One Question to Determine a Lifetime
Svante opened his eyes to find his room dark still and gave a groan, turning over and looking at the night stand, his eyes landing on the black box sitting there. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to go to sleep, getting out of bed after laying there for ten minutes with no progress. He went into the bathroom and splashed some water onto his face, looking in the mirror as he tried to clear his mind so he could sleep. The fur under his eyes looked as though it was darker than usual and the way his purple pupils were made him look as though he was stoned. The Changeling gave another sign and splashed some more water onto his face, letting his mind wander.
Svante had been wandering for days, having finally escaped the clutches of the trappers who had caught him and shoved his frail body into a cage. He felt drained and he was willing to bet that he looked even worse than he felt, given that he was still technically a child, having only just started to hit puberty. And he still trudged on through the forest that was brimming with life while he slowly died. And just as that thought crossed his mind, his hoof slipped in the muddy edge of a river, leaving him falling into the water, his muzzle under the water and his vision clouded by the mud he's stirred up in the water.
He had a thought to just let himself die there to prevent himself from facing the pain of starving to death later, but he stopped that thought quickly and went to get out of the water. He began to lift his head out of ten water but felt something press against the back of his head, pushing him back down into the water. Panic had settled into his bones in an instant and he instantly began to flail about, trying to hit the owner of the hoof with his own and trying to ignite even the smallest spark of magic. And then he realized that there was no point in fighting, he was bound to die soon either way, so why not just let it end this way.
His lungs began to burn from the lack of oxygen and his vision was growing dark, everything getting further and further away. And yet a small, timid yet firm voice reached his ears.
"DADDY STOP, YOU'RE KILLING IT," the voice yelled, and suddenly the presence above Svante was gone, replaced by a smaller form that yanked him out of the water. He felt a pressure on his lips and a pumping on his chest and then he was suddenly coughing up water, the liquid coming up too fast and leaking out of his nose as well. He pulled in a deep breath, his burning lungs filling up with oxygen once more and his blood circulating it around his body. His vision cleared and he saw a filly sitting next to him with a worried look on her face. Her mane and eyes were a dark purple and her fur was a light yellow colour. "Are you alright," she asked.
He gave her a small nod, but in his head he knew that it wasn't and that was immediately apparent upon looking at her father. He was soaking wet and was giving Svante a death glare. He didn't entirely know what to do, so he allowed himself to faint.
Looking back upon it Svante gave a small smile, wondering what exactly would have happened it Blitz had shown up just a minute later. He closed his eyes and felt himself sway just a bit, his balance shifting to the right side of his body. He felt a wave of emotions wash over him and he turned around to look over his shoulder at the second doorway that led to the bathroom. It was closed but he knew who was behind it. He walked over to the door and opened it enough to peer into the room and smiled at the sight of Blitz laying curled up in her bed, the blankets thrown off the bed and her wings stretched wide on either side of her. As he felt his way through her emotions he let his eyes wander along the length of her exposed body, pausing as her emotions shifted, fear overtaking the rest of her emotions.
He cautiously made his way to her bedside and paused, wondering what she would do if he woke her up but abandoned the consequences as he heard her cry out. "Blitz, Blitz wake up," he said as he shook her awake. Her reaction was immediate, a hoof shooting out and catching him in the jaw as she bolted up. His teeth clicked together, catching the tip of his tongue and he brought his front hooves to his jaw as he landed on his ass. "Ow, for the love of Celestia that hurt," he muttered as she turned the light on, touching the tip of his tongue to see if it was bleeding.
"What in the world are you doing," Blitz asked.
"You were having a nightmare, I decided to wake you up," he said, getting up and moving to the door again. "You're welcome." He closed the door to the bathroom and went back to tell mirror, looking at his tongue until he was sure it wasn't bleeding. He gave his head a shake and laughed a bit before climbing back into bed and simply laid there until he drifted off to sleep again.
"SVANTE, COME DOWN HERE," Garth yelled from the living room.
Svante looked at Blitz and she paused the game they were playing so he could go see what her father wanted, giving his head a small shake as he started down the stairs, the noises of gunfire starting up once she supposed he was out of hearing range. He entered the living room of the house and sat in the seat opposite Garth, his eyes landing on the paper in the grip of his magic. The top of the paper bent back a bit and Svante caught sight of the words 'attendance warning' printed at the top of the paper.
"I'm going to ask you one time," Garth said, "how many days of school have you missed?"
"None," he answered.
"Why do you insist on lying to me," Garth asked with a sigh.
"I'm not," Svante stated, sitting back in the seat.
Garth gave him a blank stare for a few seconds before grabbing him by the throat with his magic and saying, "The only reason you're not dead is because of Blitz, but she can't protect you forever." And with those words Garth picked Svante up and carried him up the stairs, throwing him in his room and locking it.
Svante rubbed his raw throat and shifting the way he looked before climbing out the window and flying into the roof. He was up there for about an hour before he heard another pair of hooves land softly behind him.
"I didn't lie you know," he said, having known that Blitz had been watching the whole thing. "I didn't miss a single day. You did though." He looked behind him at Blitz. "You missed all thirty of those days."
They were both silent for a few more minutes and Svante gazed up into the sky, Blitz breaking the silence with, "I didn't ask you to."
"I know," he replied.
"Why," she asked.
"Because I know your father and I'd much rather him be rough with me than hit you," he answered her.
She was silent for a while after that, finally whispering, "Thank you."
Svante didn't reply.
Time seemed to pass slowly for Svante once he woke up again, the sun finally peering over the horizon and filling every room in the house with light. He rolled out of his bed with a small groan and slowly made his way down the stairs to the kitchen, passing the calendar and pausing to see what they had planned for today. "Picnic - Svante's Turn to prepare?"
"Right," he muttered, stretching his aching jaw and heading into the kitchen, "guess I'd better start making the sandwiches."
Svante walked into the hotel lobby and made his way to the ball room, the pounding music growing louder as her grew closer and causing him to lower his ears to dim the sound. Most of his upper body was covered up by a tux, the rest of his form covered in white fur. His eyes were dark purple and his mane was a light blue colour, slicked back for whatever reason, it was Blitz's idea. His cutie mark was a stone tower and his wings were hidden by the Changeling magic while his horn was perfectly visible. He entered the party room and looked around at all the angst ridden teens in the room and the very few chaperones.
"Hey, Svante, over here," Blitz yelled from the punch table across the room, her voice somehow carrying over the noise.
Svante made his way through the crowd and ended up next to Blitz, asking, "Where's your date?"
"You mean old date," she said, eyeing him.
"Old date? How much did I miss," he asked.
"I was being used, and this all kind of went down an hour ago. Kind of what happens when you show up two hours late to your senior prom," she replied.
"I didn't have a date last year and I don't have a date this year, I had no reason to show up."
"Then why did you?"
"Your father sent me to check on you. Now where is Vi-"
"Ignore him, just forget it. I honestly don't mind."
"How could you not mind?"
"Because I'm not that pr-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence."
"Wha- why? It's true!"
Svante was silent for a few seconds before grabbing her right forehoof with his magic and dragging her onto the dance floor, much to her protests. He turned around and faced her, letting go of her and watching to see what she would do.
"Stop it," she said.
"What," he replied.
"Reading my emotions," she said accusingly.
Svante blinked in surprise, looking at her curiously. "Why do you assume that I'm reading your emotions?"
She began to dance a bit, something more akin to a shuffle, and said, "Because of how you're looking at me."
"I'm trying to figure you out without reading your emotions," he replied, dancing along to the music as well.
"You're such a loser," she replied with a small giggle.
"And you're a dork."
They both felt an awkward tension between them and eventually Blitz gave a sigh and asked, "What are you doing?"
"What do you mean," Svante asked.
"Why not just leave me to wallow or lament or whatever I'm supposed to do after my date ditches me," she asked.
"Because...I umm...Because you're like my sister," he replied.
"You're a terrible liar."
Svante gave her a smile and said, "It's the closest answer to the truth you're going to get from me."
"You're so stupid."
"You ready yet dork," Svante yelled up reply stairs, his disguise ready for him to go out and the basket held in his magic.
"Just another minute," Blitz yelled from her room.
"Uuuuugh," he groaned, sitting down at the base of the stairs, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.
"Alright, I'm ready," she said, her hoof steps sounding on the stairs and making him open his eyes.
His jaw almost dropped when he saw her. She was wearing makeup, which by itself was weird for her, and it actually made her look...more alluring if anything.
"W-we're just going to the park, there's no reason for the makeup," he stuttered.
"Do you not like it," she asked, her voice quivering a bit.
"No, no I do, it looks great, just different and out of place for where we're going," he said.
"Want me to go take it off?"
"No, It's great," he replied, moving towards her and giving her a light kiss, "let's just go, alright?"
There was a small breeze that blew over Svante, ruffling his mane and making him blink.
"You okay," Blitz asked as she walked over and lay down beside him.
"I guess," Svante replied. "I've just got to go pack, find a place to stay, get settled in, nothing major."
"I'm sorry," she said.
"It's cool dork," he replied, looking up at Luna's sky.
She moved onto her side and Svante followed her example so they were facing each other.
"It's not though," she replied, "my dad just kicked you out because you stood up for once."
"Shh, it's fine now shut up," he said.
"Why do you deal with my dad the way you do. If you wanted you could just leave and be far away from here."
"What's your point?"
"Why not leave?"
"Because you're here and...I love you Featherblitz."
"...I love you too Svante."
Svante lay under the umbrella and stared up at the blue sky, drifting on the edge of sleep. He was about to drop off the edge of consciousness when a small gasp brought him back. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes to see a black box in Blitz's hooves.
"Oh, you weren't supposed to see that yet," he said, making Blitz turn to him.
"You mean..." she began, trailing off.
"Yeah, essentially," he replied, getting up and taking the ring out of the holder. He got down on one knee and looked her in the eye. "Featherblitz, would you marry me?"
She was quiet for a few minutes before tears began to well up and spill over, her voice coming out in a quiet, "Yes."