Chapter 46

Stripes and Scales

Cream Puff walked down that lonely road. It really felt like the only one she knew. “An’ Ah’ walk alone...” She said to herself.

“How could she say sum’thin’ like that?” the filly asked herself. “She couldn’t ever see herself bein’ a mother? How could she not?! She’s smart, she’s kind, she’s a good reader...”

Just then, as she stepped down, she felt something small and sharp prick the frog of her hoof.

“Ow! What the fet?!”

Cream Puff frowned. She hadn’t meant to use that word. It just sorta... slipped out and it was sending a cascade of conflicting feelings through her, none of which were all that good.

She didn’t know which was worse: the pain of something caught in her freshly ferried frog, the fact that she could practically hear... H.B. telling her not to use that word; or that by using that word, it meant that something of that old, crotchety, lachrymose mare had rubbed off on her... become a part of her.

She frowned an ugly frown and turned her left forehoof to inspect this rocky interloper.

Between the wall and the soft frog is where she spied a gray, unassuming, apt, pointed pebble, the size of a small chickpea.

“Of all the gosh dern, cotton candy licking...” She glared at it. “If ma hooves weren’t just ferried, ya wouldn't be in there!” she griped, plucking the offending stone out with her teeth before spitting it out with all her vitriol into a nearby bush.

“Ouch!” yelped the bush in a voice she swore she knew.

“What the hay...?” Cream Puff asked, turning from her path to investigate the voice in the shrubbery.

“Anypony in there?” She inquired, pushing aside leaves and undergrowth, that much to her surprise, gave away rather easily, as if somepony had purposely trodden through here before and cleared a path that gave her just enough space to get through without being whipped by vines, snagged by brambles, or pricked by thorns.

Just then, she spied with her little eye, patches of something bright and warm; orange, that contrasted against the dark and green in the spaces between leaves, branches and vinery.

“Who’s that? Who goes there?!” Came that voice she swore she knew, but just couldn’t place. It sounded like that somepony was pitching up their voice or doing something weird to it. Then it came to her.

“Wait a gosh dern egg timin’ minute...” Cream Puff said as the picture of who she was approaching became more complete. “Mars Orange!?” she gasped once on the other side of the brush.

The little orange colt was rubbing his eye and looking startled at the cream colored filly that had found her way into the small emptied area in the middle of this bush.

He almost instantly forgot about his eye and rushed the filly, covering her mouth, shushing her, and looking around anxiously.

“Keep your voice down! She’ll hear you!” He said in a hushed whisper.

Cream Puff pushed his hoof away. “Wha’cha talki’ about? Who will-”

“Maaaaars! Where are you? Come out young stallion! I’m going to need to get you fitted with some new suits if we’re going to see that nag at the hospital!” Marmalade called out somewhere nearby. “Come on out you little thorn... I need her to come around to the idea of foalsitting so momma can get more me time!”

The two foals remained quiet, the moments growing tense as Marmalade stomped her hooves and continued to mutter to herself.

This tenseness only relaxed when the mare’s hoofbeats could be heard growing more and more distant.

There was a rather outdrawn silence between the two ponies as Cream Puff took in her surroundings.

The space in this thicket they were in showed signs of modification: the ground had been cleared and earth laid bare, branch positions had been placed by an amateur arborist. This was to create a somewhat rough sphere shape with little places in which to stash things: comic books, wrapped snacks, articles of clothing.

Cream Puff gave Mars a questioning look. “Sooo, uhm... what’s all this?” she asked.

Mars crossed his hooves and looked away in embarrassment. “What’s it to you?” He asked gruffly.

“No need ta get all defensive!” Cream Puff said, waving her hooves while trying to keep her voice down. “It’s... nice... real... cozy like. Ya do it all yerself?”

“Yeah...” Mars said after a while. “I made it to... uhm... get away from my mother.”

Cream Puff gave a small snort and near offended look to the orange themed colt. “Why in tar-” she stopped mid-sentence, as Mars gave her a look that almost dared her to finish that question.

“You have met my mother, right?” He asked, sarcastic disbelief painting his voice.

“... She can’t... be all bad...” Cream Puff said hesitantly. “She’s yer mom after all...”

Mars only rolled his eyes, rubbing one of them. “No need to remind me...” he said bitterly.

Cream Puff frowned. “She’s gotta love ya! Yer her son!”

“Oh yeah, while she’s busy paragliding me about for clout with her friends!” He said, rolling his eyes before looking at the ground. “I feel like some toy that she takes out for their entertainment...”

“At least ya have a mom!” Cream Puff hissed, her voice raising just enough to make Mars quake.

“Sorry! But please, could you keep it down? I don’t want my mother finding out about this place!” Mars said, holding out his hooves and looking around wide-eyed.

Cream Puff humphed and hoofed at some of the things for closer inspection: Danger Mare comics, a few bottles of fizzy orange soda, a bag of pickled kelp rings... all tucked into the underbrush to his right... Then there was something behind him, blue and white with what looked like it had... embroidery and... lacy? “Is that a dress?” she asked, with a curled up expression on her face.

“No!” Mars practically shrieked out. “It’s not mine, it's for a filly I know... because she gave me this bracelet...” He said, hoof hovering over the beaded jewelry around his ankle.

“Uh...hu... ya’all know some filly, an’ ya bought her a dress?” Cream Puff asked incredulously. “What’s her name?”

“Yes! And I do not have to tell you!”

This little protest only got him more probing looks.

“Clementine...” He said, sheepishly, before shaking his head and turning back, his expression going to counter probing. “Why do you want to know any of this? What are you even doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the hospital with Heartbreak?”

“She likes ta- '' Cream Puff stopped herself from saying it. “Ah’m here cause fer some rotten egg reason, ah wanted ta apologize ta ya fer hittin’ ya wit that there rock!” she hotly said.

“I get that, but why are you here and like, not with Heartbreak?” He repeated.

“She likes ta be calle-” Once again, Cream Puff stopped herself from completing that sentence. “She got outta the hospital early on account of it being just a lil’ fracture. Ah’m just goin’ back ta the orphanage...”

“But... why?” Mars asked, his face curling up as he trotted over to where the dress was before gently pushing it into the brambles. “Isn’t that place terrible? At least that’s what my mother says when she threatens to leave me there... You... stop trying to get Heart-” He stopped and looked like he was mulling over something. “-H.B. to adopt you?” he asked.

“AH ain’t!” Cream Puff’s ears fell. “Why ya say that?!”

“Cause you’re here, and not wherever she is right now, and you've really been on others whenever they don’t call her ‘H.B.’ or whatever.” Mars said before making a face of concern at the article of blue and white. “Plus, it’s what I would do if I were in your place.” he flushed. “Not that I’d want to be in your place!” he added.

Cream Puff sighed lamenting, her entire form crumpling. “Why bother?” she turned attention back to the ground. “She said that she don’t wanna have foals an’ ain’t wanna be no mother.”

“She said that?” Mars asked, surprised. “I mean, you wouldn’t think that with the way she was playing with us in the park.”

“Yeah, well, she said that she can’t see herself bin’ no mother cause it’s too much work an’ responsibility...” Cream Puff chuffed. “Or somethin’ like that.”

Mars tapped his hoof on the ground. “Well... it is...”

“Beggin’ yer pardon?”

“Being a mother; first there’s finding out that you’re with foal, then there’s a whole year of being with foal, then there’s uhm...” He paused and rubbed the back of his neck before looking away... “You know... foaling the foal... not to mention all the feeding, changing, caring, and stuff... not that any of that has to do with being a mom...”

Cream Puff huffed. “Again, beggin’ yer pardon again, but what chu talkin’ about? All that stuff deals with bein’ a mom! The way way yer talkin’, ya wouldn’t think that... that-”

Just then, the little filly spotted a flush of dull blue above her and the melodious chirps of a songbird after she had just got done stuffing her chicks greedy little mouths with the juiciest of grubs before flitting off to find more.

“That there blue bird ain’t a mother!” Cream Puff reasoned.

“Pffffffttt...” Mars retorted with a whickering snort. “Of course she’s a mother. She does the bare minimum... But is she a mom?”

Cream Puff still looked baffled. “What’s the difference?”

“Well, for one, a lot of mothers will eat their young in the wild-”

“They what?!” Cream Puff’s voice squeaked.

“Didn’t I tell you to keep it down?” Mars sharply asked, looking around worriedly. “I cannot let my mother find this place! Let alone have her catch me talking with you.”

“Why’s that?” Cream Puff asked, looking a bit hurt along with her confusion.

Mars was quiet for a moment. “She... she doesn’t like me playing with any of the fillies, or blank flanks.” he rolled his eyes and fiddled with a long part of his mane. “She says that it makes me act weird, and ‘how do you ever expect to earn your cutie mark if you’re not around a pony with more am-... amb... ambition?’” He frowned at struggling with the word before kicking the dirt. “Makes it hard to have friends... not that I need any friends...”

“Oh... Well... ya don’t hate me... do ya?” Cream Puff asked.

“Uhm...” Mars suddenly looked flustered. “No... I mean, I hardly know ya! You! Though...” They looked up at the nest of baby birds, some with their flight feathers nearly in... he smiled. “... I had more fun at the park today than I’ve ever had in like... ever. You... you dance really pretty.” he sighed. “You might not get H.B. as a mom... but she seems like she’s a good friend...”

Cream Puff bit her lip and looked at the colt in front of her. This was such an awkward conversation. She should have just said that she was sorry and not said anything more before going back to the orphanage... After all, he had been such a pain in her side all the time that she had known him. Which, granted, might not have been very long, but it never crossed her mind that might have had troubles with his mom-... er, mother.

She eyed the collection of things gathered in this secret little space... The collection of Danger Mare comics caught her eye and then an idea came to her.

"Wanna do a book swap? Cause... ya know," Cream Puff began, reaching into her saddlebags. "If ya wanna read a story about moms..." she pulled out a book. "Ya could always be givin' 'Heartshine' a chance... An' Ah' supposin' Ah' could always give yer Danger Mare a readin'..."

Mars looked confused and conflicted. The Heartshine book was so... fluffy and sparkly. The little filly on the cover, too happy... “I don’t know... I’m sure my mother wouldn’t like it if she found me reading that...”

Cream Puff looked around the thicket. “It looks like ya gone an’ made a whole place just fer things ya think yer mother wouldn’t like.” She spied a few objects just behind Mars that she swore looked like... a brush, pencils, a mirror and a brush? “If ya like...” she hesitated, but then put a hoof down in her mind. “Maybe Ah could come by an’ uhm... brush yer mane while readin’ these books?” she awkwardly asked.

“Hmph, what makes you think I need my mane brushed?” He asked, pushing the brush behind him embarrassedly.

“Maybe ya don’t need it... but do ya want it?” Cream Puff once again offered the book to Mars.

Mars at the book being offered to him with a stunned wide-eyedness. "M-maybe... But really?” He gave her a small giggle and a worried glance. “You'd do that for me?"

"As sure as sugar, Ah will!" Cream Puff said, giving them a beaming smile. "Ya just name the time an’ Ah’ll do Ma best ta be here! Cause that's what new friends do!"

"Friends?” Mars gulped. “Yeah! Okay!" he reached into his saddlebags and got a well worn Danger Mare book out. However, just as he and Cream Puff swapped books, he heard a sharp yipping that almost made him drop the book! "Fet!"

"Huh?"

"Piths! Mother's got Peel!" He hastily stuffed the Heartshine book into his saddlebag. "You gotta go! I gotta go! I'm sorry! Talk to you later! Bye!" He said, practically leaping out of the bush.

Cream Puff sat there a bit dazed and confused by the encounter. "Yeah... Bye..."

Exiting the secret little glen, she gave some thought to what Mars had said and then looked down the path that led to that insufferable orphanage.

Thoughts about what lay down that path, having to do chores without as much as a thank you, cooking food that only had any flavor because she spent what little money and time at the market and foraging... the teasing and faces, only one who was ever happy to see her; that joined in on the bullying and... and...

Cream Puff turned away, trying to mentally sweep those thoughts out. "Just like Ma would say... clean kitchen, clean mind, sweep out the dirt an' the grime, sweep it all out, till only good things are left behind!"

She looked in the direction of the house that Heartbreak rebuilt.

That place was covered in vines, tangles, spiderwebs, and signs of neglect. Despite all those things, it was a place with a pony, who might be sad and lonely, who didn’t always seem to think before she spoke... liked stories, games, and art, and seemed genuinely grateful at the smallest gestures...

"Especially when food's involved..." she said to herself giggling.

With the exception of herself, H.B. didn't seem to put anypony down.

"If anythan', she's been encouragin' them! Like with them Strawberry fillies!"

Cream Puff looked back and forth between the two paths before facehoofing. "What in the banana fosters am Ah even thinkin'!? What am Ah doin'?! Ah hate ta say that... Mars of all ponies is right... that there orphanage can last a night without me! An' of they can't?"

A hot summer breeze blew past the cream colored filly with golden eyes. It carried with it the dried remains of summers past, things desiccated by the hot sun, dust and twigs crumbling with the passage of time.

"Ah' guess H.B. won't be the only one needin' ta be learnin' a lesson an' writin' a letter..." she said, darkly chuckling a little.

Just then, she realized something rather vital if she was going to go to that party!

"Ah can't go empty hooved! Ah gotta bring somethin' with me!" She cried out panicky. "But what? Sugah Cube's almost sure ta be closed by now..." a thought came to her. "What about the Strawberry Sweets Shakes Shack?! Yeah! They're sure ta still be doin' somethin' seein' it's still their first day!" She exclaimed. "An' if Ah tell 'em that is fer H.B., they just might be a lil' more willin' ta be a lil' more generous..."

With that in mind, she turned her little jobs back down the path to Ponyville.

==========

Just then, there's a sudden rapping, a tapping, and a notable shadow from the teashop door that in my semi-caffeinated state causes me to jump and almost yelp.

"Oh, I is wondering who that could be?" Subtle Brew asks with a knowing smile before she trots to the door, her kimono trailing behind her.

Idly, my brain decides to wonder back to what I would look like in a kimono...

'No. Nope, not going there. I don't wear dresses.'

You know that there are kimonos made for guys, right?

I mentally roll my eyes at Goth Bunny. Seems the hutch isn't enough to keep her in line... wonder what Pinkie would do seeing that she was able to get you to pipe down... oh, I know...

You better no-

I imagine a giant carrot in the hutch with her!

...

Didn't expect that, did ya!?

crunch shut... shut up...

Ha, oh look at that, those final dregs in this little cup of mine hath given up more amber nectar, don't mind if I do! Mmm! Bitterly sweet!

"Oh! Zecora! I didn't be knowing if I would be seeing you today!"

You know those comedic moments in shows and T.V. where the character nearly chokes in a drink and almost dies a spit take?

Be me at hearing that name...

I mean, I shouldn't be, right? But it was the day of Creativi-tea last time I saw the mare that's black and white.

... that was terrible.

"I know it's late and well past hours," I hear the rustling of something... plant like? "But after much foraging, I have brought you many rare herbs and fragrant flowers!"

Don't see me, don't see me, don't see-

"Oh, I see that you have a guest, should I return tomorrow, is this time not the best?"

Alright! Seems that I cannot hide any longer! Otherwise tension will build and the awkwardness grow stronger!

Yeah, that was better.

"Don't mind me, I was just getting some advice and having a little rest," I about face and swivel around on my sitting pillow. "I can go now, as not to be a pest."

The both of them give me a... look. I wanna say... bemusement?

I think it was the same look that Japanese tourists would give me when I asked them the question ‘kutsu wa hanase masu ka?’ before lifting my shoe near my face and saying 'Moshi, moshi?' when I worked at Silverwood theme park. They would then give me a good laugh.

"No no no! Juu are not being the pest, Achi-Bi!" Subtle Brew says, covering her mouth and giggling.

"I... I'm not doing anything upsetting? Cause I'm having a hard time unraveling the signals I'm getting..." smooooth H.B. really smooth... that's right, tap-tap the one good hoof you have.

Zecora flashes me a smile. "Upset? No, your rhymes do not offend! If anything they paint you not as fiend but as a friend!"

"Oh, dis is so exciting!" Subtle Brew takes a tisket, a tasket, a flower and plant filled basket- years later and that ad is still living in my brain!- from Zecora. "Iz like poetry readingz on first mountain in Shangri-la!"

=========

"Coming off as a fffriend? The truth of that is a bit far to extend." Heartbreak replied, pulling up her hoof and longing shifty eyed.

Zecora cocked her head and approached the counter. "If not for friendship with rhyming you apply, may I ask the reason as to why?"

Heartbreak bit her lip and tapped her hoof embarrassedly. "I confess the reason as to why isn't all that great; a trick I picked up to make others feel more at ease, I see what they do, then... uhm... emulate..."

There was a small silence in the tea shop, only broken with the buzzing of mechanical dragonfly wings and the small tinkling of a cup on the counter as Heartbreak almost knocked it over with her mane. She would have quickly caught it had not Subtle Brew snatched it up with her magic.

Zecora coughed before speaking. “Your leg wrapped in lilac, set in a cast. That wasn’t there before, what happened to you since we met last?”

"Oh, she has being through so much this week! First she was sick! So sick! Then she was bitten by cat! Very naughty kit-tea! Then she fell down hole and burned by fire ants! Very frightening! Then she broke leg and Rainbow Dash call her fat! Can you believe!? And in hospital, she almost froze because of magical ice splinter!" Subtle Brew said with rapid emotes.

"All of these tragic events happened within this week?" Zecora asked, flabbergasted. "What words I should say... I... I hardly know what to speak!"

Heartbreak smirked and ran her free hoof through her mane before pushing up her glasses. “What story S.B. has told, it is true." She gave the zebra a wry smile. “However, for a pony like myself, pain, conflict, being on the brink of death? As you know for me, it is nothing new...”

“Your words are hard to decipher...” A look of shame came over the striped one's face. “That was a reference to the day of creativi-tea, from what I gather?”

Heartbreak rubbed the back of her head and looked away for a moment seemingly mulling over how to phrase her next wordings. “On a list of near death, Creativi-tea you could find, but what I was referring to was... uhm... learning Fluttershy about what is kind.” She cringed at herself with uncertainty. “For in the park against a tree I did bash, only saved further injury last second, by Rainbow Dash.”

“And Fluttershy!” Subtle Brew added.

“Yeah... and Fluttershy...” Heartbreak remarked. “So...uhm... to be clear why I’m here, let me revise, what I should do, I’ve asked Subtle Brew, about Fluttershy, a letter I have to write to Celestia, all of what I’ve told her, so that she may advize!” she said, her face twisting as she seemed to be trying to decipher her very own words! “All of this has me twisted up as you can see, and given me a rather terrible case of anxiety...”

“Oh... Zecora, my friend, maybe juu weigh in on all dis?” Subtle Brew asked. “You are oh zo wise!”

“Are you certain it is my wisdom you seek about what is with you happening, when my knowledge of what is that is very lacking?” The zebra asked, tilting her head.

Heartbreak rubbed her temples, almost as if to push the words in her brain into place. “Any advice to quell the anxious storm in my head, to end the bedlam- even with what little you know about my doings and goings, would be given a great deal of welcome!” she let out a relieved sigh at her little prose.

Zecora gave a smile while shaking her head. “There then is my advice. So despite all the trauma, pain and strife, you’ve managed to hold onto life. You've had a hole drilled through your hoof, yes, but know this truth, you can make no mistakes and everything can still end in/with Heartbreak.”

“My skills with rhyme and verse... could be better... though they also could be worse and my desire to continue to rhyme has become something of a curse. So excuse me when I say ‘but’, and pardon my forced words, when I also say ‘what’?” Heartbreak said, her face going a bit blank as she rhymed herself into a corner.

That’s when a stallion’s Trottingham accent cleared his throat.

“What I believe the ever enchanting Madam Zecora is saying...” Earl Grey Began walking in the presence of the three mares. “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose, which is not a weakness, that is life.”

Heartbreak blinked several times. “I can’t put a... hoof on it, but I swear I’ve heard that before.” her ears turned down, sadness and concern caused her to scratch at the back of her head. “But losing in something like this is a... bit more dire...”

“Do not being afraid of the failing! Just be juurself and let juur feelings flow, Achi-Bi!” Subtle Brew said, smiling and adjusting her mane. “I am seeing that the Princess will be loving juur letter to her!”

Earl Grey raised a hoof and gave a gasp. “A letter to the Princess? Uhm, which one?”

Heartbreak jumped a little realizing what she had just said. “Yeah... uhm... it’s diplomatic stuff just to... check in and tell... uhm Princess Celestia what I’m learning and... stuff... nothing interesting in the slightest...”

There was an awkward pause in the group that was broken by Heartbreak clearing her throat.

“Ope! So! I suppose that it’s time for me to be going!” She suddenly said, struggling to stand before flashing an unnerved smile once she had the ability to be mobile once more.

"You don't suppose, by the off chance, that you might be able to- '' Earl Grey began, cautiously raising a hoof, all the while Subtle Brew slowly turned her head to meet her future husband's gaze. "Make mention of our humble tea shop?"

"Earl Grey..." she said in a sweetly warming tone.

"What? I wasn't saying that she had to... I was merely asking ab- oh!" Suddenly, he found himself being pushed back into the back by a mass of noodly magical tendrils. "I was just- I mean- she doesn't hav-"

"Juu are still needing to be getting ready to be meeting with Primrose, Jasmine, and Camomile for zhe annual Tea Masters Guild meeting!" She sighed and giggled at Heartbreak once her fiancé was gently removed from the situation... "Silly Earl Grey, always with zhe looking for zhe how juu say..."

"Oppor-tuni-teas?" Heartbreak asked, giving both Zecora and especially Subtle Brew a playful little impish grin.

"Oh! Yes! Ha-ha! I be seeing what juu are be doing there!" Subtle Brew beamed, clapping her forehooves together.

Heartbreak turned from the door, Hiko Jikan-chan flickering and zipping from her mane. "We just might not be strangers, seeing I've moved near the Forest of the Everfree, we're practically neighbors! So in the future I might be seeing more of you, but for now, I bid thee both a goodnight, farewell, adieu!" She said, taking an awkward bow before backing out of the tea shop door.

"I too look forward to learning more about you, H.B.," Zecora chuckled and smiled. "Whether you are friend or foe...I guess I'll just have to wait and see."

Author's Note

WHAT'S THIS?! ANOTHER CHAPTER!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
I know... I just wanna get these three out cause I promised myself I would get them out friday, but it's sunday now and well, here we go!
Always, thank you Scared Ghost and The Pyschopath for your help in editing.
The chapter art can be found here!