Author's Note

Again, thank you all for your continued support! Shall we continue to journey with Razzy down her trail towards a mysterious ~~and sexy~~ future?

Notes for this chapter: less clunky dialogue-exposition, one jerky stallion, copious amounts of cuddling, consensual non-sexual voyeurism, and one very awkward, twitterpated pegasus. Enjoy!

Mending the Gap

Razzy didn’t leave her bed for quite a few days.

Thankfully, she was not left to recover alone. Fine Silk had kept to her word and sent over her employees and assistants to watch over the ill pegasus. The few times that she could manage to crack open her eyelids during the earliest days, one of Gossamer’s staff members seemed to always there. Cassatta had almost broken into tears while helping Razzy down to the hallway washroom to freshen up, still blaming herself a little for the sudden onset of illness. Razzy did manage to weakly assure the green pegasus that it wasn’t her fault in the slightest...or she hoped that came across in her response, since her ears didn’t register much noise at the moment from so much internal pressure.

Once, it had been the two unicorn twins, Sun Cake and Moon Cake, who had been attending her bedslide. After helping wipe her down and changing her into a new nightgown (courtesy of Fine Silk, as always), they’d even brushed her mane and tail, massaged her hands and feet, and sang lullabies from their ancient homeland to the east, a city called Neighjing. Their mother tongue did manage to break through the pressure buildup in Razzy’s ears, and it was so beautiful that she almost started weeping in delight. Maybe they could teach her someday?

Most often, though, the pony attending her was Baklava, the beautiful brown unicorn from her first interview day. She would sit and talk in a voice that was like pure honey, rich and sweet. Though Razzy couldn’t really talk back much, she tried to listen to precisely what the unicorn said as nimble fingers brushed through the sick mare’s limp mane.

“I lived in Saddle Arabia, close to Equestria’s borders,” Baklava had said during one of her earlier stories. “My town would see very many traders who visited, and I learned how to bake many varieties of treats to remind the travelers of their homeland. I was an orphan, but well cared for by my neighbors and mentors. I started referring to people by the names of the treats that they most often ordered.” Razzy had given Baklava weak yet eager permission to call her Raspberry Delight, if she wanted to, but that Razzy was just fine. She’d received a tight hug for extending the offer.

The boutique’s baker was so attentive to Razzy’s needs that she didn’t even need to be told what might be ailing her new friend (Baklava had asked if they were friends almost as soon as Razzy had been briefly lucid the first time that she’d visited, and the pegasus had insisted that of course they were, regardless of whatever happened in the future). Though the fever had begun to die down somewhat, Razzy was still afflicted with terrible aches in her joints that all of her carers attended to without fuss. Baklava prided herself on having the best hands for massaging based on years of kneading dough. Razzy began to look forward to her visits above all others because Baklava was not wrong; her fingers fell into every muscle contour and soothed every possible knot and strain that the pegasus had, practically leaving the baker with a puddle of contented fur and feathers by the end of her visit.

The brown unicorn followed the pattern of Cassatta and the Cakes before her by giving Razzy the same thick tonic to help her sleep better. For some reason, though, Baklava’s dose always tasted a little more creamy and fresh, more pleasant than sharp. A couple of times, early on, Razzy had almost choked and accidentally snorted some out her nose, but Baklava had only chuckled and handed her a monogrammed kerchief. Maybe that bright white cloth had been enough to hide her blush.

“I’ve never...you know, had a special somepony,” Razzy admitted one day, sitting up but leaning back against Baklava’s chest. The two of them were on Razzy’s old bed, taking a little break from lying down. A thick bristle brush ran over the light pink pegasus’ scalp and through her mane, causing her skin to tingle slightly.

“Oh?” the unicorn chirped, continuing her methodical brushing. “How come? Were you not interested?”

“No...I did want somepony to pay attention to me,” Razzy said, looking down at where her fingers fiddled with the hem of the newest silk nightgown. It felt like a knot in her heart was beginning to loosen, just a little, by talking about it with her new friend. “In Cloudsdale, though, attractiveness is based on speed. And, well…” She flushed in embarrassment. “I’m a very bad flyer. I’ve never been a quick racer, and I was teased for almost falling through the clouds more than once. Some ponies said that it must have been because I wasn’t a pure pegasus, whatever that was supposed to mean.”

The brushing stopped briefly, and strong brown arms wrapped around the pegasus’ belly. “In my culture, you would be considered sublime,” Baklava breathed, tickling the soft fur around Razzy’s ear. “We adored any pegasi who would come to visit us. Living in both worlds, even a little, must be very exciting.”

“It’s nice, yeah,” Razzy murmured, instinctively leaning back against Baklava’s chest so that the unicorn could rest her chin on her shoulder. Her rose-tipped wings brushed a little against Baklava’s breasts, leaving the both of them shuddering slightly. “I-I don’t mind clouds that’re close to the ground, but I don’t think I could live someplace like Cloudsdale again.”

“Their loss.” The baker’s thumbs caressed Razzy’s soft belly fur through the silk of her nightgown. “It’s not just that you are a creature of both earth and sky that’s attractive. You are very beautiful in your own right, Razzy.”

“O-oh!” she stammered, looking back into Baklava’s pretty blue eyes. “I...suppose that I am- I mean thank you!” She didn’t want to give an impression of false modesty by denying her looks, but no one had ever told Razzy that she was good looking before, except for her parents when she had been younger.

The arms around her belly retracted, and Razzy worried for a moment that she had offended the beautiful unicorn by not immediately thanking her for the compliment. However, she paused mid-apology when her mane was quietly divided into three sections, and Baklava began to braid Razzy’s pink-and-white hair. Immediately, she relaxed into the sensation of being well cared for. “Tell me more about yourself, please?” she squeaked after a few long seconds of silence. Just quietly accepting the unconditional fussing was starting to feel a little awkward, and she wanted to know more about this lovely pony.

“Certainly.” Toned brown legs shifted in order to frame Razzy’s lower body a bit more comfortably. “I have been with some others in bed, stallions and mares. However, I prefer the pleasure of mares.”

Razzy had never really reflected on which gender she might be more drawn to before, but Baklava’s admittance to enjoying the carnal company of mares made her heart skip a beat. ‘Keep it cool, Razzy,’ she chided herself mentally before saying aloud “If I may ask, why do you prefer mares?”

It was like they were talking about the weather, even though they were talking about such a sensitive topic with such mellowness. “It’s...rather hard to explain.” Halfway down the braid, Baklava drew out a ribbon from somewhere and wound it into Razzy’s mane. “I just connect with them more emotionally. I’ve always had good experiences, but mares and I...we just… click better? Is that how most Equestrians say it?”

Sometimes, it was hard to remember that Baklava came from a distant land, and may not have always understood common Equestrian idioms. “That’s right.” Without really paying attention, one of Razzy’s hands drifted out from her lap so that her fingers could brush innocently against Baklava’s knee. “I understand. It’s just what works best for you, right?”

“Yes.” The braid was tied off with a small bow, and the brown unicorn draped it down Razzy’s back delicately so that it settled between her wings. “Is that okay?”

“Yes, absolutely.” Razzy didn’t really know which question she was replying to, but it felt right, in a way, to lean back a little more against Baklava and flutter her wings against the other pony’s chest just slightly, something that could pass for an accidental stimulation. The pegasus and unicorn seemed to fit together just right, body and mind, completing each other. She’d never encountered such a lovely pony. While Fine Silk had the looks and benevolence of a goddess, Baklava was more down to earth, accessible. Once she was feeling better, maybe…the baker would like to be a little more than friends?

Razzy yawned, popping her jaw, and a smaller bottle of the creamy mint tonic was suffused in Baklava’s cerulean magic and lifted up to the pale pink mare’s lips. “You should feel all better by tomorrow, after this,” she whispered while Razzy downed the liquid. “One more rest. Would you like to come back to the boutique tomorrow?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Razzy replied around the lip of the bottle, her throat shifting and almost bulging out from how quickly she gulped down the medicine. Her consciousness was already waning a little, and she let out a small whine as Baklava gently moved out from behind her. It may have been a little childish, but Baklava was precisely the comfort that she needed, and had been through all her days of sickness. She reached out with a feeble hand to get the unicorn’s attention.

“Stay? Please?”

Baklava’s smile was kind and gentle as she began to unbutton her shirt. “Of course. I just need to change into my own nightgown.” Razzy watched without comment as the baker stripped down, past even her underwear. With the clothing provided by Fine Silk and Gossamer’s, she was a marvel. Completely nude, she was truly stunning. Her hourglass shape was purely chestnut except for a small white star between her navel and the apex apex of her legs. Razzy couldn’t decide where she wanted to look first: Baklava’s symmetrical face, her perfect hips, or those gorgeous breasts?

Baklava was not blind to the pegasus’ watching, but she didn’t try to shy or hide away. In fact, it didn’t seem like the voyeurism bothered her in the slightest as she draped a sheer nightgown over herself, leaving much of the finer details of her body still on display. “Would you like to move over?” she asked huskily, and Razzy slid back quickly and lifted the silk duvet with what strength she could manage.

There was space enough in the bed for the both of them, but it was a bit of a tight fit. Baklava slid her arms around Razzy’s belly, but the pegasus flipped over so that those strong hands were at her lower back instead. Baklava was a fair deal taller than her new friend, but Razzy absolutely didn’t mind her head being slightly pillowed by the other’s breasts, and Baklava only chuckled warmly and obliged the silent query. She was wearing some sort of perfume, or her natural musk was just so pleasant. Warm and creamy, like the healing tonic or the cream from the raspberry delights that had been fed to Razzy since she’d become associated with Gossamer’s.

“Night, Bakl’va,” she murmured into the soft skin just below the unicorn’s collar, and Razzy was almost already asleep when she heard an equally soft, “Night, Raspberry Delight.”

Good news: when Razzy’s eyes fluttered open, her body didn’t ache at all. She had recovered.

Bad news: Baklava was gone, though the space where she’d been still felt warm and smelled of the milky mintiness that seemed to be her natural musk. She couldn’t have left long before Razzy woke up.

More bad news: someone was knocking on Razzy’s apartment door with enough force that the door was shaking on its hinges. Whomever it was didn’t stop, even after Razzy called out “I’m coming.” On slightly shaky feet, she lurched over to the door and pulled it open, revealing the very angry face of the building manager, Coal Stocking.

The old unicorn stallion shoved a letter into Razzy’s chest. “You’d best be packed,” he barked, tapping one hoof impatiently against the floor. “I told all the tenants that the whole building had to be vacated by the end of the week!”

“I- what?!” Razzy shrieked, looking down at the letter that had been so rudely shoved at her. Across the front, in big red letters, were two horrible words.

Eviction Notice.

“But...but...I paid everything on time, a-and I never caused others to co-complain!” she stammered. Hot tears began to form on the edges of her vision.

“Crocodile tears ain’t gonna work with me, missy,” the manager grumbled, folding his arms. “Building’s been condemned by th’ Housing Authority. Ain’t my fault that you didn’t get all your lady visitors to pick up your mail for you.”

At those two words, ‘lady visitors,' something very unusual happened. Another knot loosened somewhere deep inside of Razzy, releasing a torrent of hot annoyance and anger into her blood. She stood up straighter, looking the old unicorn in the eye, and her wings flared out. “I’m not some tramp or prostitute,” she hissed, causing Coal to lurch back a little at such an aggressive response. “And even if I was, you still would need to treat me and my guests with respect. You’ve insulted some very good friends of mine, and I expect an apology.”

Coal Stocking was not easily deterred, and he puffed up a bit. “And I expect you out of my building in five minutes, airhead!” he roared, pushing the door into Razzy with enough force that it struck her chest. “Do it now, or I’m throwing you out with the rest of the trash!” He stomped away to terrorize some other poor resident that might not be moving fast enough for the old bastard.

Razzy stood there for a few short seconds, massaging her aching chest. The door edge had smacked her collarbone area, which still throbbed, but not as much as the angry tears that leaked from gummy green eyes. Furiously, she wiped away the moisture.

Who did that codger think he was, anyway, yelling at and threatening her like that? Coal Stocking wasn’t an ignorant building manager; in fact, he seemed to want in on everyone’s business at any given time. Maybe he was bored, but that was no excuse for terrorizing his (now former) tenants and breathing down the back of their necks to preemptively prevent wrongdoings.

Coal Stocking had been an awful pony, but he’d also been the only one to let Razzy rent from him when she’d first come to the city. The whole complex hadn’t been great, but it had given her a roof over her head and, until recently, a bed in which to recover and connect with a good friend. What would she do now, with barely enough time to collect her possessions and no immediate housing prospects? She couldn’t go back to Cloudsdale; the journey by airship was prohibitively expensive and the trip up with her own wings wouldn’t last. Plus, her ‘friends and family’ back there would only sneer as she came back from living on the ground in failure.

A few more tears trickled out, much more sad and empty.

Hurried hoofsteps just outside the door had Razzy lifting her head, ready to shout at Coal Stocking to leave her alone so that she could figure out what to do. The volume died in her throat, though, as Baklava skidded to a halt in the doorway, a grocery sack bulging in one hand. The brown unicorn was over in a quick second, folding her arms around Razzy as the pegasus began to sob, wordlessly venting all of the past month’s frustrations, depression, emptiness, and sudden bits of happiness that had turned her life into a rollercoaster of dreams and nightmares. After such an unpleasant start to her day, it was nice to just curl into someone warm and compassionate.

A strong hand delicately lifted Razzy’s chin after she’d had a few moments to cry. “I know that it is easy to give into despair right now,” Baklava whispered understandingly, still holding the pegasus close. “And the tears are warranted. Still, if your former manager is right, then we do not have much time before we will need to leave. Let’s pack your things and get out before he makes good on his threat to throw you away.”

After a brief sniff to quiet her sobbing, Razzy nodded and murmured, “okay.” Thankfully, there wasn’t too much to pack because most of her stuff was still in the cardboard boxes. However, much of what she had wasn’t strictly necessary. There had been some posters and decorations that she’d brought from her parents’ home in Cloudsdale, but they wouldn’t be worth anything if she had no roof over her head. Time was of the essence, and the essentials were all that she could afford to take. “I guess I’ll just...grab my clothes and the duvet.”

Wordlessly, Baklava cast her magic so that the white silk comforter was consumed in a blue glow, folding into a neat square that would be easy to carry. “Do you want to change into something for the walk?”

On the one hand, Razzy sort of wanted to show up outside in her nightgown, just to stick it to Coal Stocking and ruin his reputation a little. What would other ponies think of the building owner throwing out a mare in her skivvies? However, a small voice in her head told her that nothing would be gained from trying to embarrass the stallion. Besides, something more comfortable might feel a little better right now because even though this nightgown was newer than the one originally gifted by Fine Silk, it still felt a bit tight in the chest.

“Yeah. Just a moment.” With great care, she removed the light silk dress and handed it to Baklava to fold up for the journey. Razzy remained naked for the few seconds that it took to find a clean shirt and mismatching skirt, but she didn’t really mind showing off her body to Baklava. The unicorn, for her part, watched with a polite smile but said nothing as her pegasus friend dressed herself.

“Is there anything else you might need?” Baklava asked, checking her watch. “I don’t mean to rush, but I would not want to incur the building manager’s wrath anymore.”

Razzy looked around the dismal brick room one more time, at the cardboard boxes strewn about and with their contents still mostly intact. At the top of a nearby one were a few picture frames that were face down. They were most likely the ones of her family. On the one hand, they had rejected her when her desire not to fly was made known, and they’d never contacted her in the months that she’d spent on the ground. On the other hand, they were still her family. She could always throw the picture away later, if she decided against it.

With her mind made up, Razzy grabbed two frames and the bag with her clothes inside, while Baklava carried the silk blanket. “I’m ready,” the pegasus sighed, not even looking back at the room as the two mares hurried down towards the rear staircase that would let them out the back. Oddly enough, leaving so much of her old life behind felt...liberating. A few more knots of tension loosened inside her, and she let out a low sigh. “I guess it’s just finding a new home now-”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry, Razzy,” Baklava cut across smoothly, and she beamed down at the pegasus. “You can come and live with me.”

It was a good thing that they’d finished walking down the stairs because Razzy stuttered to a halt on the cobblestone. “Wha- really?” she squeaked, her heart hammering in her chest and between her ears. This kind, beautiful, sexy unicorn was willing to let a comparatively plain creature like Razzy come to stay with her for a little while? “Y-you...it’s okay to stay for a while?”

“Of course!” Even with the matter-of-fact way that the baker answered the question, it didn’t feel belittling to Razzy. “You’re humble and polite, and you appreciate my cooking. I think that I can trust you as a roommate.” Baklava lifted her grocery sack with one hand, revealing a few fresh vegetables. “Besides, we were invited to dinner by Miss Silk, so she is expecting you anyway. I believe she mentioned something about a contract signing as well?” The pretty mare’s blue eyes twinkled mischievously, meaningfully.

Razzy’s heart soared in a way that she’d never managed before with her own wings. “I got the job,” she breathed, completely stunned. She’d gotten a position at Gossamer’s. She would get a paycheck, and the prettiest unicorns that she could ever hope to meet had offered her life-changing opportunities. “I- I got the… I GOT THE JOB!” She couldn’t help but give a whoop, fluttering into the air a short ways in her glee. She actually rose above Baklava’s head in her jubilant rush into the air. Finally dropping to the ground, she couldn’t help but rush over to Baklava and give her a brief yet passionate kiss on the lips.

For a microsecond, the pegasus panicked at such an impulsive gesture of jubilation and affection. Maybe Baklava didn’t like kissing, or she’d want to wait until they got to know each oth- oh, no, the unicorn was returning the kiss and deepening it, too. Razzy’s head spun at the sweet tastes coming from the brown unicorn’s mouth, and her knees began to shake from such a thrilling, sensual gesture.

They did have to part, though, and Razzy was quite sad about that, but she was nuzzled regardless. “Don’t worry. We can do that some more after dinner,” Baklava offered in a tone like bubbling honey.

Dinner couldn’t get here fast enough, then.