.” Chills opens his wing suddenly and creates a cover for Destiny. She shivers as the wind blows through her coat. She looks up at him and frowns. “You’re getting wet, Chills. You shouldn't have to do this for me,” she whispers. “I’ll be fine. I was getting wet anyway. Let’s get you home.” She lowers her head quickly. “N-no, I can’t go back.” He deadpans. “Why not?” “I… Just can’t. Don’t worry about it.” “Let’s find somewhere out of the rain, then. That’s the least I can help you with.” “T-thanks, Chills.” They begin to walk, Chills still covering Destiny with his wing, and begin searching for a place out of the rain. They pass restaurants, shops, and houses, looking for somewhere that was open. Because of the storm, most of the businesses were closed and the ponies were locked in their homes. Destiny looks up at Chills. “Why were you out flying in this weather?” He blushes. “N-no reason.” She punches his shoulder playfully. “You had a reason. What was it?” He mumbles inaudibly, staring at the ground. She deadpans. “What was that?” “*mumble* looking for you *mumble*” She giggles. “You were worried about me?” He blushes again and looks away. “Yeah. Just as a friend, of course.” She giggles again. “Of course.” He looks around, avoiding her gaze. “Hey, I know this neighborhood. We’re close to my house. Wanna stay there for the night?” She blushes. “S-sure, if that’s okay with you.” He chuckles softly and punches her shoulder softly. “Of course it’s okay. I offered, didn’t I?” She chuckles softly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” They continue their walk through the winding back alleys of Ponyville, Chills becoming soaked and Destiny drying off. She looks up at him. “Really, you don’t have to do this for me. I know we’re friends, but that doesn’t mean that you have to get sick for me.” He grins sheepishly. “Yeah, I do. You know you’re my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were just foals. I’d do anything for you.” She blushes deeply and looks at her hooves as she continues to walk. Chills, with a renewed sense of vigor, stretches his wing to try and cover more of Destiny. They soon arrive at Chills’ front door, him soaking wet and her almost completely dry now. He grins widely. “Welcome to my home.” She looks up at the small building. “That’s it?” He grins nervously. “Well, my friend showed it to me at a good price so I thought, ‘Why not?’” She giggles. “You always were a bargain hunter, Chills.” He opens the door and ushers her inside. He switches on the single bulb in the hall. “Be sure to wipe your feet.” She sticks her tongue out at him. “Yes daddy.” He waves a hoof dramatically. “Ta-da! The latest, the greatest, the most spectacular house of them all! And it all belongs to little old me.” She laughs and gasps in mock astonishment. “Wow! It’s amazing!” He chuckles. “It’s not too bad. I’m glad my friend was able to show me this place. It’s in a quiet neighborhood, so I don’t see much action back here. I like the peace and quiet.” She smiles at him. “That doesn’t sound like you. You’re always the one looking for action and adventure.” “Yeah, well, I like adventure when I’m not at home. When I’m here, I’d like to be able to relax.” He leads her into a room at the end of the hall. It is sparsely furnished, with only a small coffee table and a couch. There is very little that would tell an outsider about the owner of this abode. On the wall hangs a small picture of a younger Chills with two older ponies which look like they could be his parents. On the table is a vase with some daffodils inside and an empty glass. Despite the room being so small, everything seems neat and orderly, leaving the feeling that the room is bigger than it is. He points to the couch. “Please, sit down while I get some drinks.” She sits down carefully and tries to fix her matted mane. Chills soon walks in with two oat shakes and passes one off to her. “You always know what I want,” she whispers softly. He grins sheepishly. “Well, you have been my friend for almost my whole life. I should hope I know what you like.” She blushes deeply. “Y-you’re always so kind to me.” She takes a sip of her shake, trying to avoid Chills’ gaze. He pokes her stomach. “Why were you out in the rain without an umbrella?” “It’s nothing.” “You could have gotten sick. What’s the matter? Why did you do that?” “I said it’s nothing.” “Destiny, please don’t lie to me. I know when something’s on your mind. Talk to me about it.” “I… can’t. I just can’t, okay?” “No, it isn’t. I’ve told you that you can say anything to me, and I’ve never kept a secret from you. Why would you do this to me?” “B-but Chills…” “No buts. I want to know. If you didn’t want me to know, you wouldn’t have been out looking for me in the first place.” Her eyes widen in shock. “H-how…?” He smiles. “Like you said, I always know what you want.” She blushes intensely. “I… felt you might be able to help comfort me. Do you think you can do that?” “If you tell me what happened.” “Please don’t make me tell you this…” “It’s a simple request, Destiny. I’m not asking for anything else but to simply know what’s got you so upset that you would run out into the rain in search of me.” “I’m so sorry for making you worry…” “Destiny, just tell me what happened.” “Well, I was out on a date with a stallion and I think he was trying to be nice and pour the wine but it spilled and it got on me and I freaked out and I hit him when he tried to clean me off and he got angry and stormed off and I started crying and I ran out because I didn’t want people to see me cry and I didn’t know what to do so I came looking for you.” The words came out in a rush, and as soon as she finished, Destiny began to cry again. Chills put a foreleg around her and pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay… I don’t blame you for the trouble that he caused. He should have just let the waiter take care of it. And he had no right to touch you without your permission.” She sobs heavily. “I’m so so sorry Chills… I freaked out and I worried you… I’m so selfish…” He hugs her tighter. “It isn’t your fault. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” She sobs again and buries her face in his shoulder. He pats her back and speaks consolingly into her ear, trying his best to comfort his friend in her time of need. Slowly, the sobbing stops and she sits still in his arms. “Feeling better?” he whispers in her ear. “Yes, thank you.” He goes to pull away but Destiny refuses to let him go. “Please… don’t stop…” He smiles softly. “Why not?” “Because… it feels nice like this…” She rests her head on his shoulder and sighs contentedly. The warm air of the small house quickly begins to heat up as their body heat combines. Soon the cozy room becomes uncomfortably warm and Chills pulls away. “I’m gonna go get my fan. It’s way too warm in here.” Destiny pouts. “But I was enjoying that.” Chills chuckles. “It’s way too warm to keep that up. I’m just looking to make you happy. You know that.” She sighs. “I know, I know. Always the best for your best friend.” He laughs at this. “So you remember that? I haven’t said that in years.” “Of course! You used to say that every day like you were trying to drill it into me.” “Oh yeah, sorry about that.” He grins sheepishly at the memory. “You should go get that fan so we can get back to what we were doing.” “Oh. Yeah.” As Chills made his way towards the stairs, the rain hammered loudly on the roof, only now noticeable in the silence. Author's Note If you liked this, I'm going to keep writing this for my friends, so I'll post more if you enjoy it. Please leave your feedback in the comments and email suggestions for stories if you have any. The Dreams BeginThere is a loud CRASH from upstairs and a shout from Chills. “Are you alright?” shouts Destiny. “Yeah, I just dropped the fan. I’m fine.” “Oh good.” A few minutes later, Chills struggles into the room with a large metal fan on his back. He sets it down in the corner of the room and plugs it in. A cool breeze blows its way throughout the confined space and cools both of the sweating ponies down. “Feeling better?” asks Chills in a soft voice. “Yes, thank you.” Chills walks over to the couch and sits down again. Destiny scoots over to him and lays her head on his shoulder. “You make such a nice pillow.” He blushes and mumbles something about feeling awkward. “Its fine,” whispers Destiny. She nuzzles his neck softly and breathes in his musky scent. “You smell amazing…” Chills blushes brighter and attempts to scoot away, but is prevented by Destiny. She grabs his shoulders and pulls him close. He attempts to pull away again, but she puts her forelegs around his neck and kisses him. At first he struggles half-heartedly, but then he begins to kiss back slowly. She starts to pull him on top of her, but he pulls away. “We can’t do this, we’re just friends.” She cranes her neck up and whispers in his ear, “Very good friends…” He stands up quickly. “Destiny…” She looks at him pleadingly. “Please Chills, I want this…” He looks at her, and his gaze softens. “We could at least date for a while before we go this far.” She lowers her gaze ashamedly. “I guess so.” He smiles softly. “Good. I’d love to go out with you. How about a date? Maybe 6:30 tomorrow evening?” She smiles weakly and nods. “I’d like that.” Chills holds out a hoof, and she takes it. He pulls her onto her feet and leads her into the guest bedroom. He pulls back the sheets and lifts her onto the bed. Blushing slightly, he tucks her warmly under the covers and kisses her nose. “Goodnight Destiny.” She smiles. “Goodnight Chills,” she whispers softly. She shuts her eyes, and Chills tip-toes out of the room and closes the door quietly behind him. He sighs, and makes his way to his own bedroom. As he crawls into his bed, he reflects about the day’s events. The flying, the crash, the tears, the cuddling… all of it seemed to happen so fast. And yet… and yet it wasn’t bad. It felt like everything was supposed to be like this. Like this was… destiny. He shut his eyes slowly, smiling at the thought. When he opens his eyes, he was lying in a deserted street in the middle of Ponyville. There appears to be nobody in sight and the houses appear to have been flattened by some great force. As he stands up, he notices a vaguely pony-shaped shadow standing at the other end of the street with its back to him. He begins to make his way towards the shape and as he gets closer, he begins to recognize the pony. “Destiny?” She spins around quickly. “Chilling Speed?” He sighs with relief. “Oh thank god, I thought everyone was dead or something.” She trots up to him and slaps him hard. “You idiot!” He rubs his cheek and glares at her. “What the hay was that for?!” Tears begin to well up in her eyes. “They’re dead… they’re all dead…” He steps back, shocked. “Dead?!” She sobs heavily. “They’re dead… because… of you!” This hits him hard. He sinks to his knees, trying to absorb the information she had just flung at him with such malice in her voice. “Because… of me?” She didn’t respond as she curled up in a fetal position, crying heavily. Chills walked over slowly and touched her side, but she slapped his hoof away. “Go away! I hate you!” “B-but…” “You had to try that stupid trick! I told you it was dangerous! But no, you wouldn’t listen!” “I d-don’t know…” “Just shut up!” She stands up unsteadily and began to canter away. “Wait!” shouted Chills. She stops but doesn’t turn around. “What?” “I don’t know what’s going on…” “I don’t care if you do or not. You did it, and that’s all that matters. You killed every single pony living here in Ponyville. Not just a few, which would have been bad enough. Every. Single. One.” Chills sits down heavily. “How…?” Destiny snorts with contempt. “I told you. You tried to do a stupid, dangerous flying trick because you’re ‘the fastest and most amazing flyer in all of Equestria, and even better than Rainbow Dash’.” Suddenly, Chills sat bolt upright in bed covered in sweat and screaming. When he finally calmed down, he reflected on what had happened. It was just a dream, he kept telling himself, just a dream. He couldn’t believe what he had seen. It just wasn’t possible. He slowly calmed down, trying to keep his breathing under control. Out of nowhere, the door slammed open and Destiny rushed inside. “Are you alright?” she asked breathlessly. “Y-yeah… I’m fine,” he says quietly. Destiny sits down next to Chills on the bed and puts an arm around him. “You screamed. What happened?” “It was just a dream. Just a dream.” She looks at him carefully, trying to see what the problem was. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t see what the issue was. “Well, okay, but I’ll be in the guest room if you need me.” She stands up and starts towards the door, but Chills grabbed her foreleg. “Stay with me. Please.” “Okay, I’ll stay with you.” She crawls under the covers next to him. “I’ll stay with you forever.” “Thank you. That means more than anything to me right now.” “I only wish I could know why.” Chills drapes a foreleg over Destiny’s side. “I can’t tell you right now. All you need to know is that I had a bad dream.” She sighs heavily. “Okay, but you have to promise me that you’ll tell me some time.” He smiles softly. “Okay, I promise.” “Good.” Chills soon hears the soft breathing of Destiny begin to slow. Smiling, he shuts his eyes slowly and falls asleep. Author's Note I see that people like the story so I'm going to keep writing. And remember, if you have any suggestions, you can e-mail them to me, be they for this story or new story ideas. ... But Ends Poorly“Are you ready yet?” The voice floats into the bathroom from way of the bedroom. Chills sighs. “Can’t you hear the shower running?” “Nope.” “Well, you can wait another ten minutes for me to finish. The dinner reservations are for 7:00 and its only 6:15. We aren’t that far from the restaurant so we don’t need to leave until 6:45.” “At this rate we won’t leave until 8:45. Hurry up!” Chills sighs again, shuts off the water, and climbs out of the shower. Yanking a towel off the rack on the wall, he begins to dry himself off. Humming quietly, he finishes drying himself and looks in the mirror. Satisfied, he picks up a bowtie lying on the sink and attempts to put it on, failing miserably. Groaning loudly, he ends up tying the thing in a knot in an attempt to tie the bowtie correctly. Destiny knocks on the door. “Are you alright in there?” “I can’t tie this damn bowtie.” He attempts to undo the knot but only succeeds in making it worse. Destiny opens the door and walks into the bathroom, staring closely at the knot around his neck. “Here, let me fix that for you.” She undoes the knot and quickly ties the bowtie around his neck. He grins sheepishly. “Thanks, you’re a life-saver.” She pecks his cheek. “Anytime.” Blushing, Chills walks to the door and hold it open. “Ladies first,” he says bowing. She giggles and pokes him in the chest as she walks by. “Such a gentleman,” she leans in so close that her mouth is right next to his ear, “I like that.” She giggles again as he blushes darker and walks out into the street. Following close behind, Chills locks the door behind him and trots to catch up with Destiny. “You look beautiful tonight,” he says with a warm smile. She looks at her hooves, blushing intensely. “You’re too kind,” she whispers softly. He chuckles. “I’m not kind enough. You look absolutely stunning tonight.” She shoves him playfully. “I only did it to make you happy.” He grins. “I daresay it worked like a charm. I’m more than happy. I’m ecstatic!” At this he leaps into the air and pumps a hoof. Destiny laughs. “You can be such a dork sometimes.” He ruffles his wings in an attempt to straighten out his feathers. She nudges his side. “You still haven’t told me where we’re going.” He grins like a shark. “Just close your eyes. I’ll tell you when we get there.” She obliges and closes her eyes, taking Chills’ hoof. Careful not to lose her, Chills walks slowly and carefully, and they soon reach the restaurant. “Open your eyes.” It’s quite a fancy place, which is unusual for this part of Ponyville. The windows sparkle in the moonlight. The patio seating is under the glow of a string of lights and on hard oak flooring. There is a candle on each and every table. In short, this place had spared no expense in making this the best restaurant in town. Destiny gasps. “Oh my gosh…” He chuckles. “You like it?” She nods slowly. “This must have cost you a fortune. How did you get enough money to do this?” “I spent a week’s grocery allowance for it. I didn’t want to disappoint you.” She goes wide-eyed and puts a hoof over her mouth. “But that means…” He smiles. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just have to cut down on my food consumption, that’s all. Shall I take you inside?” he says with a bow. She holds out a hoof and smiles. “Of course.” Taking her hoof, he leads her inside. The building is even more opulent on the inside. All along the walls there are massive paintings in guilt frames. The floor is solid white marble and the walls are black granite. The lighting is soft and sparkles off the flecks embedded in the granite, giving the impression of standing inside a black diamond. Destiny leans on Chills’ shoulder. “I can’t believe you spent all your money just to buy a reservation here for me,” she whispers in his ear. He kisses her blushing cheek. “Anything for you, Destiny.” This causes her to blush even brighter and look away. He grins and signals a waitress. “Table for two, please.” She smiles and ushers the couple out onto the patio. Chills pulls out a chair for Destiny and sits, still overwhelmed by his kindness. “Wine for the couple?” asks the waitress, floating a bottle of expensive red wine to the table. Chills looks at Destiny. “Do you want some wine?” She remains silent. He turns to the waitress and says, “Yes, thank you.” He turns back to Destiny as the waitress pours the wine. “Is something wrong? Did I screw up?” She sips the wine. Smiling weakly, she says, “No, everything is perfect. It’s so perfect it’s overwhelming. I just need a minute to soak it all in.” He grins. The waitress comes back and offers them both a menu, but Chills simply requests the house special. Destiny sips her wine in silence, trying to absorb what was happening. Eventually the waitress comes out bearing two covered platters. “Bon appétit, lovebirds.” She lifts the lids to reveal the dish. It appears to be just another salad, but it is made from the best ingredients that can be bought. It was obvious again that this restaurant spared no expense in being the very best. The greens were picked at the peak of freshness. The petals were from red roses. There were baby carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, tomatoes, and much, much more. Destiny looks from the salad to Chills, back to the salad, then to the waitress. She blushes a bright pink and nods at the waitress. “Thank you.” The waitress nods. “You’re quite welcome.” She walks away, leaving the couple alone on the patio. Destiny stares at the salad, refusing to look at Chills. He gives her a concerned stare. Blushing brighter, Destiny begins to play with her salad, refusing to eat it. Grinning, Chills pokes her foreleg. “Something wrong?” She smiles nervously. “It’s nothing. I’m just a little nervous, that’s all.” Chills chuckles. “It’s just me. There’s no need to be nervous.” That’s exactly why I’m nervous, Destiny screams inside the privacy of her mind. She blushes and nods. “Yeah, it’s just you. No need to be nervous.” She takes a bite of the salad. She chews slowly, savoring the taste, and then swallows, grinning ear to ear. “This is amazing!” Chills blushes slightly and smiles. “I’m glad you like it.” They finish the rest of their meal in silence, avoiding each other’s gaze. The waitress makes her way over. “Anything else?” Chills smiles at her. “No, I think that will be all, thank you.” Destiny looks up at Chills and smiles weakly again. “I’m going to start heading back. I don’t feel so good. I probably shouldn’t have had that wine. Alcohol makes me sick.” Chills nods. “Of course. I’ll catch up with you after I pay for the check.” “Thanks.” Destiny stands up slowly, being careful not to trip. Stumbling slightly, she makes her way off the patio and starts to head back towards the house. Not paying attention, she walks randomly, her mind occupied by her thoughts. She eventually realizes that she’s lost and tries to trace her steps back. Much to her dismay, however, she only succeeds in getting more lost. Sitting down heavily, she begins to sob quietly, hoping against hope that Chills would find her. Across the street, two ponies are staring at her with hungry looks in their eyes. One of them, a tall brown stallion, steps forward with a stumble, obviously drunk. He grins evilly, displaying his rotting yellow teeth. “H-hey pretty lady. You lost?” Savior in GrayDestiny looks around wildly, looking for a way out. "W-who are you?" He grins. "Just a guy looking for fun..." She smiles unconvincingly and steps back, trying to avoid a confrontation. "I-I'm just lost... Do you know the way out of here?" He chuckles drunkenly, stumbling over to her and putting an foreleg around her shoulders. "Now now... Why would you want to leave so, *hic*, early?" She shrugs his foreleg off and steps back, glaring at the drunkard angrily. The drunkards companion, a short black pony with a lazy eye, wanders over to them. Grinning slightly, he gets up in Destiny's face. "Looks like we're going to have fun with you." His grin widening, the brown drunk walks around behind her and rubs her plot slowly. Slapping his hoof away, she tries to get away from them. "Get away!" The brown stallion hits her across the face. "No back-talking bitch!" She drops to the ground, rubbing the red mark slowly darkening on her cheek. The tears she had been holding back during the confrontation were freely flowing now, dripping onto the pavement. The two stallions quickly converge on her, grabbing her by the back of her collar and lifting her up. Grinning, the black stallion stands up... "FUCK NO, ASSHOLES!" In a grey blur, a stallion barrels into the black stallion, knocking him over. Destiny gasps. "Chills!" Grinning, Chills stands back up, his bowtie now askew from the impact. "Are these guys bothering you?" Crying happily, Destiny quickly nods her head. Chills nods slightly and walks over to her and the brown stallion. He grins evilly as he looks at the terrified drunk. "Now, this could go one of two ways. We can do this the easy way, where you let her go," he nods at Destiny, still staring into the eyes of the stallion, "or we can do this the hard way." He pulls back, ready to sock him in the face. Suddenly, the drunk is grinning and Destiny has a wild look on her face. "Chills! Behind you!" Turning around, he sees the black stallion coming at him with a length of board in his mouth, ready to swing. Stepping sideways, he shouts, "Destiny! Duck!" Ducking, she watches as the board flies over her head and hits the brown stallion across the face, knocking him out cold. Staring at his fallen companion, he doesn't notice Destiny until it's too late. All of a sudden, she's on top of him, hitting him again and again. "Don't." She punctuates the word with a punch. "You. Dare. Try. That. Again." Chills comes up behind her and yanks her off. "We're trying to teach them a lesson, not kill them." She struggles, fresh tears of anger falling to the ground. "LET ME GO!" He solemnly keeps a firm grip. "No, I can't let you do this." "LIKE HELL YOU CAN'T! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!" She rips free of his arms and starts at the downed stallion again, but pulls up just short, breathing heavily and staring into the unconscious pony's face. She sags, falls to her knees, and cries openly. The pain and sorrow she had been holding back rushed out in one torrent of tears and sobs. Chills slowly goes over to her and sits next to her, pulling her into a hug. Her fur, matted with dirt, blood, and tears, soon sully Chills coat, not that he cares. This was the one thing he was afraid of. Not snakes, not spiders, not even death. The only thing he feared was this. Destiny crying. It made him sick to his stomach, watching the one pillar in his life slowly crumble to the ground. It made him want to cry himself. But he couldn't. She had fallen, and she needed someone to be a foundation for her. He hugs her close and whispers in her ear. "Shh... It's okay... I'm here..." She clutches at him, refusing to let go. In a way, this had brought them closer together than they would ever have been without it. Tears begin to form in Chills' eyes, rolling down his cheeks and falling to the ground. But they aren't tears of sadness, but of happiness. He was there just in time to save her, the only one he would ever love, from a disaster she could not prevent. This made him happier than he had ever been in his life, and probably happier than he would ever be. He lifts her chin with a hoof and stares deeply into her eyes. "I want you to know something. "I will never leave you. No matter what happens, I am here for you. I'm one thing you can always rely on. I'll follow you to the ends of Equestria, the ends of the universe if necessary. I love you, Destiny, always have and always will. You are the one pony who makes me truly happy in the world." "C-Chills..." He smiles and leans in towards her slowly. Closing her eyes, Destiny leans in and kisses him softly. It is long and drawn out, lasting more than a few seconds. Blushing brightly, Chills slowly closes his eyes and immerses himself in the kiss, falling into a sweet bliss. Eventually he pulls back and opens his eyes, grinning like a fool. Destiny looks at him like he's crazy, then begins to laugh at the absurdity of it all. She soon falls to the ground, clutching her sides. Soon Chills is laughing with her, both rolling on the ground, tears of laughter coming to their eyes. They slowly get a hold of themselves, sitting up wearily. Chills stands up and holds out a hoof. "Come on, let's go home." Destiny takes his hoof gratefully, glad to get away from this place full of pain and sorrow and go somewhere warm. As they walk, Chills slowly puts a wing around Destiny, pulling her close. Smiling softly, she rests her head on his neck as they walk, not talking. At this point, there was nothing to talk about. Just the fact that they were together like this was enough for them. Words could not describe the happiness each one felt, finally having shown their true feelings for each other. Author's Note I'm finally back! I'm sorry it's been so long since the last chapter, but I've been really busy. I would just like to thank Vivian again for the cover art and hope you guys will keep on reading. See Y'All Later, The Salamander The Next Day Starts Well...Chills woke up the next morning alone in his bed. Straining his ears, he hears the shower running and a quiet singing coming from the bathroom. Grinning, he gets up painfully from his bed, moaning from the cramps he was getting in his sides. Slowly and unsteadily he makes his way to the kitchen, hoping to make himself a spot of breakfast to start out his day. Not to his surprise, however, there is nothing good in the kitchen to eat. All that’s left is a moldy head of lettuce and an old piece of cheese. He sighs and heads back to his room to wait for Destiny to finish. As he passes the bathroom he knocks on the door once and says, “Hey, other people like warm showers too, ya know.” A giggle comes from behind the door and he smiles. After a few minutes Destiny comes out of the bathroom, mane wet and lacking her trademark tie, and heads into the bedroom. “Shower’s open,” she says casually as she searches for her tie, “Did you see where I put my tie? I can’t seem to find it.” He blushes at the sight of her mane. Despite his attitude, he had always been a stallion who enjoyed a wet mane. Not that he would admit it, of course. “I think I saw it on the bedside table.” She spots it and picks it up. “Nice one, Chills. I knew you’d be able to help,” she says, smiling. “Y-yeah, of course I can.” She notices his nervousness and homes in like a shark. “Something the matter Chills? Got a thing for wet manes?” He blushes brighter and shakes his head vigorously. “N-no, that’s not it at all.” She comes closer to him, swaying her hips. “Yes it is. Don’t lie to me. You like this.” She tosses her mane to the side and gives him the bedroom eyes. “N-no! I told you I can’t do that with you so early in our relationship!” She begins to laugh. She laughs so hard that she falls the floor, clutching her sides and tears rolling down her face. Eventually, when she finds enough breath, she says, “I can’t believe you fell for that!” He steps back, shocked. “You mean to tell me that that was a joke?” She laughs even harder at that. Slowly, he begins to chuckle. It begins to build on itself until it is a full out guffaw and he’s rolling on the floor next to Destiny. Eventually they both calm down enough to stand up. Wiping tears from her eyes and chuckling softly, Destiny ties her tie around her neck. Chills makes his way into the bathroom and turns on the shower. He places a hoof under the water to test it, and pulls back almost instantly because of the freezing cold temperature. “DESTINY!” Another round of laughter floats its way in from the bedroom. Seething, Chills turns off the shower and stomps into the bedroom. “What did I tell you about using all the hot water?!” She slowly calms down again and wipes more tears from her eyes. “Geez, Chills, you act like it’s the end of the world.” He tugs at his mane in frustration. “I can’t take a shower now! I’ll smell terrible!” She chuckles again. “You can take a shower later. It’s not like you have to leave right away.” He looks at her angrily. “I have to go out and get food for the week! I can’t go the market looking and smelling like this…” She stops laughing and looks at her hooves. “Oh my, I didn’t know…” He groans and sits down heavily on the bed. Suddenly, Destiny raises her head. “I’ve got it!” She exclaims. He looks up slowly. “What? What could you possibly do that could fix this?” She grins so widely that the top of her head looks like it might slide off. “I’ll buy your groceries.” He snorts in disbelief. “I will!” He sighs in defeat. “Fine, I’ll make you up a list. I just need a quill and a scroll.” He rummages through his table. “I can’t find any. Do you think you can remember what I need?” She nods. “I think so, yeah.” “Okay, I need a bag of each of these: wheat, oats, daisies, carrots, celery stalks, and sugar cubes. But not just any sugar cubes, but the really good ones.” “So you want all that? Wow, you must go through a lot of food.” “Yeah, well, I eat big meals. I trust you’ll be able to handle this?” She nods again. “Of course.” He tosses a cloth sack to her. “Here’s the grocery allowance.” She catches the bag and smiles. “See ya later Chills.” She walks out the door. Just before she shuts it, she says, “I’ll be back in a jiffy. Love you.” He blushes. “I love you too.” She makes her way down the crowded streets towards the market. Being Sunday, the streets were bustling with ponies trying to prepare for the new week. The market is the worst as most ponies do their shopping on Sundays. She mutters the list to herself as she looks around for the first stall. She spots a carrot vendor and attempts to make a beeline to it, but she is stopped by the press of bodies. She shoves her way through, much to the complaining of the other ponies, and reaches the carrot stall. She smiles sweetly at the vendor. “I need a bag of carrots please.” The vendor deadpans. “That will be ten bits.” Destiny pulls out the bag and counts out ten golden coins. She passes the coins to the vendor and accepts the bag of carrots she pulls up from under the counter. Destiny thanks the vendor and walks back through the crowd. The rest of the shopping continues in a similar fashion until she reaches the sugar cube vendor. “I’d like a bag of your gourmet sugar cubes, please.” The vendor frowns. “Sorry, we just ran out. Will the regular ones be okay?” Destiny runs a hoof through her mane. “Umm… No, sorry, he asked specifically for the good ones.” The vendor’s frown deepens. “Sorry, but I just sold the last bag to that unicorn stallion over there.” She points at a bright red stallion standing about ten feet away. “You can come back tomorrow. We’ll have more then.” Destiny nods slowly. “No… I think that I know what to do. Thanks anyway.” She trots over to the stallion. “Hey, can I buy those sugar cubes off of you? I really need them. My friend asked for them specifically and you bought the last bag.” He shakes his head. “Sorry, but I need this for my club. Can’t you come back tomorrow?” Destiny pouts. “No, I can’t. Please?” He grins. “Oh, okay then. I’m a sucker for a pouting lip.” He floats the bag over to her. “I’m Inferno Tempest, by the way.” He holds out a hoof. She shakes it. “Destiny. Pleased to meet you.” “Pleased to meet you too, Destiny. If you ever find the time, you should stop by my club in Manehatten.” “I’ll certainly do that if I’m in the neighborhood. I hope to see you again.” She walks through the crowds and back to Chills’ house. She shuts the door behind her and walks to the kitchen, laying the bags on the counter. “Chills?” The house is completely silent. Quietly, Destiny creeps up the hallway and to the bedroom. Cracking the door, she peeks inside and sees Chills peacefully sleeping on the bed. Smiling softly, she shuts the door silently and walks back to the kitchen. She puts away the food in the fridge and walks back to the bedroom as quietly as possible to prepare for their date later tonight. Author's Note Hey guys, Salamander here. I just want you to know that my upload days will normally be Tuesday, Wednesday, and possibly Friday. And despite the sex and gore tags, there isn't anything seriously explicit. This is not a clop-fic or a horror show. And getting the chapters over a thousand words is a tough thing to do, but I plan to stick to my resolution and keep the chapters between one thousand and two thousand words.
The Rain Just Keeps FallingIt was raining. It wasn’t just any rain, but the rain that soaked through your clothes and puddled in your shoes. It was raining hard. You could put your hand, or hoof in this case, in front of your face, or muzzle, and not be able to see anything but a blurry shape. In the rain stands a light brown Pegasus mare, soaked to the bone. She’s walking through the streets of Ponyville slowly, not caring if she gets wet. Tears mingle with the water running through her coat. She wanders through the empty streets, not knowing where she is going, not even caring. A street lamp illuminates her face, and her tear-stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes become obvious to any observers, not that there would be any in this storm. She stops under an awning, hoping the storm will pass quickly so she may continue her way. “Destiny!” She spins around and sees a gray stallion barreling towards her. They collide and land sprawling in the street. “I’m so sorry, I was flying and lightning struck right next to me and I spooked and I lost control,” He babbles quickly, blushing. They quickly untangle themselves and the stallion lowers his head ashamedly. “I-its fine, Chills.” He raises his head, hearing the strain in her voice. “Hey, you don’t look so good.” “I’m f-fine.” He stares at her, not believing a word of it. “Destiny, you've been crying. Tell me what’s wrong.” She looks away, trying not to cry again. “I c-can’t. I’m sorry.” Chills opens his wing suddenly and creates a cover for Destiny. She shivers as the wind blows through her coat. She looks up at him and frowns. “You’re getting wet, Chills. You shouldn't have to do this for me,” she whispers. “I’ll be fine. I was getting wet anyway. Let’s get you home.” She lowers her head quickly. “N-no, I can’t go back.” He deadpans. “Why not?” “I… Just can’t. Don’t worry about it.” “Let’s find somewhere out of the rain, then. That’s the least I can help you with.” “T-thanks, Chills.” They begin to walk, Chills still covering Destiny with his wing, and begin searching for a place out of the rain. They pass restaurants, shops, and houses, looking for somewhere that was open. Because of the storm, most of the businesses were closed and the ponies were locked in their homes. Destiny looks up at Chills. “Why were you out flying in this weather?” He blushes. “N-no reason.” She punches his shoulder playfully. “You had a reason. What was it?” He mumbles inaudibly, staring at the ground. She deadpans. “What was that?” “*mumble* looking for you *mumble*” She giggles. “You were worried about me?” He blushes again and looks away. “Yeah. Just as a friend, of course.” She giggles again. “Of course.” He looks around, avoiding her gaze. “Hey, I know this neighborhood. We’re close to my house. Wanna stay there for the night?” She blushes. “S-sure, if that’s okay with you.” He chuckles softly and punches her shoulder softly. “Of course it’s okay. I offered, didn’t I?” She chuckles softly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” They continue their walk through the winding back alleys of Ponyville, Chills becoming soaked and Destiny drying off. She looks up at him. “Really, you don’t have to do this for me. I know we’re friends, but that doesn’t mean that you have to get sick for me.” He grins sheepishly. “Yeah, I do. You know you’re my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were just foals. I’d do anything for you.” She blushes deeply and looks at her hooves as she continues to walk. Chills, with a renewed sense of vigor, stretches his wing to try and cover more of Destiny. They soon arrive at Chills’ front door, him soaking wet and her almost completely dry now. He grins widely. “Welcome to my home.” She looks up at the small building. “That’s it?” He grins nervously. “Well, my friend showed it to me at a good price so I thought, ‘Why not?’” She giggles. “You always were a bargain hunter, Chills.” He opens the door and ushers her inside. He switches on the single bulb in the hall. “Be sure to wipe your feet.” She sticks her tongue out at him. “Yes daddy.” He waves a hoof dramatically. “Ta-da! The latest, the greatest, the most spectacular house of them all! And it all belongs to little old me.” She laughs and gasps in mock astonishment. “Wow! It’s amazing!” He chuckles. “It’s not too bad. I’m glad my friend was able to show me this place. It’s in a quiet neighborhood, so I don’t see much action back here. I like the peace and quiet.” She smiles at him. “That doesn’t sound like you. You’re always the one looking for action and adventure.” “Yeah, well, I like adventure when I’m not at home. When I’m here, I’d like to be able to relax.” He leads her into a room at the end of the hall. It is sparsely furnished, with only a small coffee table and a couch. There is very little that would tell an outsider about the owner of this abode. On the wall hangs a small picture of a younger Chills with two older ponies which look like they could be his parents. On the table is a vase with some daffodils inside and an empty glass. Despite the room being so small, everything seems neat and orderly, leaving the feeling that the room is bigger than it is. He points to the couch. “Please, sit down while I get some drinks.” She sits down carefully and tries to fix her matted mane. Chills soon walks in with two oat shakes and passes one off to her. “You always know what I want,” she whispers softly. He grins sheepishly. “Well, you have been my friend for almost my whole life. I should hope I know what you like.” She blushes deeply. “Y-you’re always so kind to me.” She takes a sip of her shake, trying to avoid Chills’ gaze. He pokes her stomach. “Why were you out in the rain without an umbrella?” “It’s nothing.” “You could have gotten sick. What’s the matter? Why did you do that?” “I said it’s nothing.” “Destiny, please don’t lie to me. I know when something’s on your mind. Talk to me about it.” “I… can’t. I just can’t, okay?” “No, it isn’t. I’ve told you that you can say anything to me, and I’ve never kept a secret from you. Why would you do this to me?” “B-but Chills…” “No buts. I want to know. If you didn’t want me to know, you wouldn’t have been out looking for me in the first place.” Her eyes widen in shock. “H-how…?” He smiles. “Like you said, I always know what you want.” She blushes intensely. “I… felt you might be able to help comfort me. Do you think you can do that?” “If you tell me what happened.” “Please don’t make me tell you this…” “It’s a simple request, Destiny. I’m not asking for anything else but to simply know what’s got you so upset that you would run out into the rain in search of me.” “I’m so sorry for making you worry…” “Destiny, just tell me what happened.” “Well, I was out on a date with a stallion and I think he was trying to be nice and pour the wine but it spilled and it got on me and I freaked out and I hit him when he tried to clean me off and he got angry and stormed off and I started crying and I ran out because I didn’t want people to see me cry and I didn’t know what to do so I came looking for you.” The words came out in a rush, and as soon as she finished, Destiny began to cry again. Chills put a foreleg around her and pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay… I don’t blame you for the trouble that he caused. He should have just let the waiter take care of it. And he had no right to touch you without your permission.” She sobs heavily. “I’m so so sorry Chills… I freaked out and I worried you… I’m so selfish…” He hugs her tighter. “It isn’t your fault. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” She sobs again and buries her face in his shoulder. He pats her back and speaks consolingly into her ear, trying his best to comfort his friend in her time of need. Slowly, the sobbing stops and she sits still in his arms. “Feeling better?” he whispers in her ear. “Yes, thank you.” He goes to pull away but Destiny refuses to let him go. “Please… don’t stop…” He smiles softly. “Why not?” “Because… it feels nice like this…” She rests her head on his shoulder and sighs contentedly. The warm air of the small house quickly begins to heat up as their body heat combines. Soon the cozy room becomes uncomfortably warm and Chills pulls away. “I’m gonna go get my fan. It’s way too warm in here.” Destiny pouts. “But I was enjoying that.” Chills chuckles. “It’s way too warm to keep that up. I’m just looking to make you happy. You know that.” She sighs. “I know, I know. Always the best for your best friend.” He laughs at this. “So you remember that? I haven’t said that in years.” “Of course! You used to say that every day like you were trying to drill it into me.” “Oh yeah, sorry about that.” He grins sheepishly at the memory. “You should go get that fan so we can get back to what we were doing.” “Oh. Yeah.” As Chills made his way towards the stairs, the rain hammered loudly on the roof, only now noticeable in the silence. Author's Note If you liked this, I'm going to keep writing this for my friends, so I'll post more if you enjoy it. Please leave your feedback in the comments and email suggestions for stories if you have any.
The Dreams BeginThere is a loud CRASH from upstairs and a shout from Chills. “Are you alright?” shouts Destiny. “Yeah, I just dropped the fan. I’m fine.” “Oh good.” A few minutes later, Chills struggles into the room with a large metal fan on his back. He sets it down in the corner of the room and plugs it in. A cool breeze blows its way throughout the confined space and cools both of the sweating ponies down. “Feeling better?” asks Chills in a soft voice. “Yes, thank you.” Chills walks over to the couch and sits down again. Destiny scoots over to him and lays her head on his shoulder. “You make such a nice pillow.” He blushes and mumbles something about feeling awkward. “Its fine,” whispers Destiny. She nuzzles his neck softly and breathes in his musky scent. “You smell amazing…” Chills blushes brighter and attempts to scoot away, but is prevented by Destiny. She grabs his shoulders and pulls him close. He attempts to pull away again, but she puts her forelegs around his neck and kisses him. At first he struggles half-heartedly, but then he begins to kiss back slowly. She starts to pull him on top of her, but he pulls away. “We can’t do this, we’re just friends.” She cranes her neck up and whispers in his ear, “Very good friends…” He stands up quickly. “Destiny…” She looks at him pleadingly. “Please Chills, I want this…” He looks at her, and his gaze softens. “We could at least date for a while before we go this far.” She lowers her gaze ashamedly. “I guess so.” He smiles softly. “Good. I’d love to go out with you. How about a date? Maybe 6:30 tomorrow evening?” She smiles weakly and nods. “I’d like that.” Chills holds out a hoof, and she takes it. He pulls her onto her feet and leads her into the guest bedroom. He pulls back the sheets and lifts her onto the bed. Blushing slightly, he tucks her warmly under the covers and kisses her nose. “Goodnight Destiny.” She smiles. “Goodnight Chills,” she whispers softly. She shuts her eyes, and Chills tip-toes out of the room and closes the door quietly behind him. He sighs, and makes his way to his own bedroom. As he crawls into his bed, he reflects about the day’s events. The flying, the crash, the tears, the cuddling… all of it seemed to happen so fast. And yet… and yet it wasn’t bad. It felt like everything was supposed to be like this. Like this was… destiny. He shut his eyes slowly, smiling at the thought. When he opens his eyes, he was lying in a deserted street in the middle of Ponyville. There appears to be nobody in sight and the houses appear to have been flattened by some great force. As he stands up, he notices a vaguely pony-shaped shadow standing at the other end of the street with its back to him. He begins to make his way towards the shape and as he gets closer, he begins to recognize the pony. “Destiny?” She spins around quickly. “Chilling Speed?” He sighs with relief. “Oh thank god, I thought everyone was dead or something.” She trots up to him and slaps him hard. “You idiot!” He rubs his cheek and glares at her. “What the hay was that for?!” Tears begin to well up in her eyes. “They’re dead… they’re all dead…” He steps back, shocked. “Dead?!” She sobs heavily. “They’re dead… because… of you!” This hits him hard. He sinks to his knees, trying to absorb the information she had just flung at him with such malice in her voice. “Because… of me?” She didn’t respond as she curled up in a fetal position, crying heavily. Chills walked over slowly and touched her side, but she slapped his hoof away. “Go away! I hate you!” “B-but…” “You had to try that stupid trick! I told you it was dangerous! But no, you wouldn’t listen!” “I d-don’t know…” “Just shut up!” She stands up unsteadily and began to canter away. “Wait!” shouted Chills. She stops but doesn’t turn around. “What?” “I don’t know what’s going on…” “I don’t care if you do or not. You did it, and that’s all that matters. You killed every single pony living here in Ponyville. Not just a few, which would have been bad enough. Every. Single. One.” Chills sits down heavily. “How…?” Destiny snorts with contempt. “I told you. You tried to do a stupid, dangerous flying trick because you’re ‘the fastest and most amazing flyer in all of Equestria, and even better than Rainbow Dash’.” Suddenly, Chills sat bolt upright in bed covered in sweat and screaming. When he finally calmed down, he reflected on what had happened. It was just a dream, he kept telling himself, just a dream. He couldn’t believe what he had seen. It just wasn’t possible. He slowly calmed down, trying to keep his breathing under control. Out of nowhere, the door slammed open and Destiny rushed inside. “Are you alright?” she asked breathlessly. “Y-yeah… I’m fine,” he says quietly. Destiny sits down next to Chills on the bed and puts an arm around him. “You screamed. What happened?” “It was just a dream. Just a dream.” She looks at him carefully, trying to see what the problem was. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t see what the issue was. “Well, okay, but I’ll be in the guest room if you need me.” She stands up and starts towards the door, but Chills grabbed her foreleg. “Stay with me. Please.” “Okay, I’ll stay with you.” She crawls under the covers next to him. “I’ll stay with you forever.” “Thank you. That means more than anything to me right now.” “I only wish I could know why.” Chills drapes a foreleg over Destiny’s side. “I can’t tell you right now. All you need to know is that I had a bad dream.” She sighs heavily. “Okay, but you have to promise me that you’ll tell me some time.” He smiles softly. “Okay, I promise.” “Good.” Chills soon hears the soft breathing of Destiny begin to slow. Smiling, he shuts his eyes slowly and falls asleep. Author's Note I see that people like the story so I'm going to keep writing. And remember, if you have any suggestions, you can e-mail them to me, be they for this story or new story ideas.
... But Ends Poorly“Are you ready yet?” The voice floats into the bathroom from way of the bedroom. Chills sighs. “Can’t you hear the shower running?” “Nope.” “Well, you can wait another ten minutes for me to finish. The dinner reservations are for 7:00 and its only 6:15. We aren’t that far from the restaurant so we don’t need to leave until 6:45.” “At this rate we won’t leave until 8:45. Hurry up!” Chills sighs again, shuts off the water, and climbs out of the shower. Yanking a towel off the rack on the wall, he begins to dry himself off. Humming quietly, he finishes drying himself and looks in the mirror. Satisfied, he picks up a bowtie lying on the sink and attempts to put it on, failing miserably. Groaning loudly, he ends up tying the thing in a knot in an attempt to tie the bowtie correctly. Destiny knocks on the door. “Are you alright in there?” “I can’t tie this damn bowtie.” He attempts to undo the knot but only succeeds in making it worse. Destiny opens the door and walks into the bathroom, staring closely at the knot around his neck. “Here, let me fix that for you.” She undoes the knot and quickly ties the bowtie around his neck. He grins sheepishly. “Thanks, you’re a life-saver.” She pecks his cheek. “Anytime.” Blushing, Chills walks to the door and hold it open. “Ladies first,” he says bowing. She giggles and pokes him in the chest as she walks by. “Such a gentleman,” she leans in so close that her mouth is right next to his ear, “I like that.” She giggles again as he blushes darker and walks out into the street. Following close behind, Chills locks the door behind him and trots to catch up with Destiny. “You look beautiful tonight,” he says with a warm smile. She looks at her hooves, blushing intensely. “You’re too kind,” she whispers softly. He chuckles. “I’m not kind enough. You look absolutely stunning tonight.” She shoves him playfully. “I only did it to make you happy.” He grins. “I daresay it worked like a charm. I’m more than happy. I’m ecstatic!” At this he leaps into the air and pumps a hoof. Destiny laughs. “You can be such a dork sometimes.” He ruffles his wings in an attempt to straighten out his feathers. She nudges his side. “You still haven’t told me where we’re going.” He grins like a shark. “Just close your eyes. I’ll tell you when we get there.” She obliges and closes her eyes, taking Chills’ hoof. Careful not to lose her, Chills walks slowly and carefully, and they soon reach the restaurant. “Open your eyes.” It’s quite a fancy place, which is unusual for this part of Ponyville. The windows sparkle in the moonlight. The patio seating is under the glow of a string of lights and on hard oak flooring. There is a candle on each and every table. In short, this place had spared no expense in making this the best restaurant in town. Destiny gasps. “Oh my gosh…” He chuckles. “You like it?” She nods slowly. “This must have cost you a fortune. How did you get enough money to do this?” “I spent a week’s grocery allowance for it. I didn’t want to disappoint you.” She goes wide-eyed and puts a hoof over her mouth. “But that means…” He smiles. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just have to cut down on my food consumption, that’s all. Shall I take you inside?” he says with a bow. She holds out a hoof and smiles. “Of course.” Taking her hoof, he leads her inside. The building is even more opulent on the inside. All along the walls there are massive paintings in guilt frames. The floor is solid white marble and the walls are black granite. The lighting is soft and sparkles off the flecks embedded in the granite, giving the impression of standing inside a black diamond. Destiny leans on Chills’ shoulder. “I can’t believe you spent all your money just to buy a reservation here for me,” she whispers in his ear. He kisses her blushing cheek. “Anything for you, Destiny.” This causes her to blush even brighter and look away. He grins and signals a waitress. “Table for two, please.” She smiles and ushers the couple out onto the patio. Chills pulls out a chair for Destiny and sits, still overwhelmed by his kindness. “Wine for the couple?” asks the waitress, floating a bottle of expensive red wine to the table. Chills looks at Destiny. “Do you want some wine?” She remains silent. He turns to the waitress and says, “Yes, thank you.” He turns back to Destiny as the waitress pours the wine. “Is something wrong? Did I screw up?” She sips the wine. Smiling weakly, she says, “No, everything is perfect. It’s so perfect it’s overwhelming. I just need a minute to soak it all in.” He grins. The waitress comes back and offers them both a menu, but Chills simply requests the house special. Destiny sips her wine in silence, trying to absorb what was happening. Eventually the waitress comes out bearing two covered platters. “Bon appétit, lovebirds.” She lifts the lids to reveal the dish. It appears to be just another salad, but it is made from the best ingredients that can be bought. It was obvious again that this restaurant spared no expense in being the very best. The greens were picked at the peak of freshness. The petals were from red roses. There were baby carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, tomatoes, and much, much more. Destiny looks from the salad to Chills, back to the salad, then to the waitress. She blushes a bright pink and nods at the waitress. “Thank you.” The waitress nods. “You’re quite welcome.” She walks away, leaving the couple alone on the patio. Destiny stares at the salad, refusing to look at Chills. He gives her a concerned stare. Blushing brighter, Destiny begins to play with her salad, refusing to eat it. Grinning, Chills pokes her foreleg. “Something wrong?” She smiles nervously. “It’s nothing. I’m just a little nervous, that’s all.” Chills chuckles. “It’s just me. There’s no need to be nervous.” That’s exactly why I’m nervous, Destiny screams inside the privacy of her mind. She blushes and nods. “Yeah, it’s just you. No need to be nervous.” She takes a bite of the salad. She chews slowly, savoring the taste, and then swallows, grinning ear to ear. “This is amazing!” Chills blushes slightly and smiles. “I’m glad you like it.” They finish the rest of their meal in silence, avoiding each other’s gaze. The waitress makes her way over. “Anything else?” Chills smiles at her. “No, I think that will be all, thank you.” Destiny looks up at Chills and smiles weakly again. “I’m going to start heading back. I don’t feel so good. I probably shouldn’t have had that wine. Alcohol makes me sick.” Chills nods. “Of course. I’ll catch up with you after I pay for the check.” “Thanks.” Destiny stands up slowly, being careful not to trip. Stumbling slightly, she makes her way off the patio and starts to head back towards the house. Not paying attention, she walks randomly, her mind occupied by her thoughts. She eventually realizes that she’s lost and tries to trace her steps back. Much to her dismay, however, she only succeeds in getting more lost. Sitting down heavily, she begins to sob quietly, hoping against hope that Chills would find her. Across the street, two ponies are staring at her with hungry looks in their eyes. One of them, a tall brown stallion, steps forward with a stumble, obviously drunk. He grins evilly, displaying his rotting yellow teeth. “H-hey pretty lady. You lost?”
Savior in GrayDestiny looks around wildly, looking for a way out. "W-who are you?" He grins. "Just a guy looking for fun..." She smiles unconvincingly and steps back, trying to avoid a confrontation. "I-I'm just lost... Do you know the way out of here?" He chuckles drunkenly, stumbling over to her and putting an foreleg around her shoulders. "Now now... Why would you want to leave so, *hic*, early?" She shrugs his foreleg off and steps back, glaring at the drunkard angrily. The drunkards companion, a short black pony with a lazy eye, wanders over to them. Grinning slightly, he gets up in Destiny's face. "Looks like we're going to have fun with you." His grin widening, the brown drunk walks around behind her and rubs her plot slowly. Slapping his hoof away, she tries to get away from them. "Get away!" The brown stallion hits her across the face. "No back-talking bitch!" She drops to the ground, rubbing the red mark slowly darkening on her cheek. The tears she had been holding back during the confrontation were freely flowing now, dripping onto the pavement. The two stallions quickly converge on her, grabbing her by the back of her collar and lifting her up. Grinning, the black stallion stands up... "FUCK NO, ASSHOLES!" In a grey blur, a stallion barrels into the black stallion, knocking him over. Destiny gasps. "Chills!" Grinning, Chills stands back up, his bowtie now askew from the impact. "Are these guys bothering you?" Crying happily, Destiny quickly nods her head. Chills nods slightly and walks over to her and the brown stallion. He grins evilly as he looks at the terrified drunk. "Now, this could go one of two ways. We can do this the easy way, where you let her go," he nods at Destiny, still staring into the eyes of the stallion, "or we can do this the hard way." He pulls back, ready to sock him in the face. Suddenly, the drunk is grinning and Destiny has a wild look on her face. "Chills! Behind you!" Turning around, he sees the black stallion coming at him with a length of board in his mouth, ready to swing. Stepping sideways, he shouts, "Destiny! Duck!" Ducking, she watches as the board flies over her head and hits the brown stallion across the face, knocking him out cold. Staring at his fallen companion, he doesn't notice Destiny until it's too late. All of a sudden, she's on top of him, hitting him again and again. "Don't." She punctuates the word with a punch. "You. Dare. Try. That. Again." Chills comes up behind her and yanks her off. "We're trying to teach them a lesson, not kill them." She struggles, fresh tears of anger falling to the ground. "LET ME GO!" He solemnly keeps a firm grip. "No, I can't let you do this." "LIKE HELL YOU CAN'T! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!" She rips free of his arms and starts at the downed stallion again, but pulls up just short, breathing heavily and staring into the unconscious pony's face. She sags, falls to her knees, and cries openly. The pain and sorrow she had been holding back rushed out in one torrent of tears and sobs. Chills slowly goes over to her and sits next to her, pulling her into a hug. Her fur, matted with dirt, blood, and tears, soon sully Chills coat, not that he cares. This was the one thing he was afraid of. Not snakes, not spiders, not even death. The only thing he feared was this. Destiny crying. It made him sick to his stomach, watching the one pillar in his life slowly crumble to the ground. It made him want to cry himself. But he couldn't. She had fallen, and she needed someone to be a foundation for her. He hugs her close and whispers in her ear. "Shh... It's okay... I'm here..." She clutches at him, refusing to let go. In a way, this had brought them closer together than they would ever have been without it. Tears begin to form in Chills' eyes, rolling down his cheeks and falling to the ground. But they aren't tears of sadness, but of happiness. He was there just in time to save her, the only one he would ever love, from a disaster she could not prevent. This made him happier than he had ever been in his life, and probably happier than he would ever be. He lifts her chin with a hoof and stares deeply into her eyes. "I want you to know something. "I will never leave you. No matter what happens, I am here for you. I'm one thing you can always rely on. I'll follow you to the ends of Equestria, the ends of the universe if necessary. I love you, Destiny, always have and always will. You are the one pony who makes me truly happy in the world." "C-Chills..." He smiles and leans in towards her slowly. Closing her eyes, Destiny leans in and kisses him softly. It is long and drawn out, lasting more than a few seconds. Blushing brightly, Chills slowly closes his eyes and immerses himself in the kiss, falling into a sweet bliss. Eventually he pulls back and opens his eyes, grinning like a fool. Destiny looks at him like he's crazy, then begins to laugh at the absurdity of it all. She soon falls to the ground, clutching her sides. Soon Chills is laughing with her, both rolling on the ground, tears of laughter coming to their eyes. They slowly get a hold of themselves, sitting up wearily. Chills stands up and holds out a hoof. "Come on, let's go home." Destiny takes his hoof gratefully, glad to get away from this place full of pain and sorrow and go somewhere warm. As they walk, Chills slowly puts a wing around Destiny, pulling her close. Smiling softly, she rests her head on his neck as they walk, not talking. At this point, there was nothing to talk about. Just the fact that they were together like this was enough for them. Words could not describe the happiness each one felt, finally having shown their true feelings for each other. Author's Note I'm finally back! I'm sorry it's been so long since the last chapter, but I've been really busy. I would just like to thank Vivian again for the cover art and hope you guys will keep on reading. See Y'All Later, The Salamander
The Next Day Starts Well...Chills woke up the next morning alone in his bed. Straining his ears, he hears the shower running and a quiet singing coming from the bathroom. Grinning, he gets up painfully from his bed, moaning from the cramps he was getting in his sides. Slowly and unsteadily he makes his way to the kitchen, hoping to make himself a spot of breakfast to start out his day. Not to his surprise, however, there is nothing good in the kitchen to eat. All that’s left is a moldy head of lettuce and an old piece of cheese. He sighs and heads back to his room to wait for Destiny to finish. As he passes the bathroom he knocks on the door once and says, “Hey, other people like warm showers too, ya know.” A giggle comes from behind the door and he smiles. After a few minutes Destiny comes out of the bathroom, mane wet and lacking her trademark tie, and heads into the bedroom. “Shower’s open,” she says casually as she searches for her tie, “Did you see where I put my tie? I can’t seem to find it.” He blushes at the sight of her mane. Despite his attitude, he had always been a stallion who enjoyed a wet mane. Not that he would admit it, of course. “I think I saw it on the bedside table.” She spots it and picks it up. “Nice one, Chills. I knew you’d be able to help,” she says, smiling. “Y-yeah, of course I can.” She notices his nervousness and homes in like a shark. “Something the matter Chills? Got a thing for wet manes?” He blushes brighter and shakes his head vigorously. “N-no, that’s not it at all.” She comes closer to him, swaying her hips. “Yes it is. Don’t lie to me. You like this.” She tosses her mane to the side and gives him the bedroom eyes. “N-no! I told you I can’t do that with you so early in our relationship!” She begins to laugh. She laughs so hard that she falls the floor, clutching her sides and tears rolling down her face. Eventually, when she finds enough breath, she says, “I can’t believe you fell for that!” He steps back, shocked. “You mean to tell me that that was a joke?” She laughs even harder at that. Slowly, he begins to chuckle. It begins to build on itself until it is a full out guffaw and he’s rolling on the floor next to Destiny. Eventually they both calm down enough to stand up. Wiping tears from her eyes and chuckling softly, Destiny ties her tie around her neck. Chills makes his way into the bathroom and turns on the shower. He places a hoof under the water to test it, and pulls back almost instantly because of the freezing cold temperature. “DESTINY!” Another round of laughter floats its way in from the bedroom. Seething, Chills turns off the shower and stomps into the bedroom. “What did I tell you about using all the hot water?!” She slowly calms down again and wipes more tears from her eyes. “Geez, Chills, you act like it’s the end of the world.” He tugs at his mane in frustration. “I can’t take a shower now! I’ll smell terrible!” She chuckles again. “You can take a shower later. It’s not like you have to leave right away.” He looks at her angrily. “I have to go out and get food for the week! I can’t go the market looking and smelling like this…” She stops laughing and looks at her hooves. “Oh my, I didn’t know…” He groans and sits down heavily on the bed. Suddenly, Destiny raises her head. “I’ve got it!” She exclaims. He looks up slowly. “What? What could you possibly do that could fix this?” She grins so widely that the top of her head looks like it might slide off. “I’ll buy your groceries.” He snorts in disbelief. “I will!” He sighs in defeat. “Fine, I’ll make you up a list. I just need a quill and a scroll.” He rummages through his table. “I can’t find any. Do you think you can remember what I need?” She nods. “I think so, yeah.” “Okay, I need a bag of each of these: wheat, oats, daisies, carrots, celery stalks, and sugar cubes. But not just any sugar cubes, but the really good ones.” “So you want all that? Wow, you must go through a lot of food.” “Yeah, well, I eat big meals. I trust you’ll be able to handle this?” She nods again. “Of course.” He tosses a cloth sack to her. “Here’s the grocery allowance.” She catches the bag and smiles. “See ya later Chills.” She walks out the door. Just before she shuts it, she says, “I’ll be back in a jiffy. Love you.” He blushes. “I love you too.” She makes her way down the crowded streets towards the market. Being Sunday, the streets were bustling with ponies trying to prepare for the new week. The market is the worst as most ponies do their shopping on Sundays. She mutters the list to herself as she looks around for the first stall. She spots a carrot vendor and attempts to make a beeline to it, but she is stopped by the press of bodies. She shoves her way through, much to the complaining of the other ponies, and reaches the carrot stall. She smiles sweetly at the vendor. “I need a bag of carrots please.” The vendor deadpans. “That will be ten bits.” Destiny pulls out the bag and counts out ten golden coins. She passes the coins to the vendor and accepts the bag of carrots she pulls up from under the counter. Destiny thanks the vendor and walks back through the crowd. The rest of the shopping continues in a similar fashion until she reaches the sugar cube vendor. “I’d like a bag of your gourmet sugar cubes, please.” The vendor frowns. “Sorry, we just ran out. Will the regular ones be okay?” Destiny runs a hoof through her mane. “Umm… No, sorry, he asked specifically for the good ones.” The vendor’s frown deepens. “Sorry, but I just sold the last bag to that unicorn stallion over there.” She points at a bright red stallion standing about ten feet away. “You can come back tomorrow. We’ll have more then.” Destiny nods slowly. “No… I think that I know what to do. Thanks anyway.” She trots over to the stallion. “Hey, can I buy those sugar cubes off of you? I really need them. My friend asked for them specifically and you bought the last bag.” He shakes his head. “Sorry, but I need this for my club. Can’t you come back tomorrow?” Destiny pouts. “No, I can’t. Please?” He grins. “Oh, okay then. I’m a sucker for a pouting lip.” He floats the bag over to her. “I’m Inferno Tempest, by the way.” He holds out a hoof. She shakes it. “Destiny. Pleased to meet you.” “Pleased to meet you too, Destiny. If you ever find the time, you should stop by my club in Manehatten.” “I’ll certainly do that if I’m in the neighborhood. I hope to see you again.” She walks through the crowds and back to Chills’ house. She shuts the door behind her and walks to the kitchen, laying the bags on the counter. “Chills?” The house is completely silent. Quietly, Destiny creeps up the hallway and to the bedroom. Cracking the door, she peeks inside and sees Chills peacefully sleeping on the bed. Smiling softly, she shuts the door silently and walks back to the kitchen. She puts away the food in the fridge and walks back to the bedroom as quietly as possible to prepare for their date later tonight. Author's Note Hey guys, Salamander here. I just want you to know that my upload days will normally be Tuesday, Wednesday, and possibly Friday. And despite the sex and gore tags, there isn't anything seriously explicit. This is not a clop-fic or a horror show. And getting the chapters over a thousand words is a tough thing to do, but I plan to stick to my resolution and keep the chapters between one thousand and two thousand words.
