The Lady and the Soldier

Chapter 1 ‘Sometimes, just sometimes, fate has a sense of humour’

A Rarity ‘Belle’ Romance

I took a sip of water as I looked into the view screen. Pinkie had said she needed a quick break because Onyx needed a little cuddle time. The pink haired colt was currently a mess of giggles as his mother blew raspberry after raspberry on his belly.

I smiled at the loving attention she was giving him. John did the same with Jewel and Jake, but then I liked to think that I was just as attentive.

“Pinkie, Rarity, when y’all come out here Yer gonna have to spend a couple of nights. Ah dun know that Jessica will want ya to, and besides, Ah miss ya’ll something fierce. Sides, Taffy and Rosemary are wanting to see their cousins again,” Applejack said.

“What about Gala and Ambrosia?” Pinkie asked.

“Oh, Ah already know that they wanna see y’all and they wanna see their cousins too. Ah guess I shoulda included them in with mine. Ah mean Jessica and Ah are a always watchin’ each other’s foals,” Applejack replied.

“It must be nice to have someone who is willing to help watch your foals,” I replied.

“Wowie it is! I love having Sarah living so close to us! She likes to take Onyx and Strawberry out for walks, and to get ice cream, and to all kinds of places. Although, she’s been seeing that stallion friend of hers a little more often,” Pinkie said.

“Well that’s good isn’t it darling?” I asked.

Pinkie nodded as she sat her son down.

“It is, but I miss being able to have so much fun with her!” she replied.

It was sweet that she was on such good terms with her husband’s family.

“So, Rars, ya’ll gonna finish telling us about how the two of ya’ll got together?” Applejack asked.

“Of course darling. So, I believe I was saying how I arrived to meet John,” I said.

“Yeppers!” Pinkie said nodding her head.

“Well, then let me continue to tell you how we came together,” I said.

~~~~~2056 Arnett Texas - John Marshall’s home~~~~~

The first look around the house told me how clean it was, but it wasn’t the cleanliness that I was concerned about. With the exception of a few pictures, and a little mismatched furniture it was bare. It needed some color, some life thrown into it.

“I’ve got a room set up for you,” he said.

I walked and looked inside. The room was large enough, and the bed looked comfortable, but again the walls were bare. I walked in, touched the bare wall and looked around myself.

“I wanted you to be able to decorate it the way you wanted it,” he said.

A small breath of relief escaped me. I gave him a smile.

“So, would you like a bite to eat?” he asked.

“Please,” I replied.

We walked toward the kitchen and there I found what it was he had been preparing. I could smell the crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, diced carrots, and almonds of the salad. A single breath was heaven, and then I spotted shelled, roasted sunflower seeds.

“This looks delicious,” I said.

I didn’t want to act unlady like, but it felt like I hadn’t eaten in such a long time. He prepared a plate and offered it to me. I smiled as I took it, and then he offered some dressing for the salad. I don’t believe there could ever be anything, and I mean anything, that could equal to the bliss of ranch dressing. I had to keep from simply pouring all of the dressing on, and instead I measured out a small amount for the side of my plate.

“You’re welcomed to have a little more if you want it,” he said.

“Oh you are so sweet to offer, but I mustn’t,” I replied.

He smiled and nodded. The meal was wonderful, and filling. Although I now wondered about finding a gym. Perhaps John would know where one was. We finished eating and he took the plates. I followed him to the kitchen and walked over to the other side of the sink.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” he said as he placed to be rinsed off in the second part of the sink.

“Oh Pish posh darling. You were kind enough to feed me the least I can do is help with some dishes,” I replied.

We finished up the small amount of dishes, and I dried them quickly. I tried to levelate the towel over to me, but I could barely get my aura to cover it. It was as if I could barely connect to my magic. I could feel it, all around me, but not directly inside of me. I focused, breathed in deeply, and pictured the magic flowing into me.

It was a trick my mother had taught me long ago, and I felt it working. I stumbled slightly. The feeling of the magic rushing into me was overpowering. I nearly fell over when he caught me. I looked into his eyes. I could see the worry there.

“I’ll be fine darling. I was just trying to connect with my magic. I do feel a bit dizzy though,” I said.

Before I could argue He lifted me up off of my hooves, and carried me bridal style to my room. Comfort is too base of a word to describe that bed. It was pure heaven. I felt myself sinking into the softness of the bed. The entire thing seemed to let me sink in, and for a moment I wondered if this was what Rainbow Dash felt when she slept on a cloud.

~~~~~Present Time~~~~~

The sounds of my two foals arguing gained everypony’s attention. I looked over to see Jake crossing his arms and looking away from Jewel. I let out a small sigh and then I heard a giggle.

“You know sometimes Strawberry does that to Onyx. I don’t know why she acts so serious,” Pinkie said.

“Sounds ta me that she takes after her pa,” Applejack said.

“I guess so, but Andy’s not all serious all of the time,” she replied.

I smiled at them.

“If you girls will excuse me for a moment,” I said.

I walked over to where my two wonderful little foals were having their argument.

“Pwease Jake, Pwease,” Jewel said.

“No, I don’t wanna wear it,” he practically growled.

“Jake Marshall, what don’t you want to wear?” I asked.

“Jewel said I gotta wear my fancy suit ‘cause she wants to have a fancy tea party, and I don’t wanna!” he said stamping his hoof.

I looked over John who had put on a dress shirt and bow tie for his daughter.

“What about your father? He’s wearing fancier clothes,” I said.

“Daddy has to, but I don’t wanna,” he replied.

“Well, if you don’t want to play nice then I suppose we don’t have to go out for ice cream either,” I said.

“No fair!” he cried.

“Yes it is, now if you want some ice cream later I suggest you put on something a little fancier,” I said calmly.

“No fair,” he mumbled in defeat as he stomped toward his room.

Author's Note

(And another short chapter. The next chapter is going to be diving deeper into the story of what happened.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

LF)