Pony Pet Play Date

Nervoucited.

If Dusk Midnight Melody had to choose an emotion to sum up the way he felt right now, then that would be it. Yes, nervoucited just about covered it. Flying low, at two thousand feet, he admired the scenery passing below him as he flew from Canterlot to Ponyville.

Ponyville. Quiet, sleepy, little Ponyville. Home to just twenty thousand ponies, a wholly unremarkable little town were it not for Princess Twilight, the Crystal Castle and the main residence of the former Elements of Harmony.

Right now, to Dusk, Ponyville was the scariest place in Equestria. His powerful, dark blue wings carried the pegasus on towards his destination. The closer he got to the town the bigger the butterflies got in his stomach. Every beat of his wings brought him closer to Ponyville… ‘And closer to him…’ Dusk thought happily to himself as his mind started to wander in mid-flight.

Dusk found his mind wandering all the time, recently. Mostly since the trip to the funfair last week. Ever since he’d met Vocal Chord that evening, the young Prince found he was thinking about nothing else other than the tightness of his flanks, the line of his jaw, his velvet-soft, light grey fur, dark blue, spiked mane and tail, his sheath…

Dusk blushed a fierce crimson as he flew, which momentarily distracted him from thoughts of his destination. Thoughts which came crashing back to him as he saw the town approaching in the distance. Ponyville was getting closer. Which meant he was getting closer to Ponyville. Closer to him. Closer to his stallion. Closer to the date he had with his stallion.

Dusk was so nervoucited!

He was also prepared. The moment Vocal Chord had hung up after having called him after the funfair to arrange the date Dusk’s brain had overloaded. Thirty minutes later, when he’d stopped hyperventilating, and his mum, Octavia, had almost stopped laughing at him hyperventilating, he started to think.

Then he went to his suite to think in private, if only to get away from his mum’s incessant laughing.

Of course the answer had been his friends. Specifically those with partners. Or experience of having had partners. Upon reflection Cyclone had probably been a mistake as a first option to call. The moment he said he wanted dating advice for his first ever date, the black mare had laughed as hard as his mum, at least until he hung up his phone.

Air Raid and Wildfire hadn’t been much more help, though he was sure his B.B.F.E, or best bestest friend ever, would have some helpful tips for him. And she did, after Air Raid had stopped laughing long enough to pass Wily her phone. “Be yourself” Wily had said. “Have fun,” she said.

While these ideas had seemed fine on the phone in Canterlot five days ago where there was wine, now he was very sober, landing in Ponyville ten minutes before his date these ideas were just the craziest thing Dusk had ever heard. ‘Still, too late to worry now…’ the stallion thought to himself as he made his way to the hot air balloon stand.

Besides, he was prepared. After trying his friends and best friend, the light bulb had gone off and the solution had presented itself. Twilight Sparkle. Dusk didn’t know why he hadn’t gone to the Princess first off. Twilight had never failed him with a problem yet, and she was the Princess of Friendship, and she had her marriage to Rainbow Dash too…

True, his cousin Cady was the Princess of Love, and she had the very hot and very cute Shining Armour, the very strong Captain who always seemed to make Dusk’s knees weak with just a look, but, well, Ponyville and Twilight were nearer. And Twi had a library. A huge lovely library. Full of books. And books were a source of reassurance to Dusk. Dusk trusted books.

As Dusk waited by the hot air balloon for his date to appear – he wasn’t worried, they had agreed four o’clock in the afternoon, and it was only three fifty-two – he recalled with a smile bursting into the Crystal Castle five days ago.

~ ~ ~

“Twilight! Twilight!” Dusk burst through the doors of his science teacher’s library, a look of utter panic on his face warring with feelings of complete joy in his heart. Although Twilight, no, Princess Twilight, wasn't ‘technically’ his teacher during the University holidays, the dark blue pegasus still went to her with any problem he had, true most of those problems were homework related and nothing like this, but at this point Dusk was out of options.

And this was a problem and a half…

Frantically he called her name once more before the sound of clopping hooves from the stairs outside the library reached his ears. A small semblance of calm entered his being at the sound of her measured hoofsteps.

“Dusk Melody, what in the wide world of Equestria is wrong?”

Panic threatened to resurface, and Dusk flapped his wings in agitation, hovering a few feet from the floor of the library. “Twilight! Thank the sun and moon! Help…I need, please…help!”

Twilight took a deep breath. “Right. From the top, tell me what's happened.”

“Well, I…you see, I…” Dusk trailed off, still maintaining his panicked hover.

“Has something happened to Luna, or Octavia?” Twilight asked, fishing for clues as to what had wound up her top student.

“I…wait, what?” Dusk landed with a bit of a thud, confused slightly. “No, it's nothing like that, my parents are fine…no, this is worse, much worse…”

“Okay, is anything wrong with Celestia then?”

“No! Aunt Tia is perfectly fine! Everypony is fine!” Dusk raised his voice in annoyance, wishing Twilight would shut up about his family and let him start so he could finish.

“Well,” Twilight’s tone had turned noticeably chilly in the past few seconds, “what is it then that has you in this state?”

Dusk, in a barely audible voice that Fluttershy would have been proud of, opened his mouth, eyes firmly focused on the floor, “I asked him out…”

“Excuse me?” It wasn't that Twilight didn't believe what she’d heard, more that she didn't hear anything. “Say again?”

“I asked him out…Vocal Chord. I asked him out. On a date. With me. In five days. With me. On a date.”

“But…that's brilliant! Dusk I'm so happy for you!” Twilight halted her congratulations, upon noticing the glazed look in the young stallion’s eyes. “So…forgive me, but what's the problem?”

"The problem? I don't know what I'm doing! I've never asked anypony out before! I've never been on a date before! What do I do? What do I say? Where should we go?” Dusk’s wings flapped involuntarily, joining his right eye as it twitched.

Twilight chuckled, recognising much of herself in the pegasus’ freak out. Gently she placed a lavender hoof on his shoulder. “Dusk, calm down. Everything will be fine.” Seizing a book on a nearby shelf in her magical grasp the Princess levitated it over to where they were sitting and deposited it in Dusk’s hooves. “Here, take this. Read it, it'll help, I promise.”

Dusk glanced at the title of the book he had been given, and with a faint blush on his cheeks stored it in his saddlebags with a grateful smile at the Princess. “Thanks Twilight, I'm sure that'll help!” Wrapping his forelegs around her neck he brought his favourite teacher into a tight hug before flying out the open library doors.

“Good luck!” Twilight called after him, her only reply the slamming of the main castle door a moment later.

~ ~ ~

Dusk checked his watch, three fifty-eight. Two minutes to go. Nervoucited didn’t even cover the way he felt any more. But, he reflected with a smile, he had read the book that Twi had given him, ‘Romance 101, The Novice’s Guide to Dating,’ he had read it cover to cover several times over the past few days. He had taken its advice to heart. ‘Get to know your potential somepony as soon as possible,’ the book had said. So, in his saddlebag was the means by which he’d do just that.

Dusk smiled confidently. Vocal Chord would be so surprised!

~ ~ ~

"Vocal..."

The noon day sun shone through the windows of the little one storey house, ricocheting its way around the bedroom until it eventually hit the closed eyes of the sleeping unicorn. With a sigh he rolled over in the bed and tried to ignore the sunlight and the accented voice that called his name.

“Vocal Chord…” Falsetto leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom, her forelegs crossed and a little wry smile on her yellow muzzle. Uncrossing her legs the earth pony mare wiped her powder blue mane from her eyes and trotted over to her snoozing friend. She smiled at the sight of the light grey unicorn, all curled up in the doggie bed, looking for all Equestria like the best little pet in the world.

The bass player crouched and leaned herself close to her lead singer’s upturned ear, smiling as she took a deep breath. “VOCAL CHORD!” she shouted into the ear, and immediately giggled as the slumbering stallion jerked awake, spilling out of the bed onto the bedroom floor.

“Morning ‘Setto,” Vocal yawned himself fully awake as he groggily shook his head. “Was that really necessary?” he asked grumpily as he scratched his unruly mane and stretched, his muscles popping from being curled up in the pet bed.

“Good afternoon, Vocal,” Falsetto sniggered as she started to busy herself with tidying the bedroom to some form of decency. “And yes, it was necessary,” she continued as she carefully put her prized bass guitar back in its stand. “Somepony has a date with a Prince today, remember?”

Vocal dragged himself to his hooves, trying to process his backing singer’s sentence through the fog of sleep that still clouded his brain. He wondered why he was so light headed. He didn’t remember getting drunk last night, not to say that was hard proof he didn’t, but something felt off. Concentrating he tried to magically unlock the dog collar around his neck, and panicked when nothing happened. “’Setto, my magic’s not working!” the singer whined as he tried to work out what had happened.

Falsetto looked up from her cleaning, and idly wondered if it would constitute a breach of their roommate agreement to let him panic a bit more. ‘Maybe…but it would be funny…’ she thought to herself with a giggle. A moment later she took pity on her friend and trotted over to him and put a yellow hoof on his shoulder. “Chill out, dumbass.” She grinned, the Vanhoovan showing in her accent.

“But…what…I don’t get it, why…” Vocal’s voice trailed off as Falsetto took his horn in her mouth. He was just about to ask her what he’d done to deserve this little treat when he felt her teeth grip something and twist, before she removed herself and spat what she had removed at his hooves.

“You forgot about the inhibitor again, stupid.” Falsetto giggled as she reached around him and unbuckled the collar. “Besides, good doggies don’t touch their collars, do they?” She bopped his nose with her hoof before carrying the collar to his saddlebag and resuming her battle with the forces of untidiness.

“Thanks ‘Setto,” Vocal started before a thought came thundering to the fore of his brain. “Wait…you said it was the afternoon! What time?” he asked as a new wave of panic threatened to overtake him.

“Relax pooch,” Falsetto sniggered at Vocal’s pout, “you have about two hours. There’s a hot bath in the bathroom ready for you, and cold scrambled eggs on toast in the kitchen.”

“Thanks ‘Setto.” Vocal grinned as he set off to the kitchen to find his food bowls.

Having decided the tidy war was won for today, the yellow earth pony leant against her bedroom door and mentally counted down, ‘Three…two…one…’

Right on cue she heard Vocal Chord let out a whine of disappointment from the kitchen. “The eggs are on a plate. The plate is on the table. You will sit like a pony and eat like one, thank you very much,” Falsetto chided him, an undertone of frustration in her voice.

“But…”

“No ‘buts’ V!” she exclaimed, breathing through her nose for calm as she made herself a coffee. “You know the agreement; I indulge your little pet-fantasy-thing, whatever it is, and when you wake up the next day and the collar comes off, I get my friend back to talk to. I walked you and played fetch with you yesterday, so now you can be a pony for me.”

“Fine…” Vocal sulked as he started to eat his eggs and Falsetto joined him at the table with her steaming coffee. Vocal cast a look at his food bowls as he ate, and while he had to admit the cold eggs weren’t all that bad, ‘They’d taste better in my bowl…’ he thought to himself.

“So…” Falsetto started as she took a sip of what Vocal guessed was her seventh caffeine injection that day, “what’re you gonna be doing?”

“What? With Dusk, you mean?” Vocal asked as he swallowed a mouthful of eggs without thinking, a good proportion of his concentration still lingering on the bowls on the floor.

“No, with his mom,” Falsetto answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “I’m sure Princess Luna would just love to walk you on a leash around the Royal Gardens.” She gave an annoyed sigh. “Yes, I mean with Prince Dusk.”

Vocal stuck his tongue out and gave Falsetto a loud raspberry. “Well, Dusk said something about a hot air balloon ride, and a picnic on a cloud, so it should be fun.”

Falsetto drained her cup in a single swallow and gave her friend a solemn look. “Don’t buck this up, V.”

Vocal answered her look with one of his own as he slid off the seating pad to go to the bathroom. “What d’you mean, don’t buck it up?”

“I mean, this isn’t your usual skanky groupie looking for a quick fumble with somepony famous, this is a date with royalty! So, like I said, don’t buck this up.”

The unicorn paused at the bathroom door and looked over his shoulder with a grin. “Yes, mom, I’ll behave, mom!” Vocal Chord giggled as Falsetto stuck her tongue out at him and decided it was time to beat a hasty retreat to the sanctuary of the bathroom.

An hour later Vocal emerged from the bathroom, washed and scrubbed to within an inch of his life he had even spent a good twenty minutes brushing his fur. His unruly dark blue mane and tail were straightened, possibly for the first time in his life, Tartarus, he’d even polished his horn.

Falsetto put her book down, a rather racy ‘romance’ novel called, ‘Twilight’s Lover,’ and looked Vocal over as he exited the bathroom. To her great surprise she found her mouth hanging open. ‘Jeez…he’s really trying…buckin’ hell, even I’d give him one…’

“Hey V, looking good mate, almost didn’t recognise you.” She trotted over for a closer inspection as he stuck his tongue out at her. “How’d you get your mane to behave?”

“Used your mane straightener.”

“Gee thanks. That’s that ruined then.” The earth pony mare aimed a swat at Vocal’s flank, which he easily dodged with a giggle. “Go on, get out and have fun with your Prince.”

“Yes ma’am…” Vocal paused at the door and levitated his saddlebag to him from the bedroom, but caught Falsetto’s questioning look as he laid it over his back. “What?” he asked, left eyebrow raised.

“You aren’t serious?”

“What?” Vocal asked again.

“You’re taking your collar and leash? Seriously, on a first date? With a Prince?”

Vocal Chord simply shrugged his shoulders as he opened the door with his magic. “You never know ‘Setto,” he grinned back at her, “I might get lucky.”

“Yeah, well don’t think me or the band’s gonna visit you in the dungeons when you get arrested for being weird!” the yellow bassist yelled after him as he sauntered off down Mane Street towards the hot air balloon stand. ‘Ugh…he’s so gonna get arrested,’ she thought as she shut her door.

~ ~ ~

“Dusk, babe, what the hay is this?” The light grey unicorn held the sheaf of paper in his magical field, scanning it incredulously.

“Well, Vocal, it's, well…it’s a…questionnaire…” the dark blue pegasus’ voice trailed off through sheer embarrassment. ‘What was I thinking?’ he thought to himself.

“I can see it’s a questionnaire, Dusk,” Vocal Chord said with a roll of his green eyes. “What I want to know is why my sexy coltfriend has given it to me?”

Dusk shuffled his hooves inside the wicker basket, closely inspecting the weave as he spoke. “It's a ‘getting to know you’ questionnaire,” the young pegasi explained like it was the most reasonable thing in Equestria.

“A getting to know…Dusk…”

“Um, yes Vocal?”

“This questionnaire has seventy five questions and more than twenty pages! You seriously expect me to answer all these? Really?”

“Well, if you wouldn't mind…”

“But babe, we’re on a date! You're cute and I love you! Why do you need this?” The exasperated unicorn waved the papers at his coltfriend.

“Well, this book I borrowed from Twilight’s library said it was a good idea to get as much information about your new partner as possible…” Dusk trailed off again as the basket lurched into motion.

“Twilight huh? Hey, speaking of the Princess, thanks for getting her to cast the cloudwalking spell. That'll be a help later. So, which book was this exactly?”

A fierce blush flared across the pegasus’ muzzle, turning his dark blue coat a bright purple. “Romance 101, The Novice’s Guide to Dating.”

“Oh Dusk Melody, what am I to do with you?” Vocal laughed out loud, throwing the questionnaire over the side of the hot air balloon basket with a wave of his magic.

“Hey! Mmph!” Dusk’s protest was cut short as Vocal leant in for a kiss, their lips pressing tenderly against each other as Vocal gently pushed his tongue into his coltfriend’s mouth, causing the pegasus’s wings to shoot out either side of his body with an audible ‘poomf!’. As the balloon gained height and Dusk relaxed into the deep passionate kiss, the Prince found that he really didn’t care about the questionnaire after all. ‘Besides…’ he thought with a ghost of a smile as he kissed his coltfriend, ‘there’s two more copies at home…’

~ ~ ~

“Dusky?” Vocal Chord asked as a thought occurred to him, the unicorn reclining against the pegasus’s barrel, his head resting on the Prince’s wing as they laid together on the Stratocumulus cloud.

Dusk swallowed the mouthful of daisy and sunflower sandwich before he answered, “Yes, Vocal?”

Vocal levitated over a cucumber and watercress sandwich and took a bite as he framed the question in his head. “Why don’t you have guards, y’know, when you go places?”

Dusk took a sip of his wine, mulling over his answer. Certainly his friends had asked the same thing, even his mom, Luna, had offered the royal guard many times when Dusk had gone out, or to attend some minor function or other. Every time he had refused the use of them.

“Like, take the funfair last week,” the singer carried on when Dusk didn’t reply straight away.

“What about it?” Dusk asked, reaching for one of the strawberries on the plate next to them.

The unicorn finished his sandwich before continuing, “I get that you were hanging out with your friends having a good time and that, but, c’mon Dusky you got assaulted by that bully’s thugs. Yet even after that here you are again, flying about, trotting about, no guards or anything. So, why?”

“Because…” Dusk replied, having considered his response, “I hate being seen as something special, that’s why. I’m not some prancing royal fop that thinks ‘commoners’ shouldn’t be within ten feet of me, or that everypony should bow and grovel as I walk past, or that they should put on airs and graces to appease me. Equestria’s got Blueblood for that.”

Vocal sniggered as he levitated his glass of wine and took a sip. “I get that too Dusky, and I’m glad you aren’t like Blueblood, but surely you can have some security, even if they aren’t near you all the time?”

Dusk smiles as he took another strawberry; “I don’t need security, I have Air Raid.” They both shared a laugh at that, remembering the lime mare standing over Blitzwing with her hoof at his neck.

“Seriously though,” Dusk said as the laughter died away, “I want ponies to think they can approach me. I’m not better than them, or more deserving than them, just because Luna’s my mom and Octavia’s my mum. I’m just a pony, Vocal, and besides, Twilight doesn’t have any guards.”

“True,” Vocal giggled as he finished his wine and went for a refill, “but she’s an all-powerful, immortal alicorn. You aren’t cutie. And Blitzwing approached you alright. What’s his deal anyway?”

“He’s a homophobic bully…”

“Yeah…I kinda worked that bit out for myself,” Vocal giggled as he floated over a strawberry. “I meant what’s his deal with you?”

“His family is old, Vocal, one of the oldest in Canterlot, even Equestria I daresay. They were Luna supporters, the whole lot of them. His ancestors lost a lot of influence when the Nightmare took my mom and aunt Tia had to send her away. They lost a great deal of their wealth, status and power.” Dusk took a breath before continuing on, thankful that Vocal wasn’t interrupting him, “When my mom returned and was cleansed by the Elements, Blitzwing’s family was among those who called out for her to be sent back.”

“So you see, my cute unicorn,” Dusk smiled, “being Luna’s son was never going to get me a Hearth’s Warming Day card from them, and being gay in Canterlot doesn’t help either.”

“So what?” Vocal Chord surveyed the three-quarters eaten picnic, trying to decide what to go for next, before settling on a chocolate dip for the strawberry. “What’s it matter if you’re gay in Canterlot?”

“Old families, like Blitzwing’s, and Blueblood and some that are worse than them both, are the rule rather than the exception. Image and status are everything in Canterlot, Vocal, anything that doesn’t fit the perceived ‘normal’ template is excised and removed. I’m protected to a degree by being royal, but I still have to mind how I act.”

“That sucks.” Vocal dipped a strawberry in the chocolate sauce dip and with a smirk floated it over to the midnight blue pegasus. “Open, Your Majesty.”

Dusk was about to reply that he shouldn't be fed, nor should he be addressed as ‘Your Majesty’ when he saw the smirk on the light grey muzzle in front of him. Swallowing the retort, he opened his mouth and prepared to swallow the treat as well.

“Oops…” Vocal snickered as he ‘accidentally’ smeared chocolate on Dusk’s nose before trying again, this time inserting the fruit and watching as the pegasus swallowed it. Smiling the unicorn dipped another strawberry and sent it towards Dusk, again ‘accidentally’ missing. “Sorry.” He grinned as he leant in to the pegasus’s stained muzzle and proceeded to lick the chocolate from his fur.

Dusk melted into the kiss, running his tongue along Vocal’s lips, blushing slightly as he felt his wings extend out to their full span.

Vocal Chord edged closer to his date, wrapping his forelegs around the stallion’s shoulders, pulling him into a tight embrace. “See Dusky? We don’t need no questionnaire, baby.”

Dusk kissed Vocal’s neck, cooing gently as the unicorn nipped his ear. “That…hmm…was a…ooh…good…ahh…idea…at the time…”

“Sure it was, baby…” Vocal licked his way up Dusk’s ear again as he leant back, pulling the Prince on top of him on the cloud, “sure it was…” The unicorn moved from his date’s ear and kissed him full on the lips. The pegasus fell on top of Vocal with a surprised ‘eep!’ and was about to resume the kissing when he caught sight of the singer’s saddlebag, forgotten next to their picnic.

“Vocal?”

“Hmm…yeah?” he asked between kissing and nipping his way along Dusk’s jawline to his neck.

“Wha…ooh…what’s…hmm in the…aaah saddlebag?” Dusk managed to ask as Vocal continued his assault on his jaw and neck.

Vocal pulled his muzzle away from the neck he was busy covering in kisses and glanced over at the bag, for a split second almost regretting bringing it, but this was a part of who he was, and he figured it was best to be upfront straight away with stuff like this. “Oh…it’s um…something I’m going to give to you,” he answered with a sheepish smile.

“Oh Vocal! You got me a present? I love you!”

“Well…it’s for you, but I hope we’ll both get enjoyment from it…” Vocal levitated over the saddlebag, a look of apprehension on his muzzle. ‘Well…here goes nothing,’ he thought as Dusk took the bag and peered inside. ‘Oh no…he hates it…Falsetto’s gonna kill me’.

Dusk flipped open the saddlebag with a hoof and peered inside its depths, wondering what in Equestria his date had given him, and his brain started to slide on a tangent of things he could get him in return. He was partway through formulating a list of potential gifts when Dusk’s hoof, fishing around the almost empty bag, found and gripped what felt like the only thing in there. Carefully he extracted his hoof from the saddlebag and found himself looking at what was inside.

A dark blue dog collar and leash. A metal identification tag on the collar read simply, ‘Vocal’. As Dusk turned the collar over in his hoof he was aware of the unicorn watching him warily, judging his reaction.

Dusk, in turn was studying the dog collar, deep in thought. Of course he knew what it was for, he’d seen it all before at home. He smiled as he recalled memories of Octavia wearing a bridle and reins, and Luna leading her around the castle and the grounds, her tail tied to the headwear. His parents had never hidden their interests from him, it was just how life was. His mom, Luna, was the dominant one, and his mum was her sub. Coming home from school and seeing his mum in hoofcuffs and a ball gag was as natural as seeing her with her cello.

Now here he was, sat on a cloud, on a date – his first ever date, and his coltfriend had presented him with a collar and leash. A dark blue collar and leash. Dusk held the collar against his fur, the colour was almost a perfect match. The significance wasn’t lost on him. ‘Vocal wants to be my pet,’ he thought as he turned the collar over in his hooves. ‘What the hay do I do? He wants an answer, look at him, sat there watching me hold his collar…’ Dusk was at a loss as to what to do, ‘I could ask Twilight…Celestia NO! She’d recommend a checklist or something…I could go to mum…no…too straight laced.’ Dusk sighed as he pondered his options. ‘I guess there’s always mom…after she’s stopped laughing.’ Dusk sighed again, mentally ruling out Darkstar and Cyclone for advice, for the same reasons.

“Dusk…” Vocal inched forward and put a light grey hoof on Dusk’s own, his usually confident brash voice cracked and uncertain, “say something, anything…please?”

Dusk looked up at Vocal Chord, saw the fear and uncertainty in his eyes, sitting there wondering if he’d made a mistake in sharing this most intimate thing with him. Dusk looked and smiled. ‘I can do this,’ he thought to himself, convincing himself, ‘for him, I can do this…’

“Dusky…”

“You wish to be my coltfriend or my pet?” Dusk interrupted him, looking him straight in the eyes. ‘I can do this…’

“Dusk…” Vocal smiled, feeling slightly more confident, “I want to be both, and I want you to be my coltfriend and my caretaker.”

“Caretaker? How do you mean?”

“Well…” Vocal took a deep breath as he started to explain, his smile wavering again, “when the collar goes on, I’m not a unicorn, I’m not a pony or a singer with a band. I’m a dog. A pet. I like to act like one, and be treated like one.” Vocal paused for breath, trying to gauge Dusk’s reaction. He hadn’t yelled at him yet or called him weird or sick, so he carried on, “As a caretaker you’d be like my owner, do everything a dog’s owner would. Walk me, pet me, feed me, play with me…” Vocal shivered, “…and…discipline me.”

“I see…” Dusk tried to keep his voice even, to not give anything away just yet. “Do you have a caretaker right now?”

“Yes, um…Falsetto,” Vocal mumbled, his blush lighting up his face. “She um…she takes care of me.”

“Your bass player?”

“My friend. My best friend. Strings and Crescendo just don’t understand why I need to do this. They have the decency to not make snide nasty comments about it because we’re friends,” Vocal recalled the arguments and accusations as he spoke, “but they made it clear they don’t want anything to do with that aspect of me.”

“What’s your arrangement?”

“During the week I’m her friend, Vocal, we do band stuff, hang out, then the weekends, usually Friday night to Monday morning she’ll put the collar on me and I’ll be her puppy. It works for us.”

Dusk smiled at Vocal as he gave him a little kiss on the unicorn’s lips. “Friday to Monday huh?” He kissed Vocal again as he nodded. “Well, it’s only Saturday evening. You have some time to go yet, pup.”

Vocal’s pale green eyes lit up with excitement, he could barely believe what he’d just heard. “Dusky…are you saying…?”

“Yes Vocal, my lovely cute stallion.” Dusk grinned as he embraced his coltfriend with a kiss, “I’ll happily be your caretaker and…I’ve always wanted a puppy.”