A Second Chance at Love

Basically Anatomy

Sweetie belle looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed the last of the tangles out of her mane, meanwhile Kuray lay on the bead still, his hooves splayed out around him as well as he mouth hanging open and his tongue hanging out. 'I swear sometimes he acts like such a colt.' Sweetie Belle thought to herself. She picked up the wet fowl she had used after her bath and trotted over to him. She curled it up and snapped him with it once on the flank and he shot up into sitting position; his glassy eyes narrowed against the sun pouring through the window as he searched for his assailant. It didn't turn out to be much of a search though since Sweetie Nelle stood next to him snickering with a wet town in her hands.

"Real funny, I was in the middle of a nice dream." He said lying back down and rolling back over onto his side with his back to her.

"If you tell me what it was about I'll let you go back to sleep." She said.

"You're lying," he grumbled.

"Yeah," she said making her way to the door. "Meet me in the kitchen," she said stepping out of the door. Kuray sighed and closed his eyes again but not for long until the wet town was flung as a ball and hit him in the nose. "But take a bath first, you stink."

"Love you too," Kuray grumbled to himself as he rolled out of the bed.

About fifteen minutes later Kuray stumbled into the kitchen just as sweetie belle finished up the last of the pancakes and plopped them down on the table along with two cups of coffee.

"Morning sleepy wings," Sweetie Belle said cheerily and throwing a damp dish towel at Kuray who let it slide off his face and to the floor with a wet smack.

"How do you do it?" Kuray asked, his glassy eyes were only half open. He was clearly half awake.

"For one I didn't stay up until four in the morning reading the history of the griffons." Sweetie belle said jokingly.

"Ghastly beast warriors," Kuray interjected dropping down into his chair and taking a sip of coffee.

"But other than that, I've always like mornings: the birdsong, the flowers and buds unfurling, the feeling of waking up early and getting stuff done." Sweetie Belle said happily.

"But the night's so much more welcoming: the moon shining in through the window, a nice fire in the pit, the lull of the cricket chirps and the cool outside air." Kuray replied.

"Sweet Celestia you two are talking like authors." Dusk said trotting into the kitchen. He had come a long way from a month ago with his alcoholism. His hooves no longer shook and he claimed he no longer craved it but Kuray had noticed him looking up at the fine wine in the cabinets; but he hadn't drank a single drop since he had come home with Kuray.

"Very funny Dusk, you and I both know I don't have the patience to be an author." Kuray said sipping his coffee.

"Speaking of stuff you don't have the patience for, I have work for you to do today." Sweetie belle said smiling while Dusk snickered and Kuray just sighed. "I have a new order of mannequins coming in today. They come in one big box of five. I need you to carry that box in and assemble them."

"Okay fine, under two conditions. One, he helps me put them together." Kuray said giving Dusk, who he noted was no longer smiling, a sly look. "And I get to keep one of the mannequins." Kuray said.

"What the hell do you want with a mannequin?" Dusk asked setting down his coffee.

"I have my reasons."

"Well, vagueness aside, you can keep one for whatever purpose you want it for." Sweetie Belle said. She perked her ears up at a whooshing sound. "Sounds like they're here." Sweetie belle said. Kuray stood up from the table and walked to the front of the house and out of the door; he was still kind of dragging his hooves but the coffee would kick in soon, hopefully.

"Mrs. Belle?" The wiry built unicorn said looking down at Kuray. Changelings weren't generally remarked for their size.

"Haha, real funny plot plug, I'm her colt friend."

"Honest mistake, all you changelings look the same to me." The unicorn said smugly dropping the package onto the ground. There was a bright blast in front of the unicorn and it was like looking in a mirror.

"How do I look now?" Kuray snarled. The unicorn gulped nervously and disappeared. Kuray scoffed and turned back to normal. He tried to pick up the package but it wouldn't budge. He pressed his shoulder against it and drove with his legs but only managed to trample the sod. He cursed under his breath. He hated using his magic, it made him exhausted and it was very unreliable. Changelings weren't built to use magic; not in anything but short bursts, combat magic. He expelled the adverse thoughts from his head and closed his eyes to concentrate. His horn lit up green and so did the box. He gritted his teeth and willed it forward into the house.

Sweetie Belle was upstairs working on a new enchantment for suits to make them absolutely waterproof when she heard a loud thud from downstairs followed by a slight tremor in the ground. "Kuray?" She called out the door. After a moment of no answer her horn lit up and with a flash she was downstairs standing next to a large brown cardboard box bound with clear tape and a snoring changeling sprawled out on the floor. She conjured up a glass of ice water and tipped it on Kuray's head and his eyes flew open.

"On your hooves soldier." Sweetie Belle said hauling him to his hooves. "The hard part's over."

"Right sorry," he said yawning. He walked over to the box and pulled at one of the flaps but it wouldn't give. He tried it again but it stayed put when a pair of scissors floated into the side of his vision. "Right," he said again taking the scissors and cut the tape. Sweetie Belle chuckled to herself as she walked away.

"He's so silly sometimes." She said to herself as she climbed back up the stairs.

"How is it that you've already put together two of these things and you're still having trouble figuring out how they go together?" Dusk asked sitting on the plush couch watching and critiquing his work.

"Okay then Mr. Handyhooves-" Kuray began angrily.

"Hey, only the mares can call me that." Dusk said and the two of them erupted in laughter.

"Dang, sober you is so much better." Kuray said wiping a tear from his eye.

"Yeah about that, I wanted to talk to you." Dusk said.

"Sure, what's up?" Kuray said putting a leg down and standing up next to his friend who was a few inches taller than him.

"You remember that club you found me in and the dancers that were there?" Dusk asked nervously.

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Well, in my time there I got to know a few of them along with the bartenders, good ponies with families but all of them were down on their luck. They had run into debt and were looking for a way to earn some money and pay them off and go on with their lives." Dusk paused. "But the boss of the place, Blue Fire, makes each of them sign a contract before they get their first month's pay binding them to the establishment."

"So what, they can't quit?" Kuray asked.

"Exactly and after the first month of working there their pay drops to hardly anything, one or two bits a month; and since they can't quit they end up even worse than when they started." Dusk explained to Kuray who's eyes lit up in understanding.

"And what, you want me to 'convince' the boss to let these ponies go?" Kuray asked dubiously.

"Precisely, that or find a way to destroy the contracts." Dusk said.

"And what makes you think I could, or would, do this for a bunch of ponies who I've never met?"

"Because your a a good stallion." Dusk said simply.

"So why don't you do it, they're your friends?" Kuray asked, doing his best to find a way out of this, he only saw it causing trouble for him in the future.

"Exactly, the boss knows me by name, he knows my face and so do a lot of the security, I'd never get to the contracts; but you're a changeling, to the untrained eye you look like a lot of other changelings as well as you could be anypony, the boss even." Dusk said, he had obviously thought this over for a while.

Kuray thought this over for a moment before sighing heavily. "Alright I'll do it, but don't get used to it. I don't want to hurt ponies anymore." Kuray said.

"Thank you." Was all dusk could say. Kuray walked past him out the door.

"You're finishing that mannequin though, Handyhooves." Kuray said with a chuckle as he walked out the door. Dusk sighed contently as he say down and finished putting together the mannequin in a few minutes, just as Sweetie Belle came down stairs.

"Hey Dusk, where's Kuray, I wanted to tell him something." Sweetie Belle said happily.

"Uh yeah, I have something to tell you." Dusk said nervously, standing up.

"What's he doing?" She asked, the happiness disappearing from her voice and her face.

"He's doing what he does best, helping ponies." Dusk replied.