Office Love

Chapters

Part 1 - Chapter 2: Let's Set Things Straight
Part 1 - Chapter 3: Happy Hour
Part 1 - Chapter 5: Breakfast
Part 1 - Chapter 6: Back in the Grind
Part 1 - Chapter 7: An Unexpected Visitor
Part 1 - Chapter 8: Fluttershy's Date
Part 1 - Chapter 10: Hopeless
Part 1 - Chapter 11: Bedside Manner
Part 2 - Chapter 1: Return to the Office
Part 2 - Chapter 2: The Project
Part 2 - Chapter 4: A Daily Case of the Mondays
Part 2 - Chapter 5: Enough is Enough
Part 1 - Chapter 1: Off to the Office
Part 1 - Chapter 4: The Authorities
Part 1 - Chapter 9: The Truth and The Past
Part 2 - Chapter 3: A Late Night

Part 1 - Chapter 2: Let's Set Things Straight

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Part 1 - Chapter 3: Happy Hour

Well, it looks like you have a bunch of work that Fluttershy completed sitting in front of you, a bunch of work of our own, and three hours of normal work. You've been helping Fluttershy out so much all day that you've barely been able to touch your own work. Getting out your calculator and some scratch paper, you get to work on the most daunting thing on your plate. The numbers whiz by in your head easily thanks to your amazing mood. It's amazing what a simple cup of coffee will do for you.

Your new office is so cozy and quiet that it's extremely easy to lose track of time. Next thing you know, you are closing the book on the file with a satisfied grin. Looks like there is 30 minutes left until the end of the day. You aren't quite spent, so you could get some more work done, but you haven't checked on Fluttershy for a while. If you really wanted to, you could kill some time with Brand.

But, it would probably be a good idea to see how Fluttershy is holding up. It IS her first day on the job, and knowing how shy she can get, maybe she is too scared to ask for help. Then again, today she has been acting like a totally different pony then normal. Who knows what could be awaiting you at her desk.

You exit your office and head down the hall to Fluttershy's desk timidly. She seems to be working diligently and ignoring a stallion that you've seen around the office that frequently has inter-office romances.

"Anyway... if you aren't doing anything later tonight... maybe I could show ya round town. Whaddaya say? It could be fun?" The stallion asks with a sly grin.

It seems like she hasn't quite noticed you yet. It would probably be better if you approached the situation.

"Miss Fluttershy." You state, announcing your presence. She looks up to you with a smile that could only be forced.

"Good Afternoon Anonymous. How can I help you?" Fluttershy asks in her business tone.

"I just wanted to see how things were holding up for you. If there is anything reasonable I can do to help you adjust, I'd be happy to oblige."

"No problem yet sir. Everything is going smoothly." She says directly to you, acting like the stallion beside her doesn't even exist.

"That's good to hear. Also, as a friendly reminder, I'm happy that you are trying to adjust to life in Manehattan, but I insist that you do not do it on company time." You mention with a hint of a warning. You turn your attention to the stallion. "Same goes to you. I will be more than happy to inform Brand of your slacking."

He scribbles something down on a piece of paper and leaves it on Fluttershy's desk.

"Sorry sir." The stallion says sheepishly. He turns to Fluttershy and whispers "Call me," before scurrying to his desk. She looks at the paper for a second, and tosses it with another stack of papers.

"Sir, if it's not too much trouble, could you drop these in the shredder on your way back?" She asks happily.

"Sure, it's not a problem." You answer. She gives you a wide smile, and your hand grazes her hoof as you grab the papers. She blushes wildly at such a simple gesture. Goddamn she is cute sometimes. If you didn't have such a checkered past with her... then maybe...

You shake your head and assure Fluttershy she's doing a good job. Heading back to your desk, you dump the paper into the shredder, noticing the stallion's scribbled number in among the papers you trashed.

Stopping back into your office, you notice that you've got some time left. Might as well review some of Fluttershy's work. You pull up the documents and scan over them carefully. As you go deeper and deeper into each document, you have to strain harder to check every little detail. Everything is perfect, and in fact, almost look as if you did them yourself. She's really got a gift for this work. How did she get this skill all of a sudden? Fluttershy never seemed to be the smart type.

Guess there is still a lot to learn about this mare.

You shut the book on one of the three projects when Brand knocks on your open door.

"Hey man, ready to get outta here?" He asks with a smug grin.

"Yeah sure. I just gotta check in with Fluttershy first before we go." You mention.

"Really?” He asks in slight shock. “I thought you hated her? I thought I would provide you an escape route."

"Things... seem different... for some reason. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think she is trying to change." You elaborate.

"Alright. Well, I guess it sounded like everything turned out. I'll meet you downstairs then. See you in a bit." He concludes with a wave and taking his leave.

You get up and close the door to your office and lock it with your keys. While you walk down the hall towards Flutter's desk, you unhook your apartment key. She is working diligently on a few extra files. Hearing your approach, she looks up and gives you a wide smile.

"Are you ready to go? I had such a marvelous plan for thanking you tonight. I was going to pick up some things and make you dinner!" She makes a small squee and looks at you excitedly. A small pang of guilt shoots through you, but you do your best to shake the feling.

"Sorry Flutters, I've got plans with Brand tonight. Maybe another time. Here are the keys to the place. I dunno when I will get in, but be safe. We'll talk more in the morning."

Her face deflates, and she looks down at her work. "Oh... well... um. Maybe I'll have something you can warm up for lunch tomorrow or something."

"You don't have to do that. You don't need to pay me back for anything. I'll just see you later tonight." You attempt to reassure her
.

"Oh... well.. okay Anon. See you..."

She looks like a child that received socks for a Christmas present. You take a quick look around. It looks like the office is pretty much empty. Maybe if she is really trying to change...

"Hey." She looks up at you. You stroke her mane and pinkness rises in her cheeks. "I'd like to maybe take your offer on another night." She smiles a little and nods. "There we go. I'll see you at my place tonight then. Here's the key."

Fluttershy takes the key and nods, examining it carefully. You head to the elevators and jump inside one of the machines that are heading down. It's a quiet ride to the lobby, but you actually feel a little excited for your evening tonight. Plans on the weekdays are a rare occurrence for you. The chime signals the arrival to the ground floor, and you meet up with Brand.

"Alright! Let's get outta here." You proclaim.

"Sweet! I know just the place." Brand starts leading the way to one of his favorite pubs.

"So, how's things going Brand? Having any luck lately?" You ask him curiously. You nudge him in the side and you both laugh.

"Things are alright I suppose. I met this nice stallion a few weeks ago at the place we are heading to. His name was Cedar. We talked and exchanged numbers, but it just didn't work out I guess."

"Why's that? No time in that busy schedule for a bit of R&R?" You interrogate.

"No... It's nothing like that. He's just not... quite what I'm looking for right now.” He looks a little down, but you keep moving forward.

"Don't worry about it man, you'll find who you're looking for. Just gotta keep your head held high and have an optimistic outlook." He smiles and nods to you.

"Yeah. I suppose it's just a matter of time. It's just hard sometimes when it feels like you aren't even noticed by the people you really like. Anyway, how are things adjusting with the new girl? I have to admit that I was really concerned this morning."

"I understand man. She's... alright I guess.” Now that you had Brand in a normal conversation, you couldn't stop thinking of the question that eating at you. How did this all happen? How did you get into this mess? “Hey, I hate to change the subject... but I'm kinda interested. What prompted the sudden promotion? Not that I'm complaining mind you, it just sorta came outta the blue." He looks away from you and you can't see his expression. "I mean, I haven't even been working here that long. It doesn't make a whole ton of sense to me."

"I thought... I thought you were ready for it. You were qualified. It seemed to make sense." He says with a tone you can't quite recognize.

"I appreciate it to be sure and I'm glad I got the job, it's just I'd hate to see you get some flak for it. Guess I just gotta make sure the higher ups see it wasn't a mistake huh?" He smiles and looks at you.

"I know you will be able to do it. I have faith in you...” He quickly looks away and shakes his head. “Here we go! Just around the block. They got some great prices on some imported cider."

"Awesome! You will have to give me a suggestion for something strong when we get in."

The two of you walk in and it's a simple enough place. Tables line the entirety of the bar, leaving room for a dance floor and there is a live band playing. Brand takes a seat at the bar and you sit next to him. The barkeep walks over with a smile.

"Two hard ciders please." Brand asks.

"Gotcha." The barkeep nods. He heads down towards the other end of the bar and returns with two glasses of cider on the rocks.

"Cheers, my friend." Brand toasts with a raised glass.

"Cheers!" You answer, clashing your glasses together, and down the hatches the cider goes.

You and Brand talk a little bit of corporate gossip, share some off-color humor and even take turns eying mares and stallions from around the bar. Brand suddenly begins to stare down into his drink when a stallion begins to approach the two of you.

"Fancy seeing you here Brand." The mysterious stallion mentions. You look to him with confusion on your face. After mouthing out "Who the fuck is this?" Brand sits up straight.

"Anon... this is Cedar. Cedar... Anon."

"Great to see that I got REPLACED so fast. Tell me then Anon. How does it feel knowing you are getting sloppy seconds from a REAL stallion?"

Perhaps it's the haze of alcohol that's eating at you or simply that you can't stand the idea of someone being mean to your friend, you decide it's time to put up an act.

"Actually. It's fuckin great." You state matter-of-factly. You wrap your arm around Brand and give him a kiss on the cheek. "You don't have a clue what your missin bro. This guy is a MONSTER when you let him loose." Cedar looks at you in disgust. "Besides." You stand up to him, a little unbalanced from the liquor, which was a lot stronger than you thought, but resolute never-the-less. "He's too good for a little slut like you." He panics at the behemoth that towers over him.

"W-Whatever! I don't need to waste my time around people like you." Cedar turns tail and trots out.

"Hope I never see your fuckin face again!" You call after him. Finally, you turn to Brand which has noticeable blush on his face. You give him a wide smile and a small wink. "Gotch'er back, Bro." He turns around in his seat and back into his drink.

"Yeah... bro. Thanks. That guy is a real pain." You give him a punch in the arm.

"Come on. Why all the doom and gloom bro? Lighten up."

"Yeah yeah. It's hard to find someone special you know?" You look down and it's 7pm. Oh crap! Sun is setting soon.

"It is, sure, but you're pretty damn special. There are probably tons of really shy guys just waiting for you." He smiles a bit. "If anyone gives you any flak, just point 'em out and I'll show why they're wrong." You flex your godly muscles. Well, you think they are godly anyway. "Ya' know, I'm pretty damn good debater." He nervously chuckles.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll keep that in mind." You stretch your arms out and quickly pay your tab.

"Well, I better get back. I got some company tonight." Brand gives you a weird look, then he sips his drink again.

"You sure you can't stay much longer?" The thought of Fluttershy rifling through your underwear comes to mind. Old habits die hard for some mares. You aren't quite sure you want to find out what group Fluttershy is in.

"I'm pretty sure." You say nervously.

"Well, alright. See you tomorrow then."

You exit the bar and begin to stroll towards your apartment. That was a pretty good time, if you didn't say so yourself. Not eating anything did make you pretty hungry though. Oh well, that's just more money that's saved. Maybe there is something at home you can warm up quick.

Pushing into your apartment, you take the elevator up to your floor. As you pass Mulberry's apartment, you hear yelling. You stop to think before you enter your apartment. Concern begins to wash over you. Is she okay? You begin to move towards the door of her apartment. The yelling is muffled... but from what you can make out.

"I don't understand how I have to go to work all day then come back to you lazing about and making me do all the work!" You hear a feminine voice from inside. It must be Mulberry.

"It doesn't fucking matter what I do! Shut the fuck up and just clean the goddamn dishes!"

"I shouldn't have to be your mother!"

Everything goes quiet. You cup your ear to the door, but no more sounds grace your ears. You step away from the door and inch your way towards your apartment. Staring at the door to her apartment, the door doesn't budge. You must have stood at your door for five minutes. No more sound comes from the normally quiet apartment. Something is wrong. You can just feel it.

Part 1 - Chapter 5: Breakfast

You wake up before your alarm goes off and you notice Fluttershy has snuggled up into your chest. Over the last few weeks, you established she moves while she sleeps. You would normally push her away from you, but her body is so warm next to yours. You could easily fall back asleep. It's just so comfortable.

With a sigh, you look up at the headrest of your bed. It has been just over two weeks since you let Fluttershy into your apartment and let Mulberry take your couch. For the most part, Mulberry's been quiet and distant, barely talking at all. You and Fluttershy have done your best to respect her boundaries and only speak when it feels right. However, it's now or never. You can't let Mulberry just stay here forever.

The idea of your date with Autumn weighs heavy on you as you look down at the peaceful pegasus. You've put the date off for so long. A part of it has been so Flutters didn't find out... but at the same time... These two weeks have been peaceful. You've seen a side of Fluttershy you didn't even realize existed. Plus, you have a guest in the next room. That would make spending time alone with a date a little bit awkward.

You will need every second to get your morning routine done today. It's still dark out, so it must be pretty early. Heading to the bathroom, you close the door slowly and turn on the light. Silencing your alarm before it goes off, you check for messages. Nothing. Not that you expected anything. You know that Autumn isn't a night-owl. You've been nearly non-stop texting Autumn. Getting to know her and learning more about her for your date coming up soon has been your prime objective. In fact, tomorrow's the rescheduled date. You'd be lying to say you weren't excited, but you weren't sure how to tell Fluttershy. Not about the date, but rather to get out of your apartment. Same for Mulberry.

Quickly performing your morning routine, you check the clock to get a gauge of how much time you have this morning. 6:30 AM. Two hours until you have to be at work. Hmm. All you gotta do is grab some clothes and you are ready to get outta here. They are in your bedroom closet though. Plus, there are your guests. They are going to need to get ready in the bathroom. Both have jobs to run to, now that Mulberry finally decided to go back to work.

Maybe Mulberry would prefer to use her own bathroom? It might ease her into the idea of going back to her apartment. You will have to give her the option. Or, rather, persuade her to that option. Wrapping yourself in a towel, you crack the door open to grab your work clothes. The beam of light shatters through the room and lands on Shy's closed eyes. Lightly, she flinches and rolls over. You smile at her adorable nature. There's no way you would wake her up early.

Grabbing your clothes, you head back into the bathroom where your dirty clothes from yesterday still sit in a heap on the floor. You try your hardest to search for your normal tie for work, but it seems to have mysteriously disappeared. With a heavy sigh, you resign yourself to your standby. Today the red tie will have to do. Looking yourself over in the mirror, you examine your face closely.

"Hey." You point to your reflection. "You." With a coy smile, you give yourself the signature eyebrow. Mares love the eyebrow. "You look fucking awesome."

Heading back to your closet, you grab your tie and head out to the living room. Mulberry rests peacefully on the couch. Her face's swelling has died down a lot over the last two weeks, but it still looks tender. What these mares deserve is a nice breakfast.

Heading into your spotless kitchen, you set the cups of tea in the sink. That can always be dealt with later. Opening up the cabinets, you search for something you were keeping around for a rainy day. Not here. Or here. Maybe above the fridge. There it is! Pancake mix.

A little milk and the pre-made mix form a perfect batter in the bowl. You turn on a few smaller lights to avoid waking up Mulberry. Her blanket fell off while she slept. She shivers on your sofa. Instinctively, you grab it and wrap it around her.

"Thanks Anon." She looks up at you with a smile that could span galaxies. If only you could read her mind. However, right now her eyes were saying 'Thank you.' That's enough for you. She closes her eyes and snuggles back into your pillow. Time to get that meal started.

You head out into the kitchen and get out a small frying pan. It may be small, but it's the biggest you had. Pouring out the first medium-sized pancake, you find yourself checking your phone again. Nothing.

Damn.

You shouldn't be this excited for a text message. Calm down Anon. If it happens... it happens. Flipping the pancake, you set three plates on the table with some utensils and napkins. Returning to your stove, you pull off a picture perfect pancake and set it on a separate plate. Pouring out one more, you see Fluttershy slowly make her way into the kitchen, rubbing her tired eyes. Her hair is a mess and covering most of her face.

"A-am I... dreaming," She asks sleepily.

You chuckle out loud, and turn to her with a spatula in hand. You strike a pose and put on a playful tone. "What? Never seen a guy cook before?"

Fluttershy giggles and does a wide stretch. Her majestic wings nearly fill your kitchen. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah! Maybe pour everyone some drinks? I got juice in the fridge."

"Alright." She answers happily. With a spring in her step and humming a happy tune to herself, she pulls some cranberry juice out of the fridge. You get out a few cups for her and she takes them as well. Pulling off another perfect cake, you prep for your third. She puts the cups on the table and begins to fill each of them up. "It sure smells good."

"Haha. Thanks. I'm a little rusty. I don't get to cook for myself too often. Too busy, ya know?" That, and you badly needed to get more cereal at the store, having two mares around has vastly depleted your resources.

"Yeah... I know. It was so hard to study for the job and take care of my critter friends at the same time... I guess I didn't really take care of myself too much..." Fluttershy agrees, finishing the table.

How in the world are you going to tell her about tomorrow's date? "Hey, do you think you could wake up Mulberry? I think I've just about got breakfast ready for you two."

"Oh. Yes I can do that."

Fluttershy leaves the room towards the living room. Taking off the third cake, you get a fourth one poured. Quickly you put some butter on the table and warm up some syrup. Fluttershy and Mulberry enter the kitchen slowly.

They make their way over to the table, Mulberry's hair could really use a good brushing. On the other hand, they do look really homey. You've kinda got used to waking up with a mare every morning. The feeling was something you couldn't really describe. It was definitely a feeling you wanted to keep having. Pulling off the fourth cake, you bring the pancakes over to the girls and put two on both of their plates. Mulberry looks up in surprise, just realizing that it was breakfast time.

"This looks delicious Anon."

"Eat up while it's all still warm girls." Each take their turns preparing their meal while you return to creating yours.

"So Mulberry, where do you work?" You ask, trying to make conversation. Normally you and Fluttershy just kept to yourselves and let Mulberry have her space. The last few weeks were hard on her and she would spend her time looking out the window at the busy city outside. You would sit by her and pat her on the back occasionally, but she mostly wanted to be alone.

Yet, today, she seemed different. She seemed... back to normal. Her bruise around her eye was mostly gone now.

"Oh." *gulp* "Uhm. I'm a teacher at one of the nearby private schools. I teach the fifth graders..." She touches her hoof to her face and winces a little. "Do you think I should call for a substitute again today?"

"Well... I hate to say it, but I think it might be a good idea."

She nods. "The children will want to know... I need to be in my bright and chipper mood for them. They deserve that." She cuts herself another bite and gulps it down as if this were the first time she's eaten in weeks. It basically was.

"Actually, I was going to say so that you can relax a little bit. You just said the other day that
you work yourself to death. Maybe you need a little R&R." She laughs a little bit.

"R&R isn't something you really get as a teacher. You really have to give a little of yourself to them every day. Almost be like a mother to them at times." She smiles to herself. "Some of them are hard to work with sometimes... but each are their own little angel... in their own way."

You pull off another pancake. Fluttershy has been listening to her intently.

"I just love children. How many do you teach?" Fluttershy asks.

"Just a little group of twelve... a few of them are orphans from the nearby home though. I really feel for the little ones. They really don't have anyone else to go to. Sometimes I'll make them little sandwiches and hide them in their cubbyholes when it's lunch time so that they have something to eat."

"... Wow, I wish I had teachers like you when I was growing up." You add.

She sighs. “Yeah. It's common to hear that. Not all of my peers share the same... dedication to the children as I do."

"Well they should.” You add, flipping another pancake. “So, what's on your agenda for today?"

She thinks to herself. "Well there is some grading I could catch up on. There was this one book I needed to take back to the library too... I suppose I could see what's on television."

"What kind of book?" You ask.

Mulberry turns in her seat to focus on the conversation. "It was a really wonderful read. This little romance novel by the name of One-Way Ticket. I rented it out for a week, but it was so good I finished it in a night! Have you ever heard of it?" A little bit of shock grabs at you.

"Yeah, I was going to pick it up myself." You answer. “Someone recommended it to me.” This grabs Fluttershy's attention, but you pass off your words as if they were no big deal.

"Oh! Then you will have to read it then. I guarantee you won't be able to put it down once you do. It's in my apartment. Maybe you can grab it before we go to work?"

"Sure! Sounds good to me. How did you hear about it?" You ask curiously.

"Oh. Well, I go to the library to get extra books for some of the students who don't have them or can't afford them. The librarian suggested it to me... Oh what was her name... Winter? Fall? Hmmm... I can't remember but it was something like that. She's so nice. Always seems a little sad though."

Oh man. Quick. Change the subject.

"So, uh. How are those pancakes tasting girls?" Fluttershy promptly responds with a smile.

"They are really really good! I can't remember the last time I've had pancakes." Mulberry agrees.

"Me too. They are marvelous Anon."

"Got enough? I got plenty more over here." You reply, showing the fresh stack of warm cakes.

"N-no.. it's fine." Fluttershy declines, rubbing her full tummy.

"No, really. I'm fine." Mulberry also declines, half expecting you to insist anyway.

Their stomachs growl from across the room.

"W-well... M-maybe just one more." Fluttershy adds.

"Me too please!" Mulberry adds, her attempt to be polite fading. You chuckle to yourself as they bring their plates back over.

"Sure thing." These pancakes were for you, but who cares? The girls were too damn cute not to give up your breakfast. You begin to pour yourself another pancake.

"So what is it that you do for a living Anon?" Mulberry asks.

"Oh, nothing special. I'm just an accountant for a company here in town. Number crunching and the like."

"For you to afford a place like this, it must not pay too badly." The mare remarks while munching on her second helping.

"It's good enough for me. I really like my team. Everyone on the team knows their stuff and takes their work seriously. That is... until we get out of the office anyway."

"Oh?"

"Yeah! You know the phrase... Work hard, play hard! One time Brand and I went out to get a drink after work and I woke up at his place with a few teeth knocked out and the worst headache ever! I still don't remember much. He'll never let it down though."

"Sounds like it was a night to remember."

"If only I remembered it." You joke.

Everyone chuckles a little bit.

"I'm jealous. I rarely get to go out as a teacher... and even when I was with somepony..." She trails off and becomes silent, staring at her juice. No, no, no. No sad Berrys in this apartment.

"Yeah, but being an accountant isn't the most fulfilling of work. Basically, we're just crunching numbers all day. And may Celestia help you if you forget to carry a decimal point. It's amazing how you forget the basic stuff sometimes."

Mulberry chuckles. "Maybe you should have paid more attention in school then."

"Hey, I paid attention during class... Usually while staring at my text book... While I was asleep. Okay, so maybe you have a point."

Both Fluttershy and Mulberry laugh. "Hey! Now don't make me have to wake you up at work mister!" Fluttershy jokes.

Mulberry looks curiously at Fluttershy. "You two work together?"

You playfully stick your tongue out at Fluttershy and make a humming noise. Unable to keep up the joke, you laugh to yourself. "Yeah actually. She just started the other week." You lean over the stove to Mulberry and place your hand up to your mouth.

"Don't tell her I said this, but she's doing awesome!" you say in your best fake-whisper.

Fluttershy blushes, but Mulberry looks confused. "But... I thought most companies don't approve of in-office relationships."

Fluttershy looks at you with anticipation of your answer. Your throat goes dry and you ponder your words carefully. You and Fluttershy are not a thing. By any means. However, you know that's what she would want more than anything else in the world... In fact, that's why she moved here.

"Well. Office romances aren't allowed... you are right. As a new manager I have to enforce that. Fluttershy is probably one of the closest friends I have. I mean she left everything from home to just come here and be around for me. She didn't even have a place to stay when she got here... so I let her stay for a while." Look to her with a smile and a nod. "I trust her."

Fluttershy smiles, but a little disappointment still shines through.

"Oh... I see." Mulberry nods.

You grab your own breakfast and sit down at the table with the mares.

"So what was Ponyville like?" She asks the two of you.

"It was small, but quaint. It's the sorta town where everypony knows everypony else. Very friendly." You answer.

"That must have been nice." She remarks.

"So where were you originally from Mulberry? Have you always been in Manehattan?" Fluttershy asks.

Mulberry swallows a mouthful of food and puts her utensils on her empty plate. You must be a really great cook, because it was practically licked clean. It looks like Fluttershy is all done as well.

"I've always lived in Manehattan. My family was one of those wealthy families that always wore the nice clothes and other special things. I really didn't like it too much myself, so when I went out with friends I tried to hide my extensive vocabulary and sometimes my manners. My parents hated when I wanted to be a teacher because it wouldn't make enough money. I decided a long time ago that I don't need money to be happy."

Looks like there is about 1 hour and 20 minutes before work

"Well girls, looks like it's getting closer to that time. Fluttershy, do you want to use the master bathroom to get ready?" She nods to you.

"That's fine. I'll get started so we can leave together." She takes her dirtied utensils and places them in the sink, then flutters off to your bedroom.

"Do you want to use the main bathroom again?” You ask Berry. It was a bit of a leading question, because it inferred that you didn't want her to use it. However, her answer must not have detected it, because it came of her own will.

"Actually... I'm thinking I should try to go back to my apartment." She answered.

"That's good! Baby steps." You answered, more relieved than anything else. One down, One to go.

"I just... don't want to go alone."

'Of course.' Your thought to yourself. The reply came out of your mouth like a reflex. "I'll go with you."

She looks up to you with a weak smile. "Thanks Anon.”

You down the rest of your breakfast and put the rest of the dirty dishes in the sink. Those can be handled later. You open the door for Mulberry and it doesn't look like anyone is in the hall. She calmly moves to her apartment door and takes a deep breath, examining the door handle. Mulberry looks back to you, and you nod to her. Slowly she puts her key in the lock and opens the door. She walks in as if something were going to jump out at her at any second.

You walk over to the door and stand in the doorway. The timid earth pony looks all over the scene, deep in thought. She looks to the doorway and sees you standing there. You give her an encouraging smile. She points to a spot on the floor. "It all happened right here. The police must have cleaned it up a little bit..."

Walking in towards her, she continues to just look around the room. Kneeling down next to her, draws her attention to you. "You gonna be alright, Berry?" She blushes a little at the nickname.

"Y-yeah. I think so."

"I want you to have my number. Just to be safe. If there is anything you need, I'm only a phone call away." You calmly tell her.

"Sure. Sounds good."

She goes and gets a pad and pencil for you. You write your number down for her. "What's your number? That way I can know it's you." You ask. Getting out your phone, you add the number that she gives you. "There's one last thing." You add.

You reach into your pocket and pull out your keys. Which one of these was the spare. Hmmm... This one. Fluttershy still has one too... Man, that's good to remember. You only got three keys.

"Take this. This is to my place. If you ever need to get out, or somewhere safe to be. Just go into my place. Call the authorities or whatever needs to be done. Let me know too." She holds the key in her hoof.

"Anon... this is too much." She says, trying to hand it back to you.

You push her hoof back to her. "Don't worry about it, Berry. Just promise you won't walk in on me while I'm taking a shower and it's all good." She giggles and blushes a little bit.

Mulberry looks up to your tie. "Oh! Your tie is crooked. Here... let me." She reaches up and readjusts your tie for you. "There."

You look down at her a little surprised. You stand up and strike a pose. “How's it look?”

She blushes. “Better.”

A moment of silence passes as she looks up at you and you back down at her. You haven't seen her smile like this... almost ever.

It's refreshing.

She shakes her head and looks away. "Well you are a manager and I assumed you would like to know if your tie was off." She coughs and begins to straighten a few of the items in her apartment.

You know, Berry is kinda cute too. A part of your stomach bursts into butterflies and the nagging thought of a text on your phone, or the mare in your apartment isn't quite as prevalent when she's around.

Part 1 - Chapter 6: Back in the Grind

You look down at the blushing earth pony and smile.

"Hey, uh. Do you mind if I get that book off you?" You ask Mulberry, breaking her reverie.

"Oh. Uhm. Yeah! Sure. Lemme grab it. It's in my bedroom." The earth pony answers with a smile. She walks off towards a nearby room and you pace around the room, looking at the pictures on the wall. She has pictures of her and some of her students hung up, as well as some pictures of her and another stallion.

This stallion is massive. Easily one of the tallest and strongest you've ever seen, and you've met Applejack's brother.

It's a pretty clean apartment all in all. There is a desk in the corner where a stack of papers sits next to an old cup of coffee. They must be some of her student's papers. You can't help but notice the extraordinary amount of alcohol bottles in the recycling bin. Are those from the boyfriend? Jeez.

There are quite a few books, but not a whole lot. Most look like romance books or warm-hearted tales for children.

"It looks like you really love your students. Even the ones that have moved on." You call out to her, making more conversation.

"I try my best to." She answers back. “They really are little angels.” Mulberry returns to the room holding a book in her mouth. You take it from her, allowing her to speak again. She points a hoof to a few of the children. "This one is Ricky. Very smart little colt for his age. He gets picked on all the time at school, so I'll let him stay in sometimes and do puzzles when he doesn't want to go outside."

She moves her hoof to another little one. "This is Clove. She's probably the shyest little pegasus I've ever met. Your friend reminds me of her a bit."

You laugh a little under your breath. Let's hope that she doesn't turn out JUST like Fluttershy. Things are hard enough in Equestria with one of them. Her face turns a little somber and points to another. "This colt is Nathan. He's a troubled one... from the orphanage. I've been trying to talk to him after class and help him work through whatever is ailing him... but recently he stopped coming to school. I'm worried about him."

"Have you thought about maybe visiting him today? Maybe seeing him one-on-one could help him out." She looks at the picture intently.

"I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do... I've already been out for so long..." She holds a hoof to her eye. You nod to her. "But I'm happy to see that you care Anon. Most people don't understand why I hold them so closely."

“Of course. I hate to see kids having a rough time." You add sincerely. She smiles at you.

"Anon... have you ever thought about having kids?" The answer catches you off guard, and you look at your watch. Looks like there is about an hour before work.

“Honestly, I haven't put much thought into that question... But, maybe one day." You answer honestly, with a slight chuckle. She looks up at the pictures with an expression you don't recognize. "Uhm. I really probably should be going though. Work ain't gunna do itself."

Mulberry snaps out of her reverie. "Oh! Yes. Well uhm. I hope you like the book! Have a good day at work." She nods.

You walk towards the entrance to her apartment and she follows you. "Don't forget to call if you need anything."

"Of course, Anon. Don't worry, I'll be fine." She answers, putting one hoof on the door.

“Take it easy, Berry." You salute with a causal wave.

"You too, Anon." She replies. She closes and locks the door behind you and an involuntary smile crawls on your face. You head back into your apartment and hear a hair dryer running from the bathroom in your bedroom. You probably should check on her. Who knows what she could be doing in there.

You head into your bedroom. Dang. The bed is made and everything looks just as spotless as when you get home almost every other day for the last couple weeks. Your room is almost never this clean. At least for more than an hour. You sit on your bed and look into the bathroom. The hair dryer turns off and Fluttershy sings a happy tune to herself.

"And sooon we'll beee~" She chants to herself.

"Hey, Fluttershy." You greet her while she finishes her hair. She yips and flies up into the air. A towel falls off of her and she covers herself up with a blushing face. "Uh. Fluttershy, you don't normally wear clothes."

"Oh... uhm. Right. Well, I do have to put on my work attire though." She points out.

"Got everything you need in there?" You ask helpfully. She nods.

"Mhm! I do admit that it's still weird having my hair and fur smell like you all day, but I'll just have to tough it out." She smiles.

"Alrighty then. Feel up to walking to work today?” You ask with a stretch. “We'll take our time and I'll give you the five bit tour, instead of the normal subway" Fluttershy nods enthusiastically.

"That would be nice! Let me just finish up." She answers, turning her attention back to the mirror. Respecting her privacy, you head back out to the living room. Hmm. You could probably take the book with you to work today and knock a good portion of it out over your lunch hour.

Then again, you also really enjoyed the walks you've had lately with Fluttershy at lunch. Maybe another walk would be nice. You thumb the book to the last page. It doesn't look like too big of a book.

"There. How do I look?" Fluttershy asks, stepping out into the living room from your bedroom. She's wears a very flattering black dress with a red mare's formal jacket. The clothing accents her features nicely, and it's very fitting for a young secretary. Especially one trying to impress the boss... and maybe show off the goods.

For a pony.

"You look good.” You nod. “Very professional." Smiling, you give her a thumbs up for approval. Fluttershy blushes. You check your watch and it looks like you've got about 45 minutes. "How about we get outta here?"

"Sure." Fluttershy nods. The two of you leave the apartment and you lock it behind you. Quickly, you perform your normal double check of your pockets. Phone, Wallet, Keys. Plus, of course your awesome tie. Looks like that's everything. The two of you navigate to the elevator and make your way down to the ground floor.

"Alright then. How about I show you some of the nicer places around here?" You ask. “At least, some of my usual haunts.” Fluttershy nods to you with a smile and walks closely to you as you head to the first destination. "So the first thing that I thought you would like is a place nearby that I thought about living at. It's pretty nice." You add, trying to promote your hidden agenda of getting Fluttershy out of your apartment.

Or at very least, out of your bed.

You explain that it was about the same price and the same class of living. In fact it was pretty much the same everything. The only difference is that yours was a little larger for doorways and rooms, while this one was more adequate for ponies. Or maybe your apartment was just small enough so it didn't feel like you were all alone in a two pony apartment. One of those two sound about right.

Fluttershy soaks up the information while walking closely to you. However, you aren't fully sure whether it's out of thinking that there is more than just a friendship between you now or if it's because of her shyness in public.

"It sounds really nice... Let me run in and grab a flier."

Fluttershy runs into the tall apartment building for a moment as you take the time to look around at your surroundings. Even though it probably took around 10 minutes to get here, you are about 25 minutes away from work. The massive skyscrapers are an abnormal sight when you compare it to the quiet town of Ponyville. You notice a bright red earth pony mare jogging past you. Her eyes were closed and she was huffing with all her might. Now that's dedication to fitness. The buildings move up to touch the sky, but the parks thrive in the heavy business section of town. The downtown city may be hectic, but you prefer it to the boring life of suburbia.

Plus you weren't really a fan of the bus. There were so many weird ponies on it. The subway wasn't quite as bad. You find yourself holding your phone again. Why won't she reply to your text? Did you blow it already? Taking a deep sigh, you look back inside to see Fluttershy coming back out with a brochure.

"How does it look?" You ask, curious of what she thought.

"It's pretty reasonable and I like that I would be close to you... plus it allows pets! So I said I would take it." She answers excitedly. Score 2 Anon – 0 Mares in the Apartment.

"That's great! One step closer to being independent.” You double check your watch for the time. “Looks like we still have some time. How about I show you one of my favorite places to eat around here?" You ask.

“S-sure!" She smiles widely and follows closely to you as the two of you make your way to your next destination. You try to shake thoughts of Autumn from your head.

"So, um. Anon?" Fluttershy asks timidly.

"Yeah?" You ask her with an open mind.

"I was wondering, would you be interested in helping me move in to my apartment tonight?" She asks.

"I could help out, sure. Why not? What do you have to move?” She smiles and she seems to have a bit more of a spring to her step.

"Oh! Not very much. I just have some clothes and some things from home, but I have movers doing that. What I really need help with is a trip to wherever I can find some animal friends. I'm thinking a bird. That way the poor dear doesn't have to be cooped up inside all day." Fluttershy answers.

“Oh. Like a pet store? I know where one of those are. We can check it out tonight." Fluttershy's eyes light up as her wings pick her up into the air.

"Oh I just can't wait! Maybe there will be a parakeet and his name will be Perry! Ooh! Perry the parakeet! Or maybe a nice toucan! Or maybe a mockingbird. Or maybe-"

That's when it sets in. Oh god. You are going to be at a pet store with Fluttershy. This is going to be like taking a kid to an ice cream parlor and telling them to only try one flavor.

"Well cool. Looks like we are going by the pet store after work then." You chuckle to yourself. What have you gotten yourself into?

"Yay!~" Fluttershy cheers.

Soon the two of you approach a nice looking restaurant. "Here we are. This is one of my favorite places! They easily have the best bowl of pasta that I've ever had." Fluttershy looks at the menu that's posted outside the door.

"Oh my. It looks nice, but it also looks expensive." She observes.

"It's really worth it. Trust me." You nod. “I used to go here alone all the time.” She smiles back up at you.

"Are there any nice places to spend free time here in Manehattan? Or maybe make some friends? What about the Library? Mulberry said it was a nice place." A shiver runs down your spine. Autumn. You keep your composure and try to think on your feet. You can't lie Anon...

"It's not too far from here. Just down a few streets and to the left, but if we don't go soon we might be late for work." You answer honestly, attempting to dodge a bullet. Autumn doesn't know the front you are trying to keep up for Fluttershy. Everything could go horribly wrong if she saw you like this, not knowing she's your secretary

"Oh! Okay. Let's get going then." She nods in understanding. The two of you make your way to work and Fluttershy begins to gush over the idea of getting a little baby birdie. This mare really knows how to turn on the cuteness and push it to the max. You feel your heart warm up, watching her act like an excited little filly around you. It's still a little hard to believe that just a few days ago, you thought this was all another elaborate attempt to get into your pants from her demented mind.

Like last time when she was in heat.

Then a part of you reminds yourself that it still could be.

The image of Autumn still rang clearly in your mind and your phone felt heavy today, as if a part of you were waiting for something. On the way to work, you pass a public school. It's not particularly a great school, but plenty of children file inside its doors. For a school that is downtown, it's in pretty good shape. Mulberry slowly etches her way into your thoughts. Damn it.

It's not healthy to have a crush on this many ponies. Maybe all you need is a calm day at work to clear your mind, you think to yourself, looking down to the pink haired pegasus walking next to you. Your heart warms up for a moment.

Maybe not.

As you approach the doors to the office, Fluttershy's cute demeanor slowly fades to a professional one.

"Ready?" You ask her. She nods to you and you hold the door open for her. Fluttershy walks in with her head held high and the two of you make your way to the elevator. “Well then. What's on our plate for today?" You ask matter of factly.

"Let's see...” Fluttershy thinks to herself, her eyes glancing to the ceiling. “I don't think there are any meetings today, so it's probably just a good day to get some work done."

Perfect. Just what you wanted. You feel your phone buzz in your pocket as you step into the crowded elevator. Well then, what to work on... There was that other report that Flutters wanted you to review. Your fingers wrap around your phone, but you don't dare to remove it from your pocket. Maybe you should check with Brand for what is top priority to work on right now. Then maybe check on your phone. The elevator doors slide open after the signature chime. As you make your way to your working space, you have to remind yourself again that you aren't in your cube anymore when you get half way there. Fluttershy watches your movement with a confused expression.

"Sir?” Flutterhy asks politely. “Your office is-"

Performing an 180 and acting like walking in the opposite direction of your office was just part of your normal routine, you answer."This way. Yeah."

You chuckle at your dumb mistake as you follow her to your office. She has a certain sway to her that catches your attention and makes you feel guilty. This is going to be a long day at work. Opening up the door to your office, you head inside and Fluttershy follows you in. You sit at the desk and your attention is drawn to her blushed expression.

"Would you like some coffee?" She asks quietly. Oh yeah... the servant thing. Well, it earns her brownie points, that's for sure.

"That sounds positively lovely. Thank you, Miss Fluttershy." She nods and takes your coffee mug and flutters out of the room. You should do some work first. You glance across your desk and view the towering stack of papers.

But one quick text shouldn't hurt.

Quickly, you pull out your phone and glance at the screen. 'One new text message from Autumn' blinks back at you. A lighthearted feeling fills your stomach. Fluttershy will be coming back. You shove the phone back into your pocket. It's not a good idea right now.

You stack up your work to do for today into piles for easy access and immediately begin work on Fluttershy's last file. The flawless work all adds up perfectly, as you would expect, but you make sure not to miss a single number. Soon Fluttershy quietly sneaks in with a cup of coffee for you.

"Thank you very much, Miss Fluttershy." You nod to her. She smiles and makes her way out of your office with a light squeak.”

You look at the mug of coffee. Two weeks ago you poured part of it into a potted plant. It just happened to be one of the best cups of coffee you had in your life. You take a light sip of the dark brown delicious caffeine.

"Mmmm." You moan involuntarily. Perfect bliss. You could never get the coffee in the office to taste this way. This is something you could easily get used to. Getting up, you close the door to your office part of the way to remove some of the external noise and get a little privacy. As you walk back to your desk, you whip your phone back out and check the message.

"Well there is one copy of the book at the library, if you want it. :) So, what happened with your neighbor a few weeks ago? You mentioned it but never told me what happened." Your fingers work their magic typing out a reply.

"A neighbor ended up in some trouble, had to help out. Everything calmed down though. I actually got a copy of the book and I'm gonna read it today! I'm looking forward to it!" You hit submit and set the phone on the desk. Although you didn't mean to, you stare at the phone for a few long seconds. Hoping to see a reply.

Well, this work isn't going to get done itself. With a sigh, You keep focused on Fluttershy's work, and you manage to get it all wrapped up. Checking your phone, you still don't see a reply. Damn it. Slipping your phone into your pocket, you decide head over to Fluttershy's desk and see what her progress has been like this morning. At very least, you can get this file back to her. With a stretch, you get up and leave your office for your destination.

Brand waves to you as you pass his office and you happily wave back. A part of you wonders what she could be working on. Are you giving her enough work? Are you being a good boss? All of this is so new to you, that you are second guessing how you've been doing along the way. As you approach her desk, the yellow pegasus is working diligently on her tasks. That's a good sign.

“How's it going Fluttershy?” You ask gently.

"It's going well,” She answers, diverting her attention to a new stack and handing the stack to you.

“Here is the other file that you wanted me to check." You nod, handing a file of hers back.

"Oh! How did it look?" She asks curiously.

"Perfect as always.” You answer proudly. “Keep up the awesome work." You shoot her a smile. "Don't forget to ask if you need any advice or got any questions."

"I'll remember." She answers in a sing song tone.

"Cool. I'll let you be then." You nod. Turning tail to your secretary, you head back to your desk to get some more work done. Thanks to the quiet environment and steady workflow, time has flown quickly this morning. Once you get back to your desk and finally run out of coffee, you notice there is already only an hour until lunch. You can't lose focus now. Digging in for the last hour, you manage to get a project wrapped up and ready to hand off to Brand. Checking the clock again, it's the perfect time for lunch. A tap comes from your door. None other than Brand walks in.

“Hey, wanna grab some lunch?" The stallion asks curiously.

"Not today man. I think I'm going to read this book." You answer, waving the book Mulberry let you borrow in your hands.

"Ugh. You and your books, man.” Brand groans. “What's this one about, another mystery?"

"Uh. Actually, it's a love story." You answer, a little nervous.

"A love story?” He answers in suprise. “Weird. That isn't your style. Normally you like the action, adventure or horror books." He eyes you curiously.

"I got a recommendation from someone. So I figured I'd give it a read. Try and broaden my horizons, ya' know?" You justify the book. Sharing that you're reading it for a mare crosses your mind, but then you decide to withhold that information.

"Hmm. Alright. Fair enough. I hope it's a good one. I'll see ya later this afternoon." He observes. "See ya, man."

You look at the book and turn it over in your hands. Maybe you should read this outside the office. It is a nice day outside. Plus it will give you a little time to yourself. You think over your choices. There is always the library. It's the perfect place to read books and you might even have a chance to see Autumn while you are there. A smile curls on your lips.

On the other hand, the park would probably be a great place to just relax in the nice weather. Getting up, and moving towards the door, you stop and consider a new thought. If you leave the office, Fluttershy might follow you around. She's been really clingy ever since she got into town. Not that you entirely mind... but if you went and talked to Autumn...

That couldn't possibly end well. The park it is.

You head to the elevators and make your way to the bottom floor while reading the summary on the back of the book. The book isn't super long, so maybe you could get a third of the way through it if you don't get distracted. Outside's warm breeze graces you as you exit the building. With green grass in sight, you make your way over to the park.

You look around to breathe in the surroundings of the bright sunny day. Plenty of ponies make their way around the city just fulfilling their daily needs or running errands. Some ponies sit on benches talking to each other and sharing a sandwich. One poor homeless pony plays a guitar for spare change. Oh... heck with it.

You drop a spare bit into his guitar case and he smiles up at you. The simple gesture puts a small skip in your step as you make your way to a quiet spot for lunch. Glancing behind you puts a bit of a damper on your mood. While you can just make it out, your trained eyes catch the small glimpse of yellow. Fluttershy is trying to follow you from a distance. You sigh to yourself and shake your head. That's really disappointing.

Well, you could probably just let her do her thing. She might not actually be following you, but just getting some lunch herself. Maybe she's closing on her apartment. Who knows? It's better to give her the benefit of the doubt.

You step through the gates to the park and eye an empty bench. Sitting down and crossing your legs, you open the book to the first chapter. The setup is fairly standard as romance novels go. It focuses on the mare as she steps on the train to start a new life in a new town.

The only compartment that wasn't full was one with a stallion who was quietly reading a book. She sits with him and they talk and get to know each other. It turns out he's starting a new life too. They talk, laugh and share a meal over the train ride. In her own little way, the mare sees it as her own little date.

Just as the train begins to slow down, she realizes he wrapped his arm around her and she has butterflies on the inside of her stomach. He leans in closer when-

When goosebumps rise on the back of your neck. You feel like somepony has been watching you from behind.

Part 1 - Chapter 7: An Unexpected Visitor

The nagging feeling makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You turn around quickly and come nose to nose with a light brown mare with stunning emerald eyes. Autumn jumps back in mild shock.

"Oh... I'm sorry! I just saw you in the park on my walk and I thought I would say hi, but I got nervous and saw you were reading, but I didn't want to bother you, but I was interested where you were in the book-" She begins to speak quickly, stammering over her words while pressing her hooves together. You take a relaxed breath. All those years of Fluttershy following got you on edge.

Calm down, big guy. Fluttershy wouldn't pull anything. She's a changed mare. You hope. For both of your sakes.

"Hey! How's it going?" you ask your prospective date, attempting to calm her nervousness. A smile curls on her face.

"Um. Good. Pretty good. Um.. I-I got your text.. I was just waiting until I wasn't busy... but then I saw you and thought that maybe you would want some... company?" she asks hopefully. You smile and close your book.

"Of course," you warmly say to her, patting the empty spot on the bench. She meekly takes a seat next to you. "Do you go on walks every day at lunch? I've just recently started coming to the park.” Autumn nods to you.

"I try to do it every day. My friend says I should try to get out of the library more often," she replies. You turn to her, prepared with an easy question, in an attempt to play dumb.

"Oh? Do you work at the library? Sounds like the perfect job since you love books so much.” A light sparks in her eyes as she turns to you.

"Ohmygoodness. Yes! Ever since I was a filly I wanted to work in a library. They take you on such an adventure and you can do anything in them! They help you forget everything that is bothering you and-" She stops and her face fills with a deep blush. "Sorry, I got a little excited there." You chuckle to yourself.

"It's no big deal. I thought it was cute. Reminds me of a friend of mine from Ponyville," You answer with a smile. She looks away and hair falls gently in front of her face.

"You think I'm cute?" she barely whispers through a blushing face.

"Of course. Why else would we have a date tomorrow?" You give her the best smile you have, and place your arm behind her on the park bench. She looks back at you with those beautiful eyes and a light blush paints her cheeks.

"You're right... I'm pretty excited. That's not bad is it? To be excited?" Your heart leaps for a moment, but guilt also racks your brain.

“Of course not, silly.”

That's when your gut drops. What would Fluttershy say if she saw this? You scan the park, worried if she followed you here. All you see is other ponies eating lunch and some children playing. The coast seems to be clear. You have to tell her. She deserves to know. You can't get her hopes too high... She's working so hard for you. But you have to love her because YOU love her, not because she's working for you.

"Umm... You said you had friends in Ponyville?" Autumn asks. You snap out of your reverie.

"Oh. Yeah. I have a bunch of friends in Ponyville. Have you been there? It's quite a cozy little town." Her bashful demeanor flips like a light switch to a sullen, vacant expression. Clearly you hit a nerve.

"Yeah... I grew up there, but I wasn't there very long. Only until I was around 4 or 5,” She answers.

"Why's that? Family move to a different city?" You ask, trying to find a safe way to continue the conversation.

"It's k-kind of a long story... and it's a little sensitive to me. I'm s-sorry. I'll tell you someday... but I need some time. I haven't even told my closest friend yet,” she answers weakly.

"Alright then, I won't press. Tell me about your friend,” you ask, attempting to change the subject.

"She's so nice. Much prettier than me too. She works at a school not too far from here. She tries so hard to make sure all of the students have everything they need.” Autumn's demeanor seems to lighten up at the change of subject.

"You know, her name wouldn't happen to be Mulberry would it?" you deliver another easy question. Autumn looks up to you and beams.

"You know Mulberry?" she asks excitedly.

"Yeah! She's my next door neighbor. She was the one I helped few weeks ago when she had some... personal problems."

"Oh! That must be so nice to have her around. I only see Mulberry at the library. She talks about her kids so much and how helpful I am to her... I feel like I'm kind of helping the little ones out too... but wait … is she okay?" Autumn asks.

“Yeah... I think she's doing better now... you should see how she's doing tonight. I think she would really appreciate it.”

Her feet sway a little bit on the bench and a light breeze catches her hair and pulls it to the side. Giving you just a bit of a glimpse of Fluttershy standing off in the distance, watching you. Her face is... unreadable. Guilt fills your stomach. There is no choice. You have to explain things now. Especially before you help her move in tonight. How are you going to explain this?

"She talked before about having a really bad coltfriend... which I can understand. I've had a really bad experience with a stallion too. Was it related to that?” Autumn asks quietly.

"Yeah, it was. You had a bad stallion too?" you ask her curiously.

"Yeah. It's also sorta sensitive though... I'm sorry," she answers, looking away.

"No really, it's fine,” you reply. “I probably shouldn't have asked.” You look down at your watch and you see you are nearly late to get back. "But, I think I should probably head back to work." Autumn nods to you.

"Yeah... me too. I'll text you. I promise!" She catches you by surprise and wraps you up in a tight hug. Her fur feels warm against your skin and places the same feeling on the inside of your chest You wrap an arm around her and notice that she smells like fall time.

"Sounds good... I'll see ya around," you answer. She breaks away and trots off.

"Bye-bye, Anon!" You watch her head out of the park with a wide smile, but you can't help but look around. Fluttershy is nowhere to be seen. With a heavy sigh and a bad feeling in your stomach, you head back to work. At least you are nearly done with the book... and it won't be as weird when you mention you knew she worked in a library. It was a little surprising to you that she hasn't even found out what happened to Mulberry yet...

None of that is even close to the big question though. How much did Fluttershy see? What did she hear?

How is she going to react?

And you are going to help her pick out a pet tonight. This has potential to hurt everything that you had been working towards with her. A large part of you felt guilty for still entertaining the possibility of going out with Autumn. Great job, Anon. Love struck between three different ponies. What are you going to do next?

You have to judge how you tackle the situation by how Fluttershy is acting this afternoon. Setting your hand on the entrance to the glass building, you step inside. As you step inside the elevator, you look at the shorter ponies riding it with you. Are their lives just as hard as yours? Sometimes it seems like all of life's drama gets attracted to you like flies to an open flame.

The elevator stops at your floor. Guess you wouldn't know unless you asked. Stepping onto your floor, you head towards your office, keeping a close eye out for your assistant.

"Hey Anon!" The masculine voice behind you makes you jump. Spinning around, you find your boss Brand.

"Oh. Hey. How's it going? You seem awful chipper,” you mention in observation.

"Oh yeah. Things are great. I met a new stallion last night, all my meetings were cleared out this morning, and the cherry on top is that I've got a date tonight!" he says proudly.

"That's awesome man. Good job! " you tell him honestly. It's really great to see Brand so happy. It's such a great change of pace.

"Yeah!, well I won't keep ya busy." says Brand in a tone that infers that HE is the one who actually wants to go.

"Oh, alright. Well thanks. I'll see ya around,” you answer, confused why he would suddenly start and stop conversation with you.

"See ya," he says, turning towards the elevators.

You head back towards your office, your brain full of fu-

Oh, one last thing." You sigh. Turning back to Brand, you do your best not to seem irritated by the constant interruptions today.

"Whassup.”

"Your secretary seemed down in the dumps when I saw her. Everything alright?" Brand asks. The plunging feeling in your stomach returns.

"Yeah. I think so. I was about to go talk to her,” you answer.

"Alright then. Just remember that one of the most important parts of being professional is knowing when it's inappropriate to be professional." You nod your head.

"Take care, Anon," Brand waves to you.

"You too." Turning back to your original destination, you step into your office and slouch down in your chair.

"Uhm. Sir?" A quiet feminine voice calls from your door. You look up reflexively at the door, which is part way open with Fluttershy peering in. Your blood runs cold.

"Hey, I just got back. What's up?” you ask casually. She looks away, but carries in a few stacks of papers.

"I, um. Finished these a little bit ago. I wanted... wanted to know if you would like to look at them?" Her sad tone shoots daggers into your soul as you feel numbness replacing guilt.

"Yeah, sure." She drops the papers on your desk with a thud, then turns to leave.

"Hey Flutters, sit down for a second. I think we should talk about something." You call to her. She turns to you, her face covered by her mane, in strict contrast to the look that she prepared this morning with such care in your bathroom. After pausing for a moment, she closes the door quietly and sits in front of your desk.

"H-have I done something wrong?"she asks quietly.

"No. I have,” you answer her question. Standing up from your chair, you move around to the front of the desk and sit on it. "I've been trying to find a good time to tell you, but I haven't... and I couldn't. After I saw that you followed me to the park. I think I should tell you now."

She looks down and stares at the carpet. Fluttershy mumbles something under her breath.

"What's that?" you ask.

"I-I'm sorry I followed you..." she repeats sadly.

"No. That's fine. Well, I mean. Maybe a bit excessive, but that's not what I want to talk about." She looks up at you and you see the redness to her eyes. Why didn't you just tell her earlier, Anon?

"Fluttershy, before I knew you were coming here... I met somepony,” you calmly tell her. The little pegasus breaks into tears and places her hooves over her face.

"I knew it... I knew all of this has been too good to be true. I knew something was wrong,” Fluttershy cries in your office.

"No Shy, that isn't what I'm saying. I'm not in a relationship,” you interrupt her cries, attempting to clear up what you think was her misconception.

"Then what could it possibly be?" she cries exasperatedly. You kneel down on a knee to get on eye level with her tear-stained, makeup smeared face.

"That first night was when everything changed. I couldn't have imagined that in twenty four hours, that what we could have would mean so much to me." She smiles a little, just for a second. "Now... I don't know. I haven't had to make this hard of a decision before. Before... it would have been a no-brainer for me, but today, everything is completely different." She sniffs and looks up at you.

"Did the two of you..." she asks, her voice trailing off.

"No. We only exchanged numbers and made a date." You tell her honestly.

"When is it?"

"Tomorrow,” you answer honestly. She looks down at the floor and mumbles something under her breath.

"What's that?" She looks up at you and gulps.

"Please don't go,” she asks weakly. The question catches you off guard and the internal conflict renews itself. Of course Fluttershy, anything for you. Are you taking orders from your stalker, Anon?

"I don't know if I can do that... It would feel like I led her on Shy,” you answer, alluding to your internal conflict.”

"If you go... aren't you leading me on?” she asks. You gulp, hearing your words heard against you. How can you possibly remedy this? You can't lie to her. That wouldn't be remotely fair. Yet, how can you possibly choose between two people you met within twenty four hours of each other? Shy is trying really hard and everything, but what if she relapses?

Then again, what if denying her this causes her to relapse. A shiver runs down your spine. One date with Autumn and one with Fluttershy. Then you decide.

"I owe her one date, Shy. One date. After that, I'll let her down easy. She isn't that bad of a person. She's Mulberry's friend that she talked about this morning,” you tell her in an attempt to clear the air.

"I knew there was a reason you wanted to avoid the library..." she sighs to herself. You hold her hooves and bring her face to face.

"One date, then it's all over. I'm all yours."

Is that really the truth, Anon? She looks into your eyes and you see the hurt, vulnerable filly inside of her screaming, crying... begging. For you.

"O-okay. One date,” she answers quietly. You wrap you arms around her.

"Thank you."

"But I want a date too,” she quickly redoubles.

"Done. Anywhere you want. Any time." You break the hug and she seems to be a little happier. Taking a box of tissues off your desk, you wipe off some of the smeared makeup from your shirt as she checks herself in a mirror.

"I look terrible,” she says to herself.

"It's not that bad. I'm sure you could fix it up in a jiffy," you reply to the filly whose mascara has run past her cheeks and down her neck.

"You are a horrible liar, Anon," she half-heartedly giggles. Your throat tightens. She fixes the worst of it with a small compact and takes a deep breath. "Better?"

"Better,” you answer firmly.

"Really?" She look up at you, then casts her gaze aside.

“Really. Now then! I'll grab ya when we are done for today. We aren't going to find Perry the Parakeet in an office building." Fluttershy giggles and nods. "I won't keep ya locked up in here then."

"Oh, I don't mind..." She catches herself with a blush. “did I just say that out loud?” she whispers.

"Back to professionalism, Miss Fluttershy." you answer firmly.

"Right, sir. Uhm. Would you mind if I recheck that? I-I think I rushed through the last few pages." You open the files she set on your desk, and browse them quickly. The last page is visibly stained with tears and has numerous glaring issues.

"Of course,” you answer calmly.

"Thank you sir." She says, heading back to her desk.

What are you going to do with her?

The rest of the afternoon goes by fairly quickly. At one point, Brand popped in to mention how better Fluttershy seemed. Of course, you buttered him up, saying it was due to his amazing advice and council. He just ate it up. You and Fluttershy work like a seamless machine. She reviews your work and you review hers. Every single thing comes out perfect and the box of work seems to get smaller for once. It's really amazing how good of a team the two of you make.

She even made you some of that liquid delight that keeps you alive. Something about her coffee just perks your entire day. When you finally get a moment to look at the clock, it's already time to go. A light knock on your open office door signals the sign of the beaming yellow pegasus.

"Ready, Anon?" Fluttershy asks excitedly.

"Yep. I think we've put a big enough dent in this for today. Let's get outta here."

After closing and locking your office, you follow the yellow pegasus out of the building and out into the early evening air. The two of you walk side by side on the side walk, relishing the benefits of a hard day's work. "So, what's the plan for tonight,” you ask.

"Uhm. Well I need to grab some of my things from your apartment, but otherwise I think we should grab a bite to eat, then find a cute little critter."

"Sounds good to me. To my place it is. I'd sure love to get out of these clothes." Fluttershy looks up at you in disbelief, her face painted the color of a fresh strawberry.

"Into more casual clothes, Shy. Mind out of the gutter."You sigh. That other Fluttershy is still deep down in there somewhere...

"O-oh. Right." she says in a slightly defeated tone.

"Long day?"

"Y-yeah... it's just really hard sometimes..." She watches the ground at the two of you walk back to your place.

"I know Shy. I'm proud of you. I know it must take a lot to push past those urges." She nods, probably more to herself than to your comment. "Have you been thinking of what critter you want?"

Fluttershy's eyes light up and she leaps into the air, her wings keeping her aloft. "Oh, how could I possibly decide without getting to know all of them. What if I can't decide Anon? How could I possibly take only one home? What if they all like me? I don't want to hurt any of their feelings Anon... I don't know." You lightly snicker.

"Sounds like I'll have to keep you in line so you don't walk out with half the store."

Her eyes light up and turn to you. "Do you think they would let me?” she asks.

“Probably not,” you answer with a smile.

“Aww,” she answers defeatedly. Your stomach grumbles as the two of you near your destination.

"Oh man. What do you wanna eat? I'm not sure if we will have enough time to cook up something fresh." The yellow pegasus ponders to herself.

"I don't know. Is there something quick? Like sandwiches?" she asks.

"I'm pretty sure there is a shop near your place that delivers. We could try it out,” you mention.

"You would know better than I would Anon." she says with a smile. As you approach your apartment building, you hold the door open for your guest and hop in the elevator to your floor. You can't help but wonder how Mulberry might be doing.

While Fluttershy grabs her things, maybe you should check up on her. Just to make sure things are okay. The door opens and the two of you exit the metal box. The yellow mare hums a happy tune as she follows you to your apartment. She doesn't fail to notice your glance towards Mulberry's door.

"Do you think she is okay?" she asks curiously.

"Yeah. I think so. Should I check up on her?" you ask. She seems hesitant, but looks up to you and nods.

"Alright. I'll see how she's doing after I change,” you affirm. You unlock the door to your apartment and step inside the cool sanctum of home. With a great stretch, you already feel more relaxed.

"Uhm. Do you mind if I take a quick shower Anon?" Fluttershy asks. You untuck your shirt and head towards your room.

"Nah. What's mine is yours."

"Thanks, Anon!" You step into your room and quickly change out of your work clothes and into something more comfortable. T-shirt and jeans should be fine. Getting ready to head back out into the hallway, you move to the bathroom door to tell Fluttershy that you are going to check out Mulberry.

"Umf~" you hear just beyond the other side of the door, blended in with the running water from the shower head. You do a one-eighty and decide to see your neighbor. She'll figure it out when you aren't around. Leaving the door unlocked, you walk to Mulberry's door and knock lightly.

"Oh! Lemme get that," you hear from inside. Was she talking to someone? She has a guest? Maybe you shouldn't-

The door swings open and a bright eyed and perky Mulberry stands on the other side of the door.

"Anon! How are you? Ooh! Ooh! You have to come in, I haaave to introduce you to my friend!" That's weird. This doesn't resemble the calm, somber mare that you met this morning. Not that it's a bad thing. She grabs you by the shirt and pulls you in.

"Berry, have you been drinking?" you ask.

"Only a few glasses because I have company. Autumn! Autumn! I want to introduce you to my neighbor!" The pit of your stomach drops.

"Alright. Alright." says the familiar quiet voice as you see her brown hair round a corner. When Autumn locks her eyes onto you, her face shares a similar expression of shock and is then replaced with a smile.

"Autumn this is Anon. Anon, this is Autumn, my friend that works at the library."

"Uh. Hi there," you chuckle.

"Hey," she answers with a cute smile.

"Can you believe that this tall stallion helped take care of me two weeks ago when all that happened? He didn't even want anything in return. He's suuch a gentlecolt." Mulberry states. You arent sure if you or Autumn blushed harder.

"Oh really?" Autmn asks, playing dumb.

"But what you really have to see to believe is his COOKING! Oh my Celestia. It was amazing. Every single little bite was-"

"Well. Uh. I don't mean to interrupt girl time, but I prolly should go," You mention, trying to escape the situation. If Fluttershy saw this...

"Nonsense!" says Mulberry, "We got a ton to drink, why don't you stick around?"

"Well I promised I'd help out Fluttershy move out tonight...” you say to Mulberry.

Autumn looks at you curiously with a little worry, but keeps her mouth closed. A knock at the door breaks the conversation and Mulberry answers it. You look down to Autumn who looks up at you with visible concern.

"Fluttershy! Anon was just talking about you!" Mulberry mentions.

"O-oh. Hi Mulberry. I thought I could find Anon here." She steps into the apartment and walks up beside you, until she notices the fall colored pony next to you. Fluttershy takes a step back in nervousness.

"Oh. Uhm. Hi,” Fluttershy says to Autumn.

"Hello." replies Autumn, looking from you, back to Fluttershy, and then back to you again.

"Uhm. Autumn. This is Fluttershy, a close friend from Ponyville. Fluttershy. This is Autumn, Mulberry's friend from the library." You say, formally introducing her to tomorrow's date. Fluttershy instantly straightens up and eyes the mare from head to hoof.

"Oh. I've heard a bit about you." The yellow pony says to her.

"Really?" Autumn asks curiously. "Like what?"

This is bad. You can't let this happen.

"Well, uhm. We better get started Fluttershy or we won't be able to get you moved in." You answer,

"Oh... Right," she answers, not taking her eyes off of Autumn. "I suppose we will have to talk some other time. You work at the library right?"

"That's right." Autumn answers,

"Okay, we will have to have coffee or something."

"Sounds nice," answers Autumn. Mulberry stands on the sidelines, not eating up the tense atmosphere, but stares at the wall behind you in a tipsy daze. Or is she staring at you? There is too much tension in this room. You decide it's now or never.

"Alright, well I'll see you all around!" You call out to the room and pull Fluttershy by the wing out of the apartment.

Anon takes his 'friend' out of Mulberry's apartment with a wave goodbye. At least, you hope she's just a friend. She was being so protective...

Does she know about your date with him?

"Bye Bye, Anon!" yells Mulberry out of her apartment. She sighs and closes the door behind her.

"Isn't he dreamy, Autumn?" Mulberry says to you, or maybe more to the ceiling.

"Yeah." you answer truthfully. "He is."

"Just think... a male like that could have any mare he wanted... I would do anything if that mare could be me." Taking a sip of wine, you setting your glass down.

"Maybe you should wait a little bit before you jump back in the stallion game..."

"Oh Autumn, just because you and I both had a bad experience doesn't mean we should quit!" Mulberry answers positively through a haze of alcohol.

"I suppose." You say while grabbing your glass of wine, looking at your reflection in the red liquid.

"Plus you said you had that date coming up!" the tipsy mare teases. “You're the last person who should say that!”

"That's different. I waited a long time after... him. And seeing that some stallion did that to you too... I think you should wait too."

"Oh Autumn, you've never even met him, and thank goodness for that. I wouldn't wish that stallion on anypony. I'm happy that they took him downtown."

"That's good," you answer. What are you going to tell her? That you have a date with her crush? And what are you supposed to think about this yellow pegasus? You take a deep gulp of your wine and get out your phone.

Maybe you should text him...

Part 1 - Chapter 8: Fluttershy's Date

Fluttershy walks ahead of you through the hallway of your apartment building to the elevator. Silent. Her body seems rigid and her eyes are focused dead ahead.

"Fluttershy?"

"Yes, Anon?" she answers tersely, her expression unchanging. You've seen Fluttershy mad before, usually when she wouldn't get her way during estrus, but this isn't the mad Fluttershy you came to know back in Ponyville. On the other hand, maybe you don't want that one back...

"Uh. Where do you want to go for dinner?" you ask, choosing your words carefully.

"I-I'm not sure. You pick somewhere," she answers quickly.

You rack your mind for places that might be able to lift up her mood. Was it the confrontation in Mulberry's apartment that set her off? Even though you can tell she's angry, she isn't going ballistic. She must really be trying to put on a good show for you or she is actually trying to become a better pony for you.

Like she promised the other night. Her secret promise.

Then there is Mulberry and Autumn. Alcohol didn't do good things to Mulberry. Plus there were all the bottles from this morning. All you can do is speculate... but you saw the way those mares looked at you. It's pretty obvious that they like you.

You repress a sigh and hit the elevator button as Fluttershy alternates between looking at the floor and then to you. Her expression is furrowed as if she wants to say something, but can't bring herself to say it. The yellow pegasus looks back up to you and holds her gaze.

Damnit Anon. Say something!

"How about the place I showed you this morning?" you suggest.

"That sounds nice." she mutters. She looks back to the floor.

Shit.

"Fluttershy, do you wanna talk about what happened back there?" you ask, poking the sleeping dragon.

"Y-yeah." she whispers. The elevator dings and you step inside with the timid mare that has plenty on her mind.

"Well... do you want to start?" you ask politely. As a rule of thumb, you never start saying things before the lady does. You learned that in 'You are in deep shit 101.'

"W-well... you saw the way those mares looked at you... didn't you?" Fluttershy questions.

"Yeah. I did. I can't say I didn't notice."

She looks to the ground. "I-I didn't like it." she states.

You can't lie and say you didn't. You did. The extra attention from the mares has been a change of pace, and not for the worse. There really weren't very many mares you really enjoyed the company of back in Ponyville. Especially after you and Twilight decided you were better off just staying friends. Now you found yourself with three mares you really liked and the inability to choose between the three.

"There isn't really anything I can do about it though Fluttershy. I can't just tell them to not like me," you reply. She lets out a defeated sigh. You know it wasn't the answer she was looking for, but what are you honestly going to do?

"When I saw the way that one looked at you. The..." she says in a rising tone, as if she would insult her.

"Autumn,” You correct her.

"I just felt so... so...” Fluttershy shifts on her hooves and looks away from you. “I don't know what came over me."

"What do you mean?" you ask with concern. You know exactly what she means, but you want her to say it. The invite to lunch. What was that all about? She wasn't just assertive... she was aggressive. It was extremely out of character for Fluttershy. Or, at least for the Fluttershy who is trying to show the better side of herself.

"I felt like I had to protect you... and the other Fluttershy leaked out a little," she says with a guilt in her voice.

"Yeah. I noticed," you answer. As you feel the words escape your lips, you mentally try to grab the words in the air to shove them back in your mouth.

"I'm so s-sorry," Fluttershy chokes out in a waivering tone. "I'm trying so hard... and today I've been doing so bad."

"Hey, it's fine." you try to reassure her. "Everyone slips up-"

"But I followed you to the park and I spied on you as you talked to her," she lists as the guilt takes a hold of her and she begins to lose her composure.

"Flutter-"

"Then I messed up all of those reports," Fluttershy adds as she hangs her head low.

"It happens, just don't-"

"And I've been so aggressive towards your personal life," she finishes, nearly on the edge of tears.

You don't answer. Mostly because it's true. Today Fluttershy has been acting like you remembered her back in Ponyville: Overbearing, protective, and aggressive.

Except for right now.

She seems to be legitimately sorry for the way that she has acted today.

"I understand if you don't love me anymore." she whimpers.

The elevator dings and opens on the floor of the lobby. A mare waiting to get on darts her eyes from you to Fluttershy.

“Um, I'll get the next one," she says.

You press the door close button, and it slowly closes. The cabin remains still as you kneel down on eye level with her.

"Fluttershy, you are a great friend. Honestly, I really like you," She blinks and a few salty tears run down her face. "In the 'more than a friend' kind of way too." Fluttershy cracks a faint smile and sniffs. "But, if we are going to try and make something work, we need to be a team," you add. "Mulberry is our friend and honestly I really like Autumn too. I don't think it would be fair to me if you made me throw them on the sidelines." Her smile fades quickly, but you need to press on, you need to continue. "I just think it's too soon to tell, Fluttershy. I know we've known each other for a long time, but I mean you've only been here in Manehattan for few weeks and we agreed to start over on a clean slate."

She nods her head and continues to listen. At least she hasn't tuned out yet. Something must be getting through. "Even then you already slept with me," you attempt to tease her. She faintly smiles, but is otherwise unamused. "Doesn't that count for something?" you ask her.

She smiles and pushes her hair way from her shrouded eyes. She looks back up to you with a faint smile and light tears in her eyes.

"What does that mean to you?" you ask. She looks up at you and you use the opportunity to wipe a tear from her cheek.

"That you trust me," Fluttershy says through a smile.

"Aaand?" you add. She looks at you quizzically.

"That I like you, silly filly," you answer. Her face returns to a calmed smile, but you know this is long from over in the long run. It's too soon to tell on any of the mares. Honestly, you need to get to know Autumn more. You've only texted her off and on the last few weeks. Tomorrow is the big day and you will finally be able to get to know your crush a little better. "Now let's grab some dinner. What would Pinkie say if you were frowning like that?"

Fluttershy shakes her head, and with it, her bad mood. "She'd probably tell me to turn that frown upside down and to stop worrying so much," she answers.

"That's right! Now, let's get some food." you say, pressing the 'Open Door' button.

The doors open and you exit the building for your walk. The evening air is fairly nice, the sun had not finished its returning journey across the horizon yet, but it will probably be dark in an hour or two.

Your problem is still on full display in your mind. Here you are. Three mares trying to grasp for your heart and you have feelings for two of them. Mulberry has you worried. With everything she's gone through lately, and the alcohol...

You can't entertain playing around with her, that's heartless, but maybe if you took her out on a night to talk about her drinking or to make sure she's alright, as friends, then you could let her down easy. Celestia forbid you get feelings for her too, and you have another problem to deal with. If only there was some way to help her deal with her problems...

At this point, all you can do is really get to know Autumn and Fluttershy and compare your options. The yellow pegasus walks with you with a wide smile. Not as wide as this morning, but still pretty big. You know she loves you so much.

But, do you love her just as much?

You've always known, but it could be in the way she picks up her hooves a little higher when she's around you or how she lingers on your every word. It's going to be hard to let her down if that's your choice. If only Twilight were here... she was always so good to talk to when you had something serious on your mind.

"So! Been thinking of what pet you are going to get? Still set on a bird?" you ask curiously.

"Sort of. I had an idea today," Fluttershy answers excitedly.

"Really? Tell me about it."

"Well I've been thinking of all the little pigeons and birdies that fly around here in the city, and I've been thinking that maybe I could start a little birdie home on the roof. I need to talk to the apartment manager about it... but if I could... just imagine all the little birds that I would make friends with, Anon!"

"That sounds like a really sweet idea, Fluttershy. I'm sure they would love that."

Fluttershy makes little hops as you near the restaurant. "Oooh! I'm so excited just thinking about it! If they say yes would you help me build their home Anon?"

"Yeah! It sounds like a good time."

"Then that means I should be able to get a puppy! Ooh, but there are so many choices of breeds." Fluttershy rattles off her favorite breeds as you hold the door to the restaurant open for her. The way she gets lost into her own little animal world made you smile as you listened to her. When she talks about animals, you feel like you are finally getting to know the real her.

The two of you step inside the dimly lit restaurant. The restaurant is littered with ponies, each eating by candlelight. A part of you forgot that this place is a little more formal than some other choices. You didn't choose this place because it was a romantic scene. The food here was just really good and you came here often because of it.

You look to Fluttershy, who is grinning from ear to ear. Yeah, this is definitely a date, no way around it. You didn't really mean for it to be one, but it is now.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, but you would have done things differently if you planned on it being a date. It was just going to be helping Fluttershy with a pet and helping her move in...

Then again, to keep your options open, perhaps it's better it wasn't something too dressed up.

"Just two?" asks a forest green maned waitress pony.

"Yeah. That's right," you answer.

"Right this way." She nods to you two , leading you two towards a table in the center of the room, right next to a young couple, with braces, clearly out on a date. That poor young stallion is sweating bullets. You smile, knowing what it used to be like around that age. He'll learn eventually.

Plus the young mare is CLEARLY into him, her eyes half lidded and smiling at him. The two of you take your seat and the waitress pours two glasses of water.

"Aren't they cute, Anon?" Fluttershy mutters to you.

"Yeah... I noticed. Young love in bloom." you snicker. The waitress, clueless, glances over her shoulder at the couple, and smiles too.

Quitely, under her breath she whispers, “It kinda reminds me of us.” However, it lies just beyond your earshot.

"Your waitress will be right with you," the waitress concludes

"Thanks." you answer, passing a menu to your date. The two of you look into the menus, but you clearly already know what you want. If there is one thing that this place does extremely well, it's the specials.

"Anon, would you mind if I asked you a question?" Fluttershy asks. You look up from the menu.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"Why did you never try to contact us after you left?" The pegasus eyes you with saddened curiosity. The pit of your stomach drops. It was because you wanted to cut any possible ties to the pegasus sitting across from you.

"What do you mean? I wrote to Twilight a few times," you answer indirectly. Yet, it wasn't the full truth.

"She told me you did once.... and only after you moved in. We were so worried about you... I was worried about you," she elaborates, setting down her menu.

Setting down your own menu, your gut churns. Quick, think of something. No more lies either.

"Work just kinda absorbed me Fluttershy... I wanted to get up in the ranks and earn some nice things. I barely had anything to my name in Ponyville... and I wanted things to be different,” you answer. A light violet mare approaches the table, cutting you off from your speech.

"What are we thinking for tonight?" the mare asks coolly.

"I'll have whatever the special is,” you answer, turning to the waitress in a desparate attempt to change the subject.

"I'll have what he's having," Fluttershy echoes, her eyes not leaving your face. You are stuck in this conversation and Fluttershy has you cornered.

"Sounds good. It'll be right out," the waitress chimes. The waitress leaves the two of you in an uncomfortable silence.

"I understand if you wanted to leave... certain things behind you Anon...” Fluttershy sighs, looking into her water. “I completely understand," she mutters.

"That was the past Fluttershy. Don't forget, new slate," You answer, unsure if you needed the reminder or she did.

"I know, but there is one thing I don't understand." She replies. You sit in silence, as she chooses her words carefully. "What's the point of having nice things, but nopony to share it with?" She asks innocently.

Your mouth opens slightly to form some sort of reply, but your words are jumbled. Shifting in your seat, you form your answer. "I suppose I thought, it would be better if I had something worthwhile to share first."

Fluttershy giggles at your answer.

"What?" You snap. "Was that not a good answer?"

"No offense Anon, but it was a horrible answer," The yellow pegasus answers with a smile.

"Why?"

"Because you don't need anything special to find somepony to share your life with." You eye her face for what she means. "All you need to share your life with somepony is you."

Is it just you, or did the room suddenly get a bit warmer? Not in a bad way. You just feel a little lighter. A smile creeps on your face and you nod to Fluttershy.

"I suppose you are right," You answer. Placing your hand on one of her hooves, which is resting on the table, she blushes. "Thanks. I suppose I needed to hear that."

She smiles and looks away. "I-I'm just telling the truth. Y-you are amazing, Anon."

"Well, I'd suppose you'd be happy to hear that I did talk to Twilight the other day then." She looks up at you, eyes illuminated with curiosity.

"Really? What for?" she asks.

"Well I was curious. The day when you were hired, I knew it would probably be you or Twilight. So I was just checking a hunch." Fluttershy looks down at your hand holding her hoof.

"Did you wish it were Twilight, Anon?" she asks.

"Well... that was before the clean slate," you answer truthfully. The yellow pegasus nods with understanding.

"Here we go! Two specials for the cute couple," rings the waitress.

Fluttershy slightly jumps. You have to admit you were surprised too. The conversation had you so wrapped up, you didn't even notice that the waitress sneaked up next to you two. As she sets the two bowls of pasta in front of you, you check your phone. Two text messages. One from Autumn, one from Mulberry.

Great.

"Something wrong, Anon?" Fluttershy asks. You shove your phone back into your pocket, shaking your head.

"Nah. Nothing important right now. I can deal with it later.”

Fluttershy frowns. "Her?"

"Yeah, but I'm with you right now," you smile to her. She returns the same signature smile that warms your heart. "Alright. Let's see what-"

Then you freeze. You look into the bowl of pasta and view one of the most curious sights you've ever seen. White pasta covered in what appears to be a pesto sauce, but there seems to be something speckled into it. Something red. Is it peppers? You love peppers, but... in a pesto sauce?

"It sure looks... interesting," Fluttershy says hesitantly. “This is your favorite place, Anon?”

"Uh... Yeah. I probably should have asked what the special was before I ordered it." You try to chuckle in good humor. This could turn out so bad. What were you thinking? What if she doesn't like spicy food...

Digging a fork in, you spiral your fork in the pasta, grabbing a healthy bite of food. Cautiously, you sniff the dish. It smells like pure fire. You love spicy food... but the combination is odd to say the least. Placing the bite into your mouth, an explosion of flavor overwhelms your senses, but none of them bad. Spice, garlic, earthly oils and herbs create a wrecking ball of flavor that surprises you. Pleasntly surprised you.

"Wow. That's really something else," you say in honest surprise.

"Is it too spicy?" Fluttershy asks timidly.

"I dunno. I don't think so, but I like spicy food. It's really different." You answer. “If you don't like it, I'll order something else for you.”

She takes her own bite after inspecting a forkful.

"Mmm. That really IS different. It reminds me of something Rainbow's parents would make." Oh thank god. She likes it.

"Rainbow Dash's parents?" you ask.

"Of course! Rainbow and I grew up together in Cloudsdale. She's probably my closest friend and responsible for making me as confident as I am today." Rainbow must be a miracle worker.

"That's really awesome. Are you writing her letters?"

"Mhm.” She answers, trying to swallow a bite of food. “I've always found that letters are more... personal than a phone call," Fluttershy answers.

"I know what you mean... I remember I was going to try and write everyone letters..."
She looks up at you. “I guess we both saw how that went. In fact. I think I'll write another letter to Twilight. She would like that."

Fluttershy smiles and nods. "I think she would too Anon."

Before you know it, your plates are empty and your stomachs are full. The nervous stallion at the other table told some sort of joke as they were leaving and the mare kissed him. His face turned such a deep shade of scarlet that you and Fluttershy had to work to stifle a light giggle. The two of you settled your bill and stepped outside of the restaurant.

"Alrighty then. Are you ready for the pet store?" Fluttershy instantly begins to hover in the air.

"I'm SO ready!" she exclaims.

"Then to the pet shop!" you shout enthusiastically to the city in an over-dramatic fashion.

Leading the excited pegasus forward, you make your way to the pet shop around the corner. Fluttershy's eyes are as wide as oranges. It should be illegal for somepony to be so cute. The two of you approach the well lit shop and you hold the door open for her. She skips into the shop and stops dead in her tracks. You follow behind her and Fluttershy lets in a long, excited gasp.

"ANON! There are so many animals!" she exclaims like a schoolfilly, wings outstretched, and her hooves covering her face.

"Well, let's get looking. Wanna start with the kitties?"

Fluttershy nods and you lead her to the cat section. A litter of newborn kitties mew at the yellow pegasus as she approaches, who leans down to examine them carefully with a wide smile and motherly eyes.

"Hey there little ones~ What are your names?"

Their mewing becomes more frequent and excited as a little orange ball of fluff comes close to the grating and look into the eyes of the pegasus.

"They are so cute, Anon... I want them all!" Fluttershy coos. "They all keep calling me Mama..."

"Good Evening!" calls a masculine voice. Turning your attention to a stallion in a tan uniform, you answer.

"How's it goin?" you ask casually.

"Fine, fine. Looking for a pet? Anything I can help you with?" the stallion asks.

"Well, Fluttershy here is looking for a new pet. She loves animals but wasn't able to bring any of her friends with her when she moved to the city."

Fluttershy straightens up and steps behind you a little bit, half hiding herself behind you and even more hidden by her soft pink mane.

"Well I understand. I don't know what I would do if I lost any of my animal friends. Tell me Fluttershy, who was one of your favorites back from home?"

Fluttershy gulps a little and looks up at you. You give her a nod and a smile.

"W-well. Um. There was Angel bunny... and um... Harry... um..." Fluttershy's voice goes a little quiet and she begins to mumble.

"What kind of animal was Harry?" the storekeep asks politely, sensing her nervousness .

"He's a bear." Fluttershy answers. quietly

The storekeep's eyes open wide and dart from side to side. ”Uhm. Come again?”

“A bear,” she replies again.

The storekeep looks from you, back to Fluttershy, then back to you.

"Well! We don't have any bears... but, we DO have a new batch of puppies!" Fluttershy's ears perk up at the idea of a newborn puppy.

"What breed are they?" she asks curiously.

"We have all sorts. Here, I'll show you."

The storekeep turns around and leads Fluttershy away from the mewing kitties, she looks over her shoulder at them occasionally with a sad look on her face. You can only imagine how hard it was for her to leave all of her animals at home, if she's having this much of an issue leaving kittens she doesn't even know yet.

How could she abandon so much... just to follow her crush all the way to a different city... doing something she doesn't love doing. It just doesn't make sense. Love is a weird thing that you can't even begin to comprehend... but you wonder if this had to be more than just love that Fluttershy had. Could it be an obsession?

Don't think like that, Anon. Clean slate.

The yips and barks echo through the room as you approach the puppies. Labs, boston terriers, bassets, boxers, poodles and all sorts of other mixed breeds are sorted into various glass walled pens. Their excitement grows to unprecedented levels with the possibility of a new owner on the horizon. They leap up to the glass and paw it intensely, their eyes intently focused on Fluttershy.

"H-how could I possibly choose?" she asks, overwhelmed with the number of choices. She walks up to the basset pups, who are tripping over their own ears and lick the glass when she puts her hoof up to it.

"They sure are adorable, huh?" you mention, not really knowing a whole lot about animals. You know what they will do to your favorite rug if they aren't trained properly... that's for sure.

Fluttershy nods, stepping back to get a grasp of all the animals.

"Wait," she says, her attention redirected to a glass pen that sits in the corner.

She moves to the far side of the wall, where there aren't any puppies clawing for attention. Inside this pen is a single dog who looks like he could have came in off the street. His fur is clean and groomed, but he shows no interest in moving. He lays still, eyes half lidded in weariness and with the stare that could dampen the mood of a newly 'marked' filly.

"Who is this little guy?" she asks the store owner.

"Oh. Uh, that's Scruffy," the store owner answers with a depressed tone. You look to him as you move closer to take a better look.

"Why's do you say it like that?" she asks.

"Well, most ponies that come in want a newborn kitten or pup. Scruffy here has been around for almost a year and a half now. Nopony has ever kept him."

The dog lifts his head in the pen and looks between you and Fluttershy, wondering why two people could possibly be looking at him. He puts his head down, reserved and resigned that it must be nothing. Just like all the other times.

"A few families have taken him home, but brought him back because they wanted something cuter. He just hasn't been the same since the last time. He won't really eat. He won't try to grab the attention of ponies. Nothing," he explains.

Fluttershy looks in at the sad, reserved dog and places her hoof on the glass. The dog looks into Fluttershy's eyes. Fluttershy stares into Scruffy's two lakes of blue hurt and pain. The stallion takes a deep breath and looks at the floor.

"Honestly, I don't know how much longer I can keep him around.” The storekeep elaborates. “He's a very good dog. One of my favorites. I just can't snap him out of his depression while he's here and I can't take him home..."

You can understand why the poor thing is out of it. It's the same depression that you felt when you first arrived in Equestria. To suddenly get thrown into a place where you feel you don't belong can hurt anyone.

"If I can't give him a home, I'll have to-"

"I want him." Fluttershy states, firmly and assertively.

The store owner's eyes open widely, and he looks at Fluttershy curiously. As does Scruffy from behind his glass, his head lifting.

"Really?" The owner asks in pure shock

"Yes. I can't leave this poor little angel here." Fluttershy answers firmly. “The cycle will end with me.”

His tail stands at attention, as the dog rises to his feet and steps forward to the glass. It doesn't surprise you in the least that this poor, broken animal is who Fluttershy would want to nourish and love.

"Are you sure he's the one you want Fluttershy?" you ask her. Her eyes are locked into Scruffy's, as his tail begins to wag gently.

"Hey little guy, wanna go home with me?" she says to Scruffy, writing off your words. Scruffy barks in reply and his tail wags even harder. The shop owner places a hoof over his mouth. You look to him and nod.

"Well, you heard the mare. We'll take him," you nod to the store owner.

"Alright then. I'll get the keys to unlock him," he says joyfully. He trots off to the counter as you kneel down beside Fluttershy, who is sitting on the ground outside the glass pen.

"So how do you know, Fluttershy?" you ask. Fluttershy looks to you.

"What do you mean, Anon?"

"How did you know he was the one for you?" you ask. She looks at her new excited pet with a smile.

"It's hard to explain... but it wasn't what the stallion said that made me choose him. It was this... feeling and I think he felt it too, Anon. It was like we were meant to meet each other tonight." You look back to Scruffy.

"Kinda like love then. I guess," you answer.

"Well it is love, Anon. It's just a different kind of love than the one you are thinking of," Fluttershy answers tenderly.

The stallion returns and unlocks Scruffy's pen, who immediately leaps to land wet, sloppy
kisses on Fluttershy's face. She laughs and pets him with a hoof.

"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Fluttershy coos. You stand up and approach the stallion.

"What's the damage on him?" The stallion waves a hoof.

"I've watched a lot of animals be adopted over the years, but I've never been happier to see one go to a good home," The stallion answers. "I've also never seen an animal take to their new owner like that before. Just knowing that Scruffy will be happy, I'll be happy. It's moments like these that make me happy to do what I do."

You smile and nod. "Thank you sir."

"No. Really. Thank you," he insists. Returning to your date, you kneel down and scratch Scruffy behind the ears.

"Well Fluttershy, should we take this guy home?" you ask.

"Yeah," she says contentedly.

The two of you exit the shop with Scruffy in tow, brandishing a vivid new yellow collar, matching the coat of his owner. Fluttershy pulls him along on a red leash, but the dog kept so close to Fluttershy, you wouldn't think he would need one. Such is the way of the city though. The two of you walk along the sidewalk to Fluttershy's apartment this morning, which wasn't too far away.

"The movers said that everything would be moved in by tonight when I called from work." Fluttershy mentions, breaking your attention from her new pet.

"Well, hopefully they got everything in. I don't have any experience with movers here in town,” you answer.

"I'm sure they did a good job. They sounded like nice ponies over the phone," she says optimistically.

"What did you have for them to move?" you ask out of curiosity. "I thought you didn't bring many things with you." She shakes her head.

"Just some furniture, my bed and basic essentials that were in storage. I don't need many things to be happy." she says in a soft tone.

"Well at least you aren't starting from scratch then. That's good. Sure is smarter than me,” you answer. Scruffy looks excitedly around at the surrounding city, drinking in his new surroundings.

"This one's it right?" you ask as you think you've spotted the building.

"That's it," she answers.

You forgot how close this place is to yours... In fact, you can see your window from here. Opening the entrance for Fluttershy and her new pet, the two of you rise through the elevator to Fluttershy's new room. The hallways aren't anything special, but the carpeting is nice and the place seems to be quiet enough.

"402, 403... Here we go. 404," she counts off as you pass each door.

"This is it then?" you ask.

“Mhm,” she answers. You attempt to commit the room to memory.

Fluttershy pulls out a key she received from this morning and unlocks the door. It opens to a moderately sized apartment, filled with items you recognize from Fluttershy's old cottage, but without as many birdcages or animals. Honestly, it doesn't feel like a place Fluttershy would live. It doesn't seem right.

This is wrong.

"Here we are, Scruffy. Home sweet home." Fluttershy says, stepping inside.

You follow her inside and look around as she flips on some lights and Scruffy explores his new surroundings.

"It looks pretty nice," you state, trying your best to hide your reservations.

"It'll have to do,” Fluttershy says optimistically, but not optimistic enough to convince you it was the whole truth. You sit down on her couch and undo Scruffy's leash. Fluttershy flutters over and sits beside you on the couch.

"Don't you like it?" you ask. She looks around, then outside to the skyline covered view.

"Well... um," she begins, trying to search for the right words.

"It's not as quiet as Ponyville?" you suggest. She nods. "I'm sure you miss your animal friends too."

Fluttershy sighs. "I just hope they are doing okay. I miss them so much."

"I'm sure they are." You say confidently. “I'm sure they miss you too.”

She looks up into your eyes and shifts a little closer to you.

"Anon... that's one of the things that I love the most about you." Her words catch you off guard as you watch her. Fluttershy turns herself to you more and leans forward up to your face. "You always have a way of making me feel better when I'm down on myself."

She places a hoof on one of your legs and uses it to push herself closer to you.

"Even if... Just for a moment... I'm not afraid of anything when I'm around you," she whispers.

Her face inches nearer and nearer to yours. Fluttershy's eyes gently close. Your heart feels warm and your mind goes blank. You bite your bottom lip. Your throat swells tight. A mere inch from her face, a pervading thought pierces your mind and your eyes open wide.

You can't forget what she did to you.

You press your hand against her chest, but she pushes herself onto you harder. Leaning your head backwards does not halt her progress. Her lips press against yours, and your mind screams in conflict. You feel her hind hooves move up to the couch and she wraps her fore-hooves around your head. Her soft lips feel like velvet to yours, as her soft fur blankets you in warmth.

Just as quickly as it began, the kiss ends. She pulls away, blushing and looking at the floor.

"W-was that bad?" she asks innocently.

You choke on your words. How can you reply to her? That you wanted to back out at last second? Deep down, you can't remove the thought from your head. The clean slate isn't something you can give her. Not yet. You scramble for the best words you can muster.

"No. I mean, tonight was a date... right?" you ask.

She blushes and looks up at you. "I was hoping so." she whispers.

That's when you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket again.

"But, I still think we should go slow Shy. I-I mean. I don't want to mess anything up," you add, trying to cover your tracks. Fluttershy looks up at you and her entire demeanor changes in seconds. Her eyes slowly become half lidded, her cheeks blushing and wearing a devilish smile.

"But, Anon... I owe you for everything you've done for me," she whispers.

That's it. That's the look. The one you remember. The one that you moved entire cities to get away from. You furrow your brow and look at her carefully.

"Shy." She leans in closer to you, licking her lips. A hoof runs along the outside of your leg. You scoot away from her. "Is this you, or your other side?"

Fluttershy freezes with her mouth open. You rise from the couch and give Scruffy a good pet.

"I'm going to leave, before you can do something you'd regret,” you state coldly. Fluttershy panics and rises from the couch.

"Anon I'm sorry, don't go. I've just-"

"It's fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye, Fluttershy." You say, leaving her apartment.

Part 1 - Chapter 10: Hopeless

The sun blazes through your window as you lay in bed peacefully. You gently open your eyes with a smile adorned on your face.Today, you and Autumn have a date.

With a stretch of your body, your roll over to your side and let your head rest on your pillow while you bask in the warmth of your bed. Now then, what were you and Autumn going to do today? You stared blankly into the lighted room. It had been awhile since you went on an explicit date. Well, a good one.

There was nothing you wanted more right now than a good date. At least so you can wipe your mind of the last one. Treating the other night with Fluttershy as a date was a huge mistake. At least, you should have two days to try and make things better. For now, you need to enjoy this weekend and really treat yourself.

As you snuggle in the warmth of your bed, you closed your eyes and sighed in comfort. Sometimes, even living in the city, the soundproofing can let you feel as if you are in your own little world. A quiet sanctuary that you are the sole ruler of. You yawn, wondering if it would be safe to go back to sleep. Well, you haven't heard the alarm yet. Your auto-alarms would tell you if it were time to get up. That might mean that you have at least a few extra hours. You lay back and become relaxed to the idea of getting more sleep.

But, wait. What time is it? The idea gnaws at your mind as your eyes reopen themselves. What time did you and Autumn agree to? You search your mind for if there were some pre-arranged plan you had with her. Come on, Anon. Think.

Wait, that's right. You told her you had a big plan ready for her, but didn't share anything. You roll over and stare at the ceiling with a smile, proud of yourself for keeping the surprise card in play. On the other hand, now you are back to square one. What will you do with her?

"Well, I guess there's no sense in going back to sleep now," you sigh, moving to the edge of your bed and rising to your feet. Moving to the bathroom, you reach your hand to your charger and...

Your stomach sinks when your phone isn't in it's normal place. Wait. You didn't wake up to an alarm. Then what time is it? Dashing to your pants, you grab them off the floor and notice they are heavier than normal. Bingo.

Reaching into your pocket, you pull out your phone and try to boot it up. Nothing. Right, you remember now, you told the girls your battery was dead. Tossing your pants aside, you head into the bathroom, plug in your phone and boot it. The familiar screen turns on as you shed your night clothes and turn on the water to your shower.

How bad could it really be? 10 AM? Returning to your phone, you check the time. The screen reads '1 PM'.

Your stomach drops in pure horror as text notifications begin to fill the screen.

"Oh shit," you whisper under your breath. Picking up your phone, you check the missed texts. One from Fluttershy, One from Mulberry, One from Autumn. Immediately, you open the Fluttershy text.

"I'm sorry for how I acted last night, could we maybe... talk about it?"

Not yet, Fluttershy. You sigh and exit back to the list of unread texts. Not yet. Next, you move to Autumn's This one was sent about an hour ago.

"Sorry! I just woke up. Terrible headache. I suppose I don't have as much of a tolerance as I thought I did. I'm free all day, so text me whenever you are ready!"

A headache? Like a hangover? Does she remember that she kissed you last night? You'll have to come up with a plan as soon as possible. Returning to the last text, you open the one from Mulberry.

"Uhm. I hate to ask... but I've got a bad feeling about today. Could you come over and maybe... I dunno, we could spend the day together? I just don't wanna be alone."

You read over the text several times. If you didn't already have plans with Autumn, you probably would have in a heartbeat. However, you've been looking forward to this day since... since...

Well, ever since you could remember meeting her. You couldn't just throw this day away now. With a groan, you set your phone on it's normal place to rest. The best way to think this over would be with a shower.

Stepping into the think tank, where the water has already been dialed into the perfect setting by experience and reflex, you begin your plan of attack. While you woke up later than you would like, the situation is still repairable. You might be able to meet up with Autumn around three and just make a day out of... whatever you'll be doing. The question is: What will you the two of you do?

You know she's a bit of a bookworm, that she has a bit of a troubled past, and that the two of you have crushes on each other. There is still a lot more that the two of you need to learn about each other. Things like what her values are, what her aspirations are, what her dreams are are all things that you really need to know about a pony if you were to enter a serious relationship with them. So, what would be the best way to keep the two of you busy, still give the two of you some good one-on-one time, and would be a fun and memorable experience?

Hmmm...

Well, the girls really seemed to like your cooking. Maybe you and Autumn could cook something together. That might be fun. Wait, that's a great idea! The two of you would have to go to the grocery store together, shop for ingredients. It creates the conversation of foods and can bring the two of you together to make a mutual decision. Which means, the two of you would have to come back to your place.

How clean was your place? What were you saying? You basically had a personal maid for a few weeks. It should be fine.

Then after cooking, the two of you could go on a walk. That would be nice and cozy. Speaking of maid, that brings you to your next problem. What were you to do about to Fluttershy?

You scrubbed your body carefully as you tried to consider how to handle the minefield that is your secretary. For the most part, you had a really nice time last night. If Fluttershy always was the innocent mare that she was at work and with her friends, maybe something could work. However, the reminder of her darker side shined through last night and left you with only bitter memories of the past. You thought that the second chance would give you a chance to see the better side of her.

And it did.

You lean against the wall of your shower and slide down the wall and let the water fall gently on your body. However, it almost made things worse. By being able to see the nicer side of her, you found a part of her that you desired. If you keep getting reminded of the past when you see her, have you truly forgiven her? If you can't really forgive her, is it really fair to her?

You can tell that she loves you for more than just physical desires. She genuinely cares for you. But, you can't give yourself totally to her. Is that really fair? It's probably a question you can't answer in five minutes in a shower.

She deserves to talk to you. The two of you need to talk about it. But when? With a sigh, you rise to your feet. Not today.

Today is for Autumn. She deserves this.

Turning off the water, you exit the shower and dry yourself off, looking at your phone. Opening the phone to Autumn's text, you reread her message and hit reply. "How about we meet in the park at 3? I just woke up a little bit ago too. I think I got something fun planned."

Send.

Now then, onto the next issue.

"I'm sorry for how I acted last night, could we maybe... talk about it?" Fluttershy's text sits on the screen as you carefully plan a reply.

"Sure. Whenever you want." Your finger hovers over the send button. No. You delete the last sentence and start over. "Sure. I'm busy today though. Can we talk tomorrow? I think we should talk face to face."

There. That fits a bit better. Send.

With a sigh you open up to your last text. Berry wants you to spend the day with her. If you didn't have plans maybe you would consider it, but you already have plans with Autumn. Plus, you've done so much for Berry the last few weeks.

You've let her crash on your couch. You've made sure she wasn't alone. You even gave her a key to your apartment, to come over if she needs anything. After all you've done for her, isn't it alright to be a little bit selfish? Considering her situation, it's a lot selfish. But, you know if you went over there instead of hanging out with Autumn, that your heart wouldn't really be in it.

You've wanted to do this for weeks. You can't back out now.

"Sorry, Berry. I already made plans for today. If you really don't feel safe, use the key to get into my apartment and call me."

Send. Guilt sucker punches you in the gut as you consider your words.

Maybe that wasn't the right thing to do, but you've already held Autumn at an arm's length for long enough. And that was pretty far in pony-based measurement. For the first time, you can't make them all happy at once. So, now you have to do what will make you happy. Quickly you check the time. 1:30pm.

Shit. Better get dressed. Setting the phone down, you run into your room and grab a fresh pair of jeans and throw on your casual shoes. After a quick deodorant swipe, you consider what shirt you should wear, but your train of thought is broken by your phone vibrating. It must still be on the setting from Fluttershy's date. Running to your phone, you open it to a text from Autumn.

"Cool! See you then. Can't wait! :3"

Awww yeah. You got a smiley face. Now you know she's actually excited. Hopefully your plan is up to par. You set your phone to the loudest setting and return to your epic quest for a shirt. Now then.

T-shirt? It would show that you're casual and easygoing, but maybe she might interpret it as not taking the date seriously.

What about a polo? You hate polos. Why do you even have a polo? It must have been a gift Rarity got you and that you begrudgingly wore for her. Next.

A work shirt? No, too formal.

What about a hoodie? Almost every time you see her, she's wearing some sort of sweater. Maybe you should just try to match her. That should make for a more comfortable environment. What do you have for warm clothing. Heading over to your closet, you find a simple black hooded sweater, hanging up. Perfect.

Grabbing a simple white t-shirt, you layer yourself appropriately and check yourself out in the mirror.

"Lookin' sharp, Tex," you say to the man in the mirror, pointing a finger gun at the reflection. "Knock 'er dead." You smile and take a deep breath. This is it. The day you've been waiting for. Nothing could mess this up. Nothing.

Heading to the bathroom, you swipe your phone from the charger and grab your wallet from the dresser on the way out of your room. Let's do this.

The hoodie was definitely the right choice as the chilly winds bit at your ears. You sat in the park, in the same place as when she caught you reading your book over a lunch hour. After a struggle between walking through the park and sitting here, you decided that this just seemed more romantic.

Leaning back in your seat, you looked up at the clock that sat in the center of the park. 3pm. Well, any minute now, she should be here. A warmth burned in your chest and a smile was plastered involuntarily on your face as you thought over the plan. It's going to be perfect. Something simple and without a lot of pressure. This would be a massive breath of fresh air from everything you've had to put up with lately. In some way, that was what you liked about Autumn. You just got to be yourself.

There wasn't a constant fear that there was another personality hiding beneath the surface or that somepony was constantly behind you. Then, your hairs stood on edge. You felt two hooves wrap around your neck and you were pulled closer to the back of the bench.

"Gotcha!" the familiar feminine voice said.

"Jeez, Autumn. You just about scared me out of my skin," you said with a laugh, simply relieved it wasn't some other pony.

"Sorry, but you just go into these little reveries when you are deep in thought and I can't help myself," she says with a smile, her hooves still wrapped around you from behind.

"Yeah, yeah. It's not the first time I've heard that one," you answered. Autumn lets go and moves around to sit beside you.

"So, what were you so deep in thought about then? Let me in on it," she asks in interest.

"Oh, just you," you answer slyly, resting your arm behind her on the bench. Autumn blushes, not expecting such a forward answer and looks at the ground. She opens her mouth to reply, but couldn't come up with anything but giggles.

"Well, if you are that easy to impress, this is gunna be easy," you add.

"Hey!" replies in mock irritation. She bumps your chest lightly with a hoof and the two of you laugh lightly.

"Alright, alright," you reply. "Then it's going to be the greatest challenge of my life."

"You know it will," she says with a smile. "Now then, what is your big plan?"

You looked at the fall-colored mare and you definitely chose right with the hoodie a second time, since she wore a lime-green hooded sweater as well. She definitely put a bit of work into her hair as it seemed to be more radiant than usual. Her eyes were what really stood out though. The deep emerald eyes locked directly into yours and held your gaze for several seconds as the two of you simply enjoyed being with each other.

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could cook something together," you answered. She looks at you curiously.

"Cook something?" she asks curiously. "Then why did we meet here?"

"Simple," you answer. "We need to go to the store and get it." She looks back at you in surprise.

"How's that sound?" you ask.

Immediately, the thought hits you. What if this is too casual? Maybe you should have had something else on the back burner. Shit, this is terrible.

"I mean, we could always do something else. It was just-"

"No! I love it," Autumn immediately assures you. "I'm actually relieved. I didn't really want to do anything super fancy."

You breath out a million worries and feel your muscles recover from stress whiplash. This can't possibly be good for your health.

"Where would we cook it though?" she asks innocently. "Well, I was thinking my place," you answered reflexively.

And then the stress comes back. Come on Anon, are you even thinking? Do you even realize what you are implying?

"Oh, perfect! My place is a mess," she chuckles.

Definitely not good for your health.

Just relax, Anon. You are on a roll here. Rising to your feet, you point in the direction of the nearest Whole Oats.

"Then, to the grocery store!" you exclaim with mock enthusiasm. Autumn rises to her hooves and stands beside you, shaking her head with a smile.

"You can be such a dork," she replies.

"Oh, trust me. It gets worse," you add as you the two of you begin your trek.

"Oh, I hope so. I think it's cute."

"Heh. Give it a month."

"We'll see," Autumn replies with a smile. The two of you walk side by side through the exit of the park and turn towards your destination. Alright, Anon. Conversation. Think of a topic.

"So, tell me of your fonder memories of Ponyville, Anon," Autumn begins.

Or, let her start. That works too.

"My fonder memories?" you ask, repeating the question. "Well, let's see. I did have a handful of friends back there. There was Applejack, who was kind enough to give me a job picking apples in the orchard for awhile before I began to do paperwork for the Mayor. Then there was Twilight, who helped train me for the job I have now. Oh! Then Rarity, who was kind enough to make my wardrobe for me. You have no idea what it was like to get clothes in this world."

"I can only imagine," Autumn adds. "How have you been getting clothes in the city?"

"Oh, there's a tailor a few blocks away that is slowly learning my dimensions and stuff. I gave him Rarity's card and they've worked together a bit. First time I went there, he gave me a pink frilly dress cause the specs got mixed up in the mail." Autumn snickers at the mental image. "Hey! Laugh all you want, I looked damn good in that dress," you snap back in a silly tone.

"Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure."

Right as you were about to snap back with the same question for Manehattan, you realize that the question could be pretty loaded. Perhaps you should dial it back a little.

"What about you? What's some of your fondest memories?" you ask curiously.

Autumn raised her eyes to the sky, considering the question for a moment. "Well, there was this one time when I first got a job at the library and was making friends with some of the staff there. There were a few kids that would always come in and ask us questions on what certain words meant. Eventually I found myself reading stories to them. Then over time, the number of kids grew and grew. That's how Mulberry caught wind of the library," she said.

"Wow, that's pretty heartwarming," you add.

"Yeah. It was really fulfilling to do that," Autumn said happily. "Now I barely have the time to do it anymore. The library is so understaffed and less ponies come in on a normal basis. It's a shame, I really loved doing it..."

"Well, is it possible that something could, you know, be put off so that you could do a short reading? Like, maybe a chapter a day?" you ask. "If you are doing something that other ponies love and you love doing for them, wouldn't you want to keep doing it?" Autumn stares in the distance processing your question. "I mean, I just think... in a world where negativity can really grab at a young pony, wouldn't we want something positive they can grab onto and look forward to?" you ask. "Even if it's just for 15 minutes?"

She looks up at you and smiles.

"You really think I should?" she questions.

"Yeah! What's stopping you that can't be handled by someone else or can't wait 15 minutes?" She remains silent as the two of you continue your walk. "I mean, it's just a thought," you conclude.

The two of you walk side by side down the sidewalk, stopping at crosswalks to let the occasional traffic pass. A part of you felt tempted to reach your hand out and place it on her back, but you recoil, worrying you would be pushing the boundaries of the newly budding relationship too fast.

"So, what's it like to be the head-honcho librarian, anyway? You don't really wear glasses, nor seem to be the type to shush loud ponies," you ask.

"Oh, trust me! I have a good shush. It's well practiced," she replies, snapping from her train of thought.

"Well, remind me to never get too loud in your library then," you tease.

She shakes her head, then continues on to answer your question. "It's not so bad. There's a lot of work and it never seems to ever end, but it keeps me busy. I just really love books. The stories they tell, and the worlds that they can transport you to, and-" she pauses looking back to you. "Sorry, I've been trying to get better about not going on a tangent about books. Old bad habit."

"Oh, no. It's fine. It must be what it's like to see me stuck in internal thought from the outside. You just say what you're thinking instead of keeping it in," you reply. "Plus, it's kinda cute."

She scrunches her face and puffs her cheeks slightly. "It's -not- cute. Sometimes I could just go on about my favorite books for way too long and it bores some ponies to death. I'm really trying to improve on it," she frustratedly answers.

"You haven't bored me once since I've met you," you slip out.

Autumn chuckles and smiles. "Just give me time. You'll get there."

"Challenge accepted," you answer with a smile, knowing exactly what you are implying. She goes silent for a minute, until her face blushes, realizing what you just said. Turning the final corner towards the grocery store, you finally let out the big question.

"Alright then. The hour draws near. What sort of food do you like?" you ask her. She looks up to you with a smile and shakes her head.

"I think I'm fine with almost anything," she says happily. Oh boy, here we go.

You pretend to hold up a microphone and put on a dramatic voice. "And the award for most vague answer award goes to... Autumn from Manehattan!" you boom on the city streets. She chuckles and makes a mock bow.

"Thank you, thank you. I spent time working to attain this. I would like to thank ponies for helping me achieve this award," she retorts. This mare has a sense of humor that just gels with you.
A part of you feels as if you could do an improv comedy act just by interacting with her. It was like the two of you were on the same wavelength and all she needed was to get out of her shell a little bit.

"Seriously though, any types of food you like or dislike?" you ask.

The two of you reach the entrance of the supermarket and you hold the door open for her as she enters. The supermarket was extremely clean and was filled with freshly stocked produce that claimed to be local as possible. This place was known for having some of the best quality ingredients and foods, but usually was at a price. That said, everything was delicious and worth every penny. Following her inside, she turns to you with a smile and without a care in the world.

"Well, honestly I could eat about anything. I didn't have anything before I headed out the door," she answered.

"Me neither," you replied.

"Did we both just go to the supermarket while we're hungry?" she asks shaking her head in disbelief.

"Oh shit. We are going to clean this place out." Grabbing a cart, the two of you press onward into the store like two kids in a candy store.

"So, what do you normally like making? Do you cook a lot?" you ask.

Autumn shakes her head as the two of you head down an aisle of spices that you could barely pronounce.

"Normally I just end up making salads. I could tell you it's because I want to be healthy or watch my figure or something smart like that, but honestly, it's cheap and quick." You chuckle at her terrible reason for eating salads, but can completely relate with the annoying task of preparing meals on a normal basis. Nothing eats a day faster than making meals every night. "I mean, seriously. Bowl, Spinach, Vinegrette. Done. Then wash maybe, two dishes. It's perfect," she elaborates.

"That's genius," you reply. "Normally I just end up making toast and an egg or something. Kinda similar I guess. I'm a pretty lazy cook."

"I'm terrible at cooking. Especially baking. I seem to just burn everything I touch," she adds.

"Oh, I bet it can't be that bad," you reply. "Have you ever made oatmeal explode before?"

Autumn pauses and looks to you, disbelief etched upon her face. "How in the world do you make oatmeal explode?" she asks curiously.

"If I knew how I did it, I would tell you. Since then, I follow instructions for everything."

She laughs as the two of you swing into the next aisle of breads and doughs. "That's unbelievable!" she snorts. "But, I burned pasta, so I think we are about even."

You turn to her with your own skepticism. "You burned pasta?" you ask.

"Yep!" she says, almost proudly.

"But... you cook it in water."

"I know! Right?" she comments. "I was confused too!"

"We're hopeless," you add in mock hopelessness.

"It's fine, we can get through this. We just need everything to have instructions."

"Deal. Hey, look at this!" you comment, reaching towards a freshly made pizza crust. "Do you like pizza?"

Autumn stares at you in disbelief. "If a pony on this planet doesn't like pizza, that's news to me," she replies.

"Wanna make a pizza?" you ask her.

"Sure! It sounds nice, can we put peppers on it?" she asks.

"Whelp. Here's our first fight. It's been a great run. Who would have thought pizza toppings would have been the final straw?" you reply sarcastically. Autumn turns to you with a smile.

"Oh! And what would you put on it? Pig bacon?" she comments. You turn to her with an awkward smile.

"Well, uh. Humans are Omnivores. So, uh. Bacon is really awesome," you add. She looks up at you in mild shock.

"You mean, humans eat animals?" she mutters.

A passing pony overhears your conversation with Autumn and pushes their cart past you a little faster.

"Well yeah, but since everything talks here, I've sorta put myself on a vegetarian diet," you add. "I can't really wrap my head around eating something I can talk to. Besides, eggs, milk and nuts work fine for protein sources."

Autumn sighs a breath of relief. "Okay. I was scared there for a second," she commented. "I didn't know that."

"It's not really a big deal," you conclude. "It's just something I've had to come to terms with."

The two of you walked down the aisle side by side as a few more ponies become unnerved by the mention of meat.

"So, um, do you miss meat?" she asks.

"Every. Day," you groan. "But, nothing I can do about it."

"Right," she adds. "Silly me."

"Now, the real question, is what kind of peppers do you like?" you add, shifting the conversation away from something that makes you think of juicy tender bacon and thick cut steaks.

"Well, I like the little banana peppers," Autumn explains. "They have just the right amount of heat to give it flavor and not overwhelm you."

"I agree with that," you concur, heading towards the produce with her with dough in cart. "Do you like spicy food?"

Autumn nods enthusiastically. "I love spicy food! It doesn't always love me, but you learn to deal with it."

"Amen to that," you reply.

"Amen?" she asks in curiosity.

"Uhm. It's sorta like 'right on'! It was from a different language from Earth," you explain.

"Ooh! That's interesting," she asks. "Do you know a lot of other languages?"

"Not in the slightest," you reply. "In fact, I just know that from word of mouth. I don't actually know Latin. How about you?"

Autumn shakes her head. "I was always bad at other languages. I was more of a writing filly," she continues. Approaching the various peppers in the produce section, you head to the banana peppers and grab a bag to hold them.

"You like to write?" you ask.

Autumn goes quiet and doesn't reply immediately. "A little, but I never really share it with anyone," she elaborates.

"Why's that?" you ask, scooping a few handfuls of peppers into the bag and placing it in the cart.

"I suppose I just get nervous," the fall colored mare continues. "I worry that somepony won't like it or think it's corny or something like that."

"Well, I'd like to read it sometime, if you don't mind," you reply warmly. Autumn's gaze turns to yours and she smiles.

"We'll see," she answers. After a warm moment, you look around the produce area and scan for more toppings.

"Well, what next?" you ask.

"Hmm..." she mutters, looking around. "How about mushrooms?"

"You know, I've never been a big fan of mushrooms," you answer. "It's the texture, not the taste."

Autumn nods and continues to look at the produce surrounding the two of you. "Olives?"

"Olives it is!" you answer. "Anything else?"

"I think I'll be happy with that," she answers with a flick of her tail.

"Awesome. Cause I'm starving."

"Mee tooo," she adds.

Heading quickly to the olives, you grab a can of sauce off a shelf along the way and swing back for a package of cheese. "There! We got everything we need. Let's check out and head back to my place."

The elevator dings as Autumn and you make your way towards your apartment with bags in hand.

"So then I was like, 'You don't have a clue what your missin bro. This guy is a MONSTER when you let him loose.' and the dude cringed up and left him alone," you recounted as you told the story of Brand's ex at the bar.

Autumn laughed and smiled. "And alcohol was -definitely- not a factor in this?" she asked skeptically.

You immediately shook your head. "No!" You paused. "Well, maybe."

"Ooohh! So now the truth comes out," she exclaims, acting as if she solved a mystery.

"Well, it sounds much better if I don't include that little detail," you reply with a nudge.

She smiles as the two of you pass Mulberry's apartment. A small sense of dread fills the pit of your stomach as you remember her text. She hasn't called you or anything. That's a good sign. You turn back to Autumn, who also is looking at Mulberry's door.

"How do you think she's doing?" you ask.

"I'm not sure, but I imagine she's still just trying to get used to the way things are now. Maybe a little paranoid," she tells you.

"Should we check up on her?" you ask. Autumn looks back to you.

"What do you think?" she asks.

You look from Autumn, back to the door, then back to her. "I wouldn't want to intrude or bother her," you say. "If she needs something, she'll call us."

Autumn nods with a faint smile, but still looks back with a look of concern on your face. "I suppose you're right," she answers.

Fumbling with the keys for your apartment, you unlock the door and hold the door open for her. "Without further adieu, welcome to my humble abode," you say with a bow. Autumn enters as you turn on a few lights in the apartment. "It's not really much, but it's mine," you say as she walks around your living room, sucking in the scenery.

"I like it, it's really homey," she comments, looking at a picture frame of you and the girls from Ponyville.

"Thanks," you answer, taking the groceries into the kitchen and preheating the oven to 425 degrees like the dough instructions listed. "Hungry?"

"Starved," she mentions, walking into the kitchen to join you.

"Cool, let's get this bad boy started then," you mention, pulling the ingredients out of the grocery bag. "How about I cut the produce while you get the rest ready?"

"I can do that," she replies, grabbing the crust, sauce and cheese. Grabbing a knife, you grab the olives and peppers. Slicing each of the peppers in half, you scoop out the seeds and throw them away with the vines, while cutting the rest of the pepper into fine strips. Then, after de-pitting the olives, you slice those finely as well and place them into a bowl. Moving the new supplies over to Autumn's area, she just wraps up placing the cheese on the new creation.

"Hey, that looks good," you mutter, placing a hand on the back of her hoodie unconsciously.

Once you realized what you've done, you look to her and she looks back at you with a smile. Your hand remains firmly planted as you step closer to her.

"Alright. Now we can just add toppings and just wait until golden brown,” you state from the instructions you read. The two of you carefully drizzle toppings on top of your meal and place it in the oven.

"So, how long does this take now?" she asks.

"Uh... you know, I'm not sure. It never seems to take long at the pizza restaurants. Maybe thirty minutes?" you guess.

"What should we do in the meantime?" she asks.

Well, shit. You didn't think this far ahead. Uhm.

"Well, I'm gunna be honest, I didn't think this far ahead. What would you like to do?" you ask.

Autumn looks at the ground and smiles, treading her hoof on the linoleum floor. "Honestly, I just love spending time with you. We could do anything and I'd be happy," she mutters bashfully. Your heart feels like it lifted to the sky for a moment and sang hymns of joy to the world.

"You know what? I got an idea," you say, moving to the living room. Autumn's eyes follow you with curiosity as she walks behind you. "Do you remember what I said the first day I met you?" you ask, approaching your bookshelf.

Autumn nods with a smile. "How could I forget? You said you wanted to read together and..." she says, trailing off.

Grabbing One-Way Ticket off of the shelf, you turn back to her. "And?" you ask.

"And, that's when I knew I liked you," she answers. "At first I was just curious at, well, what species you were, but as we started to talk I knew I wanted to get to know you better." You chuckle and sit on your couch with the book in hand.

"That's when I knew I liked you too," you warmly reply. Patting the seat next to you, she trots beside you and gets on the couch next to you. "I'm just about done with this book, wanna finish it with me?" you ask.

"I'd love to. The ending is my favorite part," she adds. You hold the book out in front of the both of you with one hand so that the both of you can see the words.

"Alright... now where was I. Alright. So, 'The train attendant knocked on the door of the tiny train cabin, jolting the two ponies from their slumber.'" you narrate. Autumn leans in closer, trying to see where you are.

"Is this a good position?" you ask.

"You could, uhm. Lean in closer, if you would like."

Lean in closer? Why yes, Ma'am. You'd be happy to oblige. Wrapping an arm around the mare, you hold the book a little more directly in front of her. Your heads are merely inches away from each other and she gently leans against you, closing the distance.

"Is that better?" you ask gently.

"Yeah, a bit," she replies warmly. "I can see the words better."

"Perfect. Now, where was I?"

Autumn lifts a hoof and points on the page where you were.

"Alright. 'jolting the two ponies from their slumber. "We will be off the train in forty minutes. Please be ready to exit promptly when we arrive!" Emerald looked up from her dazed eyes and gazed at her newfound companion. Maple stared back down into her eyes and gently smiled. How long had they been asleep? Emerald cursed in her mind that she had accidentally shortened the time she had left to spend with this stallion. Here she was, getting off at the next station and he would be gone forever, heading onto the next town in search of a new job. Their lives would part ways and never have the chance to reconvene again."

The warmth on Autumn's cheek resting against yours give you goosebumps as you held her. Needing to turn the page, you hold the book down and attempt to turn the page with one hand, but you fumble and drop the book on the ground.

"Here, I have an idea," Autumn says, escaping from your grasp and picking up the book. "Sit in the corner and put your leg up on the couch."

Scooting back into the corner of the couch, you shed your shoes and place a leg up on the couch as close to the back rest as you could. Autumn moves onto the couch in-between your legs and lays against your torso, handing the book back to you. The tip of her head cradles itself beside your face as she snuggles herself into you.

"Is this better?" she asks questioningly, looking up into your face. You smile as you place your arms around her, holding her close to you.

"If this isn't too fast, I don't have a problem with it," you answer. Autumn shakes her head and smiles.

"This just... feels right to me," she coos, resting her head on your chest. Her hooves trace the lines of your chest as the two of you cuddle together.

"I couldn't agree more," you answer, leaning your head on top of hers. Holding the book up, you pick back up where you left off.

"'I suppose our time together is almost over,' Emerald said to Maple with disappointment in her voice. 'Yeah, I guess so,' Maple added. 'I'm going to really miss this,' she whispered. 'I hadn't felt this way in a long time. It's like I found something that I was always looking for and now it's being torn from my hooves before I even had the chance to appreciate it.' Maple looked down at Emerald and brushed the newly formed bedhead out of her eyes. 'At least, we can always be able to remember and cherish this moment. Isn't that the most important thing?' Emerald wanted to shake her head and scream! No! Of course it wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing would be if the two of them could use this moment to stay together. Instead, their lives were tearing them in different directions."

You look down at Autumn and watch as her body naturally rises and falls to her breathing. She remains still for a moment and you feel the warmth of her body mix with yours as her hooves clutch to your chest. Autumn looks up at you, through tired, half lidded eyes.

"Wha? Where were we?" she asks.

"Are you falling asleep down there?" You ask with a smile.

"MMMn. You're so warm. I can't help it," she says groggily, "And your voice is so soothing."

"If you're tired, you can just rest, it's no big deal," you reply, closing the book.

"Mmm. Okay," she whispers, closing her eyes and burying her face into your hoodie.

You wrap your arms around her and press Autumn close to you. The softness of her hoodie runs through your hands as you breath in the gentle scent of her hair. You can only wonder what sort of product she uses as you waft the scent of coconut and fresh vanilla. Her breathing gradually slows as you can feel her gradually drift away to sleep in your arms.

In that moment, you knew that this almost felt too good to be true.

If you were able to live in a single suspended moment in time, this could be one of the first you would choose. You study the features of her face and bring a hand up to gently touch her cheek. The softness of her coat is like a pillow to your hand. Simply enjoying the moment, you close your eyes and smile. In that moment, you knew. Your heart made your choice.

You wanted to give this mare a shot.

All you wanted was something simple. And it couldn't get much more simple than this. The two of you seemed to go together like peanut butter and jelly. You somehow drew her out of her shy shell and began to show you just how clever she was. She had a soft side that you admired and was independent. How in the world could you have gotten this lucky? You exhale in content as you hold the mare close to you. Who were you to question it? Just enjoy it while you have it.

Suddenly, the smell of burning hits your nose and jolts your eyes open. Wafting tufts of black exits the closed oven. Holy shit, the pizza!

"Autumn," you gasp, gently shaking the mare in your arms.

"Huh, wha?" she yawns, waking up slowly. "What's that smell?"

"The food! It's burning! Quick, open some windows."

"Wait. What?! Oh my gosh!" she answers, jolting up and heading to the windows.

You spring into the action and grab oven mitts. Turning off the heat to the oven and open the door. A wall of thick black smoke immediately blasts you in the face and you reel back and cough. Grabbing a dish cloth, you try to fan out the dark smoke from the kitchen towards the open window in the living room. Autumn trots in and grabs another dish cloth and begins to fan with you.

"There's so much smoke! How long was I asleep?" she asks, the burning smell choking her senses.

"I dunno! I fell asleep too," you reply as the smoke begins to thin out throughout the apartment. "Is the food on fire?"

Autumn looks in the oven and keeps fanning.

"It doesn't look like it, but..." she answers.

You turn your attention to the oven and carefully pull out the rack where the pizza sat. The pizza shrank several sizes and was now a flaking, charred, coal black. The two of you stopped fanning and simply looked at each other. Well, that was it. The two of you got so distracted that dinner was ruined. Great job, Anon. Worst date ever.

"Well, dinner is served," you said in your best servant voice.

An involuntary smile curled on your face. A smile curled on her face as well, as the two of you examined your creation.

You tried your best to hold in little snorts as she walked up to the combination of your efforts and examined it.

"That...-" she whispered, trying not to snicker. "Looks delicious."

Autumn was doing everything in her power to not lose it on the spot. Then, you couldn't hold it in anymore. The situation was so ridiculous, that you simply began laughing. Autumn joined in almost immediately, unable to hold in her appreciation of the situation.

"We're absolutely hopeless," you chuckle out amidst fits of laughter.

"We couldn't even cook one simple meal!" she snorts as well.

"We worked almost all day to make this and we just fell asleep," you add. "That is just so typical." Tears form in the two of your eyes as the two of you laugh together.

"This is just like, some sort of terribly cliched book or something," Autumn adds, wiping away tears from fits of laughter.

You grab a spatula and the trashcan to dispose of the monstrosity as you try as hard as you can to serious up. Digging the spatula under the pizza, you lift up and the pie snaps in half like a cracker. This was what broke the two of you.

The sheer absurdity of how ruined this pizza was, dropped the two of you to the ground in a fit of laughter. This sort of thing just couldn't be made up.

"How in the world could we have messed this up this bad!" she adds.

"There were even instructions on the dough package!" you snort out.

She walks up to you and embraces you as the two of you laughed at the failed creation. You hold her in your arms as the laughter slowly dies down.

"You're right," she comments. "We are hopeless."

You return your gaze down to her.

"We're hopeless, together," you warmly reply.

You look into her eyes and see nothing but pure love behind her gaze. In that moment, surrounded by the scent of burning cheese and burnt crumbs of pizza dough littering the floor, and burnt cheese stuck to the bottom of your oven for months to come, there was no-one else in the world but the two of you.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she whispers.

You lean in and press your lips against hers. Her eyes gently close as you get on your knees to be on eye level with her and place a hand on her mane, pushing her in closer. It didn't take much as she placed a hoof on the back of your head, pressing deeper into your kiss. You felt weightless as you closed the kiss and gently leaned back, to look back into the fall-colored mare's eyes.

A dorky smile was permanently plastered on her face and her cheeks were painted with a rosy red blush. In that moment, you knew you had one single line that could bring any female, human or mare to their knees. You prepared yourself for the ultimate swoon line.

"Wanna go get waffles?" you ask gently

Autumn's eyes lit up and opened wide. "I think this is going to work out just fine, Anon," she whispers.

Stepping out of ITROT with two full bellies, you and Autumn walk side by side, with your hand on her back as she leans close to you.

"Well, what next Anon?" she giggles. "How can we possibly end the worst date ever?"

"Worst date ever? Is that what we're gunna call it?" you reply.

"What else would you call it?" she asks teasingly.

"Hmm, I dunno, maybe a little overdone," you reply with a smart aleck tone.

"Oh, now that's just cheesy," she replies.

"Oh! A pun war?" you retort. "You want a pizza me?" Autumn laughs and pauses for a moment, considering her words. "Oh man, did I just win?" you gasp. "I think I just won."

"Don't get saucy now. This just the first battle," she smiles.

"Alright. Alright," you answer as the two of you unconsciously set course towards the park. The two of you walk in silence as Autumn stares at you. You look back down at her with a smile as she watches you, as if she expects you to say something.

"Oh shit, that was a pun," you gasp.

"YES! I wiiin. Now who's the smart one?" she happily brags, adding extra spring to her step.

"Yeah, yeah. You got me. You have earned the pun master trophy, until next time," you tease.

"Oh, I think I'm going to hang onto it for a long time," she replies. You shake your head and sigh in content. The two of you walk side by side and enter the park, simply enjoying each other's company.

"You know what?" you ask her.

"What?" Autumn asks curiously.

"I had an awesome time today," you comment.

"Me too," she replies. "I think I could get used to it." You stop and kneel down to get on eye level with her.

"Me too," you reply. She turns around to meet you face to face.

"So then, what does that make us?" she asks. You shrug and study the features on her face.

"Hopeless?" you ask. She snickers as she places a hoof on your face and traces the lines of your chin.

"Sounds perfect to me," she answers.

Even with the city noise surrounding you, the only thing you could focus on was the mare in front of you. Traffic hustled and bustled in the distance, ponies talked and stores closed, but the world was a private bubble of time for the two of you. Not even the sound of sirens in the distance caught your attention.

"I think I kinda like you," you whispered to Autumn. She blushed as she leaned in closer to you.

"I kinda like you too."

The sirens blare past you on the street just behind you, catching both of your attention. Two police patrols and a medical wagon gallop past the park at a blazing speed. The two of you turn to look at it as it passes. Wow, they are moving fast. You hope that whoever they are going to is okay.

Turning back to Autumn, you look back into your eyes, but freeze. Mulberry hasn't contacted you at all tonight.

"Anon, which way were those ponies heading?" Autumn asks in concern.

You dig into your pocket for your phone and try to click it to life. It doesn't boot up. Then, the world freezes around you. The battery.

You took the battery out last night.

It turned on this morning because it was plugged in.

If Mulberry tried to contact you, you would have never even known. You hadn't checked your phone once because you were having such a good time with Autumn.

"Did you bring your phone today?" you ask seriously.

Autumn shakes her head nervously.

"I left it at home," she comments. "Were they heading to your apartments?"

You stand up and look in the direction of your home, where the sirens gradually faded towards.

"Shit," you whisper under your breath.

Part 1 - Chapter 11: Bedside Manner

Humans and Equines aren't too different from each other. For instance, when in moments of high stress or when their lives are in danger, both species have a way of thinking harder, running their muscles to their breaking point, and acting on pure instinct.

The endocrine system. Specifically, the adrenal gland.

When one of these species have a 'fight or flight' reaction to a situation, the response is immediate and unconscious. Epinephrine pumps into the bloodstream immediately, boosting the heart rate and sending their body into overdrive. It's a much needed system for critical situations.

Critical situations, just like the ones you would face tonight.

You immediately take off running as Autumn follows behind to the best ability that her little legs could. The only thought that pressed on your mind was if Mulberry was okay. The first thought that crossed your mind was how sad she's been lately. But, was she really that sad?

No, it couldn't be that. Anything but that. You would never forgive yourself.

Your legs push forward on instinct as adrenaline pumps through your veins. Autumn's speed can barely keep up as you sprint towards your apartment complex. You weren't even 100% sure that it was going to be Mulberry in trouble. However, you had a feeling in your gut. It was her. You simply knew it.

The world rushes by your eyes as ponies watch the two of you in mild curiosity and confusion. The only luck that was on your side was the restaurant wasn't a far walk from your home. However, your mind was numb. The only thought that stuck in your mind was if she was okay. She pleaded to you today. She asked for you to spend the day with her, but you refused. Just to spend time with Autumn.

Guilt hangs over you with it's judgmental gaze, sending shivers down your spine. Rounding a corner, you look over your shoulder to Autumn, who's face is contorted in fear and concern, putting everything she can into staying behind you. The building is just visible in the distance, as the teams of emergency ponies funnel into the building. However, another team of police were already on the scene, taping up the outside of the apartment building and pushing away those who where standing by and asking questions.

Your heart skips a beat as the world around you becomes silent. It had to be her.

Your legs move on instinct and you jump into the street, blatantly disregarding any traffic that no longer existed in the world that matters to you. The crowd is only a mild hindrance as you push yourself past each of the concerned citizens. They grunt and curse as you push through to the police stallions. The police shout to the crowd that the building was off limits to non-residents, but it falls on deaf ears as Autumn follows in tow.

Breaking through the tape, a few of the police chase after you, but you don't even glance at them as Autumn tells them that you live there, keeping in step behind you. Pushing into the building, you immediately head for the stairway. The elevator would take too long and time is of the essence.

You leap up each flight of stairs three at a time and push through the door to your floor without taking any extra breaths. Breath raggedly escapes your mouth as you scan the hall. Once you turn to Mulberry's room, you freeze as exhaustion, loss of breath, and your pulsing heart rate hit their breaking point and overwhelm your body.

The epinephrine wasn't enough to push you through the scene in front of you.

Two police stand outside of Mulberry's apartment as a medical staff enters the door with a stretcher. Autumn pushes through the stairway door behind you, panting heavily to catch her breath.

"No..." you whisper, seeing your fear come to life. One foot slowly places itself in front of the other towards her apartment. It can't be. She has to be okay. She has to be okay. This is all your fault.

"Anon..." Autumn says, following behind you. "I don't think we can go in there."

"I don't care," you answer, your voice cracking. Each step towards the apartment that you entered so non-nonchalantly yesterday feels grueling and sets you more on edge. Goosebumps form on the back of your neck as you approach the two stallions guarding the entrance. One immediately blocks your entry as you come near.

"Sir, this is a crime scene. I'm going to have to ask you to leave-"

"I want to see if Berry is okay," you interrupt.

"Unless you are family, I cannot allow-"

"Bullshit. I'm her neighbor and she's been in a lot of rough shit lately," you roar.

"Sir, I can't let you in unless I get orders telling me otherwise," the police stallion stated flatly.

"Anon, there isn't anything we can do," Autumn said, tugging gently on your hoodie. "He's just trying to do his job." Your muscles tense as you look into his eyes. How can he just not care? You could punch him straight in his stupid face and barge in to see Mulberry. Maybe you could help her. Maybe she needs something that you can give her.

A gentle tug causes you to blink as time begins to return back to it's normal speed. With a sigh, you take a step back and look back down to the fall-colored mare, who looks back at you weakly.

"They know what they're doing," she says in an attempt to soothe you. You look back inside the open door of the apartment and nod.

"Sir, unless you live on this floor, I'm going to have to ask-"

"Yeah. I get it," you sigh. "I get it. Just... can you tell me where they are going to take her? If she goes to the hospital?" The policeman looks to his partner with a look that doesn't give you any comfort. "I'm two doors down and... well. Nevermind. I get it," you answer in resignation. "You can't tell me anything."

Of course they wouldn't let you in. Even if you were lucky enough to have met the same crew that helped Berry a few weeks ago and they recognized you, they have a job that they have to do. No exceptions.

Shaking your head, you take slow steps towards your apartment door. Autumn looks from the policeman, to the scene, then back to you and slowly trots behind you.

"Let's just take a little bit to cool down, then check up on them in a little bit," she suggests softly.

"Alright," you answer weakly.

You pull out your keys to open your apartment, feeling like a part of your soul was scratched out like a lottery ticket. You could have prevented this. None of this would have happened if you didn't go out with Autumn today. None of this would have happened if you just told the truth about being on a date with Fluttershy. None of this would have happened if you just put your battery back in your phone. Pulling to the right key, you bring your hand to your door and steady your hand to put your key in the lock. But, as you pull on the door, you hear a light click.

The click of a door closing. Why was your door not all the way closed? You remember locking the door explicitly this morning.

Berry. Berry has a key. You force the door open and find your apartment dark and quiet.

"Berry?" you call inside desperately. Flipping the wall switch, the lights in your apartment come to life as you step inside.

"Anon, was the door un-"

But you quickly step inside and tune her out of your mind. Berry could be in here hiding in case she was worried about getting attacked. You listen closely for breathing as you creep into your home.

Step after step, your senses are jumbled by the scent of burnt pizza as you look into the Kitchen. Empty.

Moving down the hall, you look into the bathroom. Empty. Your attention moves to the Living Room as your ears strain for any sort of noise.

"Berry? Are you here?" you call out gently. You take a few steps into the living room as your eyes immediately dart to the couch, where a smiling, yellow pegasus with long pink hair smiles.

"Am I not who you were expecting?" Fluttershy asks softly. Autumn trots to catch up with you at the sound of her voice. Her eyes dart from you, to the pegasus on your couch.

"What's -she- doing here?" Autumn asks, concern filling her tone.

"I don't know," you reply. "If she doesn't tell me soon, she won't be here for long."

"Oh my..." Fluttershy answers hurtfully. "You refuse answer any of my messages and calls all day and I can't come over to see if you are alright?" You stare at her curiously, trying to get inside her head. Is she being sincere?

"Sorry. Phone's dead," you reply. Fluttershy studies your face and slightly frowns. Her gaze moves from you to Autumn.

"I see..." she says.

"What happened to Berry?" you ask. Fluttershy looks at you confusedly.

"What do you mean? Did something happen to her?" she asks. "I had been busy here ever since you left, cleaning your home, which you made quite filthy with the burnt food."

"How the hell do you NOT KNOW?" you yell. "Did you not HEAR any of the commotion or police outside?"

"The vacuum is loud, Anon." You grunt in frustration and run your hands through your hair.

"Goddamnit. God. Damnit," you whisper. Autumn and Fluttershy stare at each other intently, however while Autumn looks confused and skeptical, Fluttershy simply smiles confidently. What's she doing that for? Why is she smiling? This has to end now. No more games. "Fluttershy, I want the key to my apartment back," you state firmly. Autumn looks up to you, breaking the stare down with your secretary.

"She has a key to your apartment?" she asks.

"Of course, I do," Fluttershy says warmly. "I've been living here with him."

"Not anymore. You got your own place now. You don't need to crash here," you answer flatly. "Which means you don't need the key." Fluttershy looks back to you in slight disbelief.

"R-really?" she asks.

"Yes. Give it back," you command. She looks hesitantly from you, to her bag on the floor.

"Is this about last night?" Fluttershy asks. "I said I was sorry." Autumn looks in shock between you and Fluttershy. The vivid memory of her lustful eyes undressing you with her mind runs through your head. You shiver at the thought.

"No. This was coming and you knew it. Give me the key," you reply. With a sign, Fluttershy grabs her saddle bag and takes the key out. She looks at it carefully, but sighs and places it down in front of her on the nearby coffee table.

"Here," she says quietly, rising from her seat and halving the distance between you and her.

"Thank you," you politely answer. She stands in the spotlight of your attention, as her gaze looks between you and Autumn.

"So, then. When will it be official?" she asks venomously, failing her attempt to conceal hurt in her voice. Autumn blushes as her gaze moves to the floor.

"Soon enough," you reply sternly. "It's none of your concern."

"So when were you going to tell me?" she asks, her wings beginning to expand in a threatening pose. "Did you forget what you told me?" You stare at her, anger welling up inside you. Why was she doing this? "You said one date. One date and you'd let her down easy. You didn't want her to feel led on. So I let you..." Autumn's mouth opens slightly.

"We weren't a couple, Fluttershy," you interrupted quickly. "I was giving you a second chance at getting back in my life again, so I-"

"Led me on?" she asked hatefully.

"No." You slowly shake your head in anger, trying to hold back the mean and hurtful things you could shoot back.

"Lied to me?"

"No."

"I suppose the nights we slept together meant nothing then, did they?" she asks, her voice cracking. Autumn looks up to you, her expression full of horror.

"Listen. What I did to you was shitty. What I did to both of you was shitty. I'm sorry. I led both of you on. I had feelings for both of you and couldn't decide who I liked more. I liked this new side of Fluttershy. I liked this new person that entered my life. However, I made my mind up last night," you say to her with a glance of anger. Fluttershy remains silent as tears form in her eyes.

"Then, that's it?" Fluttershy asks. "Just like that you're tossing me to the curb? I knew you first. I was there for you. I helped you when you first arrived in Ponyville-"

"You know exactly what you fucking did in Ponyville. It's clear you haven't forgotten and don't intend on changing that," you interrupt loudly. "It's all you want from me."

A silence falls in the room. A tear runs down Fluttershy's cheek as she sends you a look you haven't seen her have before. You've seen her lustful gaze of desire, her loving look of care, and her expression of content, but this was different. It was like she was looking at something she recognized from her past... but it was changed, altered to a point of near nonrecognition. The very sight of you caused her pain. Her body gently trembled as she stood in the center of your apartment.

"I'd like for you to leave," you command her.

The words sent a shockwave of hurt through her body as she winced. However, she remained still, as if she didn't hear you at all. Fluttershy looked to your bedroom as her mouth slowly opened, her wings slowly re-closing. The life and volume in her tail slowly faded away as it fell to the ground. The positivity drained from her face as her eyes returned to meet yours.

"Y-yes... sir," she whispered, her neck slowly craning towards the floor. She walked slowly in-between you and Autumn and made her way out to the hallway."G-goodbye, Anon," she says as she closes the door behind her.

The slam left echoes in your ears and will leave an imprint on your soul for the rest of your life. Your attention turned to the mare beside you, not letting the guilt eat at your soul. Autumn stood directly beside you, but felt a million miles away. You keel down to meet her gaze, but her eyes wouldn't meet yours.

Now, the guilt sets in. You feel like the smallest person in Equestria.

"I'm... I'm so sorry," you whisper. "I should have told you the whole situation. That I was giving her a second shot-" She shook her head violently, forcing you to stop mid-sentence.

"I knew that. I knew that the whole time," she said, her voice full of pain and hurt. You kept silent as she remained rooted to the spot, unable to form the words she wanted. She could have walked out at any point, but hadn't yet. There has to be a reason.

"You said that... the two of you weren't serious," she said.

"We weren't," you answered softly.

"But... the two of you..." she trailed off, unable to say it. "Slept..."

"No," you instantly answered. "We shared the same bed. Mulberry was too scared to go back to her apartment after everything happened. So she took the couch. I was trying to be nice and not make anyone sleep on the floor. It was completely platonic," you say. She turns to look you in the eye, tears welling from her own.

"If we're going to make this work, Anon... we need to be completely honest with each other," she said. You nod to her and place a hand on your knee.

"Of course. I have nothing to hide." She takes a step closer to you as you raise a hand to her face, but hesitate halfway.

"I don't want you seeing her at all outside of work," she says. You nod to her with a smile.

"Done. I was planning on cutting myself off from her anyway." Autumn take a step towards you and pushes her face gently into her hand as you caress her cheek.

"Promise?" she asks, looking directly into your eyes.

"Yes. I promise," you answer, the words coming from your heart, not your head. She studies your face for a moment, her expression full of hope, caution, and fear. However, it slowly fades as she takes another step closer to you. Then another.

Her front hooves lift off the ground and wrap themselves around your neck as she pulls herself into you. You wrap your arms around her as she cradles her head on your shoulder and you hold her tightly. Her soft warmth penetrates your shaken form.

"I believe you, Anon. I trust you," she whispers.

"I don't want to hurt you, Autumn," you answer.

Three words sit on the edge of your lips. Words that felt natural to say, but... you realized how much they would mean if you said them right now. Perhaps... it's too soon. Besides, other than seeing her a few times and a date... maybe two if you count the park, the two of you haven't known each other for that long.

Don't say it. Don't ruin this, Anon. You've already hurt enough ponies for one day.

First, Mulberry's home gets broken into, then you shatter Fluttershy. Nopony else deserves to get hurt anymore. If there's one that you can protect... You squeeze Autumn tightly and plant a kiss just underneath her ear. It's this one.

"Why are you so... wonderful?" she asks. You squeeze her tightly and breathe deeply into her brown, velvet soft mane, smelling the relaxing smell of old books and maple leaves in the fall time.

"You'd have to tell me why you are first," you reply with a smile.

It just felt good to have her in your arms again. This time, you wouldn't be so callous. A knock at the door breaks you and Autumn's moment, distracting the two of you for a second time this evening.
You press your lips on the forehead of the light brown mare and rise to your feet. Opening the door, one of the police stallions from Mulberry's door was standing outside.

"Y-yes, officer. How can I help you?" you ask.

"Sir, we heard shouting from inside. Is everything alright?" he asks.

"Yeah," you answer quickly. "Yeah. Everything's fine now. Just... getting a bit over-dramatic is all. It's been a big day."

"I see," he says, leaning over to view the inside of your home. You lean to the side as Autumn approaches the door with a smile, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Everything's fine, officer. I swear," she says in confirmation. The officer looks back at you skeptically.

"Listen. I can tell you care and we're just going to tell the landlord anyway, so we figured we might as well tell you now and save you the trouble. She's in an ambulance right now, headed to Mercy Midtown Medical," You gasp and stand up straighter, as if being at attention will get you on the officer's good side.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," you reply.

"Thank you so much," Autumn answers. "We were so worried." He nods at the two of you.

"Listen. It's my last call for the night and the place is right on my way home. Do the two of you want a lift? That is, if the monkey isn't too heavy," he says. You open your mouth to protest, but shake your head quickly, not wanting to pass up this opportunity.

"Can you give me five seconds?" you ask. He nods as you nod to Autumn and head to your bedroom. Once you get in your bedroom, you freeze as the entire room has been cleaned. The clothes from last night were picked up. By Fluttershy.

Instantly, you run to the dirty clothes hamper and frantically search for yesterday's pants. Finally, you find them and rip them out from the bottom of the hamper. Quickly, you check the pockets for the battery to your phone. However, nothing is in them. You look frantically around your room. Could it have fallen out? Where would it-

You scan your bed, which was now neatly folded and laundered by Fluttershy's loving hoof, and sitting on one of the fluffy white pillows, the one Fluttershy had been sleeping on, was your phone battery. Anger fills your chest as you grab the battery off the pillow and slam it into your phone. Crossing the room back to your phone charger, your mind fills with all sorts of questions.

What's her problem? What happened to the kind, gentle person you've seen the last few days? Why does she have this... disgusting passive-aggressive side that only you see? It's wrong. Now she's trying to act like she owns you or something.

You place the phone on the charger and take a deep breath as you head back to the police officer. It'll have to wait. Right now, Berry needs your attention. Hopefully it's not too late.

"Would the two of you like coffee as you wait?" You jerk your head upward and blink your eyes. Were you nodding off?

"Uhm. Yeah, that would be nice. What time is it?" you ask.

"Three A.M."

"Thanks," you reply.

Rubbing your eyes, you sit up straighter on the waiting room bench. Autumn was fast asleep, her head resting gently on your lap. The last thing the nurses told you was that the doctors were taking care of some broken bones and internal bleeding, but she would have been moved to a room after they completed their work. You have to see her.

It calmed your mind that she would be okay, but you still felt hollow. You caused this. You could have prevented this. Shakily, you release a breath as you place a hand on Autumn's back and stroke her soft fur.

While you want to revel in what a good day you had today, you can't bring yourself to feel good about everything that happened. Today's date was like something out of a fairy tale. Except, fairy tales had everything in them go completely right. This was even better, it was real. Autumn felt... real. But, she felt so perfect.

Shaking your head, you grin at the idea of what the two of you are. Hopeless.

You look up at the double doors that the doctors must have carried Berry though. What was she thinking right now? Were the cops looking for the scumbag that had caused all of this? Was Fluttershy involved? You shake your head at the thought. Fluttershy wasn't that horrible. Sure, she's been trying to keep you all to herself the last two weeks, but she wouldn't hurt somepony to be sure she kept you.

The nurse mare returns, carrying a plate of two cups of coffee.

"I'll put hers on the table," she replies.

"Thanks," you answer, taking one of the cups from her.

"I think Ms. Mulberry will be available soon. Is she family?" the nurse asks out of curiosity.

"Something like that," you answer. "We're both close friends with her."

"Ah, I see," she answers. "Well, I don't think it'll be long. They are going to take her down the hall to 308, if you want to wait in the room." You nod and take a sip of the burning hot life energy.

"Right. Thanks." Gently, you caress Autumn's mane as her face begins to make small contortions.

"Erhm... Wha? Is she okay?" she mutters, as her eyes open gently.

"She's going to be out soon. They are going to let us wait in her room," you whisper.

"Oh... okay," Autumn says, wiping her lips with a hoof and raising her head from her leg. The nurse smiles as you hand Autumn the coffee she brought her.

"Here, it's after three. You might need it," you tell her. She rubs her eye with a hoof and yawns.

"Yeah... thanks," Autumn says.

"Uhm... excuse me," the nurse says. You and Autumn both turn to look at the nurse.

"I don't mean to intrude... but, are the two of you dating?" she asks. A smile curls on your lips as your gaze turns to meet Autumn.

"Why, yes we are," you reply. The nurse sighs and smiles.

"Oh, good. I was about to say, the two of you make a really, really cute couple," she says. Autumn blushes and looks back to the nurse.

"Uhm, thank you," she says. She nods with a smile, then leaves you two to be alone. Autumn looks down to her drink and takes a sip.

"Well... what should we say?" you ask. Autumn looks up to you curiously.

"I don't think now is the right time to tell Berry about... us," you say. She instantly nods.

"Oh, yes. Definitely," she replies. "We can tell her later." You nod.

"What if she asks about what we did today?" you ask. Her face freezes and her gaze looks back down to her drink.

"Uhm..." she says, perplexed. She takes a deep drink of her coffee and sighs.

"Maybe... we only bring that up... if she asks," you suggest.

"That's probably how we should handle it... I don't know... how well she'll take it," Autumn answers.

"What do you mean?" you ask, having a general idea where this is headed. Autumn simply looks at you with a guilty look as she drinks the rest of her coffee. Her glare confirms your fear. Mulberry likes you. Just your luck. With a shake of your head, you down your coffee.

"Well, let's do this," you say, rising to your feet and leaving the cup on the table. Autumn nods and gets to her hooves. Turning towards the nearest hallway, you follow the signs on the walls that lead you in the right direction of Berry's room. Your muscles ache with every step towards her. How can you look her in the eye? She'll blame you. You try to control your breathing as Autumn watches you with concern.

"Hey... do you want me to go in first?" she asks with concern.

"No," you reply. "We should go in together."

"You sure?" she reiterates.

"Yeah."

306... 307... A young mare, levitating a clipboard exits room 308 as the two of you approach.
Her attention snaps to you two and she smiles.

"You two must be here to see Mulberry," she says positively.

"Yeah. Is she okay?" you ask. The doctor gives a warm smile and nods.

"She'll be just fine. We had to do a few internal stitches and she's under a lot of drugs right now, but she will be back to normal in a week or two. With a few casts, of course," she says. You cringe at the word 'cast.' "The drugs are going to lower her ability to... uhm, watch what she says. So, she might be a bit of a talker," the doctor warns.

"That's fine, we just want to make sure she's okay," Autumn replies. The doctor nods.

"Of course, well, I won't keep you any longer. Have a nice morning and try not to wake up any of the other patients. We're bending a few rules for you two," she teases.

"Right. Thank you again," you add as she turns and walks to the next room. You look to Autumn and pause to collect yourself. With a nod, you walk through the door to the room, where Mulberry lies on a hospital bed, attached to a IV and heart monitor. She has one of her hind hooves in a cast and lifted into the air, while the opposite foreleg is in a cast too. Her face is covered in bandages, leaving one eye open, which looks out at the window at the dark morning sky.

Your stomach drops at seeing her. She looks like she got hit by a car.

"H-hey, Berry," you stumble out.

"Hey, Berry," chants Autumn. Berry turns her head weakly and a smile forms on her face.

"Hey you two," she groans. "I didn't think I'd be getting visitors..."

"Well, clearly you underestimate us," you add, trying to keep a positive demeanor. "We came as soon as we found out." She smiles warmly, a tear forming in her eye.

"You guys are the best..." she whispers.

You spot two chairs on Mulberry's bedside and both you and Autumn make your way over to them. Taking a seat, Autumn reaches out and wraps her hoof in Berry's good hoof. The room goes silent as the three of you just smile. Berry's expression falters slightly when her gaze moves from Autumn to you.

"Phone," she grunts, but blinks after saying it, as if she tasted something that she didn't expect. "No sorry. Uhm."

"No. I'm sorry. My phone was dead today," you whisper. You reach out and place your hand on Berry's hoof with Autumn's. "I'm so, so sorry, Berry. I should have been there. I-" You tried to make more words, but you found yourself short on breath. Your lungs grew tight and your voice was caught in your throat. Damn it, Anon. Say something. Your gaze turns to the ground. "I-I... should have... I'm so sorry," you stutter.

"It's okay, Anon," she whispers. "Don't be sad. I don't like seeing you hurt," You look up to her, as she endures physical pain and suffering in a hospital. A hurt smile forms on your lips as you aren't sure what to say. Autumn glances from you to Berry, unsure of what to say herself.

"Uhm, I'm really happy you guys came out..." the injured mare says. "But, I'm really, really tired."

"It's okay," said Autumn. "We just wanted to make sure you were going to be okay." Berry nods to Autumn.

"Yeah, the doctors say I'll be back to my normal self in a week. Heh," she chuckles weakly. "Whatever that is." Once again, her face contorts in an expression of distaste. "I didn't mean that," she says

"It's okay. We can go," you reply. Autumn nods and the two of you release Berry's hoof.

"Oh, uhm, Anon," Berry groans. "Could you... stay for a second." The heart monitor leaps for a second. You look to Autumn for help, but her expression shows only concern and sympathy.

"Yeah, I can stay for a little," you reply. She smiles as she looks to Autumn.

"Uhm. I'm just... going to wait outside," the fall colored mare says with a false smile. She trots outside and closes the door behind her, giving you one last concerned look before the click. You sit down beside her on the bed and put her hoof in your hand.

"I'm so sorry about today, Berry," you say, your chest growing tight with guilt. Mulberry shakes her head and gives you a weak smile.

"It's not about that Anon..." she says. You bite your lip, having a feeling at what's coming. Please, Berry. Don't do this.

"I just... didn't know how... or when to say what I wanted to say- Uhm. It's just. Seeing you the last few weeks. The way you've helped me out, cared for me, took care of me. I just... Um. I think of you all the time. Dream of you sometimes too. Uhm." Her face contorts into all types of disgust. "Why are words so hard?"

You blink your eyes hard. Why? Why was she doing this to you? As if the guilt wasn't bad enough. You just got together with Autumn today. Maybe you can stop her.

"Berry-"

"No," she grunts. "I wanna say this right. Cause, I just think you are really handsome and kind and wonderful and, and, and- Um. I like you a lot. Um." She looks you in the eye as you face is contorted in the most conflicted face you can muster. "And... I was wondering if you liked me back. The same way I liked you," she asked.

You open your mouth to say something, but you look away from her. What in the world you could possibly say that wouldn't crush her? How is someone supposed to turn someone down like this?
Let alone your abused neighbor friend. Let alone a small, cute pony. Her ears flatten as you refuse to make eye contact.

"Anon?" she asks, hurt already filling her voice again.

"I can't," you reply. Berry goes quiet as the heart monitor is the only sound in the room.

"You can't... what?" she asks, already knowing the answer you have to give.

"I can't be what you want me to be, Berry," you reply. The silence returns as you look back to her and she stares back like puppy dog who had it's nose swatted with a newspaper.

"B-but, why?" she asks. Your muscles tense as you look to the floor. Taking a deep breath, you aren't sure if you should answer the question or not. You could just get up and walk out. The conversation could just be ended right here.

"I'm seeing somepony else," you reply weakly. She looks down to the sheets of her bed.

"It's Fluttershy isn't it?" she asks. "I knew it." The dagger digs even deeper.

"No..." you reply. She looks up at you, hurt filling her face.

"Then who?" she asks, tears running down her eye as her bandage on the other grows wet.

"Listen... You've been through a lot," you say to her, standing up. "Maybe this isn't the best time."

"No! Tell me!" she raspily says. You look at her, concern filling your soul. She looks at you in anger, hurt and tears. Her eyes pierce into you like knives, demanding an answer for why the two of you couldn't be more than friends. "Tell me," she says, her voice breaking.

"It's Autumn," you answer. Her eyes open wide, as if the rug underneath her was ripped away unexpectedly.

"You were... you were the stallion she was talking about. Not- Not a stallion," she said, the pieces falling together in her head.

"Berry-"

"Which was why she asked about you so much... and..." she trails off

"Mulberry, I think I should-" She glares at you, catching you off guard. A silence falls in the room once again. Her face alternates between horror, anger, and depression as she can't look you in the eye anymore.

"Maybe you should go," she says quietly.

"Okay," you whisper. You walk the tired, long steps to the door of the hospital room. Stopping to take one look back at her, you sigh. Her gaze returns to the window, as her face winces in pain. She was under a lot of drugs. It wasn't physical pain. "I'm sorry."

Opening the door, you step outside and close it behind you. Autumn sits on a bench outside the door, looking at you in concern. You sigh and look to the ground.

"Did she..." she asks, trailing off.

"Yeah. She knows now," you answer weakly. Taking a seat beside her, she places a hoof on your lap and rubs your leg in an attempt to reassure you.

"Now what?" she asks. You sigh, leaning forward and rubbing your face in your hands.

"I dunno," you reply. "I just. I don't know." She places a hoof on your face.

"Let's go home," she says, attempting to be your voice of reason. "We're all tired. It'll all be better in the morning." You nod and look down to her. She smiles for you and it eases some of the hurt within.

"Alright, I'll walk you home," you reply. She shakes her head.

"Let's go back to your place," she says. "Just. I could use a cuddle, you know. Nothing like that." You smile and nod. Wrapping your arms around her, you lift the little mare into your arms as her face grows red with a blush.

"Let's go home."

Opening your apartment door, Autumn heads inside while you follow behind and lock the door behind her. She walks into the living room, taking in the scenery a little more deeply than last time.

"It really is a nice place," she says. "You keep it really clean."

"It's not a normal thing, I promise," you reply tiredly. Pushing open the door to your bedroom, Autumn follows you inside as you shed your shirt and toss it into the clothes hamper. What a day. Berry's in the hospital and broken. Fluttershy's distraught. Meanwhile, here's this mare.

You turn to her, as she looks at a picture of you and the girls from Ponyville on your bedside. It was bittersweet in a way. Here you were, you should be happy, but you weren't. You liked Autumn. You might even more than like her. However... at what cost did it take to get together with her?

Fluttershy and you will probably never be the same again. It's probably permanently going to damage your chance at a normal friendship with her. And what about Mulberry? If you're lucky, she might be your friend still. Or at least, it'll be like before she turned up on your doorstep. Just neighbors.

You sigh, rubbing your forehead in an attempt to evade the migraine that was growing. Autumn walks to the bed and climbs up on your side of the bed. She looks at you with a smile and lets out a long yawn. An involuntary smile curls on your face.

On second thought... Sometimes sacrifices need to be made.

Mulberry and Fluttershy are big girls. Being heartbroken hurts, but the hurt doesn't last forever. Sure, Mulberry got hurt, but her wounds will heal. Fluttershy needs to walk the path of making her a better pony all by herself. You can't force her to change. You walk to the opposite side of the bed, where Fluttershy laid just a few nights ago and carefully get under the covers.

Getting comfortable, you lay an arm underneath Autumn's pillow as she scoots her warm body closer to you. Her soft fur rubs against your chest and she sighs in content as she faces you. She reaches a hoof up to your cheek and gently caresses it.

"It'll be okay," she says. "You did the right thing."

"You think so?" you ask.

"Yeah," she says. "You did your best. That's what matters."

You smile and look into her eyes as the alarm clock blinks 5AM behind her. Reaching over her, you turn off the alarm and bring your hand to her face. Leaning your face in closer, you plant a firm kiss on her lips. You can feel her lean into the kiss, savoring every second of it. Breaking away, your arm moves down and pulls her body into yours to snuggle.

"I had a good time on our date today," Autumn whispered.

"Me too," you whispered. She smiles and closes her eyes.

"Want to hear something silly?" she asks.

"Sure," you answer sleepily.

"I'm worried that if I fall asleep, I'll wake up and today was a dream," she says. You plant a kiss on her forehead.

"Was it a good dream?" you ask. You can feel her face nod into your chest. "Good," you whisper. She readjusts herself into your body and you can feel her body meld into yours, like the two of you were two halves to a perfect circle.

"Good night, Anon," she whispers. You close your eyes and gently smile.

"Good night, babe," you whisper, before sleep slowly takes the two of you away from the city, to a place where the two of you could cherish that moment.

To cherish the moments you had today.

To cherish all the moments that were still yet to come.

Part 2 - Chapter 1: Return to the Office

Every choice has a consequence. Every choice has a silver lining. Would you rather take a chance and accept the pain that follows? Or would you rather refuse to choose and always wonder ‘what-if’?

You can't help but smile as you're writing out paperwork at your desk. It's been nearly a month since... well, 'The Night.' The night when everything happened in such a quick succession that you could only act on natural instinct. Of course, as bad as you feel for Berry after all that’s happened, you can't help but feel... generally good. In fact, you'd go as far as to say things are great.

Taking your mug of coffee, you take a deep sip to push yourself through those afternoon sleep spells. You glance around at the four walls of your office and can't help feeling somewhat... trapped. Rising to your feet, you shove a hand into your pocket. Some fresh air is exactly what you need. Once you begin to realize how much you hate it here… you just need to decompress.

You step out of your office and walk down the hall, nodding to Brand as he passes by you. He gives you a simple smile and nod in return.

Suddenly. your phone buzzes. You pull it out of your pocket and flip it open. One new Text Message from Autumn.

"I hope you're having a wonderful day! <3"

An involuntary smile curls on your face as you type out a reply.

"I'm having a great day. I hope you are too, babe. <3"

You shove your phone back into your pocket before hitting the button for the elevator.

There’s a lot that a man can ask for in life. A simple job. Steady income. But somehow, some greater power blessed you with Autumn, and you're more than thankful for it. The last four weeks with her have made each day something new and exciting to tackle. Sometimes the two of you would hit the town for a night of wine and good food, and sometimes you'd just stay inside, read a book together, and lose track of the time. Heck, she's even gotten to the point of leaving a spare set of clothes for work around your place. That's a good sign. Right? You're pretty sure that's a good sign.

The elevator chime rings, the doors open, and you step inside.

"Hold the door please," says a weak feminine voice from the hall.

You recognize it instantly, and you aren't sure if you should hold it or not. Against your natural judgement, you hold the door.

Then, well. Then there's Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus trots towards the elevator, then freezes once she sees you inside. A chill fills the air as the two of you stand, facing each other.

"Uhm, on second thought, I think I'm going up. Not down," she says.

"You sure?" you ask.

She nods quietly and you let the door close between the two of you. Closing your eyes, you let loose a sigh of relief.

“Probably for the best,” you mutter

The doors to the elevator chime open and you step out into the tiled floors of the main floor. You do your best to admire the fountain in the office lobby, but you can't get your mind off of the yellow pegasus. You haven't really tried to talk to her to make amends yet, but could that be for the better? She took advantage of you before... and tried to bed you another time. Does she really have your best interests at heart?

You push out the front doors of the office as you look to the crowd of people in front of the building. You pause, feeling a sickening sense of deja-vu overwhelm you.

"Wait a minute," you mutter to yourself.

In a flash, you move to the crowd of people and look along with the crowd. There, standing at the top of your office building, is a yellow pegasus, with a long pink mane, swaying in the wind. She pauses, staring down at the ground.

"Don't do it!" somepony in the group calls up to her.

You feel as if you lose your voice. You try to move your arms, but you're rooted to the spot.

She places a hoof on the lip of the building, then leaps.

You open your mouth to scream, but nothing comes out.

Then, the world around you vanishes. You feel your body spasm as you open your eyes to the darkness of your room. Moonlight streams through your windows as you sit up in bed and feel the coolness of your apartment on your clammy skin. You place a hand to your forehead, trying to catch your breath.

The fall colored mare in the covers beside you stirs and turns on a light.

"Was it another bad dream?" she asks groggily.

You remain quiet for a moment before returning a simple 'yeah.’

You watch each minute tick by on the alarm clock, but sleep chooses to elude you for another night. You alternate between watching as the minutes tick ever closer to when the alarm will go off, signaling the beginning of another miserable day at the office. The weekend never seems to last long enough these days. Then, when the minutes ticking by only stresses you out, you roll over to watch the mare laying beside you gently rest.

Her gentle features are always so at ease when she sleeps beside you. With the exception of the terrible bed-mane, if you could remember this moment in time, you would take a mental snapshot and store it away forever. In fact, on second thought, you’d keep the bed-mane too. Just to make the memory feel more authentic.

But, then the nagging voice at the back of your head says that watching someone as they sleep is really creepy. Come on, Anon. Don’t be creepy.

So, you turn back over and let the cycle continue. Until, the alarm kicks in, as an overly cheery stallion announces his wacky morning greeting. The mare beside you begins to stir as you sit up in bed and dangle your feet off the edge.

“Morning already?” Autumn says groggily. “Can I get five more minutes?”

“Yeah. I’ll hit the shower first,” you say, hitting the snooze button. “Then it’ll be all yours.”

She groans lightly, turns over, and passes right back out as you make your way to your bathroom. You flip on a light, close the door behind you as to not wake your marefriend, then examine yourself in the mirror.

Life, right now, is absolutely perfect. Or at least, it should be.

You remember a time when the biggest concern on your mind was that you didn’t know very many ponyfolk in this huge city. And now, you could argue that your problem is that you know too many. Or, at least, too many that clashed.

Now, when you go to work, you have to see the heartbroken Fluttershy, who didn’t respect the wishes of your arrangement and came onto you. And when you walk out for work on your apartment, you check in with Mulberry every morning just to make sure she was even getting out of bed.

"Well,” you mutter to yourself. “It looks like I'm ready to start my day. For better or worse."

You give yourself a nice clean shave, hop through the shower, do your business, then before you know it, you hear a gentle tapping on the door behind you. You shudder for a moment, before Autumn peeks in.

“Almost done in there?” she asks. “I just realized what day it was.”

“Yeah,” you say, throwing a bath towel around your midsection. “It’s all yours”

You step out of the bathroom and Autumn steps in beside you, grazing a hoof against your leg. An involuntary smile crosses your lips as you look back at her with a hungry look in your eye.

“One of those mornings?” you ask deviously.

Autumn curls one edge of her lip before examining the damage of a night’s sleep on her mane.

“I wish, but we have to get cleaned up. Soon. We’re not the only ones getting up early today, remember?” she says before turning on the shower. “I hope you left some hot water…”

That’s when it hits you. Today is Mulberry’s first day back at her job. After the hospital and all the struggles of her personal life, she is finally heading back to the school to teach. There is only about four to six weeks of the school year left before they had Hearth’s Warming break, so hopefully the kids could take her seriously.

“Right! Right. I remember. Alright. Should we take breakfast over?”

“I took some of Saturday’s pancakes and wrapped them in the fridge,” she says before closing the bathroom door. “Now hurry up.”

B-but. Those were your pancakes. Your mind wanders longingly to the single helping of pancakes in the fridge. On the other hand, this is for Berry, so you suppose you can make the exception.

You throw on your slacks, white dress shirt, and your signature royal blue tie. Yes. Now you are complete. This is exactly what the doctor called for.

Work phone? Check. Wallet? Check. Id Card? Check. Monthly subway pass? Check.

You head into the kitchen, throw the pancakes in the microwave, then grab Autumn’s work clothes and set them by the bathroom door. At this point, there’s not much you can do but wait. You move to the window of your apartment and watch as the city traffic down below buzzes by in the light of the rising sun.

And all you can wonder is… how in the world do they do it? How can they live with all of the stressful, frantic pains of everyday life. You’re about to go to a job where you have to dodge glances with your personal secretary to avoid her having another crying fit. You’re about to check on your neighbor, who also professed her love for you after she was beaten by an ex-stallion friend. Who you also turned down, by the way. And now you’re dating one of her best friends.

You’d think after you found the love of your life, that would be it with a nice fancy bow on top, but life continues to go on nonetheless. Heck, you suppose that’s the irony. Fairy tales just end with ‘Happily Ever After’, and most stories even tie up most of their loose ends. Life never is quite that simple.

“Well don’t you look handsome?” says the mare as she leaves the bathroom. You turn your head to watch as a gentle steam wafting out of the door behind her. “What’s got you all pensive?”

You pause to consider the way you want to answer her question, you bite your bottom lip as you look outside.

“I guess I’m just worried a little about Berry. It’s a big day for her.”

“Me too,” she says drying her mane with a towel. “But she’s a big filly now. We can only help her so much before she becomes dependent. She needs to get back on her own hooves.”

“I know,” you murmur, but knowing doesn’t remove her face from your mind. You aren’t sure if you’ll be able to remove the memory of her anger and hurt. And you certainly can’t take back the tears you made.

But this is what you wanted. You should be happy. Right?

You take a deep breath and knock on the apartment door in front of you. You look down at the plate of steaming pancakes in your hand, and think of the granola bar in your pocket.

This has gotta be some sort of torture, or something.

“Think she’ll get up?” you ask Autumn.

She looks up at you with a look of concern that confirms you aren’t alone in your doubt.

“I want to believe she will.”

A quiet moment passes standing outside your neighbor’s apartment. Yet, just as you wonder if you should suggest that she might not be awake yet, you hear a lock click and slide on the other side. The door opens a crack and you see an eye peer out into the hallway. Then, inch by inch, the amethyst mare with a jet-black mane comes into view. She even did her hair up into a tight little bun. You clear your throat and stand up straight.

"Hey there neighbor! Heading for work?" you say cheerfully, holding out the tray of breakfast to you.

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!” Autumn says.

Mulberry smiles lightly and shakes her head.

“Thanks you two, but I already had a piece of fruit. You don’t have to-”

But then your mind cuts out the rest of the words because you have your beloved pancakes back. You grab the fork and instantly begin to shovel your face with Autumn’s cooking.

Oh God it’s like heaven on Earth. Erm. Equestria. Whatever.

“Anon!” Autumn raises her voice. “Those were for Berry!”

“But,” you say in defense, “She said she ate. I got permission! You can’t stand between a man and his pancakes. It’s just not right, Autumn.”

Your eyes move to Berry, who seems to smile at the exchange of playful banter. After the hospital, you and Autumn agreed to keep the affection in front of her to a minimum. It’s just polite. And, well, it allows the three of you to still stay somewhat normal.

“Well, are you ready?” Autumn asks. “Big day today.”

“Yeah,” Berry says rubbing her hoof. “I think I’m ready to try and get back to something normal. And the kids won’t have to see me all bruised up and casted. This is good for everypony.”

“Then, we have no time to lose,” you say. You quickly run back in your apartment, dump the plate in the sink, then rejoin the mares. The three of you walk to the elevator, hit the button, then step inside when the doors open.

A silence falls as the elevator climbs down towards the lobby. You take a moment to examine Mulberry, whose eyes are focused on the floor, rather than the space in front of her. You feel the need to say something, anything to bring her back up. You could compliment the hair bun, but you aren’t sure if the physical compliments would be bandages over the bigger issues. And those you can’t help with.

You open your mouth to say something, then the words get caught in your throat.

“The hair bun looks nice on you,” says Autumn. “What prompted the change?”

Mulberry turned to Autumn, then thought to herself for a moment before answering.

“I suppose… it reminds me of when things were a little easier.”

With a gentle chime, the doors to the elevator opened wide and the three of you step out.

“Well, nothing to it but to do it,” Mulberry says with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“Do you want us to walk with you?” you ask, realizing Mulberry’s school was in the opposite direction of the subway station. Nevertheless, the mare smiles as she makes eye contact with you.

“No, I think I can handle this much, at least. This time, it will be the destination that’ll be hard. Not the journey.”

“That’s really cheesy,” says Autumn as Berry turns away.

“Call me Swiss then,” the mare calls back as she walks away.

“Have a gouda day!” you call off to her.

“I hope it goes cheddar than you hope!” Autumn says before Berry heads out the back way. Then, the two of you smile at each other and head out the front towards the subway station.

The doors of the subway train close as the two of you take your seats.

“I gotta admit, that went better than I thought,” you say to her.

“Me too,” Autumn says with a smile. “But I’m not going to look a gift pup in the mouth.”

“Yeah,” you say with a smile, trying to repress a chuckle. Some phrases in Equestria are still hard to get used to.

The mare leans her body against you and hums happily as you wrap an arm around her.

“Gonna be a rough day for you?” you ask Autumn, desperately trying to get your mind off work.

“Oh, you never know with the Library. I may have to make a few calls on some overdues. Maybe put some books back on the shelves. I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle the frantic pace,” she says teasingly.

“Jeez, tiger. Don’t go and become a workaholic on me,” you say. “They say that sort of work will change a pony.”

“I’ve seen some things, Anon,” she says in an overly-dramatic tone, waving a hoof. “I’ve seen spines torn right off of perfectly innocent books. And don’t get me started on the ones that went to war. Some never come back. And those that do, they might never turn the page again.”

“You’re full of jokes this morning,” you smile down at her. “What’s got you in such a great mood?”

Autumn hums happily to herself as she moves to meet your gaze.

“I guess I still just feel lucky,” she says. “I don’t know what I’ve done to earn somepony as wonderful as you.”

You feel your cheeks warm as you pull her closer to you.

“You’re sweet. And you’re silly if you don’t realize that I’m the lucky one in all of this.”

“Huh, yeah. I suppose so,” she says teasingly.

You look down with a fake expression of shock, and she moves up and closes the gap to press her lips against yours. Just as quickly as the motion begins, it ends, just as a kitten would paw an unsuspecting bug.

“Do you realize we just met for the first time, on this very train, just a few months ago?” you ask her. “It feels so long ago.”

She hums happily and closes her eyes in contentment.

“If time had to either slow down or speed up while we’re together, I’d chose for it to slow down. If only that it meant we can spend more time together.”

“Someone’s in a romantic mood,” you say.

“Guilty as charged.”

A silent moment passes as the two of you sit side by side, simply holding each other and glowing with contentment. Sure, you catch the idle glance of the passengers of the train, whose eyes move about the car just to give themselves something to do, but you ignore their passing gaze. What matters right now is her. Her and you.

And you’re happy with that.

But all good things must come to an end, and so that is signaled by the slowing down of the subway car. You’re attention is snapped back to real life.

“What’s the plan for tonight?” you ask as she sits back up and grabs her bag.

“Not sure yet. I haven’t quite thought that far. If I decide to stop by-”

“I should probably just give you a key already,” you say with a smile. “Or you can bring over more of your things.”

She pauses, then looks up at you. Autumn smiles and nods.

“You sure that isn’t too fast?”

“You’re basically living at my place as it is, babe.”

“Yeah, but. I dunno. I mean, we’ve talked about this before. I-”

She pauses, then her gaze moves down to her hooves. Her ears flatten for just a moment, before they straighten up once more.

“I want to. I just don’t want to move too fast. You know?” she says with a pause. “I don’t want us to burn out.”

’Last Call for -Downtown Manehattan-’

“Of course, babe. That’s fine,” you rise to your feet and step out into the aisle. “It’s not a problem.”

“Is it really?” Autumn asks. “I’m not… disappointing you?”

“Of course not, love,” you smile. “Now let’s get to work before we’re both in trouble.”

Autumn smiles, her features and her ears relaxing as she rises to her hooves and follows you out of the subway car. The two of you move past the turnstiles, up the stairs and back up into the open air of the city where ponies bustle along the streets and sidewalks to work.

“I’ll just play it by ear then,” you say with a smile, leaning down. “Talk to you later, Autumn.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she says, placing a hoof against your cheek. She presses her lips against yours, and you raise a hand to the side of her face. Then she breaks away and straightens her posture.

“I love you,” you say to her.

“Love you too!” she calls back, turning in place and heading towards her work.

You turn to the building just off in the distance, and slowly feel the blood slowly chill in your veins. Your eyes move across the street, and you swear you see a flash of yellow. With a blink, you try to give the benefit of the doubt to your imagination and trudge forward.

The double doors to the office building open wide and you stroll into the sterile, citrus-orange smell of cleaning supplies and fresh post-it notes. You can already feel the life and fire draining from you. Such is monday. Such is life.

You take a deep breath and try to put on your best fake smile. It ends up being a creepy curl, so you decide to settle for a more stoic look. You cross the distance of the lobby, nodding to a few mares and stallions you recognize from the hallways and hit the elevator doors. As you pause, waiting for the doors, you see the familiar face you weren’t hoping to see. Fluttershy.

The yellow mare strolls into the lobby, taking step after careful step. Her ears are folded, her hair seems to have less volume and more lifeless, and when she looks up to the elevators, she makes eye contact with you. She freezes. Biting her bottom lip, she looks back down to her saddle bag, closes her eyes for a moment, then moves toward you.

You turn on the spot and press the elevator button another time. A gentle chime rings from one of the elevator doors and the stainless-steel moves aside. You move forward to enter, but a few of the early-birds step out of the elevator and out into the lobby. Once they clear you move inside, then turn on the spot to watch Fluttershy enter the elevator behind you.

“Good morning, Anon,” says Fluttershy quietly.

You do your best to repress a sigh of defeat as you press the button for the floor you share with her.

“Morning,” you answer politely.

The doors close, and the elevator sets in motion. The only sound that goes through the elevator is the sound of the quiet gears that propels the box upward. She clears her throat, but you keep your eyes front and center toward the door. You don’t have anything to say. Partially out of anger. Partially out of distrust. And partially that you just aren’t ready to approach this issue. Not just yet.

You’ve tried interviewing at different places. You really have. You’ve tried to escape, but it always comes back down to the core issue. You’re a human. You might as well be a monkey. You’re skilled, you’re experienced, and you’ve got wonderful charisma, but they’d rather choose a candidate that isn’t as ‘exotic’ of a species. You’d scream and yell in protest, but what can you do? It’s just the way it is.

The door chimes, and opens to your floor.

“Have a good day,” you say to Fluttershy.

She pauses, her ears flattening and her gaze moving to the floor.

“You too, Anon,” she says, the life in her voice draining.

Fluttershy moves one hoof in front of the other and exits the elevator. You step out of the elevator and pick up the pace to move past her. Your feet carry you to your office, where you step inside and close the door behind you. You take a deep breath, move behind your desk and sit down.

Perhaps it’s unfair to be giving Fluttershy such a cold shoulder, but you honestly don’t feel that comfortable around her. What’s left to be said? You move your eyes to your computer screen, which is littered in post-it notes with Fluttershy’s handwriting. You pick off the first one and examine it.

9 A.M. meeting with Brand, then 10 A.M. Weekly Planning Session

You sigh, checking the clock. 8:55 already. Well, at least a busy day is a quick day. You take a look at the rest of the post it notes for any new messages, but you don’t see any. This was the only way you knew if Fluttershy needed your help or attention. In fact, either this or email was the primary way that you or Fluttershy talked at work now. You realize that it’s kinda childish, but it’s the way things are.

Suddenly, you hear a knock on your door, and you raise your head.

“Heeeeya buddy,” says your boss, peeking his head in. “Nice weekend?”

“Nice, but not long enough,” you say, searching for a cup of coffee at your desk. Sadly, there is none. It’s too fucking early for this shit.

“I need to talk to you for a moment,” Brand says, stepping inside and closing the door.

You straighten up and scoot into the desk.

“You can keep the door open if you want,” you say with a false smile.

He frowns as the door gives a light click.

“Not for this,” he says calmly.

The stallion takes a labored breath and sits down across from you. You instantly feel a tenseness in your back as you fold your hands on top of your desk.

“What can I do for ya?” you ask patiently, knowing a bomb is likely about to drop.

He looks down to the floor, then back up to you.

“Anon, you’re my friend,” he says, trying to keep the features in his expression flat, but a glossiness in his eyes betrays him. “But I’m getting pressured from upper management about, well. Budgets.”

“Alright,” you say, keeping your voice firm and even. But the reality is you just felt the pit of your stomach drop to the floor. Budget is always a bad sign. That means the company isn’t doing well. And when the company isn’t doing well.

Well, they have to lay off employees.

“Listen, I’m not doing anything right now,” Brand says. “And I’m not even supposed to be telling anypony about these yet. But they told us to begin doing metrics on performance for the last month. And, well, we have a problem.”

You nod, looking down to your desk. You’re not stupid. You can read between the lines. Things have been different since after the night happened.

“Right.”

“I mean, you aren’t even talking to your secretary, man,” he says patiently. “You realize how that looks to the higher ups. And I have a target on my back for having. Well-”

“A human,” you finish the sentence for him.

He takes a deep breath, running a hoof through his mane and looking at the ceiling.

“I wish it were different,” he says. “But that’s only half of why I’m here.”

You groan, backing out of your seat and rising to your feet.

“Listen, man. If I’m fired just do it,” you say, staring at the wall. “Having a target on my back isn’t going to make my life any less stressful or make it easier on me.”

He shakes his head, placing a hoof on your desk.

“No, Anon. It’s not like that. I want to keep you. I really do. But I need proof that you’re worth keeping. I just got an extremely visible project passed down the line. And I want to put you at the head of it. You’ll get full credit if it’s a success.”

You place a hand to your forehead, crunching the bigger picture in your head.

“So, let me guess,” you say. “If I do well at this project. I get to keep my job.”

“Well, yours and your assistant’s hopefully,” he says.

You pause and turn back to him, your eyes wide.

“Wait, are you saying if we don’t do well on this project, we’re both laid off.”

He shrugs to you.

“I’m going to be honest, Anon. Everypony higher up is being tight lipped. I don’t even know if I have my job still. This is all in confidence. You can’t tell anypony.”

“Jee, fucking thanks,” you groan. “Just what I needed.”

You recline back down into your desk chair and place your head in your hands.

“You and Fluttershy are going to have to work your plots off in order to get this thing done and do it right. But if you succeed, it makes all of us look good. I can help where I can, but it’s gotta be you guys first and foremost.”

With a deep sigh, you shake your head and straighten yourself back up in your chair.

“I know you and Fluttershy have had… issues working together. But you’re just going to have to buck up and learn to work with each other. Alright?” he says. “For both of our jobs?”

He picks up a small binder of notes and sets it on your desk and rises to his hooves.

“I’ve come to you first, because I know you can do it, if you put your mind to it. And well, I wouldn’t trust anypony else with something that concerned my own job.”

You feel the weights already mounting down on your shoulders. You have to talk with Fluttershy? No. Work with her? Constantly? Maybe even do overtime? The two of you will have to work together to make some sort of friendship again.

Is there even room for that anymore?

“And if I don’t?” you ask.

He frowns, closing his eyes and shakes his head.

“That’s it?” you say. “I either don’t, and we both lose our jobs. Or we try, and give it one last shot.”

He looks down at you, placing his hand on the binder.

“Are you in or out, Anon?”

You could probably find a new job. Then again, finding a job as a human has been a nightmare. You can’t really live off of wages purely from Autumn. Especially at this point in the relationship. That would be… just wrong. And if it gets bad enough… you’d have to move back to Ponyville. Then what? Live with Twilight?

There really isn’t a choice, is there?

Brand lifts the binder up an inch--

“Alright,” you sigh. “I’m in. What can you tell me about the project?”

Part 2 - Chapter 2: The Project

"So, let me see if I have this straight," you say, once Brand concludes his briefing. "This new client is still wavering between us and a competitor. If we make even the slightest mistake, they could cancel the order. So we have to make the contracts and paperwork against aggressive deadlines, compromise without taking losses."

"So far, correct," Brand says.

"And then, once it's done and finished. You'll take the train to Canterlot to finish the proceedings, get most of the credit, and we keep our jobs."

"Hopefully, yeah. Of course, I'll make sure I list your names to the executives. It's the best we could hope for. If we lose this order, then we average a loss of revenue for this quarter."

"Which lowers our stock price," you say. "And everything goes down the shitter."

"Exactly."

You sigh, rising from your desk and pacing the tiny boxed in office.

"All while I have to do this with Fluttershy."

"Yep," Brand concludes. "Hey, it's getting close to lunch. Why don't you just talk to Fluttershy about it, see how you wanna proceed, then tell me what the plan is after lunch? It's the least I can do at this point."

You ten out of your office and turn to head to Fluttershy's desk. You can feel the muscles in your back stiffen. This isn't going to be a fun conversation. No matter how you go about this, she's going to hurt. It doesn't take a genius to know that you've hurt her, and now you have to dangle her job in front of her.

In more than a few ways, that may not be bad for her. She could move back to Ponyville. She can take care of animals again. Do what she loves to do. She can be with her friends. It's not like she moved away needing to prove something. Even if she sold her little cottage, it shouldn't be hard for her to find somewhere to stay.

Hell, you might need to convince her to not quit outright. Or else it'll be you who's in a pickle.

As you turn towards the rows of cubical, you quickly spot Fluttershy's row and stop at her desk. Her focus is buried into a stack of papers, ears turned down, hooves folded in her lap, her mane lacking its usual volume and life. For a moment, you wonder if she's actually working, or staring into space. You clear your throat and the mare leaps into the air a few inches, ears perked. She wheels around in her seat.

"O-oh! Anonymous," she says. "What can I help you with?"

You look around you and find a spare chair. With a sigh, you grab the chair and sit down in front of her.

"We need to talk," you say.

She pauses, her eyes dilating just a fraction before refocusing on you. The mare folds her hooves over and over as she looks to the floor.

"Do I... Need to pack my desk?"

"No," you say. "At least. I don't think so."

She breathes a sigh of relief then looks up to you with a stronger sense of confidence.

"Then what do we need to talk about?" she asks in a more relaxed tone.

And it's in that moment, as you examine her business attire, that you realize that if you do this project, it would be a lot easier to work together as friends. Not just co-workers.

You shake your head and check your phone. To your luck, it's only ten in the morning.

"Why don't we talk about this in the break room?"

You feel a sense of emptiness as you pick up the two Styrofoam cups of coffee. As you turn towards Fluttershy, who sits alone at a table, trying to make up her mind to look at you or the table. When you sit down, she decides on the table. You hold the cup of coffee out to her and she flinches as if she would have been struck. You exhale, trying to push the gnawing sense of guilt back to the dark corners of your mind. You have bigger things to worry about.

"We have a new project. And it's really big," you say quietly.

"Yeah?" she asks unenthusiastically. "Yay."

"Well, there's some... politics going on around it too. The long story short, is there's going to be layoffs soon."

Fluttershy's eyes shoot up to you. Her whole body goes limp as her gaze moves to the cup of coffee.

"There can't be layoffs..." Fluttershy says. "Anon... I don't have anything to go back to."

You open your mouth to say something, then decide to look down to your cup of coffee. She grits her teeth and her wings begin to unfurl.

"Yeah. I know that feeling. If I lose this job, there's a lot that will hang in the balance."

"Yeah, but you'll recover," Fluttershy says. "You have... friends here.

The final word sprays from her mouth as a cobra would acid.

"You can get more jobs here, and find something else. I'm good with animals, Anon. After you made your choice, I tried to recover from this situation. I tried to find a veterinarian job. I tried to apply for pet shops. I even tried the zoo. Nothing's hiring. These back-end jobs are where ponies with no real marketable secondary skills go to make a living. Then they can live their passions in their free time. If I lose this... Twilight and the others gave me enough things. And they all told me not to do this move. Going back to them now?" She pauses for a moment. "I'm scared of a lot of things... but disappointment is worse than any amount of storms or dragons. I might have to go home to Mom and Dad. Tell me that doesn't feel humiliating."

You move your gaze to an adjacent wall of the room, your eyes closed.

"Well at least you have family."

You take another drink of your coffee as Fluttershy sits up in her chair and places a hoof over her mouth, then looks down to her untouched drink.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Listen. We can't afford to be holding grudges for each other right now. I'm just going to act like you didn't say anything. This project is our best shot at not getting laid off."

Fluttershy sits calmly, takes the drink and holds it in her hooves.

"Well, what do we need to do?" she asks.

"A lot of paperwork, basically. Intense number crunching. Flawless customer service. Even the slightest mistake could mess acquiring the new client. The point is, they're trusting us. And if we accomplish the task, then we might get to keep our jobs."

"Right. But, I mean. Um. We wouldn't be having this talk if there wasn't anything else to it," she says.

"You're right," you say, folding your hands and sitting up straight. This was the part you knew you weren't looking forward to. Her reaction and answer is going to determine how these next few months are going to unfold. If your past with her is going to get in the way of having the job being done right, then you might as well kiss your job goodbye. This is why they say that you don't shit where you eat. You clear your throat before you continue.

"The long story short is this. There will be nights. Hell, Overnights even. We will have to work weekends. Together. Completely cordially. We're going to need to be able to work together, or that's it. We might as well start looking now."

Fluttershy raises her drink to her lips and takes a sip. She puts the drink down and nibbles on her lip as she looks towards the breakroom door.

Honestly? If Fluttershy said it was over right now? You might just tell Brand you're doing the project anyway, begin to search for a new job but still try to make a few deadlines until time is ultimately up.

"If you think that's going to be too much, I get it," you say.

"I'm thinking," she says, cutting you off.

You nod your head and fold your hands one more time.

"Well, talk me though it."

"It's not the time that's the problem," Fluttershy says. "Most of the time I just go home and... do nothing. Nothing worth mentioning, that is. I'll write a letter to the girls once in a while, but that's it."

"So, what is the concern?" you ask.

Fluttershy raises her hooves to her eyes, and massages them before taking a deep breath.

"We've done this before," she says. "The fresh start thing. And I messed it up. A-and, now our livelihoods are on the line."

"Don't you think that changes things?" you reply. "There's an actual urgency now."

"I think the only one who has feelings that changed is you, Anon," she says. "I-I--" but she stops. Her eyes move down to her drink.

With that single cut off sentence, you know exactly what went through her head. She still has feelings for you. You look down to your own drink and know a simple, sad truth. Nothing is ever going to be normal between the two. Fluttershy is a hopeless romantic. She's going to have feelings for you long after you've turned her down. This is never going to end for her. And pushing her into this project for your own job is the equivalence of beating up her heart every day, reminding her of what she couldn't have.

"There's another way, Fluttershy," you say, before you realize the words come out of your mouth.

Her eyes move to meet yours, and behind her gaze shows a hurt, sad filly that wants desperately to be held.

You break the gaze, knowing you can't.

"I can call Twilight. I've done it before, I can do it again. Tell her I'm going to fire you, which I can do. She could begin work in Ponyville to get everything back for you. Heck, knowing those girls, they would make it a big emotional event and try to surprise you. You'd be covered."

"And you would lose your job?" Fluttershy asks.

You remain silent, instead studying the nails on your fingers.

"I guess that would happen."

"You would lose your job just so I would be happy?" she asks.

"That wasn't what I said," you said. "You're putting words in my mouth. I'm just saying that we don't have to suffer through this. I've got a good resume. I'll survive. But I don't think you'll come out of this in as good of shape as I will, that is, if things go wrong."

Fluttershy takes another big drink of her coffee, then smiles to you. The first smile that you've seen her since 'The Night'.

"I'll do it. When do we get started?"

You lean back in your chair in shock.

"What? Don't you want to think about this a little bit?"

"No, my decision is made," she says. "I want to do this. And we can get through this. I won't get a new job until after this project is done."

And now you feel suddenly more concerned about yourself than for her. What's stopping her from going all creepershy again? And if she does, then what do you do?

"Just know my offer is always on the table, okay?" you say.

Fluttershy nods, and you down your coffee like it was a shot of whiskey. A part of you wishes it was. And not even the good kind.

"I guess the next thing for me to do is to talk to Brand." you say, rising to your feet. "Clear out everything. I mean everything. This project goes before everything else at all times."

"I'll get on it," she says, rising to her hooves.

And on that note, without a goodbye, you turn and walk towards the exit of the breakroom.

"Anon," Fluttershy says. You stop and turn to look at her. "Don't worry. We'll let you keep your job."

You give a halfhearted smile. A part of you isn't sure if you feel more at ease, or worse, but you're certainly feeling something. Something that burns the back of your throat and makes the hair on your neck stand on end. With a simple nod, you exit the breakroom and head towards Brand's office.

You tap on the door of your boss's office, who looks down at a stack of papers at his desk.

"Hey, Brand. Just got done talking with Fluttershy. It sounds like she's in."

"Oh thank Celestia," he says, cutting you off. "Because we just got the first set of work that needs to be done by tonight."

You raise a finger to cut him off, and you watch as any ounce of relief leaves his face.

"Don't tell me there's a 'but' involved."

"But, I don't know if I'm fully in."

"Damnit, Anon," Brand growls. "I need an answer."

You take a step back and fold your arms.

"I need a chance to talk it over with my girlfriend."

"Oh, Celestia, Anon. Come on. I'm trying to cut you a deal here."

"I know, I get it. And I really, really appreciate it. I just really need to talk to her about all of this. Things are getting kinda serious with her."

"Like how serious? It's been weeks since you started seeing this mare."

"I dunno. I'm considering asking her to move in," you lie through your teeth. Autumn is basically moved in as it is. It was the most truthful lie you could come up with in an instant. To be honest, you didn't have a good reason. It just feels like the right thing to do.

Brand massages his temples before releasing a deep breath.

"I need an answer after lunch no matter what. And when you do, we need to get this stuff done by 9PM to get in the mail on time. Okay?"

You nod in affirmation.

"Of course. I'll call her right now."

You slump into your office and close the door behind you. This isn't going to go well. No matter what way you spin it. You know for a fact that you have the get together for Mulberry tonight. She needs that support. The last thing you'd need is for her to begin seriously hitting the bottle again.

Sitting down at your desk, you check the clock and notice that it's nearly time for lunch. Why is it that stress either makes time go brutally slow, or move blisteringly fast?

You take out your cell phone and pull up Autumn's number on speed dial. With a few simple clicks, the phone rings. You place it to your ear and lean back in your seat. Sighing to yourself. What in the world am I going to say?

"Hello?" you hear Autumn's voice say.

Well, that's a good start at least.

"Hey, babe. How's your day going."

"Really well so far!" She says happily. "How's yours? I was just about to head out on lunch."

That's it! Briefing her in person is better than

"Funny you say that," you say. "Wanna grab lunch?"

"You know what? That sounds like a great idea. Wanna meet at SandWay?"

"Sure, I could use a good sandwich. See you in ten."

You sit in the booth of the quaint sandwich place, watching out the window for your marefriend.

'Hey, Honey. Remember that creepy secretary that tried to jump my bones, I almost dated, and took advantage of me? Well guess what! I get to do mandatory overnights and weekends with her and cancel plans with you if I want to keep my job. Don't be jealous,' Doesn't seem like a very good idea.

On the other hand, as crazy of a situation it is, it's true.

Then, you sit up staight, realizing something. This situation... does kinda sound fishy. Honestly, if you were in her shoes, you would totally understand why. Plus, despite the two of you being deep in your honeymoon phase of your relationship, the pressures of real life are going to come crashing in eventually.

The door jingles, as you see that familiar fall colored mare step inside. You smile wider for a second, then feel the pressure redouble on your shoulders. What in the hell are you going to say?

"Hey there, babe," you say as she sits beside you.

"Hey there, gorgeous," she says, planting a swift kiss on your lips. "Isn't this a treat! In fact, isn't this just an afternoon delight."

You chuckle lightly, then look down to your glass of water.

"Okay, something's wrong," she says, placing a hoof on your hand. "I spent the entire trot over here working on that to make you smile, and you barely flinched. What's up? Did something happen at work?"

"You can read me like a book," you answer.

"It's not that hard, babe. You get this little glazed look, like your desperately trying to think of the right words to say."

"Hey, I’m vocabular-ily challenged."

"Considering you just made that word up, I'd agree," she smiles. "Now fess up. What's going on? And who do I need to beat up?"

You smile then look to her with a wide smile.

"Well, you see-"

Autumn's phone ringtone cuts you off. She smiles pleadingly for a second as she fishes it out of her purse, then silences it. She places the phone on the table then turns back to you.

"It was Berry. I'm sure it can wait. Now what's up?"

"So, uh," you begin, unsure what to say. "So, my company isn't doing very well. That's the short of it. And, uh. They're going to be letting some people go sooner or later."

Autumn sinks into the booth a little, feeling a smaller, measured hit of the same pain you felt.

"Oh... baby. Did they..."

"Well, I'm on the short list. I know that much. But they gave me a new project that if I do well on, then I have a chance at staying on."

"Well, that's not terrible. You're a rockstar! I'm sure you'll be able to do it."

"That's part of the problem," you begin. But, then Autumn's phone goes off again. The name 'Mulberry' clearly flashes across the screen. She silences it one more time before turning her attention to you.

"What's the problem?" she asks.

"They've got me on the project with Fluttershy. And it means doing nights and weekends too."

Autumn's ears perked and her posture straightened. A redness rose in her cheeks, then her gaze looked away from you to the wall behind you for just a moment.

A waitress pony trots up to your booth.

"Can I take your order?"

"Not now," you say. "We need some more time."

The waitress nods then trots to a different table as you refocus on Autumn.

"Well, that's not good," she says. "What are you going to do?"

You sigh, looking down to your hands.

"I honestly don't know. It's a big decision. I could just... quit. But that means Fluttershy also loses her job. If I turn down the project, then I've got a time limit and we both get fired. If I take the project and it fails, we get fired. If I take the project and it succeeds, then we have a chance at keeping our jobs. It's... really crushing. And I really, really don't want to give up that much time for work. I'd rather do other things."

"Like hang out with my awesome marefriend," she says, finishing your sentence.

"Took the words out of my mouth. But, I mean. It's not just my job on the line. If I decide to quit, or do something that gets others fired, isn't that selfish of me?"

"Well, think about it. You could crash on my couch for a while while you find something else. I mean, you'd be covered, if that's a concern."

While it honestly wasn't, a part of you is a bit more relieved at hearing that.

"I just don't know what the right thing to do is," you say. Then, for a third time, Autumn's phone rings. "Is that Berry again?"

Autumn picks up the phone and nods.

"Answer it, maybe it's important."

Autumn answers the phone and raises it to her ear.

"Hey there, Berry! What's...."

Autumn pauses, looking directly at you.

"Mulberry, slow down. Slow down. One word at a time. What happened?"

Your blood freezes at Autumn's clear change of tone.

"Something happened at work? ... What do you mean you were fired?"

Part 2 - Chapter 4: A Daily Case of the Mondays

When you open your eyes, the room is still dark. Your ears perk up, as you listen to the space surrounding you. A gentle breathing tickles the hairs behind your right ear. The bed surrounding you is warm. You look to your alarm clock. 4 A.M.

The alarm clock ticks ever forward, ever onward. Progressing for the sake of continuity.

You can’t help but breathe a sigh of disappointment. You work all night yesterday. Break down in front of Autumn. And then pass out before being able to enjoy anything about what little evening you had.

And worse? In two hours, you’ll wake up, and go back to work.

Work.

The very thought of that word leaves a bitter, acidic taste in your mouth. You instinctively move your right hand to cover your forehead to relieve the building pressure. But you find your hand stuck. Held tightly by two hooves.

You turn your head to look at your marefriend, who sleeps soundly beside you. Her natural scent fills your nostrils. A smile curls.

Sometimes you don’t know where you’d be without her. Last night was perfect evidence of that. And now she’s moving in. You’ll have to make plans to move her things this weekend. It’s… a refreshing thought. You can remember the days you spent once you arrived in this strange city. A place filled with noise, but not a single voice to be found.

It’s then you realize the sweat on your skin. A cold sweat. Your brain is fuzzy, like a dream let go from your conscious once you tried to remember what it was. You can feel your body physically ache.

The thoughts of work begin to creep back in.

You are going to be responsible for people losing their jobs. Lots of people.

And until it’s formally announced who, you have to look at them. Every day. You have to watch them squirm in their little cubes. Unsure if they should breathe easy, or begin packing.

You close your eyes and try to push those intrusive thoughts from your head. They have no place right now. It’s 4 A.M. You should be sleeping. Not worrying about work.

But with how sticky you feel, you can’t go back to sleep. You sigh. You press a light kiss on Autumn’s head, getting your lips full of her bedhead in the process.

You ease your arm out of it’s death grip, feeling almost guilty for doing so. You move one leg off the bed, then the other, and make your way to the bathroom. You close the the door behind you so you don’t shine the bathroom light in her eyes, then flip on the artificial blinders.

The spots immediately fill your vision as you turn the shower, the heat filling the room around you. You suppose that’s one of the benefits of being up this early. The apartment water heater isn’t running on dregs just yet.

You move to the mirror, and give yourself a good look over..

Dark circles under your eyes. Sticky cheeks. A gaze that goes off for miles. Your jaw hangs lower than usual. The anxiety is slowly repainting each of your features, carving away the natural ‘spunk’ from your stature.

Remember when life was exciting and spontaneous? When things would change at the drop of a hat? In a good sort of way?

When did things get so hard?

“What are you doing up?” Autumn asked, strolling out to the kitchen, her body still slightly slumped and wearing a blue pajama shirt. Your blue pajama shirt.

You can’t help but smile to yourself as you push the yellow gunk around in the pan.

“Couldn’t fall back asleep,” you half-lied. She looked so damn cute laying in bed that you didn’t want to wake her up. You sat on the couch for awhile, trying to get more rest, but you mind wouldn’t stop spinning situations and thoughts in your head. “Eggs?”

“Sure, if you’re cooking,” she adds, moving to the coffee pot. She lifts it, and feels the liquid inside… or-lack-there-of. “You know my track record on cooking.”

“What track record?” you ask.

“Exactly.”

You smile to yourself.

A silence falls over the room as she preps the coffee maker.

“I think I need to quit my job,” you say aloud.

The words didn’t have any plan, no pretense, no build up. You had to say it. You had to say it to someone. You can’t hurt like this. You don’t deserve it. You’ve got so much going for you. The last thing you need is a breakdown like last night.

“Do I need to take on a second job?” she asks without skipping a beat, matter of factly, rather than questioning.

The response takes you back for a moment. You aren’t sure how to reply.

“Not, like, today,” you reply. “I’m not going to quit today. I think I have some things I need to do still. I think I can find a way to minimize the number of people they lay off.”

This is what causes Autumn to stop and give you her full attention.

“Anon, you don’t have to martyr yourself for ponies you haven’t even met. If you’re miserable, you should change jobs. We can make things work. Maybe we can move into my place. It’s rent controlled.”

“I know. I know, just…” You pause, a knot bound tightly in your chest, pulling your incorporeal form off somewhere in the distance. “It feels like the right thing to do. And if I don’t try… I think I’d regret it.”

Another silence falls over the kitchen as the eggs in the pan form soft little curds. You push them around. It doesn’t ease the tension between you and Autumn, but you can safely take ‘burned eggs’ off of the list of problems you could have today.

Autumn goes back to putting the coffee pot together, then flips it on.

“Alright,” she says. “Just promise me you’ll get it out before it hurts you?”

The reality is that it already hurts.

But you have to try to fight to bring that number down. As well as find your own new job. Get some interviews or something.

“I promise.”

“Good,” Autumn says with a smile. “Now I don’t have to worry about that at least.”

“Worry about ‘that’?” you ask.

Autumn seems uncomfortable as she moves to the table.

“I don’t know,” she says. “It’s stupid. But I just really don’t like the idea of you and Fluttershy working late together. Alone at your work.”

“I don’t either,” you say. “But it’s what had to be done.”

“I just,” she says, looking at the floor. “I even know I’m being kind of jealous here. But I just don’t trust her around you.”

“I’m not going to defend her,” you say. “She is, who she is. New leaf or not, I want to spend as little time with her as possible.”

You scoop the eggs onto two plates and set them down on the table.

“Just,” she says. “Tell me I don’t have to worry. And I won’t have to.”

You pause, pondering your next words carefully.

“Honestly?” you say, digging your fork into your eggs. “I have confidence I can defend myself if she comes at me violently or something. Though I doubt she’d do that. I just… I’m honestly not sure if she’s going to try something.”

You put a forkful of eggs in your mouth as she raises her head and the two of you lock eyes.

She sighs, poking at her eggs.

“Well, at least I know you can handle yourself in an office fight,”

“I’ll wield my staplers like a veteran samurai,” you say, trying to poke fun at the situation.

She faintly smiles and takes a bite of food, but otherwise doesn’t respond.

“I think I’m going to check up on Berry before I head off to work,” you say, adjusting your tie in the mirror.

“I think she’d like that,” Autumn replies, brushing her mane on the bed. “Do you have more overtime tonight?”

“Not that I know of,” you say. “And after last night? I think I’ve earned the ability to say no to something like this.”

“That’s my Anon,” she says with a smile.

You finish getting your tie just right, then turn and head to your marefriend. You kneel to get down to eye level with her. She stops, looking toward you with a wide smile. Any hint of what was bothering her at breakfast has melted off. Either things are better, or she’s doing a really good job at hiding it.

You wouldn’t think she’d keep from you if she were unhappy, would she?

You press your lips onto hers, and run your fingers into her freshly brushed mane. Your fingers glide through, feeling her silky strands. She presses her lips back onto yours and you feel a warmth spread through your body. Like this, you are powerful. Like this, you feel resolute.

You can do this.

You pull back and look into her eyes, and she looks back into yours. You can feel that connection. When words don’t need to be said. You’re simply there. Together.

“I’ll text you throughout the day,” you say, rising to your feet.

“I’ll look forward to it,” she says with a smile. “Besides. We gotta decide when I’m moving myself in here. And whose furniture we’re keeping.”

“How about,” you say, moving to the doorframe of the bedroom to leave. “We keep all of my furniture, and then keep your… uh… Fridge condiments.”

“Are you kidding me?” she shoots back. “You have the fancy mustard. There’s no way we are keeping mine or letting yours go to waste.”

You snicker, and she can’t help but involuntarily giggle.

You pause, just before you step away.

“I love you,” you say to her.

“I love you too, Anon.”

“I’ll check on our best neighbor friend.”

“Make sure she doesn’t drink!” she calls back.

And with that, you make your way out of the apartment, and down the hall to Mulberry’s door.

You pause. You close your eyes. A small jolt of pain fills your throat.

You raise your hand. You already know she’ll be disappointed that you didn’t make an appearance last evening. But, you shouldn’t let that get in the way of taking care of a friend.

You move to knock on the door.

It gently opens.

“Oh,” the two of you nearly say in unison.

“Hey,” you continue.

“I was just-” she cuts off.

Then silence.

“Were you heading out somewhere?” you ask.

She closes her eyes, then turns around.

“I couldn’t sleep. I was… I was going to go get a bottle.”

Another silence. This went zero to sixty faster than you would have imagined.

“Well, at least you were honest,” you say, your voice stern and cool. “Do you mind if I come in?”

She opens her mouth to say something, but closes her eyes.

“I think I’d prefer if you stayed outside.”

You can’t help but feel as if the wind left your throat. That wasn’t an answer you expected.

“Alright… is it because you’re drinking?” you ask bluntly.

“No, just,” she says, but stops. “I just really don’t trust myself right now.”

She looks up as if to say something, then cuts herself off.

“I feel like I need a hug,” she says.

“Do you want a hug?” you ask, taking a step closer.

She closes the door just fractionally. The intent rings clear in your mind. She wants a hug, just not a hug from you.

You shouldn’t be surprised. You did turn her away when she needed a friend. Multiple times.

Even if one was with romantic intent.

“Well… you know my phone is always on… if you need anything, right?” you ask.

She nods gently.

“Alright then,” you say. Not sure there’s anything else you can honestly say.

You pause. There is.

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you last night. If you’d like, I’d like to buy you lunch sometime to make it up to you. I’d love to listen.”

You exhale. The words feel good rolling off your tongue. She looks to you, her expression unreadable, then she opens the door wider.

“I’d like that.”

You find yourself standing in front of the doors to your office building, hesitating. You could question why, but you know how awkward you already look. You’re just standing there, hand on the door. It could only be seconds that you’ve been stuck, but you feel a looming sense of dread that makes you consciously aware of how heavy the door in front of you really is.

Inside this building are the ponies whose lives are being altered by your work. By your calculations and your decisions.

You pull on the door, and step inside. Your arm aches.

Your eyes look to the front desk receptionist. Melody Morningsong. Worked at the company for three years. Earned one bad rating from her manager because she took bereavement. Sadly, it was three months ago. It flagged her as a problem employee.

How long will it be until the bright, sunshiny face that greets you everytime you walk in be replaced with an empty seat? Then again, she hasn’t even been worth mentioning before. A side-character, background to the vaster story of your life. Why should she matter?

“Good Morning!” she says, as you take the time to recognize that she exists this morning.

“Good Morning to you too,” you reply back.

But you notice she hasn’t even looked up. Perhaps even the cheerful morning greeting that you and your colleagues used to ignore had even became nothing more than routine for her as well.

You walk to the elevator. Click the button and then wait. You make an effort to not look around at the ponies around you. You already feel a sinking weight in your stomach after the receptionist. Who else will you recognize? What will that mean?

The elevator dings. You pull out your cell phone and pretend to take a call as an excuse to focus on the ceiling. You bump your way into the elevator, continuing your fake conversation. You look down, your floor’s button is already hit.

Then you feel a tap on your shoulder. You look reflexively

And there is the chocolate, tan stallion that you least wanted to see. Brand. With a glowing, relaxed look on his face.

“You did an amazing job,” he whispers. “Meet up with me later.”

You nod, continuing your fake phone conversation in the most businesslike way.

The elevator opens and you step off. The doors close behind you, and you shove the phone into your pocket.

You can feel the weight of the world pressing down on you. You hate this place. Why are you here? You walk past the dead office plant and move into your office.

Grabbing a coffee mug, your mind just feels… empty. Not necessarily because you aren’t thinking of anything, but rather because you’re thinking about too much. All there is around you might as well be a dense, suffocating fog. The very act of moving your feet forward feels as if you are a puppet whose strings are being pulled one at a time.

You step into the breakroom, and immediately recognize the mare sitting at the breakroom table. Fluttershy.

Who you don’t recognize are the two stallions talking back and forth.

“So it’s official?” one says. “They’re laying ponies off?”

“Yeah, well, as confirmed as a rumor could be. I heard it from a boss that it’s in the works, but no time table behind it.”

Your eyes move to Fluttershy whose eyes lock to yours. Behind her expression all you see is… exhaustion. You nod to her, pour yourself a cup of black coffee while trying not to listen. At least, you could say you tried.

“I’d hate to be the poor sap who gets the boot. The benefits here are pretty frickin awesome. Like, I just got this medical procedure done. Got to pay all of it from my medical spending account. Made things so much easier.”

“Well, at least I know it’s not me. They can’t afford to get rid of me. I know too much. I’m the expert of things that literally nopony knows about.”

“And that’s what we call job security, my friend.”

The two stallions continue on as you sit down at the table with Fluttershy, not much differently than yesterday. You take a deep breath.

“Harder than we thought, huh?”

“They sit two rows down from me,” she says. “Both of them are gone.”

You take a drink of your coffee, unsure what to say.

“Just answering the receptionist this morning was hard,” you reply.

The only sound that fills the breakroom is the gentle hum of ‘environmentally friendly’ fluorescent lighting.

“If you can’t get anything done today,” you begin to say. “Don’t worry about it.”

You stand up.

“Look productive. Do what you can. Take off early. Do something nice for you tonight. You’ve earned it.”

She looks up to you.

“Did we do a good job?”

You pause, pondering her question.

“I don’t know.”

You leave the break room, move down the hall and into your office. An anger begins to swell inside you. How dare Brand do this to you? How dare you be put into this position?

You close the door to your private office behind you, and notice that your lock is broken. You grumble to yourself. You sit behind your desk, then open up an internet browser. You crack your knuckles.

“Fuck it,” you mutter. “Fuck this place.”

You type ‘Open jobs in Manehattan’ and hit enter.

Part 2 - Chapter 5: Enough is Enough

When the last thread breaks, there’s a certain amount of relief that accompanies the knowledge that something has broken beyond repair. You never have to worry about gently nursing whatever problem is facing you until it’s fixed. It’s over. It’s broken. You don’t have to try to fix it.

It’s easier to just throw the clothing into the drawer.

You scroll through listing after listing of jobs in Manhattan. All the while, you can’t help but think of things that set your mind racing.

Everything in your life felt like it was building to something. You can’t help but wonder if there was some sort of singular event that should have changed everything. If one little choice was different, could all of this have been avoided?

This was supposed to be a simple little startup job.

You stepped into the room wearing your best suit. The tan pony across the desk rose as you stepped in.

“You must be Anonymous.”

“Was it my human form that gave it away?” You asked gently. The question was what you used as a screener to see if this job accepted non-ponies. Hyppogriffs were still marginalized and Yaks chose not even to live in Equestria. Humans? Well, there’s been more than a few interviews you’ve had that ended as you walked into the room.

“Not at all!” Brand responded. “It must have been the size of that huge head as you walked through the door. Your intelligence test scores were off the charts.”

“Really?”

“Take a seat. How was the ride in from Ponyville?”

“Well, Long. I had to take the red-eye but I’m feeling pretty good now.”

Brand chuckled and shook his head.

“Well, you’d probably need to find a place around here when we offer you this job.”

You sat back in your seat.

“When?”

“Give it a week to fill the paperwork. This step is a formality. I want you on my team.”

“Your team?” You asked.

“Accounting isn’t huge but we do well for ourselves. The company landed a huge investment so we’re hiring like crazy to meet the output we’d need to make this job work. We’d need you to watch our numbers like a hawk.”

Growling under your breath you rise from your seat and pace about your office. You should have known better. You should have seen all of this coming. You begin to open the drawers to your desk, looking at the personal belongings you’ve sorted into there over time. You’ve had this promotion for six weeks. And everything has gone to absolute shit. In fact. You’ve only been working here for a little while longer than that.

You pull out one of the pictures of you and Brand having a drink on your first day. The same one he has framed on his desk. You can’t help but feel pissed off looking at it now. Is this what this company does? Butter them up with enough responsibility and flattery then drop all the bad stuff right as you’re in too deep to consider something else?

You spent so long working on the layoff project yesterday that you think back to what he said. Some project for a client that if it goes well, we’ll be okay. But if it doesn’t.

“Two faced shit.”

You throw the picture in the trash and keep sorting through the desk. You pull out a tape recorder.

Oh shit. This thing.

He told me that I could record my office. It didn’t matter to him. So the quickest way to get Fluttershy fired was to catch her in the act.

It may have only been her second day. But even if she behaved herself in your bed the previous night, you couldn’t give her your full trust yet.

You put the recorder into your desk. Setting it to the slowest speed, you smiled and waited for her to slip up.

Hours went by. Days even. Then, you had your plan.

Three gentle knocks rung from your office door. The sound was like a Post-Traumatic attack. But you knew this was going to be it. The recording tape was fresh. The batteries were fresh.

“Come in,” you called to the door.

Fluttershy ambled inside.

“Miss Fluttershy, what can I do for you?”

“Oh, U-uhm. Well I made you some coffee, sir.”

“Perfect! Come in, sit down.”

She comes inside and sits down in front of you, handing you the coffee.

“How are you liking the office over the cube?” She asks. “It seems almost… confining. All walls with no window outside.”

“It’s not so bad. These cups of coffee always seem to perk my day up.” You say, taking a sip.

And there it was.

“In fact, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Fluttershy, you’re making me really good coffee. I can’t believe the break room coffee tastes this great.”

She blushes and looks away for a moment.

“Well, I always knew you liked your coffee in Ponyville and I did a little research-”

“In fact,” you cut her off. “I did a little research. “

You reached into a drawer and pull out the styrofoam coffee cup you got from the break room.

“And it sure seems like what you’re bringing me every morning isn’t what everyone else at the office is getting.”

You raised an eyebrow and Fluttershy openedher mouth slightly in shock.

“See, If I take a sip of this stuff from the break room. Cream. Two sugars. Like what you bring me. It tastes different. See, taste them for yourself.”

You put out the mug and the styrofoam cup in front of her.

She looked at the two glasses then back up to you.

“Anon…”

“Fluttershy,” you say leaning in, closing the distance, applying pressure. “If you’re keeping a secret. You need to tell me now.”

She sighed and looked down.

“Well, it was going to be a surprise, but I have a small coffee machine at my desk and I brought the beans you used to like from Ponyville when I came here. I thought it would be a nice little touch.”

You looked down at the mug she brought you.

Oh. So that’s why it’s so good.

“Even you have to admit the coffee here is bad,” she said.

“It is bad.”

A silence fell between the two of you.

“So you aren’t drugging me?” You said in dumbfounded surprise.

“No,” she said. “Clean slate, remember?”

After that, you stopped recording her. It was only fair. You throw it back into the desk and sigh.

Coming to Manehattan was supposed to be a fresh restart for you. And it just seems like even though all of the circumstances changed, you’re in a whole different set of stupid problems.

A knock at your door grabs your attention.

“Come in,” you say half heartedly.

“Hey Buddy!” Says the chipper voice of Brand. “Looks like the 650 plan went over great.”

You glare up at him.

“There were two plans.”

He shrugs.

“I guess there are some that are selective listeners and some that are selective readers. If it were me, I would have taken the 400 plan.”

“500,” you correct him.

“Listen,” he says. “This place is about to get ugly in about thirty minutes. Let’s grab some lunch and chat. I wanna talk about our next steps forward.”

You look to the computer, then to him. The list of job searches were still open, as well as your resume.

He nods gently.

“I’ll pay for lunch. Just hear me out before you make any hasty decisions. We’re friends, right?” Brand asks.

You almost quickly say yes.

As much time as you’ve spent in Manehattan, Brand has shared details about his life but only ever at work or after work. Everything has been tangentially related to work. Brand is a work friend he doesn’t give a shit about Fluttershy, Autumn, or Mulberry. It’s about the business.

“Fine.”

The two if you sit down at Red Apples, a simple little hayburger joint a few blocks away from the office. Time seems to pass like a blur as the two of you made your way here. The guilt has been weighing on you like a cancer.

The waiter sits the two of you down.

“Two ciders, please.”

The waiter nods and trots off.

“We’re still working, right?” You ask.

“A cider or two won’t kill anypony.”

Your mind goes to Mulberry. Hopefully she wasn’t hiding in her apartment, lost in the sauce. Between being fired from her job and Copper assaulting her, she was essentially at rock bottom. She had to either start climbing out of that pit, or…

No. She’d climb out.

“What do you want to talk about,” you ask, getting right to business.

“You see,” he says. “Right there’s the problem. You’re stressed. I can see it. Everypony can see it. I put a big load on you yesterday and I apologize for that. I can tell you’ve been going through a lot. But there’s a certain point that you can’t just wear your heart on your sleeve all the time.”

“Heart on my sleeve?” You ask.

Autumn stretched on your couch and yawned deeply. Today she was sporting a pink sweater. The day before, her signature green.

“I saw Mulberry at the hospital over lunch,” she said. “Sounds like they’re going to let her out next week.”

“Yeah?” you respond, pulling a stir-fry bag out of the freezer. “That must mean the stitches are holding well.”

“Must be,” she said. “Hey, could you turn down the thermostat? It’s hotter than Tartarus in here.”

“It’s, like, 72 degrees. That’s completely normal,” you teased. “Why don’t you take off your sweater for a change?”

She paused and sat up.

“Well, I like it cold,” she said.

“And I think you should just take off your sweater,” you said, putting a pan on the stove.

“Can you turn down the damn heat?” She barked sternly.

You paused and turned to her.

Her eyes looked wounded and you realized that cooking dinner was not important at that moment.

You stepped away, turned down the heat and sat down beside her.

“What’s up?” You asked.

She sighed and looked down.

“We’re officially… a couple, right?” She said.

“Well, that’s what I’ve told our whole two friends.”

“I… need this clothing. It’s important to me. I almost never, go without.”

You nod.

“And I respect that”

“No, listen-“ she growled. “You don’t… get it.”

“I want to get it” you say.

“My mom and I left my dad when I was a kid. He did… a lot of things. Then I came to Manehattan. And then that Stallion.”

She trailed off. Her eyes seemed focused on something far off in the universe. Her hooves tremble around the bottom hem of the sweater.

“I don’t… want to pressure you to-“

“If we are going to be together, Anon, we need to know the truth about each other. Keeping secrets is the first step to everything falling apart.”

She took a deep breath and pulled the hoodie off over her head.

Nudity in Equestria wasn’t a sexual or taboo thing. Most ponies just wore clothing to help stay warm or make a fashion statement.

Down the length of her two front hooves were two wide, lightish brown scars where her fur couldn’t grow back correctly.

“I screwed up, Anon,” she said. “I wasn’t in a good place. And I’ve had a lot of therapy over the years to try and… un-mess myself. But I’m still a mess.”

A silence fell between you and her as she looked away from you

“I was a hopeless mess,” she said.

Hearing the word that you described the two of you as in an affectionate way made a part of your soul leave your body.

“So, I wear the sweater so that I don’t… wear my mistakes on my sleeve.”

“Is that why you always wear your sweaters to bed when you’re over?” You asked.

She nodded quietly.

You wrapped your arms around her and pulled her close. Her fur was soft, softer than her sweater honestly. You pull one of her hooves up to your face and kiss the soft in-sole.

“I love you for who you are now. And I love you even for what happened in the past. It helped make you who you are right now.”

Tears well in her eyes.

“I was so stupid,” she said, pulling herself into you.

“It’s okay,” you said. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Sometimes you just gotta keep your emotions in check when you’re at work,” Brand says. “Otherwise the ponies will start talking.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You ask frustratedly. “Get to the point.”

“Listen, I’m not stupid, Anon.” Brand says. “I’ve covered for you. I helped you keep your job, and even the secretary since you asked for her to stay. I heard the tape you left on your desk and know you were trying to find ways to kick her out. The long lunches as you’ve flirted with mares that only brought stress into your life.”

The two ciders are set in front of Brand. He puts a hoof on top of one and pushes it your way.

“I’m telling ya. These mares gotta go. I can fire Fluttershy. And I threw you a bone yesterday to get out of being with the other mares.”

An anger rises in your throat.

“Brand. What made you think I didn’t want to spend time with my friends outside of work?”

He blinks.

“And come to think of it. That tape was in my desk drawer.”

He sighs and leans back.

“Brand,” you sit forward, glaring at him. “You better start fucking explaining yourself.”

He looks up at you, clearly hurt.

“That day, at the bar. You mean, you didn’t feel something?”

“That day at the bar?” You respond. “What the fuck are you-“

Then you remember. The ex that heckled him.

“I thought I was doing you a solid.”

“And I thought you were doing something else,” he said flatly.

A silence fell between the two of you.

“Well that’s it. I’m fucking done here,” you rise from your seat.

“Sit down,” he says.

“Why the fuck shouldn’t I? I’m done. I quit.”

“You quit, and I will black list you with every company I can send an email to in Manehattan.”

“Fucker,” you growl. “I’ll take my chances.”

“And I’ll fire your little friend.”

That’s what stops you. You remember what she said yesterday.

”Anon... I don't have anything to go back to.”

Author's Note

feedback requested.

Part 1 - Chapter 1: Off to the Office

Author's Note

Hello, Welcome to Office Love.

This story was written in serial for over 8 years with a 5 year break in the middle before the final few chapters. As a consequence of just growing and becoming a better author, I've got several passages in this story that go nowhere and do nothing. To Make this text easier to digest, I have [italicized and bracketed] passages that I consider unimportant to the overall text.

Please enjoy

Part 1 - Chapter 1: Off to the Office

This is what you have worked for. You've wanted this for so long. After doing taxes for most of Ponyville's citizens for free. Balancing the debts of Sweet Apple Acres for meager pay. Being elected as the town treasurer was all just baby steps on the way to getting a real job.

You sent out applications for months, but most turned you down for not having any formal schooling. Or any form of valid identification. Or a birth certificate. Or cause you are the only human in a world of multi-colored marshmallow ponies.

Fucking racists.

EEO would be all over their asses in a heartbeat.

Yet, one company decided to hire you. It's a startup company that makes money from giving customers financial advice. You can give advice! That's one of things you do pretty well!

Moving to Manehattan wasn't that hard for you, but it was especially hard on Fluttershy, the mare in town with an insatiable crush on you. The mare would come to your door every morning, with some new attempt to sweep you off your feet and make you hers. Now you would be too far away for her to have her daily fetish guesses. Of course, you would miss the rest of your friends, but that's what writing letters is for. Good Riddance.

You get out of bed in your brand new one bedroom apartment. The view isn't too bad from here, you were making bank from your new job, so it was easy to afford. Life, right now, was absolutely perfect. The only issue that nags your consciousness was that you knew absolutely nopony here, and you just wanted to share all of this grand luxury with somepony.

You knew some of the mares at work, and they seemed friendly enough. They could easily be considered friends, but if they had more than friendship on their mind, you had absolutely no clue that they did.

"Well. It looks like I'm ready to start my day."

[You stand in the middle of your room with only boxers on, and take a deep stretch to wake you up. Work is in one hour, and the commute will take at least 30 minutes if you walk. You could also take the subway too, which is only 15 minutes. The answer seems obvious to you.]

Today is the kind of day that you want to get to work early. You strive to impress your boss each and every day. After performing your morning ritual, you prep a basic breakfast for yourself. Just some simple toast that you can cram down your throat. You begin to make a sandwich when you hear your work phone buzzing in the other room. Looking at the caller id, you see it's from your boss.

Oh shit! Good thing you are up early.

Scrambling together a lunch of last night's leftovers into a paper bag, you just about hit the door when you realize you aren't wearing pants.

Shit.

You quickly dress yourself and run out the door. Work phone? Check. Wallet? Check. Id Card? Check. Monthly subway pass? Check.

You get into the apartment elevator, and hit the button for the ground floor. Your dress shirt and slacks make your look damn good today, but you seem to have forgotten to wear your signature tie. The doors close shut, and you still have about 50 minutes till work.

That tie completed you. You have to go back.

Slamming the 'open door' button on the elevator gets you off on the next floor. Running back up the stairs, you get back in your apartment and grab your tie. Thank god you came back, the door was unlocked.

The royal blue accessory just screamed "I want to be the boss some day." After taking one last check of inventory to ensure you have everything you need for the day, you leave the apartment and lock the door. Stepping out, you see your neighbor Mulberry leaving for work as well. Her blue-purple coat was stunning today, and her black hair was done into a tight bun. A new style for her.

"Hey there neighbor! Heading for work?"

She turns to see you. "Yeah. Getting a little bit of a late start though. It's going to stink to walk to work."

The two of you get in the elevator and hit the ground floor. That didn't take you as much time as you thought, you still have about 45 minutes. The elevator ride is fairly quiet. She gives a mild cough, and looks at the number gradually tick down to one. You look at her hair bun and her attention shifts to you.

"Looks nice."

"Huh?" She questions.

"The hairbun," You quickly elaborate. "It looks nice."

She blushes. "Thanks... not even my boyfriend noticed."

You give a warm smile. She returns your warm gesture with silence. Your eyes shift to the floor. Smooth move. With a careful sigh, you shift your feet. It really sucks sometimes to not have anyone special of your own. Everyone that seemed like good marefriend material already had somepony else special in their life.

"Must be nice," You whisper to yourself.

Oh well. You just have to keep on the look out. Somepony out there must be the right one for you. You just gotta believe that. Some day, you will be able to find somepony.

"Anon?"

You look up, breaking your mental reverie.

"This is our floor.” Mulberry informs you.

"Oh... heh. Thanks."

You exit the elevator with her and she gives a light giggle.

"I guess I will see you later then." She says with a wave.

"Yeah. See you later." Turning towards the subway station, you begin your trek to work, unable to see the glance that Mulberry gives you as you walk away. Pulling out your work phone, you see that your boss sent you a text message while you were in the elevator.

"New worker today, hoping that you can train them. - B"

Looks like there is still about 30 minutes till work, and you are now outside the subway station. Your next train leaves in 5 minutes, and the one after is in 10. You still have some time before the train leaves. Looks like you should give the big man a call. Dialing his number, you hear the phone ring.

"Hello, this is Brand."

"Hey Brand, it's Anon. Sorry I missed your call. I'm just hopping on the subway now. Could you give me the skinny on the new guy before I get in?"

"Oh yeah, well, actually she kinda wanted me to keep it a surprise. We hired her because she said she knew you, and her scores were amazing, just like yours." He says excitedly on the phone.

"Really? Someone I knew and want it to be a surprise? That's odd. There isn't anything you can tell me other than it's a mare?"

He gives a light chuckle. "Nope. I'm under honor Anon. Just be sure to get here soon. I don't wanna miss a second of this reunion."

You hear a phone click. You put the phone in your pocket. Weird. Normally your boss is very forward with information. This was really out of character.

You manage to make the first train and get a decent seat next to two mares, one of which is holding a small child, while another reads a book over a pair of thick glasses. Who in the world would try to get a job in Manehattan? The only ponies who really friends with you in Ponyville were Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and of course Applejack.

You think over the choices and immediately knock out two of the ponies that simply don't belong. Rainbow and Applejack were amazing friends, but you had to face that math wasn't their forte, and they just couldn't pass the tests. Heck, the very idea of Applejack trying to work a copy machine makes it hard to keep a straight face. Rarity had her own shop that she was running. Unless... it went under. What WOULD Rarity's backup plan be if her store shut down? You shake the terrifying thought out of your head. This job was pretty mundane and uninteresting for Pinkie Pie, so you quickly write her off. Which pretty much leaves Twilight.

She is extremely smart, and helped you train for those exams. Probably one of the smartest ponies that you knew. Even outside of studying, the two of you hung out a lot. You could say that you two were very close friends, almost like brother and sister. A small bump in the track wakes you from your thoughts.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see the book mare look away from you. How long was she looking? Back to thinking deeply about things. What if it wasn't really a friend? What if it was... her? Would Fluttershy really abandon all of her animals? How could she pass all of the tests? You suppose she could have studied with Twilight...

Shake your head violently. No point in assuming the worst just yet. Just try to keep an open mind. Looks like you still got about 5 minutes to your stop. Fifteen minutes until work. Looking around the car, this was the most boring part of your commute to work. Usually you pull out your phone and played a game or something to kill some time.

Yet, today is a little different and you feel a little lonely. You turn to the light brown mare.

"Hey..." She looks at you over her book, seeming to murmur. "Uh... what book are you reading?"

She closes it a little bit and shows you the cover with a smile. The mare opens her mouth as if to say something, but then looks away blushing. She digs herself into the book deeper than she was before. Can you even read when it's that close?

"I don't think I've read that before... What's it called?" You ask curiously.

She plucks up some courage and begins to mutter. "One Way Ticket. It's a love story. Two ponies meet when the mare's train ticket flies in the wind. The stallion catches it and returns it to her. They sit in the same private car on the train and... well. The rest would be spoiling the story."

You give her a warm smile, and she looks at you indirectly, the blush immovable from her face. "That sounds like a story that I would really like. I used to love visiting the library in my old town."

She puts the book into her bag and smiles to you. "Are you new in Manehattan?"

"Yeah. About a month now. I'm still looking for some places to hang around though, and of course new things to read."

"Well, um, I..." She looks to the floor.

"Yeah?"

The fall colored mare blushes and shakes her head. "Nothing, never mind. It was stupid."

There is just something about this mare that strikes a chord inside you. You can't give up that easily. "I'd love if we could read together sometime."

She looks up at you as if you said she won the lottery. "R-really?"

"Yeah. Maybe you should show me around a little bit too."

"S-sure."

She fumbles through her back for her phone. Unlocking it, she hands it to you, and you put your number in. She smiles and takes the phone back, and begins to send a text. You feel your phone vibrate. It's a text from an unfamiliar number. Opening it up. It reads "Wednesday at 7?"

You look up at her. Just her smile alone makes you feel warm.

"Sure. I'll call you."

The subway gradually slows down, and you hear the doors open. She sits up and you join her.

"My name is Anon by the way."

"M-mine is Autumn."

"That's a beautiful name."

"T-thanks." She replies, unsure of how to respond.

Looks like you still got 10 minutes till work, and it takes 5 to get there. As much as you'd love to chat with Autumn, you really gotta get to work.

"Well, I'll call you tomorrow then?"

She nods to you. "I'd like that."

You give a wave good-bye, and begin to ascend the stairs to get to street-level. Turning back, you see that she hasn't taken her eyes off you, and your eyes connect. Both of you smile, and she walks into a wall. God damn that's cute.

Oh shit. You almost forgot about the issue facing you as you head into work. Is it Twilight or Fluttershy? Calling the rapist would be suicide, so looks like you only got one option.

You probably should have called her sooner, she is almost like a sister to you. Of course the two of you were writing to each other, because of the shared enjoyment of reading and writing, but life just gets the better of you sometimes. You dial up the phone number to the Ponyville Library.

It rings. And rings. And rings. Voicemail.

Standing outside work, you look at your phone, wondering if you should redial. Moving inside the massive building, you head straight to the elevators. Let's just get this over with. You swipe your id card to the security gate, and you are at work on time. Hopping into an elevator with several other ponies, you hit your button for the eighth floor. The elevator stops here or there, but the trip is boring.

When you hit the fifth floor, each button up to 8th floor is hit. Looks like it will be a while. Your phone rings. It's Twilight.

Answering the phone, you get irritated sighs from the other passengers in the elevator.

"Hey Twilight, whats up?"

"Anon! I saw you called and just wanted to make sure that you were okay." Twilight replies.

"Yeah! Peachy actually. You just caught me at work.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'll let you go."

"Nonono, I actually have a question for you." You ask hurriedly, making sure she doesn't hang up first.

"Ask me anything, Anon."

The elevator hits the 7th floor.

"Did you... perhaps apply for an office job?"

The line goes quiet.

"Well, um... I wanted this to be a surprise... but, since you called..."

You knew it. Exiting the elevator much more relaxed, you head for your boss's office.

"I sent in an application last week. I was just inspired to try and aim for a little bit more in life. Plus it means that we could be able to spend time together again."

"That's really good Twilight. I'm really happy for you!" You answer happily. You walk right up to the boss's closed door.

"Yeah! So I have an interview next week with the Mayor!"

You freeze.

"Of Ponyville?" You ask for her to elaborate.

"Yeah! Isn't that great!" She replies excitedly.

You stutter over your words.

"That's great... Uh... you haven't seen Fluttershy around have you?"

"Oh, uhm. Uh. I think I have someone coming Anon. Back to the Library! See you later!" The phone clicks.

You shove the phone back into your pocket. There is no way. No. Way.

You shakily place your hand on the handle, and turn. As you slowly open the door, you see Brand smiling at his desk.

"Anon! Good Morning. I'm sure introductions aren't necessary..." Your boss happily says.

You open the door all the way to see... her. She wears her hair tied up into a tight ponytail, and is wearing a pair of faux glasses. Her work attire screams the sexy secretary look. She leaps up and wraps her hooves around you.

"Sweetie! I've missed you so much!"

Part 1 - Chapter 4: The Authorities

You have to do something, but you can't cause too much of a scene. Time to call the cops. Stepping inside your apartment, you see Fluttershy fly quickly out of your bedroom with a heavy blush on her face.

"Oh... Anon... I-" She begins to welcome you.

"Not now." You interrupt. You whip out your cell phone and quickly dial 911. Weird. You've never had to actually dial the number before. The phone rings in your ear as you tap your foot.

"911 what's your emergency?" The mare echos coolly from the other side.

"I'd like to report a domestic disturbance at my apartment complex." You feed to her your address and tell her what you heard from the yelling.

"The authorities are on their way sir." She assures you.

"Thank you. Should I do anything to help?"

"No sir, please don't intervene on the scene. Thank you."

"Thanks." You answer, then end the call. Carefully you study the screen of your phone, wondering if there is something else you should do.

"W-who was that Anon?" Fluttershy asks.

"It was 911. One of my neighbors is having a fight and I think it might have gotten too serious." You answer seriously.

"Oh... oh my." She answers. She shifts into the more serious air that you would expect from this situation.

"I'm going to keep the door open and listen in case something else happens. Don't close it." You tell her.

"O-okay." You walk over and open your front door all the way. "A-are you hungry?"

"Yeah. I could eat. I didn't have anything at the bar." You answer.

"Well... uhm. I know you told me not to... but... I made you dinner." You look back to her, not sure if you should be upset for her not doing what you told her or to be glad she knows you better than you do. Or should you be weirded out by the last part. She opens the refrigerator and pulls out a plate of food. Oh man. It looks great. Steamed vegetables fill the plate with what looks like some spiced rice she must have taken from one of your cupboards. You haven't had a homemade meal like that since you were in Ponyville. She puts it into the microwave and you have to catch your drool.

No. Focus. She was in your bedroom when you walked in. What was she doing in there? Why was she trying to explain herself? How are you going to bring this up? She was being so good so far. Has she really changed? What's different about her now? Maybe you should ask her.

The bell on the microwave signals the arrival of pure deliciousness. The plate comes out sizzling and she flies it over to you with a smile. Oh god. You can smell the faintest hint of butter on the vegetables.

"Wow Flutter. You really outdid yourself. You didn't have to do this."

"It was my pleasure Anon. I love doing things for you." She smiles widely and takes a seat next to you. The food tastes something along the lines of heaven mixed with eternal bliss. Spiced with a little bit of tender loving preparation.

"This is absolutely amazing... probably the best meal I have had in a long time."

Her teeth shine through her wide smile and her eyes lock with yours. God damn, she can be cute sometimes. You must look away to avoid a heart attack caused by the way her cheeks bunch at the sides from her smile. Today has been good... but... It doesn't change things.

"So... uh..."

"Oh! How could I forget!" Fluttershy gasps, leaping up to grab something from the counter. She brings you your mail.

"I got this for you!"

"Thanks... but..." You answer, trying to stay on the topic at hand.

"Don't worry about the dishes, I already cleaned them all and put them back for you. You really need to clean more around here Anon. I spent most of the time waiting for you cleaning your apartment." She begins to lecture you, but in a kind manner. In a sort of tone when a mother tells their son they don't eat enough.

"Fluttersh-" She cuts you off abruptly

"You really could use someone like me around here to-"

"Why were you in my room?" You interrupt, asking her bluntly the question on your mind. Her eyes go wide in worry. She knows she was caught.

"I-I was cleaning... Like I said..." You stare deep into her eyes and she darts them back and forth.

"Just cleaning." As you lean in closer towards her, she sinks down into her seat a little bit. "Nothing else?" She whimpers a little bit. "Just be honest. I won't be mad. I just want to know." She looks up into your eyes, guilt radiating from her face. "I want to be able to trust you."

"W-well... Y-yes I cleaned... and I took a shower when I was done..."

"Alright then." You answer happily. Gently, you reach over and pat her on the head. She looks at the table distantly. "I'm happy I can trust you then." Her eyes look down to her hooves.

"Anon..." She begins to say.

You take a big mouthful of food. Nailed it. The guilt trip works every time.

"This is really hard."

"I'm sure it is. The work we do isn't cut out for everyone."

“That's... not what I mean.” You look up at her. She looks into your eyes. "I'm trying... so hard. Not to give in right now... Cleaning your apartment got me... really worked up..." Fluttershy looks down with guilt once more. "I used the shower... but the smell of you on the towels... cleaning all of your things... cleaning your laundry... smelling your shampoo... it was too much." She chokes on her words a little bit. "I want you to trust me. I want to be good. I want to be good for you. I'm sorry... I took care of myself in the shower... So that I wouldn't relapse tonight." She closes her eyes, expecting punishment. "I'm sorry Anon... I'm so sorry."

Her body slightly cringes and her hair overlaps over her face. You reach over, and place a hand on her head. She winces hard.

"Hey, it's okay. I mess around in the shower, too. That's an appropriate place to do it. However, with that said, let's find you an apartment soon so you can better control yourself. Being around the smells and everything else, you know? Do you think that would help?" She nods and wipes a tear from her eye.

"M-maybe I should tell you one more thing... No more secrets..." Fluttershy begins.

You hear a knock on your door.

"Hello? Anon?" A shaky feminine voice calls from your entrance.

You grab Fluttershy's hoof and she looks up to you.

"This will just take a second... alright? It's probably just the cops."

She looks disappointed, but you give her the warmest smile you can muster. Her face turns a flush red and she nods to you.

"O-okay."

You step out into your entryway and through the open door you see Mulberry standing outside your apartment. Her hair is taken out of her bun from this morning and her mane hangs loosely over her face. She stares at the ground and turns her face away when you approach the door.

Oh my god.

You jog to the door. "Hey... Everything alright Mulberry?" You get down to her level and she looks at you indirectly.

"Yeah... I was wondering if... I could come in for a little bit." Her voice sounds weak and shaky, as if holding back tears.

"Of course... Come in, come in." You glance outside the hallway. The door to her apartment is closed firmly. No police ponies yet. They sure are taking their sweet ass time. You close the door softly and she stands awkwardly.

"You have a very nice home."

Fluttershy walks around the corner of the kitchen and sees Mulberry. Fluttershy's face seems to go pale and her eyes dilate.

"Fluttershy, this is my neighbor Mulberry... The neighbor I was mentioning earlier. Mulberry, this is one of my friends from Ponyville." You carefully introduce your two guests.

"H-hi." Mulberry nods.

Fluttershy shakes her head and returns the greeting.

"How about I get everyone something to drink?" You ask the two of them.

"S-sure..." Fluttershy answers you. Mulberry walks into the kitchen. She walks past Fluttershy who is giving you a curious look. You know what she's thinking.

"No. We aren't done with our conversation." You whisper to her. Fluttershy smiles and nods to you. "I'm going to go talk to Mulberry in private, alright? She might be more comfortable if it were just me." Fluttershy looks conflicted, but nods.

"Are you okay Flutters?"

"Yeah..." She answers.

"Don't feel jealous, Fluttershy. I'm just concerned for her safety." She nods and it seems her concern fades away. "Is that better?"

"Yes. Thank you Anon. I'll relax in the living room." She tells you.

You make your way into the kitchen, and see Mulberry sitting at the table with her head faced down, staring at the table.

"Do you like tea?" You ask calmly.

She remains silent and her gaze doesn't wave. This is worse than you thought. You prepare a kettle for tea and set it on the stove to brew. Sitting down next to her at the kitchen table, you wrap her hooves in your hands.

"I heard the two of you on my way home... are you okay?"

Then, as if you placed the final grain of sand on the camels back, her body begins to tremble. Her begins to sniff and a stray tear falls onto her lap. You raise your hand and place her mane behind her ear. It reveals a large black bruise and some hastily wiped blood. Your gut drops and your eyes dilate. This is worse than you thought.

"Here. Let me get you an ice bag for that." You hand traces her face and wipes a tear. Getting up, you head to the freezer with a small grocery bag.

"H-he never hit me before..." Slowly, you fill it up with ice. "We always fought... but... I didn't think that..."

You sit down next to her and gently press it to her face. She takes it from you and continues to look into your table for some sort of answer.

"Can I tell you something?" Mulberry replies with silence. "What he did was terrible and should never have happened." She doesn't respond and remains unfazed. "I called the police early and told them about... Your fight. I'm not going to tell you to say anything, but guys like that don't stop after they get physical. If you let him, tomorrow, he'll come up to you all tears and apologize for doing this, and he'll be genuinely sorry. He knows what he did was wrong and for a little while everything will be fine... Then he'll do this again."

Her eyes dart back and forth.

"You know it's true." You finalize your comment.

Mulberry sighs. "Maybe... maybe it will get better though..."

You nearly try to grab her hoof, but just fidget with your hands on the table.

"Well... Like I said. After this, he'll probably apologize. It'll be fine for a while. Then he'll do this again. Maybe worse... What he needs is help and letting him get away with this isn't going to help him or you." She looks down into her hooves... and slightly trembles. "You can't let this go on... You know that... What are you going to do if he does it again?" The fragile pony brings her hooves to her face... shielding herself from the harsh outside world. "Hey.. No matter what you decide to do, I'll be here. Okay?"

You give her the most kind hearted smile you can muster. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to find. Kneeling down next to her chair, you wrap your arm around her. Slowly, she snuggles her way into your chest as she begins to sob uncontrollably. Bringing your other arm around her, you wrap her into a warm embrace as she covers one of your favorite shirts in tears and mucus.

You cradle her in your arms, letting her know that someone is there for her in this troubled time.

"Shhhh. It's going to be okay."

You can hear a knock from out in the hall. Not your door, the neighbors. “Sir! It's the police! We would like to have a word with you!" She sobs even harder, but your tea begins to come to a boil. The whistle drowns out any other conversation coming from the hall.

"It's all going to be okay."

The kettle will have to wait. All that matters right now is Mulberry. Poor, poor Berry. The whistle is about to drive you insane, but it's a small price to pay. You see Fluttershy peek into the kitchen and look at you. Seeing you having her wrapped in your arms immediately wipes the smile from her face. She walks in quietly and removes the kettle from the stove. Only then is Mulberry's sobs heard. On her way out she looks back, sorrow and jealousy leaking through eyes. She walks out of the kitchen, leaving you two alone.

Her sniffles begin to die down a little bit.

"That's better... No more crying..." Your voice is soft and tender, as if one false word would tear this mare in half. "Now then. How about a nice warm cup of tea? Hmm?"

She nods slowly.

"Alright. Stay right there." You tell her not as a command, but as a reassurance you aren't going anywhere. Diligently, but quickly, you pour two cups of tea. You should deliver one to Fluttershy and explain to her what just happened. Tell her that you two are just friends. You look to the pony who is drying her red eyes.

Right?

You bring the two cups of tea over. Setting it in front of her gently, she sips it gingerly. "I'm going to step outside for just a second. Okay? I'll be right back."

She nods to you and you pour another cup of tea for your yellow admirer. Fluttershy sits on your love seat, looking into the rug she just cleaned earlier that day.

"Hey." You hand her the cup of tea and she looks up at you surprised. "I thought I would tell you what just happened." She looks into her tea, silently. "Her coltfriend punched her in the face and left one of the worst bruises I've ever seen. There was blood." She looks up at you, with a streak of guilt across her face. "I know what it must have looked like, but even you heard the crying." Fluttershy nods to you. "What would you do if Twilight was punched out by a coltfriend?"

She looks deep into her drink. "Hold her while she cried." You scratch her ear and she coos quietly. "I knew I could trust you Anon... I just knew it."

"Maybe you could take care of her for a little bit while I talk to the police outside." You ask her.

"Alright, Anon. I'll do my best."

You smile to her and turn to walk outside. As you cross the kitchen, it looks like Mulberry is just trying to regulate her breathing. She's going to be okay. It'll be hard for her... but she will.

Stepping outside of your apartment, you head towards hers, which has its door open. An officer in uniform steps outside.

"Hi. I phoned in the call." You state to them.

"He's been taken in for questioning. Do you know where the mare is?" One of the stallions asks, stepping forward.

"Yes. In my apartment. She's pretty badly shook up."

"Well, we will need to speak to her. Without evidence and a statement from her, there isn't anything we can do."

"Alright... I'll see what I can do to bring her out." You tell the police officer and he turns to report back to his partnet.

You head back into your apartment. Putting this delicately won't be an easy task. Heading into your kitchen, you see Mulberry and Fluttershy getting to know each other better. They seem to be doing good and Mulberry seems to have calmed down at least a little bit. Sitting down to your cup of tea, the tension returns to the room as they look to you for some form of guidance.

"Mulberry... the policemen outside want to know what happened."

She looks back into her drink, hoping maybe it has better news waiting for her than what she just heard. You can tell she doesn't want to have to relive what just happened to her.

"I'll be there." You reassure her.

To your surprise, Fluttershy is the next to say something.

"Me too."

She looks to both of you. For the first time of the evening, you see just a faint hint of a smile.

"A-alright. I'll do it."

She stands up to face her demon as the two of you follow her into the hallway.

"Miss Mulberry?" The officers ask her.

"Y-yes?" She answers.

"We have a few questions..."

She looks to you two, and you nod to her.

"O-okay." She nods.

The police take a few pictures of the bruise as well as get her statement of what happened that evening. She even told the truth. At least what you would think was the truth. He was out drinking and she was mad at him for not noticing all the little things she does for him. She was upset and told him how she felt unappreciated and he just went off. The rest... was told by her face.

"I think that gives us everything we need. Thank you Miss Mulberry. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to call this number." The policeman hands her a card. "Good night everyone." The officer salutes. Mulberry stands there frozen and holding the policeman's card.

You nudge Fluttershy and she already knows what you are thinking. The two of you walk up to her. She wraps her wing around Mulberry and you wrap an arm around her.

"That was very brave of you. You did the right thing. Even if it hurts right now."

Mulberry brings her hoof down to the ground and takes a deep breath. "Thank you. Fluttershy... Anon. It means so much to me to have two friends like you to help me though this." The three of you stay wrapped in your warm embrace when the last police officer steps out.

"Everything is out in there ma'am. Sorry it took so long."

"It's fine. Thank you." You can hear her voice begin to waiver a bit again. She steps to the open door and just stares inside.

"Hey." You call to her. She turns to you, with some glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"You don't have to be alone tonight... you can stay with us if you don't want to go back in there yet." She wipes a tear from her bruised eye and nods.

"Alright. Let's lock up your place and then get some rest, it's getting late." Mulberry closes up her apartment while Fluttershy looks up at you confused.

"Come on. I'll explain."

The three of you enter your apartment and you get a spare pillow and your best blanket for your couch. "Here Mulberry... It's not much, but it's the best I can do."

"Thanks Anon... you've already done much more that I could ever repay you f-"

"No." You cut her off, which catches her off guard. "That's what friends do. Now if you need anything... Anything at all. Just wake me up... alright?"

She nods and you head to your bedroom. Fluttershy just continues to stare at you unsure of what you are planning.

"Uhm."

"Come in here for a sec." You call to her.

She follows you in completely perplexed to this situation. Fluttershy has the most innocent look on her face. If you saw that face more when you were in Ponyville... maybe things would have been different. Still though, she is Fluttershy.

You have to be careful.

Sitting on the bed, you look at her and run your hands through your hair. She sits on the floor and puts her hoof on your knee. This is going to be one of the most difficult things you've done.

"Are you okay Anon?" She asks you. You steel yourself and prepare your words carefully.

"Alright, first things first... I just gotta say that I am impressed. I mean, seriously impressed. You handled yourself very well tonight, and you were great. Just reiterating that. I know it's a little weird having Mulberry in the other room, and I know you wanted to spend some time alone together, which now we have." She blushes a little bit... but nods, hanging on your every word. "Right now, Mulberry is probably feeling pretty scared and very vulnerable. Both of us need to be there for her, okay?"

"Of course Anon." She answers.

"She's gonna stay the night and sleep on the couch. We get the bedroom." Her eyes dilate a little bit and tries to speak... but words won't come to her aid. "Now, there are two ways we can do this... Either I'll get the floor and you get the bed, or we can share the bed. If you think you can handle sharing the bed, I'm game. Either way, we'll have our time together before we go to sleep. Does that sound good to you?" Fluttershy looks at you speechless. "I told you I want to trust you. I mean it."

She looks to the ground, then back at you, then off to the side. "I-I think I should tell you... what I wanted to tell you earlier first."

"Let's hear it then."

She fidgets with her hooves. "If I don't tell you... you would just be mad later... but I want to tell you why I did all of this. Why I applied and tried to be your secretary. Why I cleaned and made you things even when you said I shouldn't." Her face goes red with the inner turmoil of telling you. You can tell a part of her really thinks she shouldn't tell you. "It's because..."

"Because..." You ask her.

"I've... always really wanted to be your servant. The only thing I want in my life is to make you happy and help you. To do things for you. To do what I'm told and be good for you. If you want me to be good Anon... I promise I will do my best for you..." She stifles away the last word she wants to say and then cowers on the floor. "I shouldn't have done it... I know I shouldn't have... if I knew that things could have been like this all along if I were good I would have never have done any of this... Any of the things in Ponyville."

She begins to sob into the carpet.

"I just love you so much..."

Recommended Listening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ63RX5UfXU

Getting off your bed, you pick her up. Returning back to your spot on the bed, you place her on your lap. You wrap your arms around her and cradle her face to your chest.

"Fluttershy, I'm not mad. We all have similar thoughts and desires... It's perfectly normal." Your soothing voice calms her tears. "However, right now I don't really want or need a servant. I mean I live in an apartment for crying out loud." She giggles a little bit. Sweet music to your ears. "What I need, and what I think we both need are friends. I'll be your friend, if you'll be mine. Maybe later, we'll get more serious, then I'll have no problem making what you want come true. But right now, friendship first."

She looks up to you and smiles widely. You continue your train of thought. "I like you because you're Fluttershy; not because you're a servant, but because you're kind and adorable. If things work out, well... Who knows, I may even get a hat with 'Master' written on it." She wraps her hooves around you and returns your hug.

"Thank you, Anon." She says.

"Of course, Shy." You reply.

"I know that I can be good tonight. I promise."

"Awesome. Let's get ready for bed then. Another big day tomorrow."

She nods and smiles to you. Grabbing some night clothes, you head into your master bath to change. Emptying your pockets, you check your phone. One text message. You open up your phone.

The text is from Autumn.

"Hey. Did you check out that book I told you? It's really good. Just finished it myself."

The text was dated when you went out drinking with Brand, nearly three hours ago. Weird that you didn't check your phone until now. Must have been the alcohol or something. It's about 10:30pm.

Hell. A late reply is still a reply. Let's see. What to say? "Not yet. Sorry tonight has been really crazy. I mean to pick it up tomorrow. I might have to postpone our plans though... could we still hang out some other time?"

Send.

You wait for a few moments while performing your nightly ritual. No response. She could just be asleep. It still doesn't stop an involuntary sigh from being released. You hope you didn't mess that up. Setting your phone to alarm mode, and silencing all other sounds, you head into your bedroom where Fluttershy is snuggled into your bed. On your side of the bed no less.

You wouldn't be a gentleman you didn't allow a lady the side of the bed that she desired. Even if it was the most comfortable. And probably warmer. On the other hand, a part of you wants her to have that side for the same reasons. You climb into bed, feeling the warmth of her body already begin to heat up the covers.

"Good night Fluttershy."

"Good night Anon. Sleep tight."

You scoot slightly away from her and sleep on your side facing her. Just don't think of the past. Don't think of the past. However, you don't go to sleep immediately. Laying there, you listen to the slow breathing of Fluttershy for a moment. She really isn't so bad.

You can't believe that just this morning... you had so many doubts about her. Now everything seemed so much different. This was really... nice. Something you could probably get used to. She rolls over in her sleep, looking to face you.

"Anon?" She whispers your name while you lay there, listening to her. You don't say a word and pretend to sleep. She lifts herself up to you, slowly and quietly. You feel a light press on your forehead. "I promise I'll be good Anon. I promise... my love."

Your heart melts a little bit and slowly lets you drift quietly to sleep.

Part 1 - Chapter 9: The Truth and The Past

You step outside of Fluttershy's apartment and close the door firmly behind you. With a sigh, you lean on the door and rub your forehead.

You had to get out of there. There wasn't any other option. If you stayed there... you know exactly what would have happened next. That wasn't the Fluttershy you work with. That was the old Fluttershy... the one you moved from Ponyville to get away from. Your hand moves down to rub your eyes and you step away from the door.

She needs to change. That's all there is to it. It's a journey she has to travel alone. Not because she feels that if she does, she will win your heart. Instead, because she wants to. As much as you would want to help push her down that path, she has to come to that conclusion herself. You can't force her.

Stopping in the middle of the hallway, you look over your shoulder at the doorway to her apartment. Maybe you shouldn't have left so abruptly. Maybe you should go back and apologize. Silence fills the hallway as a feeling deep in the pit of your chest aches for you to go back. There were tears in her eyes. She pleaded.

But she hasn't changed.

With a shake of your head, you return on your path to the elevator.

You stand at the door of your apartment with one hoof on the handle. Tears welling in your eyes as you fight yourself for what to do next. Do you follow him?

'You messed it up, Fluttershy,' you tell yourself. 'He needs some space.'

But if you went to him, maybe he will accept your apology. You could also just make things worse. What are you supposed to do?

Your knees collapse and you fall to the floor. What have you done? You just ruined everything... You were doing so well at repressing it. Burying your face into the carpeted floor, you cover the front of your face with your bright yellow hooves.

Now it's all gone. Everything you worked so hard for is gone.

Your body begins to shake as you sob into the floor. A soft warmth rubs against your body and cuddles up next to you. You destroyed everything. Anon will never love you if you can't change the way you used to be. A cold, wet spot pokes at your underbelly. You wipe away your tears and look down at your side.

Scruffy looks up at you, concerned. He whimpers softly and rests his head on your side. A small smile curls on your lips. At least you aren't alone. Even if you feel lonely, there is still someone beside you.

"You're right, little guy." You lay on your side and pull your new little friend closer to you. "It's all going to turn out okay, isn't it?"

Scruffy's tail begins to wag, seeing his new owner's mood pick up. His long, wet tongue plants a massive kiss on your salty cheek. An involuntary giggle escapes your mouth as his attempt to make you feel better begin to work.

"How about we get you some dinner? How's that sound?" you ask enthusiastically. The little mutt's head perks up excitedly and he lets out a happy bark.

Stepping out of Fluttershy's apartment building, you grab your phone and quickly check the time. However, instead of the usual digital clock, telling you how late you've stayed up, you see a new text message notification.

Oh... right. You never did check the texts you got from earlier. Since you were on a date with Fluttershy, you just ignored them. You didn't want to make her any more jealous than she already is. With a few simple clicks, you see four unread texts. The first one comes from Autumn.

"Hey! If you get done early, do you want to hang out with Mulberry and I?"

A smile curls on your face involuntarily. There is nothing you'd rather do than get your mind off of Fluttershy. Who knows? Maybe they have a cold beer somewhere with all that wine. Your feet guide themselves onto the path back to your place. Well, Mulberry's place. You skip to the next message, from Mulberry.

"Hey! What was Fluttershy's deal just then? I thought you two just worked together..."

Suddenly, the air begins to feel a little colder around you. Great. Of course, Fluttershy's scene would have left a bad impression. You should have known better than to just leave without explaining things. There isn't much you can do about that now though...

With a sigh, you skip to the next message. It's from Autumn.

"Um... Do you still want to go out tomorrow? If you found someone else... I understand."

The dinner in your gut suddenly turns sour. Shit. No. Nonono. This can't be happening. Damn it, Anon. Why didn't you check your phone?! Your casual walk turns into a jog.

Quickly, you jump to the next message. Another from Mulberry.

"Did you say something to Autumn? She seems out of it and keeps checking her phone..."

"Shiiit," you growl under your breath.

The question keeps repeating itself in your head. Why didn't you check your phone?! Now look what you've done? You might have just ruined your chances with Autumn! How are you going to make this better? Think Anon...

You jog down the streets of Manehattan, your path dimly lit by overhead lights. Looking down at your phone, your mind scrambles for any way to repair the situation. Should you text her back? Should you give her an excuse? Should you just tell her about Fluttershy?

Mulberry probably has her doubts of what you told her at breakfast after what she saw earlier. Ugh. There isn't going to be a good way to explain that you were on a date tonight either.

Then again, you didn't plan on it being a date...

It doesn't change that it was a date, Anon. Come on. Think. You fidget with your phone, trying to decide the best course of action as you jog towards Mulberry's home, which might as well be a war zone for how nervous you feel.

You don't have a choice. Tonight, you have to explain everything to Autumn. Plus, after how Fluttershy acted tonight... she clearly needs more time to get over her other side. Turning your phone over in your hand, you open the back cover and rip out the battery. You slip the battery into a back pocket and slip your phone into your normal one.

It's a near perfect plan. Your phone was dead. That's how you can get out of this, but it's only temporary. A white lie to transition to setting everything straight with the truth. Everything has to be set straight.

As you near the apartment building, you wonder what in the world you are going to encounter once you knock on that door. Will she have already left? Autumn... that is.

You push through the doors much harder than you should have and they make a loud clang as you head to the elevator. Smashing on the button, you watch as the elevator ticks down slowly to the ground floor. The time is excruciating as you watch the elevator slowly tick down one by one.

This is taking too long.

Changing course, you head to the stairs. Grabbing the handrail, you push yourself up the stairs three at a time, given that they are smaller and designed for ponies.

First Floor. Second Floor. A drip of sweat falls down your face. Just a few more.

Floor after floor whooshes by until you finally reach yours. Panting, you make a mental note to yourself to begin to take the stairs more. With a deep breath, to repress the urge to pant, you jog down the hall to your neighbor's apartment.

Alright, Anon. Don't mess this up. Everything's riding on this. It's only a pony you are going on a date with tomorrow in there and you just got back from a different date. No pressure.

You shake your head and take one last deep breath. Your fist raps on the door three solid times and now you wait. The seconds feel even more slow than when you were waiting for the elevator. You hear a rustle from inside the apartment.

"I can get it,"

"No! Let me!" the familiar feminine voices sound off. Thank goodness. They didn't leave. The door begins to open slowly.

"Thanks for delivering late! I know that-" The light brown maned mare mutters while carrying a handbag around her neck. Yet her speech is cut short when her eyes connect with yours and a light smile curls on Autumn's lips.

"Oh darn!” you act an over-dramatic panic worthy of Rarity's standards. “I must have forgot the pizza back at the restaurant," you exclaim, smashing your hand to your forehead. Quickly you turn around and head back down the hall. "I'll go back and get-"

Instantly, your arm is nearly ripped from it's socket from being pulled by the fall colored mare.

"He did come back!" Autumn exclaims, hopping up and down.

"Tolld youu," Mulberry smiles, the blue-purple mare nursing a bottle of wine in her hooves on her couch. "Get em in herre!"

Autumn pulls on you hard, the previously somewhat sober mare now smelling of alcohol much like her friend.

"Come oooon!" she begs while pulling on your arm.

"I'm coming! Jeez, I only have two legs you know," you tease the tipsy mares.

"Soooo... Where did you and Fluttershy go, Anon?" Mulberry asks.

Great. Hard questions already. You barely even got to the living room! Time to work on your feet, Anon.

"Oh, well Fluttershy is still somewhat new in town. We knew each other back in Ponyville, so I let her stay for a bit till she could move into her own place. She did that today." Autumn leads you over to the couch where the two girls sit. As you try to sit on the end, your date forces you to scoot over, planting you directly in the center of them.

She sits up on the couch and locks her eyes on your face. A comforting warmth swiftly spreads through your chest. Damn she's cute like that, curled up like a filly waiting for story time at school.

"She finally got a place and needed help moving. I helped her get some stuff to settle in... and I guess we also grabbed dinner at that noodle place around the corner." Mulberry stares at you carefully, although the alcohol running through her system forces her to tilt her head.

"Isn't that place fancy?" Mulberry asks instantly.

"I dunno. I never really saw it that way. It's just one of my favorite places," you reply honestly.

"What's it called?" Autumn asks curiously.

You turn your attention away from the drunken pony, to your crush. "The place is called A Taste of-"

"ANON!" Mulberry yells at you in slur. You bite your bottom lip and turn back to Mulberry. It's only now that the full extent of the alcohol on her breath truly hits you. They must have really have had a heck of a time tonight. "Are yooou going out with Fluttershhy?"

"No," You say firmly and resolutely. "We work together and we are friends. No more. No less." You sigh to yourself and look into your hands. "I don't see her like that. At all." The way she licked her lips and talked to you tonight runs through your mind. You shudder, remembering everything that happened in Ponyville.

"Are you suuure? You weeren't answering your phone." The drunken mare asks.

Lifting your head, you turn to face Autumn, who is studying your face carefully. Her face is riddled with concern, though she may be trying to hide it. The way she looks at you makes you wonder if Mulberry was asking for her own interest... or her friends. Autumn looks like must have been worrying about it all night.

"I am not dating Fluttershy. I wasn't answering my phone because my phone died," you answer the question, but more directed at the fall pony beside you.

Pulling out your fake-dead phone, you pull it out and try to turn it on. Without a battery, it doesn't even light up. "As for Fluttershy,” you continue, stuffing the phone back in your pocket. “I might have considered it in the past, but there is no way I would now." A smile curls on Autumn's face and Mulberry sits back in satisfaction.

"III knew it! I knew there was more than just friendship there," Mulberry says proudly with a short hiccup.

"But wait..." Autumn says softly. "Does that mean you and Fluttershy used to be..."

You sigh to yourself and rustle your hair. They are going to have to find out at some point.
You might as well tell them now.

"Alright girls. You want to know the truth?" Looking down at your hand, you find Autumn's hooves still haven't let go of yours. You squeeze them gently. "It's not going to be easy for me to tell."

"I like stories!" Mulberry says happily.

Autumn nods quietly, her eyes transfixed on your pained expression. You grab the nearest bottle of wine on the coffee table, that must have been Autumn's and take a strong swig.

"Well. The deal is, when I left Ponyville, Fluttershy and I really weren't on good terms,” you begin to explain.

Mulberry takes a loud, large gulp of her drink. That's when you notice Autumn hadn't even touched hers since you walked through the door.

"Fluttershy had a massive crush on me while I lived in Ponyville. To a degree that... well, at times I wouldn't feel safe. My life felt miserable. She followed me everywhere. Knocked on my door every morning. She even tried to figure out some really... well, personal things."

"What Kiiind of-"

"Shhh," Autumn quiets Mulberry with a well practiced librarian hush. Mulberry instantly goes quiet and her eyes seem a bit more focused.

"Uhm. Well, when I decided to leave for Manehattan, all of my friends decided to throw me a big going away party. It was great. I would spend the day with everypony, and then the next day I would get on the train and move in." You sigh and rub your eyes. "It was a great party, but Fluttershy was clearly distraught the whole time. She cried during the party... and didn't really say a word to me. She would try to, but then walk away when it looked like she would say something. I wasn't close friends with her, but I still felt kinda bad." The girls nod along.

"When the party was dying down, the last few people were leaving when I went to go put something in the kitchen. Then..." You place your hand where you felt the impact. "There was this massive pain in my head... and I fell... then it was just black."

Autumn's jaw drops slightly. You take a deep breath and brace yourself to tell the rest of the story.

"When I woke up, I was in bed and Fluttershy was there... There was blood on my pillow where I was hit... and this look in her eyes... something I've never seen before." Your body begins to shake and you close your eyes.

"You don't have to keep going..." Autumn says softly.

You sigh to yourself. "It was a long time ago... Fluttershy apologized for what she did and promised to try and reform. Then I left Ponyville. After about a while, she shows up in Manehattan, as my new secretary."

"But you should have done something..." Autumn says.

"What was I going to do? Who would believe me?" The mare silently rubs your hand softly with her hooves. “Plus, she's an Element of Harmony... there isn't much I could do even if I wanted to. She has immunity. Given the circumstances of her arrival, I promised I would give her a second chance at friendship. "

"Did you forgive her?" Autumn asks. Her question catches you off guard.

"Well, yeah. I mean, we agreed to put the past behind us..."

"That's not what I asked," Autumn asks calmly while lightly shaking her head. "Have you forgiven her?"

"Well how could he?" Mulberry answers, breaking her silence. In surprise, you turn to the mare who seems to have her bearings more together. "I'll never forgive that loser for what he did to me. If it weren't for Anon... I might not be here right now."

"Yeah, but that's-" Autumn begins.

"Anon, there is always going to be a part of you that isn't going to be able to overcome what she did to you. Even if she is reformed," Mulberry continues. You look at Mulberry silently, a pang of guilt building in your chest. "I'm surprised you are trying to even be friends."

With a sigh, you look down at the floor.

"I'd just like to think... maybe things can be different. That she could change. I mean, I don't really have a lot of people here in this town for me. I would like to keep the number of people I lose as close to zero as possible.”

"I'm here for you," Autumn just barely whispers. You turn to her and a blush fills her face.

"I dunno!" Mulberry announces to the room. "Maybe I'm just weird or something."

She laughs out loud at her own joke as you look carefully at Autumn. Her light green eyes seem to fill your soul with purpose and meaning. When she's around, everything just seems to feel right. With Fluttershy... you always seem to be on the edge of your seat and worrying what will happen next. Maybe things don't have to be complicated or filled with drama in order to work.

You place your other hand on top of Autumn's hooves and she looks away lightly, blushing and smiling like a schoolfilly. Drunk Autumn is kinda cute when you think about it. Maybe you just need something simple.

"Autumn! Have you ever had to forgive someone that you really didn't want to?" Mulberry asks, her drunken demeanor seeming to become more prevalent as she takes another large gulp.

The blush and color leaves Autumn's face. The curls at the edges of her lips flatten as she sits back on the couch, closing her eyes.

"Yes," she says calmly. "There was... one stallion."

Your hands hold her hooves carefully. It seems like now it's your turn to be the comforter.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to, Autumn," you reassure her.

"No, I think I finally need to tell my story to somepony," She says looking back at the two of you. "I've... never told anypony else. I don't really have any friends... other than you two."

Berry sets down her bottle of wine and focuses her attention on Autumn. While you can tell she is trying her best to stay serious, her eyes are slightly glazed and a wide grin is painted on her face. Yet, that's not what is important to you. Does Autumn really not have other friends?

"A few years ago... My real name wasn't Autumn," She begins to say, pausing to choose her words correctly. "It was Fall. I had it changed to hide myself from... this stallion I dated awhile back." Your hand squeezes her hoof and she looks towards the source of the pressure.

"He... he beat me. Everyday. One day I just... couldn't take it anymore and left. I didn't go to the police. I didn't take anything. I just... left. I moved to the other side of town. This side of town. Got a new job and just... started over,” She shakes her head. "I didn't want him to find me, so I changed my name. I haven't seen or heard of him since."

"And you forgave him?" Mulberry interjects. "You were... able to?"

Autumn looks to Mulberry, who lingers on her every word. "I don't know if forgive is the right word..." Autumn answers. "They told me that time heals all wounds. I suppose over time, while I don't want anything to do with him ever again. I don't hate him the same way anymore. It's hard to explain..."

The fall colored pony moves off the couch and walks slowly over to Berry and wraps her hooves around her.

"The bottom line is, I know what you are going through right now. It's going to be okay." She says calmly to the blueish pony.

"W-well of course it will," Mulberry stutters out. "I mean. What do I need him for? Huh? I'm a strong mare... I'm..." Mulberry begins to tremble as Autumn's understanding hooves hold her closer. Scooting over, you wrap your arms around Mulberry as well, keeping her in a protective warmth of you and Autumn. "I'm... I'm..." Berry chokes out, her voice failing her. Her eyes close and tears begin to run down her face.

"I've been there..." Autumn whispers. "It'll be okay. You're strong."

Berry's voice whimpers and cracks as she sobs into your embrace. The minutes pass like seconds as you hold your neighbor in your arms. You occasionally glance up at Autumn, who glances back at you, but your hold on Mulberry never weakens and never breaks. After a few moments, her sobbing slows and quiets.

Her breathing becomes more relaxed and her body leans more into your embrace. Autumn lets go of her friend and she lays limply in your arms, her eyes closed and snoozing peacefully.

Your actions are automatic. As you lift Mulberry into your arms and stand up slowly, you cradle her head and ensure you don't wake her. Scanning the room you try to remember the layout of her apartment. You believe she lent you the book from... there.

Moving across the room, you gently push open the door to the master bedroom. The floor is clean, with the exception of a few stray piles of laundry to be washed, and her bed is made neatly. Tip-toeing across the room, you lay her down gently onto her bed and place her head gently onto a pillow.

Taking a blanket, you cover her and take a moment to examine her bedside table. There sits an empty bottle of wine, a lamp, an alarm clock, and what appears to be a picture of Mulberry with some stallion. You pick up the picture frame and examine it's photo carefully.

Below it, a note is inscribed 'Berry and Copper at the park.'

They seem to be smiling so widely. It must have been from a better time. The stallion's name is well suited for his copper colored fur and dark brown mane, but his muscles and size are intimidating. You won't have to remind yourself to not get on his bad side.

Setting down the picture, you look down at the sleeping mare. A gentle smile is curled on her face as she dreams. She seems so peaceful when she sleeps. There will come a time when everything in her life will be much more peaceful and she won't have to wait for sleep to rest easily.

Until then, you will be there if she needs anything, because that's what friends do.

Reaching down, you curl a stray hair behind her ear and she mutters something quietly in her sleep. You only hope that day comes sooner rather than later. Grabbing the empty bottle, you tip toe out of her room and close the door quietly. Autumn stands in Mulberry's kitchen area, washing out what must have been empty glasses from this evening.

"I've got another," you say, turning the bottle over in your hands.

"Another? Jeez," Autumn says quietly.

"How many did she go through today?" you ask.

"I'm not sure I want to know," Autumn answers, turning off the running water. "I'm already worried for her."

"Me too... I just can't help to notice-"

"How much there is?" Autumn finishes your sentence.

"Yeah..."

Autumn sighs to herself and looks at a clock on the wall of the apartment. "One AM."

"Wow. Time really flies huh?" you reply.

"I guess so,” she chuckles. You move to the kitchen and lean against the counter.

"Hey, uh. Sorry about not answering earlier. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Oh, it's fine. I just need to learn to not worry so much. I-I had this silly thought that maybe," Autumn trails off.

"No," You answer firmly.

Autumn looks back up at you, visibly concerned. "Were you two... ever..."

You sigh to yourself and shake your head. "There was a time I was going to give her a chance, but things changed."

The fall colored mare nods her head. "I understand. I'm sorry I asked..."

"No, it's fine," you answer her. "I have nothing to hide. No secrets."

Autumn looks up at you and smiles. "Uhm. Anon?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind... walking me home? It's just late... and-"

"Of course I will," you answer as if someone offered you free money.

That familiar smile curls on Autumn's lips again. "Thanks," She answers, turning to the door of the apartment and heading for the exit.

You suppose it's about that time. Following her out the door, you turn the lock on the handle and pull it closed. With a quick tug on the knob, you make sure it's locked once you enter the hallway.

“Oh wait. You guys ordered food, right?” you ask.

“Oh! Yes,” she answers.

“Do you have a pen and a piece of gum?”

“Yeah, hold on.”

Pulling out your wallet, you grab some money and set it at the bottom of the door and the receipt from the restaurant. Autumn hands you the gum and you quickly chew it, while writing the delivery man a note to enjoy his free meal. Lastly, you stick the note on the door with the chewed gum, before turning to the mare you agreed to escourt.

"Well then, where to?" you ask.

"It's not far from here. Just a few blocks,"

"Works for me."

The two of you make your way to the elevator and you press the button to descend through the building.

"So... uhm. I'm excited for tomorrow," Autumn says, looking slightly away from you. "Is that bad to say? Shoot. I probably shouldn't have said that." She begins to whisper under her breath.

"I'm excited too," you answer with a chuckle. “Don't worry so much.”

She smiles as the elevator dings open. Just a matter of hours ago, this elevator was carrying you and Fluttershy off to a date. Now it holds you and tomorrow's date. Well, today's, but that's besides the point. The thought puts a pang of guilt into your stomach as you step inside and press the button for the lobby. If you could change the past, you could, but you can't.

As much as the idea hurts you, you know there isn't any other option. You've made your choice. Fluttershy needs more time.

"You... don't think of me differently after what I said tonight... do you?" Autumn asks with a hint of worry.

"What? No. Of course not. You were doing everything you could to break free of that other guy. Why would I think of you differently?"

Autumn looks down at the floor.

"I was in a really dark place at that point in my life. I considered going back to Ponyville, where I was born... but I can't bring myself to."

That's right. She mentioned Ponyville in the park.

"I remember you mentioning that, but the fact that you are giving a tall, strange beast the time of day means more than enough to me. I'm the last person who should be judging someone."

Autumn smiles slightly as the doors open. “I suppose, now you see why after Mulberry told me what happened, why I wanted to spend time with her."

"Yeah. I'm sure you know what she's going through." you answer.

"The only thing I couldn't put a dime on... was who the stallion was. Mulberry is probably one of my closest friends, but that's not saying much," She chuckles to herself. Your mind flashes to the picture on her bedside table. "Not that it matters I guess. I mean, at least she did something about her stallion. I didn't do anything..."

"Well,” you begin. “This may be a hard question, but did you think you were doing the right thing at the time?"

Autumn goes silent as she leads the way to her apartment.

"Yes, I suppose, but... I dunno, I guess I'm just rambling. It's not like I can change anything," she says with a sigh. "I'm just ready to... you know. Start over. Something simple."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," you say with a smile. She practically took the words right out of your head. You could get used to this mare. Her face is gently illuminated by the streetlights overhead as the two of you walk through town in the dead of night.

"So, where is your place?" you ask.

"Just about a block from here, we take a right at the next intersection."

You look up at the street sign and your stomach drops. If you paid more attention, you would have noticed earlier. This is the path to Fluttershy's apartment.

No, don't think about her. This is Autumn's time.

"So, uh... Got any pets?" you ask curiously.

"No, I wish! The apartments across the street allows them, but I can't afford it really. It's a shame, I'd love to have a little cat." She lives across the street from Fluttershy. Great. At least it isn't the same building.

The two of you turn the corner of the street and you instinctively look up to where Fluttershy's apartment should be. The light is on. Why is she still up? Maybe she's playing with Scruffy.

That isn't what matters right now. Focus.

You follow Autumn to the entrance to the apartments and stop as she reaches into her bag for her key to the building.

"Well, here we are!" you say, signaling the end of the night.

"Yeah, this is the place." Autumn says, taking out her key and turning to you. She drags her hoof on the ground shyly, as if searching for something to say.

"I suppose I'll see you tomorrow then. I've got big plans for what we can do!" You actually have no idea what to do with her tomorrow. Just play it cool, Anon.

"I can't wait." She says, smiling.

A silent moment fills the gap between the two of you as Autumn continues to search for the right words.

"Well, uh... I suppose I should get going then,” you suggest.

"Um, Anon... Could I tell you one more thing?" Autumn asks, stealing glances up at you.

"Of course. Anything."

"Um. It's a secret... Could I whisper it in your ear?" she asks quietly.

You kneel down and get on eye level with the fall colored earth pony. She steps closer to you and moves her mouth to your ear.

"Thank you for being such a gentlecolt to a mare that's had more than she would have liked to drink." You feel her cheek brush against yours as she brings her face closer to yours. Her soft lips glide across your cheek and press against your own.

A comforting sensation sweeps through your body as the small peck becomes ingrained into your memory. It only lasts for a second and as she pulls away, a dorky involuntary grin lies firmly planted on your face. She giggles slightly.

"I've been waiting a long time for that," she giggles to herself.

"Y-yeah. Me too," you reply instinctively.

She stares into your eyes for a moment, your faces are just barely inches from each other. However, her face becomes flush red and she turns way.

"I-got-to-go-see-you-tomorrow!" She spits out nervously and leaps into her apartment.

The door closes firmly behind her and you watch as she gallops to the elevators Your heart pounds at a thousand miles a minute. Your mind goes blank as your mind tries to come to terms of whether this is a dream or reality. That felt real. Or as real as it could have felt.

Autumn... just kissed you.

Your fingers move up and touch your lips, which tried their hardest to memorize every crease and indent of hers. You chuckle lightly and shake your head. Maybe you are the schoolfilly in this situation.

Rising to your feet, you quickly try to scramble some ideas for tomorrow's date in your head. With a twirl, you put yourself on the path back to home. Yet, you can't help but feel eyes on your back, as you begin to walk back to home. You look over your shoulder, but find nothing following you.

That's when you remember. Turning around, you look back up to Fluttershy's apartment. The light has been turned out. Maybe she finally went to bed. However, in the reflection of the moonlight on her window, you swear you see two light cyan eyes piercing down at you.

A shiver runs down your spine and you press on back home. She didn't see that. Fluttershy couldn't have seen that kiss. Even if she did, what does it change?

Nothing.

You know she needs more time. Quickening your pace, you turn the corner and head back for home.

Stepping into your apartment, you undo your tie from a long day. What a fine little mess you are in. Mulberry is a wreck, despite how good of a show she tries to put on. Plus she may have a drinking problem.

You push yourself into your room and let your tie fall unceremoniously to the ground. Fluttershy still has something dark deep inside of her that she can't fully control... and it scares you. Other than that, the shy quiet pony that you knew from Ponyville is still there. Just... can you really take that risk?

With a sigh, you strip off your shirt and fall back into your bed, where Fluttershy laid next to you, innocently, for quite a while until Berry could work the courage to go back to her apartment. If she really wanted to do something... she already could have. But she didn't. The good Fluttershy is still in there somewhere. The one that you-

You shake your head and roll over.

Autumn is almost perfect. She's... normal. No scary bipolar tendencies. She's been able to work through the problems she's had in her life. She was able to pick herself back up after she fell in the dirt. Plus she's smart, cute... a little shy. You can't deny the mild similarities between her and your yellow friend. Except, Autumn reminds you of your best friend Twilight from Ponyville as well, with her love for books.

Plus, you always kinda liked Brunettes.

You laugh at your own joke and roll over. The date tomorrow should be a lot of fun. Closing your eyes, you smile as you remember the kiss she planted on your lips.

Yeah. You could get used to this.

Everything seems to be so clear now. As you drift off to sleep, your mind focuses on the emerald green eyes of Autumn and her gentle smile.

The last thing that crosses your mind is your phone. Especially not how it's off and not being charged. With the battery still sitting in your pants, which are sitting in the corner of your room.

Part 2 - Chapter 3: A Late Night

Mulberry was fired from her job? The words register meaning, but when used in that sequence… don’t seem to add up. She’s been having such a terrible stroke of luck recently, between the hospital, the abuse, the alcohol, the heartbreak. It’s hard to look at it as the world conspiring against the poor pony. Or, worse, a different thought rings deep beneath the surface of your mind.

That this is all, in some way, your fault.

You bite your lip and look down to your water once more. The pit in your stomach isn’t the same ache that made you drool over that Caesar salad just moments ago. This mess is going to change everything. What will Berry do? What can you do?

What do you even really know about Mulberry? For the longest time, she was just that mare who lived next door and kept to herself.

“No, it’s fine, I can be over right after work,” Autumn says to her over the phone, her hooves on the table, eyes unfocused on anything tangible in front of her. “Yes, but right now, just focus on taking care of yourself. Breathe. … Berry, stop. Just breathe. Deep Breaths. There you go. It’s okay. Alright-- … I think that’s a good idea. … I’ll see you soon.”

Autumn closes her phone and sets it on the table in front of her, staring at it as if it might come to life at any moment.

“So?” you ask.

“Well, Berry’s fired. She’s a complete mess. She wants us to come over after work to talk. She really doesn’t want to be alone.”

“I don’t blame her,” you mumble, looking down into your drink. This just made things much more complicated. Berry doesn’t want to be alone. You’ve got to do overtime tonight or it’s your and Fluttershy’s jobs.

I suppose this is why your job pays so much. The stress.

“Well, when do you get off?” Autumn asks. “I figure I can head over there around four and order a pizza, or something. I can make sure she doesn’t drink too much. It’s not the right time to talk about how she uses alcohol as a crutch, but we can gently steer her away, you know?”

“I don’t know. Maybe ten?”

A short silence.

“Wait, what?” Autumn asks. “Do you have to do overtime?”

“Yeah,” you say. “The long story short is, we got a deadline to meet. Brand told me, well. Come work late or don’t come back.”

Autumn nods quietly and looks down to the table.

“What do you want to do?” Autumn asks.

“I want to go care for Mulberry with you tonight. But, I haven’t even updated my resume yet, or even began looking for other employment. It’s a mess. The responsible thing to do is to get the work done and swing by for some cold pizza.”

Autumn nods.

“Are you…” Autumn freezes for a moment. Words catch in her throat and hold there. “Is it something just you gotta do?”

You bite your lip. Honesty is the best policy. There’s no sense in beating around the bush.

“Fluttershy will likely be helping me this evening,” you say flatly. “I’m not excited about it, but it is what it is.”

You see a sort of light pale in her eyes, as if you’ve struck some sort of death blow to some silent hope she had.

“I see,” she says. “And you’re okay with that?”

“Until I can update my resume and find a new job, I don’t have much of a choice.”

Just then, the tension in the air is broken by a mare who walks up to the table that you and Autumn sit at.

“Is there anything I can get you two?” she asks, wearing a plastered on smile and a bit too much makeup to hide how tired she is.

Autumn closes her eyes and shakes her head.

“I think I’ve lost my appetite.”

“Just,” you plead to the waitress, your thumb and forefinger rubbing your temples. “Give us a moment.”

The mare trots away as Autumn spins the straw in her glass.

“I know how you feel about Fluttershy,” you say softly.

“How I feel?” Autumn shoots back. “Did you forget all the things she’s done to you before? And now that we’re dating… how do you think that’s going to make her feel? You’re literally putting your livelihood and job security into a project where she could crush it if she wanted.”

“I don’t think she’d do that,” you say softly. “If she loses her job, she’ll have nothing left.”

“I just,” Autumn sighs and shakes her head. “Promise me you’ll start looking for a new job tomorrow? This place… this situation isn’t going to get better.”

“I know,” you murmur, grabbing her hoof from across the table. “I know.”

“Sorry, things at work are really bad, I’ll swing by later tonight.”

Send. Hopefully Berry will understand.

You shove your phone back into your pocket as you get into the elevator back to your office. You ponder to yourself if you have any headache medicine at your desk. Lord knows at this point you’re gonna need it. You have no sort of idea what’s going to happen tonight. If Fluttershy might use this moment to her advantage. But then again, your conversation with her this morning really gave you a lot of hope that this might work out.

Maybe this can all have a happy ending.

And, if you get a new job soon, then the rest of the plan falls into place neatly. Call Twilight. Fire Fluttershy. Then enjoy the new life you’ve made for yourself here. Heck, you could even ask Autumn to move in.

The very thought running through your mind sends a wave of warmth through your chest. Yet, after the way lunch ended, you were left with a hunger in the pit of your stomach, as well as a boiling acidity. She hates this arrangement. Autumn doesn’t trust Fluttershy. Who wouldn’t? Given what she did to you before you left Ponyville. Despite coming onto you on that date you had with her.

Does Autumn know about that? Should she know about that?

It doesn’t matter. The main priority now has to be you. And you love Autumn. So step one is to get this night of overtime done. Step two is to get home, brush off the resume, and begin marking down where changes need to be made.

The elevator dings loudly once it reaches your floor, and you head to your office. You arrive quickly, and notice fluttershy sitting inside, reading over papers in a small filing folder. You recognize it as the overtime work that Brand gave you.

“Well,” you say, causing Fluttershy to jump. “What do you think?”

“This is….,” she says, reading the pages carefully. “This is predictive statistics.”

“Yeah,” you say, heading to your chair and sitting down.

“We’re supposed to estimate how many ponies we need to lay off now in order to stem the bleeding?” Fluttershy asks.

“Yeah,” you mutter. “It’s not glamorous work. The names aren’t included. So all we can do is think of it as numbers.”

“Yes, but… How are we going to make this somewhat accurate?” she asks. “Predictive formulas get really complicated. And you need large datasets-”

“We have access to the archives to get our dataset. We can estimate, even with falling revenue, what the safest options would be. I’ve got my old stats book around here somewhere that we can pull prediction formulas from. We just need to crunch, run, and rerun the numbers.”

Fluttershy looks up at you, a pained expression filling her face.

“We’re going to be the ones responsible for firing hundreds of ponies,” she whispers.

You nod your head and pull a bottle of headache pills from your desk. You pull out three and down them. You set two in front of Fluttershy.

“I know.”

There’s three types of overtime in the world of white collar work. The first is waiting. Waiting on someone else doing overtime to accomplish something, so you can do your task and go home. It’s the most common and one of the most miserable, because you frequently think of all the things you could and would rather be doing. Each second passes like minutes, and only grows frustrating the longer it goes on. The second is accidental. It’s rare, but when you’re so invested into a project, time flies, and next thing you know, you should have left half an hour ago. However usually that’s reserved for the lucky folk who actually like their job.

This is deadline overtime. And it’s easily the worst. Every minute that passes not only brings to mind all of the things that you could, or would rather be doing, but it’s enforced by knowing what will happen if you don’t get it done. And that feeling keeps your head down. It’s why you put a piece of tape over your desk clock so you’d stop looking at the time and just focus on the work.

Worse is when you make the mistake at looking at the names. Dealing with employee numbers is easy. It could be any of the ponies in this office. It’s just a number. But when you look at the names, it’s a different matter. Faces enter your mind. You are firing them. You are causing them to lose their job. You are the one who is going to make it harder for their family to have food on the table.

Noon turns to three, turns to six. The office grows quieter, allowing you to focus, except for the occasional intrusion of Fluttershy for a number check or to bring you a few finished forms. You pause and sit up. The clock has a dull haze from behind the piece of tape, but it’s already growing dark inside. None of the phones in the office are ringing, and the janitor stallion just took your trash.

You’ve made a hell of a dent with Fluttershy. You could probably get this wrapped up in an hour or two, if you really kept at it and there weren’t any mistakes. And honestly? Fluttershy’s been working at your desk, and you’ve been working in your office. This… isn’t nearly as bad as you thought it would be. She hasn’t come onto you. She hasn’t given you any weird food or acted strange. It’s been all about getting the job done. It’s… professional.

You rise from your seat and stretch your arms. Working for this long has done nothing but bad things for your back. You take a moment to stretch your legs and head over to Fluttershy’s desk. You need a form to keep going anyway. And, you know what? Why not order something for delivery? You’re gonna be here two-ish more hours anyway. Might as well get some food sent up.

Fluttershy sits at her desk, pouring over notes and punching data into a calculator.

“Hey, how’s the five-year analysis going?” you ask.

“Well, mapping what our current five year analysis is easy. Then I had to measure it by cutting costs in uniform ways across the company versus removing costs from some of the more heavy spenders and just trimming the fat of the essentials. It’s coming along, but I need at least another hour.”

“Do you like Neighponese?”

Fluttershy pauses, then looks up at you.

“Huh?” she asks.

“Neighponese. Like, Teriyaki noodles. Ramen. You know. Dinner. There’s a place that delivers to the office all the time. I’m thinking of having some sent to us. What do you think?”

“Well,” Fluttershy starts, her cheeks flushing wildly. “T-that sounds really nice. B-but wouldn’t that be… unprofessional?” she asks.

“Uh, why would it?” you ask. “We’ve been doing some crazy overtime. The least we can do is have a meal on the company dime. We gotta get this stuff done and we aren’t leaving until it’s finished. I dunno about you, but I’m cranky when I’m hungry.”

Fluttershy smiles, closing her eyes for a moment, deep in thought.

“I think I’d really like that,” she says. “I’ll just have whatever you think I’d like.”

“Two ramens then. It’s like soup. Trust me,” you say. I’ll bring it over when they call up for me. Keep it up.”

And then you turn, ready to get back to the grindstone.

“Uhm, Anon?” Fluttershy calls back to you.

You pause, turning on the spot, your expression blank.

She pauses for a moment, her voice caught in her throat.

“... T-thanks.”

And period. There. The final note of the final consensus. If the company lays off 500 employees, they could run for another five years. If the company lays off 650, they could run for five years and give the executives a solid bonus.

You take a deep breath and lay back in your chair. As you do, Fluttershy trots into your office.

“There, and that’s the last of the cover sheets.”

“Wonderful,” you say. “Well. We did it. We got it done.”

“Yeah,” she says, looking down at the forms. “Although… it doesn’t really… feel good, does it?”

“Not even a little bit,” you groan. “But I’m going to go home, have a stiff drink, and go to bed. I’d suggest you do the same.”

You rise from your seat and place a cover sheet in each of eight identical folders of papers. All that’s left is to take this to Brand’s office and head back. You pull out your phone and begin to find Autumn’s number.

“Is there anything else you need, Anon?” Fluttershy asks, leaning against the door frame of your office.

“Hm?” you ask. “Oh. Nah. Go ahead and head home. Give that dog a nice pet. He’s earned it after being this patient. Also,” you take a moment to set down your phone and give her your full attention. “Thank you so much for helping me tonight. I really couldn’t have done this without you.”

Fluttershy’s cheeks go flush and her ears turn down as she straightens herself.

“Alright Anon, well, have a nice night,” she says quietly before walking out of your office.

You look back down to the papers and feel a hollow dread overtake you. You step out of your office to cross the building to Brand’s office. You walk slowly, the lights on emergency lights only, since it’s after hours. Your eyes scan the cubes, and you recognize names.

“You’d be gone,” you mutter. “You’d be gone. You got me a coffee once…”

You are enabling this. Well, no. You are executing it. If asked to shoot a man, and handed a gun, another person would take the gun and pull the trigger themselves. You simply elected to pull the trigger in lieu of more fatalities.

You step into Brand’s office and set the folders on his desk. And like that, it’s done.

You pull out your phone and find Autumn’s number. With a quick dial, the phone begins to ring.

“Hello?” your marefriend asks.

“Hey there babe,” you sigh. “I’m all done.”

“Kay.”

The elevator clatters open, and you walk onto the floor of your apartment. You casually glance at the time on your phone and involuntarily click your tongue. 9:30. Shit. You really wanted to be here sooner. The feeling of not being there for a friend when they need it… well, it’s the sort of thing that keeps a mind thinking in the middle of the night.

You quicken your pace and walk right up to Mulberry’s door.

A shuffle of hoofsteps from inside.

The door peeks open, and you see the concerned emerald eyes of your mare friend peek out from the door, including a shiny new chain lock between the door frame and the door. Her expression furrows and the door closes, the lock slides open, and Autumn opens the door wide for you.

“She just fell asleep,” Autumn whispers. “Want to help me move her to the bed?”

You feel a crushing feeling overwhelm you. You missed it. Of course you did. You knew this could happen. But what choice did you have? If you lost your job today…

Well… now probably isn’t the best time for over analyzing your situation. There will be an answer soon.

“Yeah, sure,” you mumble, stepping inside the apartment and closing the door behind you. You head into the living room and spy her lying on the couch. Autumn did a good job of helping her clean up, even if she’s still in her work clothes. No sign of streaked make-up or anything are on Mulberry. Then again, you don’t even know if she cried. Maybe she was just too, shocked. Too broken by recent events to fully realize what happened.

She’s an easy enough creature to lift into your arms, Autumn lifted a hoof as if she intended to help, but ponies aren’t particularly heavy creatures. You move into her bedroom and lie her down on the bed and cover her with the covers.

The pain on her sleeping expression brings back a memory of a heart beat monitor… dripping IV bags. You blink hard, focusing on absolutely anything else on your mind.

You look away from the bed, as if the image itself were touching a hot stove. You exit the bedroom and shut the door behind you. Autumn stands there, looking up at you, a mixed expression on her face.

“Did everything go alright?” you ask.

“Yeah, I guess,” Autumn says, a clear tone of disappointment in her voice. “It would have been easier with you here… but there’s only so much that can be done. I still think she’d like to see you at some point.”

“I bet, yeah,” you say, walking into the kitchen and examining a wine bottle sitting on the counter. “Did she get drunk?”

“No,” Autumn replies. “She’s been holding herself to cutting down. That’s the only bottle we opened tonight.”

You tip the bottle into your mouth to suck out the last few drips at the bottom. Suddenly you’re aware of how much you really wanted a mouthful of alcohol. You set down the bottle and refocus on your marefriend.

“Well, that’s good. Wanna head back to my place? I’m just… exhausted.”

“Sure thing.”

Your body feels as if it goes on autopilot as you pull out your key, lock the door to Mulberry’s apartment behind you as Autumn follows behind, and head into your own apartment. Once the two of you are inside, you toss your coat onto your couch and head into the bedroom, instantly shedding your clothing. Each article that you toss into a hamper feels as if your tossing off the chains that work had thrust upon you this evening. You feel more and more free.

Autumn stands in the doorway of your bedroom, watching you.

“I think I laid off 500 employees today,” you say to her.

A silence fills the room as you lay on the bed in just a shirt and underwear.

“Five… hundred?” she replies in shock.

“That’s the low number,” you reply. “If the execs want a nice fat holiday bonus, it’ll be higher.”

“That’s… so many ponies.”

“You’re telling me. I feel like I was rejected for being scum of the year award for crimes against equinity,” you sigh. “I’m beginning the new job search tomorrow. Just like you said.”

“Good,” she says, trotting into the room and laying beside you. “I think it’ll be good for you.” A silence falls between you and her. Then, she wets her lips. “Did everything go okay with… well…”

Her words trail off, and her words move away from your face, you look to her in confusion.

“You know,” she says. “Fluttershy.”

“Oh, yeah. She stayed at her desk. I stayed at mine. Ordered some ramen bowls to eat at our desks to get through the night. It was quiet. We probably didn’t exchange more than a few words of conversation the whole night.”

“That’s good at least,” Autumn says, looking up at the ceiling.

Another silence falls over the room, and this time you can feel the discomfort begin to form. She places a hoof on your hand, then turns her gaze to you.

“Anon, can we talk?” she asks.

Fuck. You feel every ounce of your stomach ready to spill onto the bed. What did you do? What happened? You’ve been so good. You’ve been trying to help everypony. Make the best decisions possible. You’ve done everything right. Your eyes close and you turn to her, feeling the weight of the world crash down on your shoulders. Your back cracks.

“Of course, babe. What’s up?”

“Well,” she says, sighing to herself. “This is… really hard for me to talk about. But just… we’ve been dating for a few month’s now. Things have been really weird and unusual and fast.”

You feel as if a knife is repeatedly stabbing your windpipe.

“Sometimes you gotta take a step back and look at the cards that life has given you, and sometimes you have to evaluate things--”

“Please don’t leave me,” you whisper.

The words are involuntary. The voice in your throat barely resembles your own. Your mind is blank for fear of thinking anything at all. But in the last 24 hours, you’ve caused hundreds of ponies to lose their jobs, you’ve let down your closest friend, and decided to quit your job. This… this is just too much.

Autumn stares up at you in shock, her eyes the size of pinpricks.

“What? No. No, baby. No. I want to move in together. Nonono. Baby,” she coos, wrapping her hooves around your body. “No, that wasn’t what I was suggesting at all.”

And then it all comes out. All of the resentment for your job. The insecurity. The anger at the position you put Mulberry in. The resentment for Fluttershy refusing to change. All of it. You breathe in the scent of her bright green hoodie and pull her closely to you.

The night is silent as the two of you hold each other closely. On this day, a new chapter opens up in your lives. Romance is hard. The process of falling in love and those early sweet nothings are wonderful to cherish and to hold. They’re what help a relationship glue themselves together when the world decides to test the strength of that bond.

The sky is dark over the brightly lit city of Manehattan. And you find yourself slowly drifting off to sleep in the arms of the mare you love the most.