Hearts and Hooves Day!by Phoenix Heart 27ChaptersThe "Sound" of Love:(Melody Star's Sonata)Belle Nuit:(Love [and other things] in Prance)Like Thieves in the Night:(The Thief and the Dancer)Coffee Shop:(Night Art)The "Sound" of Love:(Melody Star's Sonata)The “Sound” of Love: One blustery cold day in mid-February, two pegasus sisters were playing in the snow. The younger one, a bright lilac filly called Starlight Sonata was busy making snow angels by a creek. While she took no notice to how close she was to danger, the elder one did and came running up to collect her. The elder pegasus then moved her hooves and wings around while she talked. “Starlight! You know you’re not allowed that close to the creek without somepony watching you! C’mon. Let’s get ready to go. We still have to head to the market.”, The elder pegasus signed and spoke. To which the younger one signed back in an almost annoyed movement. “But I wasbeing careful Melody! And besides, I don’t see why we must go to the market.”, Starlight signed back with an annoyed look on her face. “We still need to pick up the groceries for mama and daddy.”, Melody signed back as the two reached the market. After collecting the things they needed, the pair made it back towards their house. Only stopping twice to talk to some friends along the way. Then they headed inside to see what could only be described as a disaster area of a kitchen, living room and den. The sisters quietly laughed as they approached the ‘eye’ of the storm; the kitchen where their mother was busy preparing that night’s dinner for the girls and lunches for all of them for the next day. “Mama, do ya think you should take a break? You’ve been at this for 4 hours now.”, Melody asked her mother to which she just got a crazed look in reply. “I can’t now! I’m only half done with your dinner and I just started on everypony’s lunches for tomorrow. I also have 2 loads of laundry in the wash and dryer currently. Plus your father wants to take me out for Hearts and Hooves’ Day dinner tonight so I need to finish before I can get ready.”, Moondance replied breathlessly before feeling two pairs of hooves pull her from the counter and sit her in a chair. “Mama! Firstly, chill out” Melody started as she fanned her mother with her wings “Secondly, it’s Hearts and Hooves Day! You should be getting yourself ready for a nice romantic evening with dad! Not worrying about school/work lunches and laundry. Go and get ready, me and ‘Starry’ will handle it from here.”, Melody finished as she wrapped a wing around her mother and Starlight did the same. Then Star remembered something she was telling Melody about earlier and started excitedly jerking her mom’s hoof towards herself. “Yes Starlight? What is it sweetie?”, Moondance asked in sign. Perplexed by her youngest daughter’s odd movements. Still too excited, Starlight tried to sign to her mommy to follow her to the piano in the den...but her movements were too fast and uncoordinated. “Starlight, calm down! You know mommy can’t understand you when you sign too fast!”, Moon signed and said in an authoritative form. Instantly causing the 7-year-old to fold her ears back in sadness but understanding. Starlight quickly signing ‘I’m sorry’ before letting a few tears fall down her face. Moondance sighed as she picked up her youngest filly and squished her in a gentle embrace, then she lifted Starlight’s head up from her chest. “No, Starry. I’m sorry for snapping at ya. I’ve just been so busy today and stressed out that I accidentally took a bit of it out on you honey. I didn’t mean anything by it honest.”, She signed and spoke. Starlight seemed to understand what she was trying to say as she suddenly smiled a bit and nuzzled her mother before signing more slowly and clear. “It’s okay mama, but I do still have a surprise for you and Melody. I was trying to get you both to come to the den to hear it!”, Starlight signed with a smile. Moondance and Melody Star looked at each other slightly confused. “Hear It?”, They both said at once, briefly forgetting that Starlight wouldn’t be able to hear the confused tone in their voices. Fortunately, Star could read lips and instantly brightened up as she lead them both past the mess of toys that she had forgot to pick up, towards the large piano against the wall. A few pieces of sheet music sat neatly on the music rack. Starlight moved to sit on the bench straight as per instruction as she started to play a beautiful romantic melody. As she finished the last note, she looked over to her big sister and mother who had tears in their eyes. Thinking that meant they hated it, she began to cry once again. Though that was instantly noticed by both and they rushed over to scoop the young filly up into a hug. Star broke away confused once again. “I don’t understand? I thought you guys hated it so bad it made you cry? Why hug me?”, Starlight signed with a confused face.To which her mother chuckled and sister squeezed tighter. “‘Starry’ Of course we don’t hate it! In fact we loved it!”, Melody signed/said. “Yes, It was spectacular my little shooting star! Though I should expect nothing less from a piano prodigy.”, Moondance replied as she wiped Star’s face clean. “It...It was just my way of saying ‘I love you’ mama. You know, for Hearts and Hooves Day.”, Starlight signed in reply as she hugged her mother. “And I couldn’t ask for a better present baby. Happy Hearts and Hooves Day girls.”, Moondance said as she hugged both her daughters. Belle Nuit:(Love [and other things] in Prance)Belle Nuit: As Paint Smear bundled up tight to brave the mid-February cold of Paris, His thoughts were on what he had planned for the night. As it was Hearts and Hooves Day, Most (if not all) of Paris was in a major case of “love sickness”. Paint zipped up his coat as he headed out to L'e Café de Chat Brun to check in with the preparations for the surprise dinner he and Ocean had set up for their special someponies. Now being that he was extra busy today with not only keeping Roseblossom distracted, but also making sure that the restaurant was ready and to top it off, he had been called into work to teach a self-defense class that started in an hour. So he had to move it fast! ‘Damn! Damn! Damn! Why today of all days did they have to call me in!’, He thought to himself as he galloped towards the café. He enters to see utter chaos! The entire restaurant is packed to the brim! He has to squeeze past ponies in order to try to find Ocean. When he does, he’s surprised to see Ocean trying to juggle 4 orders and take more at the same time. “Ocean! What the hell happened to ‘this place will be locked up all day!’?!? It’s a labyrinth in here!”, Paint shouted over the noise. Ocean tried to crane his neck to look at him but couldn't. He sighed and spoke. “It was! Until practically most of ze restaurants on this block had run out of space for customers! Then we were back-up! As you can see, it’s a living Tartarus in here! And we’re short staffed! What with Candy Swirl on vacation, Mint-Condition still on maternity leave, Cécile having the holiday off and Rosie, us having to practically beg her to take the day off, we’re now down to: Me, François Candle, Papa and Mama. So...yeah...we’re screwed.”, Ocean said breathless. Paint groaned before looking at his phone. He still had an hour before needing to be at the studio. What’s a little helping going to hurt? “Okay O’! Scoot over, I’m coming in to help. But only until 10 to the hour!”, Paint said as he grabbed a spare apron and began to help out. Meanwhile, with Roseblossom… An alarm went off on a phone and with it, Rose jolted out of the spare bed with a hard landing. “Ow!”, a tired Roseblossom shouted as she face planted onto the floor of her friend Sabine’s apartment. The sound did not go unnoticed by Sabine as she jolted out of bed and leapt to the floor to help her friend up. “What happened?”, Sabine asked. “My alarm went off and...I wasn’t prepared.”, Rosie responded as she got up. Sabine laughed as Ro managed to get up and then trip over her shoes at the same time. “Instead of laughing, would you mind getting some breakfast ready while I go shower?”, Rosie asked as she headed to the bathroom to shower. “M’kay, but we aren’t eating here for breakfast! We’re leaving in about 20 minutes!”, Sabine yelled through the door, to which her response was a high-pitched whinny and a loud crash. 40 minutes later… Roseblossom, having by now showered, dressed and fixed her mane and tail into wavy ringlets, finally emerged from the bathroom where she was greeted by a semi-pissed off Sabine. “That was the longest ‘20 minutes’ ever! C’mon now, let’s go try to find you something to wear tonight.”, Sabine grumbled. “What’s wrong with what I have on now? And again, you brought up tonight with such a ‘way-too-mellow’ tone. What gives? Is there something you’re hiding from me?”, Rosie kept firing off questions as they left the apartment and made their way downtown. Sabine knew she’d be curious as to why she was being cryptic about today’s plans because secretly, she was in on Paint’s grand plan for the night the entire time. Now that the time had come to execute it, all she had to do was keep Rosie occupied until about 6pm. “Ooohhh...no reason. I’m simply trying to help out my best friend prepare for a date night is all.”, Sabine replied in a subtle, yet cryptic way. Rosie muttered something colorful but decided to drop the issue for now as they headed into a shop. A Few Hours Later with Paint… As he walked out into the dim twilight sun, Paint only had 2 thoughts in his head: A shower and of his beloved marefriend of 3 and a half years. The self-defense class he instructed lasted far longer than he’d hoped it would. It was almost 5pm by the time he finally clocked out and headed for home. “Shit! I had planned on being home by now! I still gotta shower, change, make sure Toulouse and Claudia are at Madame Citrus’s place for the night and pick up the ‘surprise’ for later! Not to mention get to the restaurant before Rosie does.”, Paint said to himself as he got off the elevator to his floor and practically tore his saddlebags apart looking for his house key. As he got the door unlocked, he was ambushed by two small furry bullets of energy in the form of a silver fox todd and a red fox vixen. “Okay, okay! I missed you guys too. But I gotta get the two of you to Mme. Citrus now!”, He said to the two vulpines as he gathered their sleeping baskets/food dishes/pre-made food/toy basket and let them climb upon his back as he headed across the hall to his neighbor’s apartment. After dropping them off, he bolted back to his apartment to shower. 10 minutes later… Paint showered and dressed right on time to because it had just then hit 5 o’clock pm. All he had to do next is text Rose to meet him at the café and go pick up his ‘surprise’ for her. So he raced down and out their apartment building, remembering to tell Brick to meet up at the café in an hour as he past by their apartment. As he was leaving the jewelers’ he quickly noticed that the restaurant district had finally calmed down drastically. Using this opportunity, he cautiously walked up to Le Café de Chat Brun to find it completely devoid of customers and looking every bit as sophisticated as he imagined for the night. “Ocean? I don’t know how you did it, but this place looks better than I could’ve ever imagined!”, Paint said as he found Ocean. “Merci mon pote!Though...none of this would’ve been possible if it weren’t for a great reason.”, Ocean replied with a smile as he checked the time. An Hour Later... A slightly tired Brick walked up to the front entrance with an equally tired Roseblossom. Both looking drop dead gorgeous with Brick wearing a loose fitting black long sleeve shirt with matching dress pants, black shined shoes. Rose wearing a medium length aqua dress, yellow flats, blue dress coat and the silver locket Paint got her for her birthday. While they gawked at how amazing the café looked, Ocean took position and stepped up to the front entrance while Paint hid. “Bonsoir monsieur et miss. Normalement ce soir je serais ton serveur mais ce soir …” He stopped and said directed towards Brick “...Je suis ton rendez-vous pour ce soir.”, Ocean finished with a wink. That made Brick instantly blush and Rose giggle like a school filly. “While that is fine and wonderful, I wonder where my date is?”, Rose said/asked. “Well wonder no longer.”, a voice that Rose knew all too well said behind her. She turned and nearly had a magic hiccup fit and fainted as soon as she saw Paint in his navy blue suit and red tie. ‘I have composure….oh fuck it! Damnnn! He looks fine!!! Oh mon dieu I can’t stop staring...am I drooling? I don’t think so? What a surprise!’, Rose thought to herself as soon as she saw him. She had to force her magic to stay calm while she got a good look at her well-dressed coltfriend. She decided to play along and simply go with it. That is until she was lead to a finely dressed table with a lone candle, basket of breadsticks and a single plate of spaghetti and "meatballs". Unable to form actual words, she just let her jaw remain slack until Paint gently closed it. “I take it you like the little spread I’ve put together?”, He asked. “Like it? I LOVE it!”, Rosie managed to utter as she was seated. “I thought so...call it a bit cliché but...hey! I couldn’t help it!”, Paint said as he sat down. As they sat down to eat and simply enjoy the evening, someone somewhere played a cute bitalian song on a mandolin and accordion. They eventually finished and found themselves taking a lover’s stroll in the park next door. Eventually they stopped underneath an old willow tree. “Hey, now this tree looks familiar.”, Rose said with a smirk. “It should. It’s the tree we crashed into one another all those years ago.”, Paint replied. “I thought so! That’s probably why it’s my favorite tree in the entire park.”, Rose said. “Hehe yeah….”, Paint started before falling off into thought. Roseblossom noticed his sudden quiet and decided to ask on it. “Paint? You okay? You seemed a little too quiet, even for you. Something on your mind love?”, She asked. ‘It’s now or never’, he thought to himself as he silently slipped the small box out of his jacket pocket, out of her line of sight. “Hmm? Oh, yes love. I’m alright...b-but I do have something...something very important to ask you.”, Paint said, feigning confusion briefly. “You do?”, Rose asked curiously. “Yes. Ro, All my life I’ve seen too many good things taken from me before I even got a chance to truly appreciate them. I’ve seen the good in ponies and the bad in others. I was never really sure about anything aside from my art...that is...until I met you.” He paused to take a deep breath before continuing “Rose, when I first met you, I won’t even lie I was instantly head over hooves. I knew you were it for me!” he paused again to hold the small black box in plain view now “So...I guess what I’m trying to ask is...Roseblossom, ma chérie ... veux-tu m'épouser?”, He finished as he opened the box to reveal a small, horn-sized diamond and gold engagement ring. Rose was so shocked she was left speechless for all of 4 seconds before responding. "Oh mon dieu - OUI!! Oui oui, un million de fois OUI!! Je t'épouserai!", She all but screamed in happiness as she leapt into his forehooves. “You said yes? You said yes. YOU SAID 'YES'!!!!Oh Faust! Ye-es!!!”, Paint exclaimed happily as he excitedly spun her around in a circle before sitting them both back down into a slow, deep, passionate, love-filled kiss. Like Thieves in the Night:(The Thief and the Dancer)Like Thieves in the Night: Wolf Runner didn’t think today could get any worse than this, but the universe just seemed to love to screw with him. As he was currently hopping over crates in a back alley somewhere in north Manehattan, his only thoughts were on one thing: He had to get home to her! He picked up the pace before stopping suddenly. He was tired of running and decided that today was NOT the day the cops would take him. All he did was try to do something nice for his marefriend and it somehow turned into a bunch of craziness. “Not today Fuzz!!”, Wolf yelled as he fired up his horn and sent a wave of crimson magic towards a large dumpster, levitating it up and effectively cutting himself off from the pursuing police. Which lead him to then teleport himself out of sight and back to his “house”. If anyone were to ask Gracie where she saw herself 5 years in the future, she certainly wouldn't have answered with ‘newly engaged to a criminal’. But at the moment she was too preoccupied with a much bigger issue along with getting their “house” (a one-story flat) together for a nice romantic Hearts and Hooves Day with her fiancé. “I can’t believe this! I can’t believe this! I just can not believe this! How could I let this happen. I-We were so careful….How am I gonna tell him? We’re both still too young for this, plus unmarried.”, she kept yelling to herself as she set the table. A flash of light and heavy panting alerted her that he was home. “Hey babe! I’m home!”, Wolf Runner shouted from the livingroom. “Oh! I-In the kitchen! But, don’t come in yet! It's a surprise.”, Gracie shouted from the kitchen as she finished getting the table together and setting the food out. She then went into the livingroom. “Hey you!” Wolf started before kissing her lightly on the cheek “Hope you weren’t too bored while I was out.”, he finished. “No...but I do have a few surprises for ya today!”, Gracie responded before kissing him again, this time on the lips. “Mmm...I’m liking where this is going so far.”, Wolf said as they parted and caught their breaths. “Well then, put this blindfold on and follow me.”, Gracie instructed. Wolf complied and was soon sightless, being guided by Gracie towards the kitchen. Once there Gracie fixed one more thing before telling him to remove the blindfold. As he removed the blindfold, his eyes were met with a simple but nonetheless appreciated table with a peach tablecloth. A top the table, a lone candle sat lit, illuminating the two plates of broccoli alfredo and “meatballs". A basket of breadsticks near the center. “G-Grace...W-what’s all this?!?”, Wolf asked astonished. “What’s it look like? A special Hearts and Hooves Day dinner for me and the stallion I love.”, Gracie beamed. As soon as Wolf got himself together, he slipped his was behind Grace and wrapped his hooves around her in a loving embrace, albeit a rather tight one. “Baby...can’t breathe!”, Gracie wheezed out. Prompting Wolf to release her and they both sat down for dinner. “Sorry ‘Ce-ce’. That was just a...warm-up to my real way of saying ‘thank you’.”, Wolf replied with a wink as they started on their dinner. “Hmmm, I’m sure it is.”, Gracie replied as she poured some cups of sparkling cider. Right as they finished dinner, there was a banging on the front door. “Open up!! This is the police!!! We have a arrest warrant out for a Wolf Runner!”, a police officer shouted as they banged on the door. “Shit!--What you do now?!?!?!?”, Gracie shouted at/asked Wolf. “For once, I swear nothing! I’ve literally been just walking around town all day. I had to pick up your Hearts and Hooves Day present earlier, next thing I know two cops just start chasin’ my ass for no reason! I managed to lose ‘em but I guess they found me.’, Wolf shouted as the door burst open and two uniformed officers came in and threw him to the floor. Gracie screaming and swearing in Bitalian at the officers as they cuffed and dragged Wolf away. After getting over the shock of having her fiance carted away downtown by cops, Gracie came to her senses and whipped out her phone to make a call. “Hello?....Hey Gabe! Listen, Imma need about $300 bail money and a ride downtown….C’mon please?!?...Duh! It’s Wolf!....No, He told me he wasn’t doin’ shit and two cops just chased him earlier for no reason….uh-huh….Yeah they came an’ busted down our front door a while ago n’ just cuffed him! Took him downtown….Okay….Thanks so much buddy!....Kay, see ya soon...bye.”, Gracie finally finished as she hung up. She then gathered her purse, keys, mace and a item wrapped in paper towel off the bathroom sink and threw them in her purse. 10 minutes later, Gabriel showed up on time and ready to give his friend a lift to the police station. When they get there, Gracie is met with a familiar sight of an annoyed, but kind receptionist and her fiance in a holding cell talking to an officer. “*sigh* Time to lay in the charm to this rookie officer…”, Gracie muttered to herself as she grabbed a release form and went over to the holding cell where Wolf was. “Gracie! Thank Faust. D-Do you have the bail money and of course, a possible smile for me?”, Wolf rambled. Gracie nodded and smiled before approaching the officer who arrested Wolf. A miserable look on her face. “Hello, may I help you miss?”, the officer asked. “Yes! Oh please, can’t you release my fiance? I know he was wrongfully incarcerated! You see, he wasn’t doing anything illegal. Simply out on a grocery run for me. I’d have done so myself but in my…’current state’” She paused and indicated towards her stomach, “He would have no room for argument! He insisted on going to the market. Please Officer...U. Cake...its a holiday.”, She finished. The officer thought about this for a second before glancing back at the positively glowing young mare in front of him. “...I suppose….with circumstances being as they are...I can let him off with a warning. Besides, having one parent in jail and the other to raise a foal is a statistic far too common these days and who am I to help with that statistic grow larger. Just don’t let this happen again.”, Officer Cake responded as he unlocked the holding cell and released Wolf Runner. “Oh Thank you Officer! And I promise, this won’t happen again! And...out of curiousity, what is your first name?”, Gracie asked as she signed them both out after paying bail. “I am Officer Uranus Cake ma’am.”, Officer Cake responded. “Ahh...alright. Well, til next time Officer. Good-bye.”, Grace saluted before they left. When they stepped out of and were a good distance away from the police station, Gracie finally broke the necessary silence. “Okay, I could not have been the only one thinking of and mentally laughing at that officer’s name!”, She laughed. “Oh goodness! I instantly thought of ‘urinal cake’ when I read it too!”, Wolf laughed as they headed home. “Okay! I’ve seen you con your way outta a lotta situations before, but that had to be your most believable story yet babe!”, Wolf Runner laughed after they’d gone home for the night. “Yeah…..”, Gracie started before falling off into her own thoughts. Wolf noticed she suddenly got quiet and asked, “Hey, you okay?”. ‘Well...it’s now or never...’ Gracie thought as she swallowed and sighed as she turned away to grab the paper towel wrapped item from her purse. “Yeah...well….what if I told you that all but one thing about what I said was just acting.”, Gracie stated. Wolf looked confused and readjusted himself on the couch. “What do you mean? What thing?”, He asked cautiously. “The part where I mentioned a ‘current state’ then gestured to my midsection…”, Gracie said timidly. Finally fully understanding what she meant by that after a full minute, he nearly fell off the couch in shock. “T-That was...Y-You mean...Y-You’re…”, He stuttered. Gracie nodded and unfolded the paper towel to reveal a small stick with a red “+” sign on it. “Yeah...I-I’m pregnant.”, She said in an almost whisper. Wolf Runner instantly jumped up and picked her up carefully and spun her around in happiness. “Oh Faust! Gracie! This is Amazin’! But...how?!? And how long have you known?”, Wolf asked still in a bit of shock and setting her down. “Okay, first since this afternoon. I just felt terrible earlier and something in the back of my mind told me to just check myself. Don’t worry, I tested 5 other sticks and they all said the same thing. As to the how...well I think you know exactly ‘how’! But what baffled me is that we hadn’t had sex in like 2 weeks, and even then we used protection. Perhaps the rubber broke or my birth control decided to fail me for a day. Either way it resulted in...well this!”, Gracie said while cautiously rubbing her mid-section. Wolf Runner simply had the biggest grin in all creation on his face. The two sat back down, Gracie on Wolf’s lap her head resting against his fluffy chest. “I...Imma be a ‘Papà’!?'", Wolf asked to reassure himself that this wasn’t a beautiful dream. “Mmmmhmm. And Imma be a ‘Mama’!'", Gracie answered with an excited smile on her face. “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day my love.”, Wolf Runner said pulling a thick quilt over the both of them. “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Wolf Runner. Ti amo.”, Gracie responded as they fell into a fitful sleep. Coffee Shop:(Night Art)Coffee Shop: On quiet mornings in winter, some ponies will normally try to get more sleep or simply try to get to work on time. This morning was no exception in the Dream household. It all started well, Midnight had gotten up before her dad and had already fixed herself up for school before going to wake her dad up and get him ready for work at the university. “Papa? Papa?....PAPA?!?!?!”, Midnight whispered before shouting to the sleeping stallion, effectively waking him up in the process. “*pant* Midnight! Why do you always insist on waking me up like that?”, Spectrum asked while trying to catch his breath. “Because you won’t get up any other way if I don’t. Now c’mon!! It’s time to go!”, Midnight exclaimed as she helped her papa out of bed and into the upstairs wheelchair as the doorbell rang. "Oooh! That must be Ms. Red Cross. I’ll go let her in while you try to find something to wear. Okay?”, Midnight said as she zipped downstairs to open the door for their housekeeper/homenurse. Spectrum laughed as he rolled over to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of snow pants and a long sleeve mint shirt. Ms. Red Cross came in as he was setting the clothes on his bed. “Goodmorning Spectrum.”, she said as she gave him a hug. “Morning Catrina, hope your evening was good?”, he replied as they separated. “Was good my son tells me to tell you he said ‘hello’, now...let’s get your day started while Midnight watches tv.”, Catrina said as she rolled him into the bathroom and started his shower, replacing the shower chair into the tub, and helping him onto his toilet before leaving to go get her cleaning supplies and to check on Midnight. 10 minutes later… Spectrum is now showered, shaven and dressed (with little help from Catrina and Midnight) as he climbs off the stairlift and into his main chair. With that he hoofs Catrina a list of groceries and chores to get and do while they were gone and he and Midnight were off to school and work. The streets of Trottingham were slowly filling with ponies trying to get to where they needed to be. On his way to drop Midnight off at the local elementary school, father and daughter stop by their favorite coffee shop to grab a quick breakfast. When they go in, they’re greeted to a familiar sight of a quarter-full coffeehouse. The scent of the coffee machines brewing the morning’s selection and the sweet scent of the freshly made pastries being put on display was inviting. Spectrum sighed as they found their favorite table and settled down to look at the menu cards in front of them. As they were approached by their favorite waitress, a loud collision resounded in the cafe. Curiosity enveloped Midnight as she wanted to investigate. Seeing her papa distracted with ordering their breakfast, Midnight stealthily snuck away from the table and towards the sound stage near the back of the building. Once she reached it, she was surprised to see a mare on the ground with a keyboard and a microphone strewn aside her. “Oh my! Miss, do you need some help?”, Midnight asked as she approached the older mare. The mare in question was currently tangled in a web of cords and wires but she managed to nod in affirmation. That was all Midnight needed to start to help the mare levitate and untangle the electric web. “*pant* Thanks a bunch kid! I just don’t know how this happened, I was trying to carry all my equipment to the stage and next thing I know...BOOM! a puddle comes out of nowhere and I’m on the ground.”, the mare thanked her. “No problem! If you’d like, I can help you bring your stuff to the stage.”, Midnight offered. “Ya know what? That’d be awful sweet.”, The mare responded as they proceeded to carry the equipment to the stage and set up. 15 minutes later… After getting everything set up and working, the mare and filly decided to stretch their legs and walk around the cafe a bit. Right as they were headed towards a booth, Midnight heard a sound that usually meant that she was in trouble. “Midnight Demetria Dream, what have I told you about going off on your own without letting me know?!?”, Spectrum calmly seethed as his wheelchair came into view. A highly upset look on his face. “*gulp* Sorry papa...I just…I didn’t mean to...”, Midnight started but couldn’t finish due to crying. Not liking seeing her new little companion sad, the mare tried to approach the situation calmly and explain. “Sir, If I may, your little filly did me a great service a while ago. See I was backstage trying to get my equipment up to center stage when I mislooked and slipped on a puddle. I fell and that’s what caused the crash. I should be lucky that she happened to be so curious, otherwise I’d still be stuck in a web of cords and wires.”, the mare explained. She noticed the concerned father’s face turn from upset to relieved in a matter of seconds. Spectrum, now knowing of what happened, felt bad that he “yelled” at his little one. He lit up his horn and picked up Midnight and set her on his lap. “I’m sorry chaton. Had I not jumped to conclusions, I wouldn’t have yelled. Can you forgive me?”, Spectrum apologized to his daughter. “Hmmm...I suppose...qui, I forgive you papa.”, Midnight responded as she hugged her dad. The mare stood there, feeling slightly awkward as the pair had a moment. Though, Spectrum being the ever observant one that he is, took notice as he rolled his chair closer, slowly to approach the mare. “I’d like to formally apologize again if my daughter was meddling again miss...Oh, silly me. I don’t believe I caught your name, nor did I introduce myself. My name is Spectrum Dream.”, Spectrum said politely. “Of course! I know who you are sir. You’re the artist’ behind that painting ‘Starry Night’ yes? Also, my apologies, I am Harmonia Half-Note. Composer/singer/pianist...I can pretty much do anything but make a strong first impression without making a mule of myself...which is...what I’m doing now...I’ll just shut it.”, Harmonia introduced herself before fumbling over her words. “No, no. It’s quite alright. It was actually kinda cute--In a friendly, you know, acquaintance type way...ummm I mean--”, Spectrum started to spiral. “--What he’s trying to say is that it’s nice to meet you and that he thinks you’re rather bright and pretty!”, Midnight cut her father off and effectively saving him. “MIDNIGHT!”, Spectrum squealed in a high-pitched, un-stallion like, voice. Harmonia took that as adorable and giggled lightly. Spectrum couldn’t have sworn on his late-wife’s grave that her giggle was one of the most beautiful sounds he’d ever heard. “How about this: If I give you my number, would the two of you promise to stop by here sometime in the evenings to catch my sets? Because I have a feeling, I’m gonna be seeing more of the two of you more often around here.”, Harmonia said as Midnight hoofed her, her dad’s phone and she put her number in. “I guess we’ll be seeing you around then too.”, Spectrum said as Midnight started rolling him back towards their table. Weeks Later… The Coffee Shop was semi-filled with ponies of all ages. Some were there for the caffeine rush for a late-night shift. Others were there for a nice warm pastry. Though most were there to watch the live performances. This night, a house regular, Harmonia Half-Note was performing a small set with her keyboard. Normally, a semi-packed house would get Harmonia nervous but tonight was different. Not only was she performing a new song but her “Sorta-kinda-coltfriend” and his daughter were gonna be in the audience. “C’mon Papa! We’re gonna miss her!”, Midnight yelled over the crowd as her papa lagged behind her with their snacks and hot chocolates. “No we aren’t chaton, she’s not even on stage yet.”, Spectrum responded as they found their new favorite seats in the front booths by the stage. The announcer spoke and said the show was starting so Spectrum and Midnight sat patiently while the spotlight shone on a casually dressed Harmonia as she started to sing a rather haunting melody, whilst playing her keyboard. After the song ended she followed up with a small medley of songs in similar fashions. All the while Spectrum was almost hypnotized by her beauty and her voice. Eventually the show did come to a close and when Harmonia went backstage to freshen up and pack up her keyboard, she wasn’t all that surprised to see Midnight bouncing about excitedly or Spectrum trying to resist pulling his mane out due to said filly’s antics. “I take it you liked the show a lot?”, Harmonia asked a now tired Midnight. “Mmmmhmmm….”, Midnight sounded sleepily as she lay on her papa’s lap. “We both did. You were astounding out there!”, Spectrum stated before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Yeah...well it helped that I had the...right kind of company there to support me.”, Harmonia said in an almost sultry tone as she hugged him from the back of his chair. “You know what? I been meaning to ask you something for a couple of weeks now.”, Spectrum said. “Oh really now?”, Harmonia replied. “Yeah...where do we stand? Like are we a couple? Is what we’re doing just a casual hook-up? Or what?”, Spectrum stated bluntly. To which the only reply at first was a giggle. “I thought we already established this? You should know that this isn’t some casual fling or some stuff like that. I do care about you Specs. I care about Midnight too.”, Harmonia stated. “Then why not make it official?”, He said. “What? Like officially claim each other as...coltfriend and fillyfriend?”, She asked. “Yes. You know I’m crazy about you and I know you feel the same way. So...why not?”, Spectrum said enthusiastically. Harmonia couldn’t believe it! Yet the only appropriate response she could think of was to wrap her fore hooves around him gently and kiss him right on the muzzle.
The "Sound" of Love:(Melody Star's Sonata)The “Sound” of Love: One blustery cold day in mid-February, two pegasus sisters were playing in the snow. The younger one, a bright lilac filly called Starlight Sonata was busy making snow angels by a creek. While she took no notice to how close she was to danger, the elder one did and came running up to collect her. The elder pegasus then moved her hooves and wings around while she talked. “Starlight! You know you’re not allowed that close to the creek without somepony watching you! C’mon. Let’s get ready to go. We still have to head to the market.”, The elder pegasus signed and spoke. To which the younger one signed back in an almost annoyed movement. “But I wasbeing careful Melody! And besides, I don’t see why we must go to the market.”, Starlight signed back with an annoyed look on her face. “We still need to pick up the groceries for mama and daddy.”, Melody signed back as the two reached the market. After collecting the things they needed, the pair made it back towards their house. Only stopping twice to talk to some friends along the way. Then they headed inside to see what could only be described as a disaster area of a kitchen, living room and den. The sisters quietly laughed as they approached the ‘eye’ of the storm; the kitchen where their mother was busy preparing that night’s dinner for the girls and lunches for all of them for the next day. “Mama, do ya think you should take a break? You’ve been at this for 4 hours now.”, Melody asked her mother to which she just got a crazed look in reply. “I can’t now! I’m only half done with your dinner and I just started on everypony’s lunches for tomorrow. I also have 2 loads of laundry in the wash and dryer currently. Plus your father wants to take me out for Hearts and Hooves’ Day dinner tonight so I need to finish before I can get ready.”, Moondance replied breathlessly before feeling two pairs of hooves pull her from the counter and sit her in a chair. “Mama! Firstly, chill out” Melody started as she fanned her mother with her wings “Secondly, it’s Hearts and Hooves Day! You should be getting yourself ready for a nice romantic evening with dad! Not worrying about school/work lunches and laundry. Go and get ready, me and ‘Starry’ will handle it from here.”, Melody finished as she wrapped a wing around her mother and Starlight did the same. Then Star remembered something she was telling Melody about earlier and started excitedly jerking her mom’s hoof towards herself. “Yes Starlight? What is it sweetie?”, Moondance asked in sign. Perplexed by her youngest daughter’s odd movements. Still too excited, Starlight tried to sign to her mommy to follow her to the piano in the den...but her movements were too fast and uncoordinated. “Starlight, calm down! You know mommy can’t understand you when you sign too fast!”, Moon signed and said in an authoritative form. Instantly causing the 7-year-old to fold her ears back in sadness but understanding. Starlight quickly signing ‘I’m sorry’ before letting a few tears fall down her face. Moondance sighed as she picked up her youngest filly and squished her in a gentle embrace, then she lifted Starlight’s head up from her chest. “No, Starry. I’m sorry for snapping at ya. I’ve just been so busy today and stressed out that I accidentally took a bit of it out on you honey. I didn’t mean anything by it honest.”, She signed and spoke. Starlight seemed to understand what she was trying to say as she suddenly smiled a bit and nuzzled her mother before signing more slowly and clear. “It’s okay mama, but I do still have a surprise for you and Melody. I was trying to get you both to come to the den to hear it!”, Starlight signed with a smile. Moondance and Melody Star looked at each other slightly confused. “Hear It?”, They both said at once, briefly forgetting that Starlight wouldn’t be able to hear the confused tone in their voices. Fortunately, Star could read lips and instantly brightened up as she lead them both past the mess of toys that she had forgot to pick up, towards the large piano against the wall. A few pieces of sheet music sat neatly on the music rack. Starlight moved to sit on the bench straight as per instruction as she started to play a beautiful romantic melody. As she finished the last note, she looked over to her big sister and mother who had tears in their eyes. Thinking that meant they hated it, she began to cry once again. Though that was instantly noticed by both and they rushed over to scoop the young filly up into a hug. Star broke away confused once again. “I don’t understand? I thought you guys hated it so bad it made you cry? Why hug me?”, Starlight signed with a confused face.To which her mother chuckled and sister squeezed tighter. “‘Starry’ Of course we don’t hate it! In fact we loved it!”, Melody signed/said. “Yes, It was spectacular my little shooting star! Though I should expect nothing less from a piano prodigy.”, Moondance replied as she wiped Star’s face clean. “It...It was just my way of saying ‘I love you’ mama. You know, for Hearts and Hooves Day.”, Starlight signed in reply as she hugged her mother. “And I couldn’t ask for a better present baby. Happy Hearts and Hooves Day girls.”, Moondance said as she hugged both her daughters.
Belle Nuit:(Love [and other things] in Prance)Belle Nuit: As Paint Smear bundled up tight to brave the mid-February cold of Paris, His thoughts were on what he had planned for the night. As it was Hearts and Hooves Day, Most (if not all) of Paris was in a major case of “love sickness”. Paint zipped up his coat as he headed out to L'e Café de Chat Brun to check in with the preparations for the surprise dinner he and Ocean had set up for their special someponies. Now being that he was extra busy today with not only keeping Roseblossom distracted, but also making sure that the restaurant was ready and to top it off, he had been called into work to teach a self-defense class that started in an hour. So he had to move it fast! ‘Damn! Damn! Damn! Why today of all days did they have to call me in!’, He thought to himself as he galloped towards the café. He enters to see utter chaos! The entire restaurant is packed to the brim! He has to squeeze past ponies in order to try to find Ocean. When he does, he’s surprised to see Ocean trying to juggle 4 orders and take more at the same time. “Ocean! What the hell happened to ‘this place will be locked up all day!’?!? It’s a labyrinth in here!”, Paint shouted over the noise. Ocean tried to crane his neck to look at him but couldn't. He sighed and spoke. “It was! Until practically most of ze restaurants on this block had run out of space for customers! Then we were back-up! As you can see, it’s a living Tartarus in here! And we’re short staffed! What with Candy Swirl on vacation, Mint-Condition still on maternity leave, Cécile having the holiday off and Rosie, us having to practically beg her to take the day off, we’re now down to: Me, François Candle, Papa and Mama. So...yeah...we’re screwed.”, Ocean said breathless. Paint groaned before looking at his phone. He still had an hour before needing to be at the studio. What’s a little helping going to hurt? “Okay O’! Scoot over, I’m coming in to help. But only until 10 to the hour!”, Paint said as he grabbed a spare apron and began to help out. Meanwhile, with Roseblossom… An alarm went off on a phone and with it, Rose jolted out of the spare bed with a hard landing. “Ow!”, a tired Roseblossom shouted as she face planted onto the floor of her friend Sabine’s apartment. The sound did not go unnoticed by Sabine as she jolted out of bed and leapt to the floor to help her friend up. “What happened?”, Sabine asked. “My alarm went off and...I wasn’t prepared.”, Rosie responded as she got up. Sabine laughed as Ro managed to get up and then trip over her shoes at the same time. “Instead of laughing, would you mind getting some breakfast ready while I go shower?”, Rosie asked as she headed to the bathroom to shower. “M’kay, but we aren’t eating here for breakfast! We’re leaving in about 20 minutes!”, Sabine yelled through the door, to which her response was a high-pitched whinny and a loud crash. 40 minutes later… Roseblossom, having by now showered, dressed and fixed her mane and tail into wavy ringlets, finally emerged from the bathroom where she was greeted by a semi-pissed off Sabine. “That was the longest ‘20 minutes’ ever! C’mon now, let’s go try to find you something to wear tonight.”, Sabine grumbled. “What’s wrong with what I have on now? And again, you brought up tonight with such a ‘way-too-mellow’ tone. What gives? Is there something you’re hiding from me?”, Rosie kept firing off questions as they left the apartment and made their way downtown. Sabine knew she’d be curious as to why she was being cryptic about today’s plans because secretly, she was in on Paint’s grand plan for the night the entire time. Now that the time had come to execute it, all she had to do was keep Rosie occupied until about 6pm. “Ooohhh...no reason. I’m simply trying to help out my best friend prepare for a date night is all.”, Sabine replied in a subtle, yet cryptic way. Rosie muttered something colorful but decided to drop the issue for now as they headed into a shop. A Few Hours Later with Paint… As he walked out into the dim twilight sun, Paint only had 2 thoughts in his head: A shower and of his beloved marefriend of 3 and a half years. The self-defense class he instructed lasted far longer than he’d hoped it would. It was almost 5pm by the time he finally clocked out and headed for home. “Shit! I had planned on being home by now! I still gotta shower, change, make sure Toulouse and Claudia are at Madame Citrus’s place for the night and pick up the ‘surprise’ for later! Not to mention get to the restaurant before Rosie does.”, Paint said to himself as he got off the elevator to his floor and practically tore his saddlebags apart looking for his house key. As he got the door unlocked, he was ambushed by two small furry bullets of energy in the form of a silver fox todd and a red fox vixen. “Okay, okay! I missed you guys too. But I gotta get the two of you to Mme. Citrus now!”, He said to the two vulpines as he gathered their sleeping baskets/food dishes/pre-made food/toy basket and let them climb upon his back as he headed across the hall to his neighbor’s apartment. After dropping them off, he bolted back to his apartment to shower. 10 minutes later… Paint showered and dressed right on time to because it had just then hit 5 o’clock pm. All he had to do next is text Rose to meet him at the café and go pick up his ‘surprise’ for her. So he raced down and out their apartment building, remembering to tell Brick to meet up at the café in an hour as he past by their apartment. As he was leaving the jewelers’ he quickly noticed that the restaurant district had finally calmed down drastically. Using this opportunity, he cautiously walked up to Le Café de Chat Brun to find it completely devoid of customers and looking every bit as sophisticated as he imagined for the night. “Ocean? I don’t know how you did it, but this place looks better than I could’ve ever imagined!”, Paint said as he found Ocean. “Merci mon pote!Though...none of this would’ve been possible if it weren’t for a great reason.”, Ocean replied with a smile as he checked the time. An Hour Later... A slightly tired Brick walked up to the front entrance with an equally tired Roseblossom. Both looking drop dead gorgeous with Brick wearing a loose fitting black long sleeve shirt with matching dress pants, black shined shoes. Rose wearing a medium length aqua dress, yellow flats, blue dress coat and the silver locket Paint got her for her birthday. While they gawked at how amazing the café looked, Ocean took position and stepped up to the front entrance while Paint hid. “Bonsoir monsieur et miss. Normalement ce soir je serais ton serveur mais ce soir …” He stopped and said directed towards Brick “...Je suis ton rendez-vous pour ce soir.”, Ocean finished with a wink. That made Brick instantly blush and Rose giggle like a school filly. “While that is fine and wonderful, I wonder where my date is?”, Rose said/asked. “Well wonder no longer.”, a voice that Rose knew all too well said behind her. She turned and nearly had a magic hiccup fit and fainted as soon as she saw Paint in his navy blue suit and red tie. ‘I have composure….oh fuck it! Damnnn! He looks fine!!! Oh mon dieu I can’t stop staring...am I drooling? I don’t think so? What a surprise!’, Rose thought to herself as soon as she saw him. She had to force her magic to stay calm while she got a good look at her well-dressed coltfriend. She decided to play along and simply go with it. That is until she was lead to a finely dressed table with a lone candle, basket of breadsticks and a single plate of spaghetti and "meatballs". Unable to form actual words, she just let her jaw remain slack until Paint gently closed it. “I take it you like the little spread I’ve put together?”, He asked. “Like it? I LOVE it!”, Rosie managed to utter as she was seated. “I thought so...call it a bit cliché but...hey! I couldn’t help it!”, Paint said as he sat down. As they sat down to eat and simply enjoy the evening, someone somewhere played a cute bitalian song on a mandolin and accordion. They eventually finished and found themselves taking a lover’s stroll in the park next door. Eventually they stopped underneath an old willow tree. “Hey, now this tree looks familiar.”, Rose said with a smirk. “It should. It’s the tree we crashed into one another all those years ago.”, Paint replied. “I thought so! That’s probably why it’s my favorite tree in the entire park.”, Rose said. “Hehe yeah….”, Paint started before falling off into thought. Roseblossom noticed his sudden quiet and decided to ask on it. “Paint? You okay? You seemed a little too quiet, even for you. Something on your mind love?”, She asked. ‘It’s now or never’, he thought to himself as he silently slipped the small box out of his jacket pocket, out of her line of sight. “Hmm? Oh, yes love. I’m alright...b-but I do have something...something very important to ask you.”, Paint said, feigning confusion briefly. “You do?”, Rose asked curiously. “Yes. Ro, All my life I’ve seen too many good things taken from me before I even got a chance to truly appreciate them. I’ve seen the good in ponies and the bad in others. I was never really sure about anything aside from my art...that is...until I met you.” He paused to take a deep breath before continuing “Rose, when I first met you, I won’t even lie I was instantly head over hooves. I knew you were it for me!” he paused again to hold the small black box in plain view now “So...I guess what I’m trying to ask is...Roseblossom, ma chérie ... veux-tu m'épouser?”, He finished as he opened the box to reveal a small, horn-sized diamond and gold engagement ring. Rose was so shocked she was left speechless for all of 4 seconds before responding. "Oh mon dieu - OUI!! Oui oui, un million de fois OUI!! Je t'épouserai!", She all but screamed in happiness as she leapt into his forehooves. “You said yes? You said yes. YOU SAID 'YES'!!!!Oh Faust! Ye-es!!!”, Paint exclaimed happily as he excitedly spun her around in a circle before sitting them both back down into a slow, deep, passionate, love-filled kiss.
Like Thieves in the Night:(The Thief and the Dancer)Like Thieves in the Night: Wolf Runner didn’t think today could get any worse than this, but the universe just seemed to love to screw with him. As he was currently hopping over crates in a back alley somewhere in north Manehattan, his only thoughts were on one thing: He had to get home to her! He picked up the pace before stopping suddenly. He was tired of running and decided that today was NOT the day the cops would take him. All he did was try to do something nice for his marefriend and it somehow turned into a bunch of craziness. “Not today Fuzz!!”, Wolf yelled as he fired up his horn and sent a wave of crimson magic towards a large dumpster, levitating it up and effectively cutting himself off from the pursuing police. Which lead him to then teleport himself out of sight and back to his “house”. If anyone were to ask Gracie where she saw herself 5 years in the future, she certainly wouldn't have answered with ‘newly engaged to a criminal’. But at the moment she was too preoccupied with a much bigger issue along with getting their “house” (a one-story flat) together for a nice romantic Hearts and Hooves Day with her fiancé. “I can’t believe this! I can’t believe this! I just can not believe this! How could I let this happen. I-We were so careful….How am I gonna tell him? We’re both still too young for this, plus unmarried.”, she kept yelling to herself as she set the table. A flash of light and heavy panting alerted her that he was home. “Hey babe! I’m home!”, Wolf Runner shouted from the livingroom. “Oh! I-In the kitchen! But, don’t come in yet! It's a surprise.”, Gracie shouted from the kitchen as she finished getting the table together and setting the food out. She then went into the livingroom. “Hey you!” Wolf started before kissing her lightly on the cheek “Hope you weren’t too bored while I was out.”, he finished. “No...but I do have a few surprises for ya today!”, Gracie responded before kissing him again, this time on the lips. “Mmm...I’m liking where this is going so far.”, Wolf said as they parted and caught their breaths. “Well then, put this blindfold on and follow me.”, Gracie instructed. Wolf complied and was soon sightless, being guided by Gracie towards the kitchen. Once there Gracie fixed one more thing before telling him to remove the blindfold. As he removed the blindfold, his eyes were met with a simple but nonetheless appreciated table with a peach tablecloth. A top the table, a lone candle sat lit, illuminating the two plates of broccoli alfredo and “meatballs". A basket of breadsticks near the center. “G-Grace...W-what’s all this?!?”, Wolf asked astonished. “What’s it look like? A special Hearts and Hooves Day dinner for me and the stallion I love.”, Gracie beamed. As soon as Wolf got himself together, he slipped his was behind Grace and wrapped his hooves around her in a loving embrace, albeit a rather tight one. “Baby...can’t breathe!”, Gracie wheezed out. Prompting Wolf to release her and they both sat down for dinner. “Sorry ‘Ce-ce’. That was just a...warm-up to my real way of saying ‘thank you’.”, Wolf replied with a wink as they started on their dinner. “Hmmm, I’m sure it is.”, Gracie replied as she poured some cups of sparkling cider. Right as they finished dinner, there was a banging on the front door. “Open up!! This is the police!!! We have a arrest warrant out for a Wolf Runner!”, a police officer shouted as they banged on the door. “Shit!--What you do now?!?!?!?”, Gracie shouted at/asked Wolf. “For once, I swear nothing! I’ve literally been just walking around town all day. I had to pick up your Hearts and Hooves Day present earlier, next thing I know two cops just start chasin’ my ass for no reason! I managed to lose ‘em but I guess they found me.’, Wolf shouted as the door burst open and two uniformed officers came in and threw him to the floor. Gracie screaming and swearing in Bitalian at the officers as they cuffed and dragged Wolf away. After getting over the shock of having her fiance carted away downtown by cops, Gracie came to her senses and whipped out her phone to make a call. “Hello?....Hey Gabe! Listen, Imma need about $300 bail money and a ride downtown….C’mon please?!?...Duh! It’s Wolf!....No, He told me he wasn’t doin’ shit and two cops just chased him earlier for no reason….uh-huh….Yeah they came an’ busted down our front door a while ago n’ just cuffed him! Took him downtown….Okay….Thanks so much buddy!....Kay, see ya soon...bye.”, Gracie finally finished as she hung up. She then gathered her purse, keys, mace and a item wrapped in paper towel off the bathroom sink and threw them in her purse. 10 minutes later, Gabriel showed up on time and ready to give his friend a lift to the police station. When they get there, Gracie is met with a familiar sight of an annoyed, but kind receptionist and her fiance in a holding cell talking to an officer. “*sigh* Time to lay in the charm to this rookie officer…”, Gracie muttered to herself as she grabbed a release form and went over to the holding cell where Wolf was. “Gracie! Thank Faust. D-Do you have the bail money and of course, a possible smile for me?”, Wolf rambled. Gracie nodded and smiled before approaching the officer who arrested Wolf. A miserable look on her face. “Hello, may I help you miss?”, the officer asked. “Yes! Oh please, can’t you release my fiance? I know he was wrongfully incarcerated! You see, he wasn’t doing anything illegal. Simply out on a grocery run for me. I’d have done so myself but in my…’current state’” She paused and indicated towards her stomach, “He would have no room for argument! He insisted on going to the market. Please Officer...U. Cake...its a holiday.”, She finished. The officer thought about this for a second before glancing back at the positively glowing young mare in front of him. “...I suppose….with circumstances being as they are...I can let him off with a warning. Besides, having one parent in jail and the other to raise a foal is a statistic far too common these days and who am I to help with that statistic grow larger. Just don’t let this happen again.”, Officer Cake responded as he unlocked the holding cell and released Wolf Runner. “Oh Thank you Officer! And I promise, this won’t happen again! And...out of curiousity, what is your first name?”, Gracie asked as she signed them both out after paying bail. “I am Officer Uranus Cake ma’am.”, Officer Cake responded. “Ahh...alright. Well, til next time Officer. Good-bye.”, Grace saluted before they left. When they stepped out of and were a good distance away from the police station, Gracie finally broke the necessary silence. “Okay, I could not have been the only one thinking of and mentally laughing at that officer’s name!”, She laughed. “Oh goodness! I instantly thought of ‘urinal cake’ when I read it too!”, Wolf laughed as they headed home. “Okay! I’ve seen you con your way outta a lotta situations before, but that had to be your most believable story yet babe!”, Wolf Runner laughed after they’d gone home for the night. “Yeah…..”, Gracie started before falling off into her own thoughts. Wolf noticed she suddenly got quiet and asked, “Hey, you okay?”. ‘Well...it’s now or never...’ Gracie thought as she swallowed and sighed as she turned away to grab the paper towel wrapped item from her purse. “Yeah...well….what if I told you that all but one thing about what I said was just acting.”, Gracie stated. Wolf looked confused and readjusted himself on the couch. “What do you mean? What thing?”, He asked cautiously. “The part where I mentioned a ‘current state’ then gestured to my midsection…”, Gracie said timidly. Finally fully understanding what she meant by that after a full minute, he nearly fell off the couch in shock. “T-That was...Y-You mean...Y-You’re…”, He stuttered. Gracie nodded and unfolded the paper towel to reveal a small stick with a red “+” sign on it. “Yeah...I-I’m pregnant.”, She said in an almost whisper. Wolf Runner instantly jumped up and picked her up carefully and spun her around in happiness. “Oh Faust! Gracie! This is Amazin’! But...how?!? And how long have you known?”, Wolf asked still in a bit of shock and setting her down. “Okay, first since this afternoon. I just felt terrible earlier and something in the back of my mind told me to just check myself. Don’t worry, I tested 5 other sticks and they all said the same thing. As to the how...well I think you know exactly ‘how’! But what baffled me is that we hadn’t had sex in like 2 weeks, and even then we used protection. Perhaps the rubber broke or my birth control decided to fail me for a day. Either way it resulted in...well this!”, Gracie said while cautiously rubbing her mid-section. Wolf Runner simply had the biggest grin in all creation on his face. The two sat back down, Gracie on Wolf’s lap her head resting against his fluffy chest. “I...Imma be a ‘Papà’!?'", Wolf asked to reassure himself that this wasn’t a beautiful dream. “Mmmmhmm. And Imma be a ‘Mama’!'", Gracie answered with an excited smile on her face. “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day my love.”, Wolf Runner said pulling a thick quilt over the both of them. “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Wolf Runner. Ti amo.”, Gracie responded as they fell into a fitful sleep.
Coffee Shop:(Night Art)Coffee Shop: On quiet mornings in winter, some ponies will normally try to get more sleep or simply try to get to work on time. This morning was no exception in the Dream household. It all started well, Midnight had gotten up before her dad and had already fixed herself up for school before going to wake her dad up and get him ready for work at the university. “Papa? Papa?....PAPA?!?!?!”, Midnight whispered before shouting to the sleeping stallion, effectively waking him up in the process. “*pant* Midnight! Why do you always insist on waking me up like that?”, Spectrum asked while trying to catch his breath. “Because you won’t get up any other way if I don’t. Now c’mon!! It’s time to go!”, Midnight exclaimed as she helped her papa out of bed and into the upstairs wheelchair as the doorbell rang. "Oooh! That must be Ms. Red Cross. I’ll go let her in while you try to find something to wear. Okay?”, Midnight said as she zipped downstairs to open the door for their housekeeper/homenurse. Spectrum laughed as he rolled over to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of snow pants and a long sleeve mint shirt. Ms. Red Cross came in as he was setting the clothes on his bed. “Goodmorning Spectrum.”, she said as she gave him a hug. “Morning Catrina, hope your evening was good?”, he replied as they separated. “Was good my son tells me to tell you he said ‘hello’, now...let’s get your day started while Midnight watches tv.”, Catrina said as she rolled him into the bathroom and started his shower, replacing the shower chair into the tub, and helping him onto his toilet before leaving to go get her cleaning supplies and to check on Midnight. 10 minutes later… Spectrum is now showered, shaven and dressed (with little help from Catrina and Midnight) as he climbs off the stairlift and into his main chair. With that he hoofs Catrina a list of groceries and chores to get and do while they were gone and he and Midnight were off to school and work. The streets of Trottingham were slowly filling with ponies trying to get to where they needed to be. On his way to drop Midnight off at the local elementary school, father and daughter stop by their favorite coffee shop to grab a quick breakfast. When they go in, they’re greeted to a familiar sight of a quarter-full coffeehouse. The scent of the coffee machines brewing the morning’s selection and the sweet scent of the freshly made pastries being put on display was inviting. Spectrum sighed as they found their favorite table and settled down to look at the menu cards in front of them. As they were approached by their favorite waitress, a loud collision resounded in the cafe. Curiosity enveloped Midnight as she wanted to investigate. Seeing her papa distracted with ordering their breakfast, Midnight stealthily snuck away from the table and towards the sound stage near the back of the building. Once she reached it, she was surprised to see a mare on the ground with a keyboard and a microphone strewn aside her. “Oh my! Miss, do you need some help?”, Midnight asked as she approached the older mare. The mare in question was currently tangled in a web of cords and wires but she managed to nod in affirmation. That was all Midnight needed to start to help the mare levitate and untangle the electric web. “*pant* Thanks a bunch kid! I just don’t know how this happened, I was trying to carry all my equipment to the stage and next thing I know...BOOM! a puddle comes out of nowhere and I’m on the ground.”, the mare thanked her. “No problem! If you’d like, I can help you bring your stuff to the stage.”, Midnight offered. “Ya know what? That’d be awful sweet.”, The mare responded as they proceeded to carry the equipment to the stage and set up. 15 minutes later… After getting everything set up and working, the mare and filly decided to stretch their legs and walk around the cafe a bit. Right as they were headed towards a booth, Midnight heard a sound that usually meant that she was in trouble. “Midnight Demetria Dream, what have I told you about going off on your own without letting me know?!?”, Spectrum calmly seethed as his wheelchair came into view. A highly upset look on his face. “*gulp* Sorry papa...I just…I didn’t mean to...”, Midnight started but couldn’t finish due to crying. Not liking seeing her new little companion sad, the mare tried to approach the situation calmly and explain. “Sir, If I may, your little filly did me a great service a while ago. See I was backstage trying to get my equipment up to center stage when I mislooked and slipped on a puddle. I fell and that’s what caused the crash. I should be lucky that she happened to be so curious, otherwise I’d still be stuck in a web of cords and wires.”, the mare explained. She noticed the concerned father’s face turn from upset to relieved in a matter of seconds. Spectrum, now knowing of what happened, felt bad that he “yelled” at his little one. He lit up his horn and picked up Midnight and set her on his lap. “I’m sorry chaton. Had I not jumped to conclusions, I wouldn’t have yelled. Can you forgive me?”, Spectrum apologized to his daughter. “Hmmm...I suppose...qui, I forgive you papa.”, Midnight responded as she hugged her dad. The mare stood there, feeling slightly awkward as the pair had a moment. Though, Spectrum being the ever observant one that he is, took notice as he rolled his chair closer, slowly to approach the mare. “I’d like to formally apologize again if my daughter was meddling again miss...Oh, silly me. I don’t believe I caught your name, nor did I introduce myself. My name is Spectrum Dream.”, Spectrum said politely. “Of course! I know who you are sir. You’re the artist’ behind that painting ‘Starry Night’ yes? Also, my apologies, I am Harmonia Half-Note. Composer/singer/pianist...I can pretty much do anything but make a strong first impression without making a mule of myself...which is...what I’m doing now...I’ll just shut it.”, Harmonia introduced herself before fumbling over her words. “No, no. It’s quite alright. It was actually kinda cute--In a friendly, you know, acquaintance type way...ummm I mean--”, Spectrum started to spiral. “--What he’s trying to say is that it’s nice to meet you and that he thinks you’re rather bright and pretty!”, Midnight cut her father off and effectively saving him. “MIDNIGHT!”, Spectrum squealed in a high-pitched, un-stallion like, voice. Harmonia took that as adorable and giggled lightly. Spectrum couldn’t have sworn on his late-wife’s grave that her giggle was one of the most beautiful sounds he’d ever heard. “How about this: If I give you my number, would the two of you promise to stop by here sometime in the evenings to catch my sets? Because I have a feeling, I’m gonna be seeing more of the two of you more often around here.”, Harmonia said as Midnight hoofed her, her dad’s phone and she put her number in. “I guess we’ll be seeing you around then too.”, Spectrum said as Midnight started rolling him back towards their table. Weeks Later… The Coffee Shop was semi-filled with ponies of all ages. Some were there for the caffeine rush for a late-night shift. Others were there for a nice warm pastry. Though most were there to watch the live performances. This night, a house regular, Harmonia Half-Note was performing a small set with her keyboard. Normally, a semi-packed house would get Harmonia nervous but tonight was different. Not only was she performing a new song but her “Sorta-kinda-coltfriend” and his daughter were gonna be in the audience. “C’mon Papa! We’re gonna miss her!”, Midnight yelled over the crowd as her papa lagged behind her with their snacks and hot chocolates. “No we aren’t chaton, she’s not even on stage yet.”, Spectrum responded as they found their new favorite seats in the front booths by the stage. The announcer spoke and said the show was starting so Spectrum and Midnight sat patiently while the spotlight shone on a casually dressed Harmonia as she started to sing a rather haunting melody, whilst playing her keyboard. After the song ended she followed up with a small medley of songs in similar fashions. All the while Spectrum was almost hypnotized by her beauty and her voice. Eventually the show did come to a close and when Harmonia went backstage to freshen up and pack up her keyboard, she wasn’t all that surprised to see Midnight bouncing about excitedly or Spectrum trying to resist pulling his mane out due to said filly’s antics. “I take it you liked the show a lot?”, Harmonia asked a now tired Midnight. “Mmmmhmmm….”, Midnight sounded sleepily as she lay on her papa’s lap. “We both did. You were astounding out there!”, Spectrum stated before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Yeah...well it helped that I had the...right kind of company there to support me.”, Harmonia said in an almost sultry tone as she hugged him from the back of his chair. “You know what? I been meaning to ask you something for a couple of weeks now.”, Spectrum said. “Oh really now?”, Harmonia replied. “Yeah...where do we stand? Like are we a couple? Is what we’re doing just a casual hook-up? Or what?”, Spectrum stated bluntly. To which the only reply at first was a giggle. “I thought we already established this? You should know that this isn’t some casual fling or some stuff like that. I do care about you Specs. I care about Midnight too.”, Harmonia stated. “Then why not make it official?”, He said. “What? Like officially claim each other as...coltfriend and fillyfriend?”, She asked. “Yes. You know I’m crazy about you and I know you feel the same way. So...why not?”, Spectrum said enthusiastically. Harmonia couldn’t believe it! Yet the only appropriate response she could think of was to wrap her fore hooves around him gently and kiss him right on the muzzle.
