Unpolished Gems: A Concept Collection

Warmth. The delightful feeling of being held in strong forelegs. The gentle nuzzling of my mane. What a wonderful way to wake up. The sun's just beginning to rise, painting the sky with shades of yellow. The warm rays glitter through icicles outside the window, painting my room with miniature rainbows. I let out a sigh of contentment and wriggle around to face my bed partner, smiling. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps, without a care in the world. I am so lucky to have found him. He was the perfect gentlecolt, opening doors for me, pulling out my chair, even carrying me home after I drank a bit too much cider. And once we got home? "Oh no." I whisper, "Did we really?"

"Did we really what?" he mutters, yawning, "You talking about last night? If so, then course we did. You having second thoughts, hun?" he chuckles and kisses my nose.

I blush and look away, "No. Well, yes. I mean, maybe?" I squeak, "I never thought we would do this so soon. Eventually, I wanted to do it, but not this quickly!" I bury my face in his white coat, shivering, "What if I'm not good enough. What if I mess up?"

I relax as he strokes my mane, whispering softly, "Don't worry. We'll do a great job! Remember, I'll be there every step of the way. You're an amazing mare! So gentle and caring. Children love you, and I know you love them." He pulls me up into a kiss, his deep blue eyes half hidden by golden bangs.

I lean into the kiss, closing my own plain brown eyes as I enjoy the moment. All too soon, he pulls away, and I nod, "Your right. I'll be fine. We'll be fine. Parenting can't be all that hard! I mean, ours did a pretty good job. And we'll do a good job too." I giggle and lick his nose, then roll out of bed, "We can't do much worse than the staff from the orphanage. She's so thin! Had we not stayed out later than usual, we might not have found her sleeping on our doorstep. We'll be so much better for her!" I exclain, trotting over to the dresser. I pick up a brush and get to work on my mane, trying to tame the mass of red curls, "Goldy, can you help? I'm no good at these froufrou hair care things."

Golden Light chuckles as he trots over, picking up a different brush, "That's because your trying to use a coat cleaner in your mane, Misty." He quickly gets my mane under control, then picks up the brush I tried to use, smiling, "It's almost like you purposefully forget everything I teach you. You must really enjoy my grooming."

I blush fiercely, trying to hold still as he brushes my pink coat, making it shine, "Maybe." I snicker, "To be fair, you are amazing. The best stylist in Canterlot!"

"High praise indeed, from miss substitute teacher." He picks up a third brush and goes over my tail, untangling it expertly, "We should get down and start breakfast. I can't imagine she's gonna stay asleep much longer."

I wriggle happily and nod, "She'll be so excited when she wakes up. It's not everyday that you get adopted." I follow him downstairs, and duck into the guest room as Goldy heads into the kitchen, "Chancy, wake up! It's breakfast time!" I trot over to the bed and gently tap the filly, my filly, "You wouldn't want to miss out on apple cinnamon pancakes!"

"Miss Misty?" the silver filly mumbles, "Last night, did you really—?" She yawns and continues, "I can stay here? Your not gonna send me back to the orphanage?" She looks at me, teary green eyes filled with hope.

I smile and snug her tightly, tearing up as well, "Of course you can stay here. This is your home now."

Chancy squeaks and wriggles excitedly, "Thank you, miss Misty"

I chuckle and kiss her nose, "You can just call me mom." I go to get up, and pause for a moment, frowning slightly, "You do know we'll have to let the orphage know where you are. They're bound to be frantic with worry after you ran off."

She looks down, blushing, "I know, miss Mis—Mom. Are you going to ground me?"

I hug her again, then usher her off the bed and out the door, "We can talk after breakfast, sweetie. First food, then the rest of your new life!"