Avalon

I first felt my nose, rubbing against a thick bundle of sheets. It twitched, picking up that wonderful, bubbly sort of aroma that Derpy carried around herself. I tried for force my eyes open. I had had enough alcohol for three ponies, let alone one. Even for a hopeless bottle-hound with an absurdly high tolerance such as myself, the morning sun seemed to just stab my eyes. I curled my head around, letting out a loud cough.

I had the horrible sensation of being alone. I guess it made no sense, being such an introvert, but I always hated being completely alone, with not even a fishtank around. I leaned up in my bed, trying to rub the hangover away with my hooves. That, of course, hardly worked. Seeing Derpy long done, I walked up, heading for the bathroom.

I glanced at myself in the mirror for a moment before turning on the water. My horn lit up, waving an unopened hotel toothbrush-toothpaste canister over to me. I paused before I stepped into the shower. My eyes focused on a small, slightly faded photograph hidden besides a set of cheap shampoos. I walked over.

I saw Derpy, looking just as radiant as last night, sitting alongside a cute, tiny filly. Stacks upon stacks of dandelions in a rainbow of colors stretched behind them. I immediately knew that they were at that one big flower festival, and that Derpy had held her daughter as the suvenior-huntering photo ponies came upon them.

There there are. In their own little world. Their world. I took a gulp. Not mine. Without me. I felt somehow that I shouldn't be bothered-- that one-night-stands had taken places all across Canterlot last night, even with Princess Celestia herself if tabloid rumors ended up true. Derpy was what I needed. I was what she needed.

And then that was it. That's it. The end of everything between us, just as normal Equestrian high society moves along. I found myself slinking down, collapsing onto the floor. I heard the water running along behind me like an endless waterfall. It seemed stupidly poetic, matching the emotions flowing through heart. I could barely move. Except... I found myself crying.

"Derpy," I moaned. My eyes narrowed, cheeks rubbing against the cold, hard floor tiles. "I love you." I didn't care that we just meant. I didn't care that drunken one-night-stands was a key Canterlot tourist magnet for visitors such as herself. My insides screamed at me. I couldn't recall ever feeling so sure of anything in my life. I wanted to magically hop right into the picture and lock onto Derpy's side like a bolt on a beam, clutching her daughter as tightly as my own flesh and blood.

I love you. I need you. I need you forever. I somehow managed to reach up, swatting the water off. I grabbed some towels and muttered through some spells, trying to at least look partially normal. I brushed for a moment, eyeing the refrigerator nearby the door all the while. I praised Celestia when I spotted a bunch of crackers and canned frizzy juices.

Gulping them down, I promised myself I'd buy Derpy a whole room's full of canned juice as penance. Later! I need to find her and tell her how I feel! I have to do it now! I scanned the apartment. I can't see any clothes, bags of suveniors, or anything... that's weird. She just woke up and left me here? No note? No phone message? No.... nothing! My heart sank. I knew she wouldn't be gone for good yet, she left her special picture after all, but I wouldn't dare take any chances.

After I had made myself reasonable presentable, I trotted out of the room. All of the hallways seemed deserted, which was odd to say the least for a Saturday afternoon at the Avalon. I went over through some more hallways, flowing in and out of a bit of a daze, before suddenly popping through a set of steel doors. "Uh, oh," I muttered.

I had to have accidentally stepped into some kind of storage-type area by mistake. My eyes flopped around the stacks of white wrapped boxes to the steel pipes that jutted about in interesting geometric type arrays. I heard some chirping all of a sudden. My head curled back, and I saw a cloudy sky with a handful of blue-jays sailing overhead. I'm outside? How the buck did that happen?

"I said to Cardie, I said... that's 'Not what your sister said last night!' Heh," said a somewhat familiar voice from several yards away.

"Then, right, he took the entire load of casabas-- and just-- went..." said somepony else, budling for emphasis, "Wham!" I heard hooves slapping against wood. They sounded pretty strong, and I didn't want to know what they were attached to.

I scanned the air above me, idly hoping that I'd spot something recognizable. I came upon a concrete ramp and followed it up. I saw a huge outdoor musical concert in front of me, all kinds of high, low, and medium society ponies poised atop nice, comfortable benches. "Ah, so I'm at the 'Deluxe Promenade' at Avalon West," I murmured, "Sure to see somepony I know around. Maybe the staff ponies saw Derpy somewhere." I scanned the crowd and the nearby stage. I couldn't tell who would be performing, but I had a serious hunch.

Sure enough, Fab Factory made his way from the back of the Promenade up to the back of the mass of ponies. Mares young and old trotted over to high-hoof him. A few even put their heads against his sides. He took it all in good stride, insisting that he'd sign autographs later. That's the common touch for his fans. That's so rare in Canterlot. He'll made it really bucking far. I watched Fab make his way through the center of the crowd up to the stage-- his stage.

I shook my head, trying to remember what I was doing. Derpy! Where is that wonderful mare, that goddess in pegasus form? I started to survey the crowd. Fab made some small talk, telling a corny old joke. The audience ate it all up. A three piece band from the far side of the stage began to play, and ponies cheered. I saw a familiar looking blur of grey flying several feet upwards at the part of the crowd closest to me.

"Derpy!" I called out. She couldn't see me from the distance, and she could hardly hear me over the clamor. I stood up high, waving my arms and shouting. "Derpy!"

I saw her bobbing her head to the music, hooves tapping against her legs. Fab started to coo, and Derpy's head perked up even more. "All of those ponies, everywhere," Fab sang, a hoof going through his handsome mane. Derpy kept on looking forwards, and I kept on waving. "Ever so needing... where's it all leading? Tell me where."

I hollered her name one more time. For whatever reason, her gaze shifted from the audience over to my direction. I saw her lock eyes with me with way across a flat grassy patch.

"Nothing insincere," Fab crooned, almost just for us two ponies, "I'd better have pity." She didn't leave you, you dummy! She left to see another concert. It was more than a one-night-stand! I smiled, wondering how I could have been so scared of losing Derpy. "I'd better go easy. I never will lay down... while my heart is still beating." Fab's words felt so right.

Derpy flapped her wings and brought herself up. Oh, good, she sees me clearly. I turned around, scanning the area around me for a nice way to climb from the concrete ditch-like place I stood in up onto the grass. Hmm...

*Wham!*

I felt hooves clutching my sides, and I let out a feminine squeal. A wall of tall, bluish-grey flesh smacked against my face. "Oh, no!" It was the thugs from last night-- those awful, bigoted stallions. I waved around with my hooves, helplessly. I could barely fight a cold, let alone angry ponies.

"Ready for you beating, retard-bucker?" Autumn muttered into my ears.

I reflexively coiled myself down, trying to concentrate with my horn. A magic blast! Something! Anything! A hoof slammed upon my horn, feeling like it almost cracked in too. I screamed in pain, tears coming from my eyes. I felt myself thrown against the hard concrete.

I opened my eyes, spitting out blood at the same time. Fall and Autumn perched over me, laughing pouring from her faces. I could hardly stand their cackling, sounding like something out of an evil dragon. I held my hooves up, and Fall bucked them back onto the ground. I moaned.

"Oh, boys!" called out a familiar voice. My eyes popped up and saw Derpy flying overhead, her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Got a problem, little miss I-can't-spell?" Fall smarted off.

"Oh, that is it," Derpy hollered, her hooves rubbing up against each other. "That. Is. Bucking. It." She swooped down. I saw Fall perching himself forward, prepared to catch her like a line-drive.

He couldn't image that much speed, and she slammed right into him, pouding his body into the concrete. I smiled. Autumn hopped right onto Derpy's back. She thrust her wings up and seemed to tear shreads into his face with the feathers. Fall arched himself back up only to get a hoof to his chin, curling him over the pipes.

I managed to stand back up only to see Derpy leaning over and perching her back up right in front of Autumn. The stallion tried to sidestep, but he wasn't nearly fast enough. He took Derpy's kick right to the stomach, tossing his body over twoards me. I tumbled back down on the ground.

I heard loud yelling from behind me. Apparently, a lot of the Avalon staff had heard the little tussle. I knew that hooves were stamping over closer, and that whomever saw us would immediately report us all to be expelled for life. The unconscious stallions I didn't care about; their word had to be mud. I cared a lot about Derpy, and her rom. Her planned vacation. My eyes closed. Just one thing to do.

"Derpy, you had nothing to do with this." I forced myself to stand up. "They'll believe us. You don't have a scratch on you. Say that I fought with them. Say that you just stood by. Fall, Autumn, and I were the hooligans."

"You'll get banned for life, won't you?" She made a caring, loving expression.

I heard the hooves behind us just almost making it. I locked eyes with Derpy. "I know. Let me get banned. I can't bear to see you kicked out-- your dreams and your vacation ruined as well as your other plans here."

"But, the Avalon is like your home. I mean, didn't you say that it is your home? It's your life," Derpy protested, waving her hooves around.

"It's fine..."

"No, it's not fine!" She leaned against my shoulder, emotions surging under her pretty face. "You can't do this for me-- not when this place is all you have."

"No," I calmly said. I turned over and came totally face to her, so wonderfully close to those special eyes that other ponies hated but I knew to be most beautiful eyes in Equestria. "All I have is right here." I rubbed her hooves with mine, smiling. "All I need is right here."

She nodded, flying up. I heard he shouting out to the Avalon staff. I shrugged, mind feeling blank. I turned to say something, but I knelt down. I coughed a bit more blood, and I passed out.

A few days later...

I recognized Twilight Sparkle from atop the heads of the other ponies. Colgate bobbed up right behind her, grinning. Twilight clearly felt relieved. I couldn't believe, according to Derpy, that she had felt afraid of Derpy and her daughter visiting Canterlot with just Fluttershy to help out. Derpy stepped out from the train onto the Ponyville station floor. I followed just a few inches behind.

"It's great to see you," Colgate chirped, trotting over. She eyed the big bag of suveniors atop the tip of Derpy's wing, making a happy "oooooh". Twilight stepped over. She eyed Derpy and moved up over to me.

I stood there right besides Derpy, my hoof curled tightly along her side. Her head nudged over by my chest. Twilight opened her mouth, but she stopped. She didn't have to say anything. We didn't have to say anything. Twilight just knew.

The purple unicorn made a content sigh. Derpy and I sauntered our way forwards, eyes looking up past Twilight at the beautiful sunny day across Ponyville. We had a lot to look forward to.

"My name's Cinnamon." I stuck out a hoof at Colgate.

Derpy leaned to the side, gazing up at me. I looked down at her. She kissed me on the cheek, making me blush. Yep, a whole lot to look forward to.

The End.