Andante let out a held in breath upon stepping off the same old elevator on the same old building to go to the same old desk that she went to every morning at nine o’clock sharp, groomed wings close to her sides. Yet as she took slow steps down the familiar walkway to settle down into her chair, something felt...off. Like it was her first day all over again, and everything was new and exciting, but not in the good way. She was skeptical, to be blunt, of her new bosses, who had mysteriously appeared out of thin air to replace her former one, one that she had known for years and had a decent bond with. A soft sigh slipped through her lips as she sunk into the cushioned padding of the chair, tired rose quartz colored eyes lifting to the sounds of shoes softly clicking against the white tiles of the foyer.
They landed on a royal blue earth pony stallion, tall and muscular as broad shoulders filled the crisp white shirt that adorned his torso, long legs covered by black pants. His violet eyes were looking off to the side as he ran a hand through his black and grey streaked mane, soon snapping in her direction, a soft smile breaking onto his face when he noticed her, quickening his stride to get to the desk a little faster. Oh gods. She had only heard rumors about her superiors from her coworker and friend, Snow Fall, but to see one right in front of her (at least, that's what she assumed who it was judging by his gait), she didn't know that they would be so... attractive. The stallion's grin got larger when he reached her, eyes twinkling. “Good morning, beautiful~ I didn't know that I’d get to see such a lovely face coming in today.”
Yep, he was one of the bosses. Surprisingly to her, a faint blush dusted her cheeks as she replied, “Good morning to you too, Sir. Are you one of the CEO’s?”
He nodded once, rubbing the back of his neck afterwards. “I guess you can say that… I'm more of a Co-CEO, to be honest. My friend North will be the real runner of the show, once he gets his lazy ass out of bed.” Pausing, he quickly covered his mouth with a hand, face tinting red. “Oops, sorry. Force of habit.” Dropping it down onto the desk, he flashed her a meek smile. “Rule one of being a leader: don't curse in front of your subordinates.”
Anne couldn't help but laugh at that, figuring that maybe this one wasn't so bad. “It's ok, I've heard it all at this point. Do you need anything, Mr…”
The male held out his hand then in greeting. “Obsidian. But feel free to call me Sid.”
The pegasus stared at the outstretched appendage for a couple seconds before gently grasping it and giving it a shake, surprised to find how light his grip was despite having a hand that nearly engulfed her own. “Andante, Head Secretary.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Miss. And no, I think I've got it from here. Been around the office a few times last week alone. Thank you, though.” Letting go, he turned to start towards the elevator, then stopped abruptly, looking back. “Oh, and when you see North, could you send him up please? I need to talk to him real quick.”
“Of course, Sir. Er... what does he look like?”
Obsidian chuckled. “You’ll know. He's like a tree that's about to go into puberty. See you around.”
She blinked in slight confusion at the choice of words, but brushed it off as she watched him leave. She probably had a lot of emails to attend to, so thinking on it would have to wait.
Roughly two hours after the mare had started her shift, the lobby door opened, hurried steps coming towards her at a brisk pace. She looked up to find Snow with a wide eyed expression as she practically darted around the desk, shucking off her grey winter coat once she sat down. “H-hey,” she breathed out in a puff. “Sorry I’m late. Traffic was awful today.”
Anne blinked. The earth pony didn’t have to come in until noon, so why was she apologizing? “Your fine, Snow. What are you sorry for? I think this is the earliest you’ve ever been to work.”
Snow’s light green eyes glinted as she smirked. “I wanted to see the new hot studs. Did any of them come in yet?”
“Only one, and he was pretty cute.”
“Shoot. Well, maybe I’ll catch him in the break room. Everyone flocks in there whenever there’s a new recruit. Or doughnuts.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Right as she finished speaking, the door reopened, and two tall figures entered. One of them in particular made her heart skip a beat. It was a tan unicorn stallion, dressed in a black suit that accented the white markings on his wrists that disappeared underneath the cuffs of his sleeves. Though he towered over his companion- a turquoise pony changeling hybrid- by a good foot or so, he was quite slender, so Obsidian’s description wasn’t quite far off. His ice blue eyes looked her over upon reaching the desk, nodding to each of them in turn.
“Good morning, ladies. Things haven’t been too busy, I hope?”
Anne shook her head. “No, Sir. Everything’s been running smoothly.”
Snow let out a light chuckle. “That’s only because you’re in charge, Anne.”
The unicorn raised an eyebrow. “You two know each other?”
The pegasus bobbed her head. “Yes, Sir, for a few years now. I’m Andante, Head Secretary. And this is Snow Fall, my assistant.”
The stallion hummed before shaking their hands, leaving his wrapped around hers for a moment longer then she normally would have liked had she not been so entranced. “North Star, nice to meet you both. No wonder the company’s been holding strong for so long, it has lovely mares like yourselves in it.” Her face flushed at the compliment, internally cursing at herself. Was everyone turning up the charm today? Eyes following his hand, she watched as he jerked a thumb towards the hybrid. “This is one of my assistants, Smoke and Mirrors. We just call him Smokey for short.” Pausing to glance at the expensive looking silver watch on his wrist, he bit his lower lip in a way that would have made Anne swoon had she not been sitting already. “Have you seen Obsidian come in yet? Blue earth pony, looks like a fashion model everywhere he goes…”
The magenta mare giggled, nodding once. “I’ve seen him. He was asking for you to come see him when you got the chance, actually.”
“Oh, great. Well, I’ll leave you alone. Keep up the good work. Smokey, shall we?”
The females waited until the stallions were on the elevator before Snow let out a delighted squeal, pressing her light blue fingers against her blushing cheeks as her eyes glossed over. “Gods, they are so hot! See, I told you, Anne. Didn’t I tell you?”
The pegasus didn’t respond at first, merely looking down at the hand that North had held, her own blush dark against the rest of her fur. Snapping her gaze to her friend to find that she was staring at her, her eyes widened as she stammered, “W-what? Oh, right. Yeah, you sure told me, heh heh…”
The earth pony gave her a knowing look. “Girl, you’ve got it bad. I haven’t seen you this flustered since Pine Needle first asked you out.”
Anne flinched at hearing her current coltfriend’s name, lips curling into a scowl. “I do not!” Shaking her head, she sighed in defeat. “Ok...maybe a little.” She quickly raised her hand to silence anything that the bubbly mare might spout next. “But, it’s nothing more than a small crush, you hear? And if I hear a peep about this from anyone else-”
“You’ll gut me like a fish, I know. You know, Anne. I think more folks would like you if you weren’t so uppity all the time. Your just as much of a helpless romantic as I am.”
The dark furred female looked off to the side, not meeting her eyes. “Maybe I don’t want them to know that.” After a brief moment of silence, an overly cheery smile pulled at her lips, turning to face her computer monitor. “Let’s get back to work, yeah? The more we do, the longer break we get.”
Snow snorted, but cracked her knuckles before resting them on her keyboard. “After you, sunshine.”
As the next few days came and went, Andante was quick to discover something: North was one of the most flirtatious stallions she had ever met, Obsidian’s occasional efforts and Smokey’s...more direct forms of showing off not holding a candle to the head’s advances. And, believe it or not, the mare played along with it, if only to hopefully reveal their true intentions, given that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with them like everyone else were. When she wasn’t turning up the charm, sass and snarkiness flowed through her like honey -especially at the head CEO- , worrying her other coworkers and merely amusing the unicorn. Snow saw right through her, pointing out that if this kept up, then problems were sure to be coming, either short lived or not. Anne was ready for it, though something in the back of her mind told her that maybe she was just doing it to keep her thoughts away from Pine...no, of course not. They were meant to be, he said it himself. But…why didn’t she feel like that was true?
Something suddenly moving in front of her face broke her from her thoughts. “Hello...Equestria to Andante...What’s going on in there? You haven’t said a peep all morning.”
The pegasus snorted after gently pushing Snow’s waving hand away from her muzzle, wings flexing. The two were off for the day, deciding to spend the morning at a local coffee shop, both to unwind and share their thoughts on the previous week. She, for one, had a good bit to talk about. “Sorry, Snow. I got lost in thought.”
The other mare didn’t seem too pleased with that answer. “Oh dear. I know what happens when you get lost in thought: you start getting ideas. And then those ideas turn into plans… please don’t tell me you’re thinking about killing our boss.”
Anne’s eyes narrowed. “Wouldn’t dream of it. I can be snappy, but not vengeful.” She paused, just thinking about him made her heart start to race. “Besides, I can’t crush on him if he’s dead.”
Snow nearly choked on the sip of coffee that she was in the process of swallowing, cheeks crimson as she sputtered. Seeing the other raise an eyebrow, she gave her a weak grin before trying to catch her breath. “T-that was the best thing I’ve heard all week. Are you sure you don’t want to quit your job at the lounge and become a comedian?”
Anne shook her head. “I’ll pass. And I may have gotten that from Sid. We have the same sense of humor.”
The earth pony smirked brightly at hearing the Co-CEO’s nickname. “You two have been getting awfully close lately. Will I be hearing of a hook up soon?”
The pegasus laughed, rolling her eyes. “Not a chance. He’s cute, but strong, silent types aren’t really my thing. I’m more of a ‘bad boy’ type of gal.”
“Makes sense considering you’re still with Pine. How are things going, anyways?”
The dark furred mare visibly stiffened, face ever so briefly flashing with fear. “It’s been...alright.”
Snow wasn’t convinced in the slightest. “Anne, c’mon. You know you can’t hide things from me. What happened?”
Anne sighed before pulling her long, wavy mane over her shoulder, exposing her neck to reveal a long, thin scar on one side, seeming to be from a blade wound.
“He cut you?”
“Yeah...one night while we were making out. He said that blood bonds folk together, and he wanted to be bonded to me forever. Next thing I knew, there was a dagger at my throat. I was so scared, so I let him do it.”
“Gods, Anne. I’m worried about your safety, you know. What if one day he decides that he wants to burn the both of you alive so your souls can intertwine or something crazy like that? You need to find a way to get out from under him.”
The pegasus’ ears drooped sadly. “I don’t know if I can do that...not right now. He’s the one who lives closest to work. If I leave him, I’ll have to drive six hours just to get here, on time or not.”
Snow frowned. “What’s more important, your job or your life?” After a beat of silence, she sighed. “Andante, look. I’m not telling you to walk out right now, but you need to be more careful. Stallions like Pine can be… dangerous if they get upset. I’m just trying to look out for you.”
“I know, Snow, I know. And I will.”
“Good.” With a hum, the light blue mare rose from her seat after downing the rest of her coffee. “I’ll see you on Monday, alright? You take care of yourself, or I’ll bring you hot water instead of coffee to drink all day.”
Anne couldn’t help but smile, chuckle and shake her head at her friend’s playful threat. “Sure, sure. Have a good weekend, Fall.”
The magenta mare tiredly closed the door behind her as she slipped into her shared apartment in the early hours of the morning. Her night spent singing at the lounge had gone longer then she had expected, but the bonus that she would be getting the following week from it would be more than enough to cover her half of the rent for the month, so she didn’t mind. As she quietly wandered down the dimly lit hallway to head to the bedroom, a dark figure suddenly obstructed her path, nearly causing her to jump out of her skin. A yelp was halfway out of her throat when the figure moved towards her, revealing to be none other than her coltfriend, Pine Needle. She grasped her chest as she struggled to catch her breath, wings hanging limply at her sides. “Celestia, Pine! You scared me. Did you want me to have a heart attack?”
Pine merely stared at her, shrugging his shoulders. “My bad. What are you doing coming back so late? You were supposed to be back at least two hours ago.” When she didn’t respond right away, his grey eyes glittered. “Were you at another stallion’s place?”
Anne blinked in surprise. The hell? What kind of question was that? “No...I was at the lounge.”
“How do I know your not lying to me? I can smell it from here.”
“What are you talking about? The only thing you might be smelling is the beer some drunkards spilled on me as I was trying to leave. I’m around stallions all the time, Pine.”
The brown male clearly wasn’t happy with hearing that answer, pulling something out from a pocket in his pants. It was a matchbook, and he carefully inspected it before pulling out a single match and striking it against the scratchpad. The pegasus’ eyes widened.
“Er, Pine? What are you doing?”
He snarled at her, bearing his teeth as he hissed, “Don’t think I’m stupid. I know your with someone else, I can sense it. Your aura changed ever since you first met them. Well, too bad. I had you first, and if I can’t have you anymore, then no one else will.”
Anne’s confusion turned into panic as the earth pony dropped the match, setting the carpeted floor on fire, the glow from it bright against the dark walls. She was quick to shed her alcohol drenched coat and throw it off to the side, backing up when the fire started to spread, trying to figure out what to do. The fire extinguisher was nowhere to be seen as she ran to the kitchen to search for it, panic doubling. The fire was growing larger by the second, and water didn’t seem to be the best option, given that she had very few. As she darted back, anger bubbled in her veins to find that Pine was gone, and if her fate was sealed to die in her apartment alone then so be it, but she wasn’t going down without a fight. Then it hit her: the phone.
Her hands scrambled to find it in the dark, heart plummeting when she finally did locate it and pressed it to her ear, only to be greeted with silence. The line was dead. “Damn it!” she growled, dropping the phone at her hooves and being left with no other option but to evacuate, not even having time to gather anything as the hot, crackling flames blocked her path to both the bedroom and the living room, having fully engulfed the coat she had left on the floor and leaving dark stains on the walls. By that point, sirens were faintly wailing outside, coupled with the concerned shouts and cries from the other residents of the complex building, having been rudely awoken from their sleep to screeching alarms. As the mare dashed down the stairs to get to the busy parking lot, two stallions in particular caught her eye, wandering towards them. “Obsidian? Smokey? What are you doing here?”
The blue earth pony’s head lifted at hearing her voice, surprise clearly evident on his face. “Andante? I’d ask you the same thing.” He then handed her a spare blanket that was tucked under his arm, one already draped over his shoulders. “Here, no need to catch a cold. And to answer your question, we live here. Small world, huh? Mr. High and Mighty didn’t want us peasants on his property, so we’ve been renting a little spot in this nook. Anyways, what’s with all the fire trucks? It’s not like the whole building’s up in smoke.”
Anne frowned. “No, but my apartment probably is. Damn psychopath of a coltfriend lit the carpet on fire because he thought I was cheating on him. Now look where we are, and he’s nowhere to be seen!”
Smokey’s eyes lidded. “...Were you?”
“Zip it, moth horse. I’ll have you know I am very loyal to my partners, please and thank you!” The pegasus sighed, admitting defeat as she sat down on the sidewalk, head in her hands. “I just want to go to sleep…”
The pair looked at each other, silently sharing the same solution. Obsidian cleared his throat. “Well, it just so happens that we have a spare room, and no one is using it… so we could take you in for a few days while everything gets cleared up. And… we can cover the damages, if you’d like.”
Anne’s face shifted from devastated to awed in less than a second. “R-Really? You guys would do that for me?”
He nodded, flashing a soft smile. “Of course. Anything to help out the best Head Secretary in the city.” He offered a hand to pull her up. “Now let’s get you off the ground. Seriously, I think a dog peed right where your sitting.”
The mare jumped up with a squeak, grabbing his hand and barreling into his chest from the force, punching him in the arm when she felt him start to laugh. “Hey! Not funny! I could have died, and all your worried about is making jokes?” Seeing his eyes sparkling in amusement, she rolled hers, shaking her head fondly as her gaze softened. “Fine, Sid. You win...this time.” After a beat, her ears lowered in a grateful way. “I...thank you, really. I can pay you back in full when I’m able to.”
Sid raised a hand to dismiss that proposal. “No need. Call it a friendly favor, and I’ll stop pestering you for the night.”
Anne scoffed, then smirked, letting him wrap his arm around her shoulders to guide her towards the other untouched complex building. “Alright, Alright. It’s a favor.”
“Great.”
Monday had arrived, and everything started off quite well...as well as they could be. Anne couldn’t help but feel a bit unnerved at all of the best wishes and questions from her co-workers about the incident over the weekend. She understood their concern, but at the same time, it was like they were trying to get her to snap. When she sat back down in her chair after taking a quick restroom break, she noticed that Snow was as still as a log, staring at her computer monitor with a blank expression. “Er, Snow? You doing okay?”
Snow’s head snapped towards her at an alarming speed, eyes as wide as saucers as her pupils dialated to take her in. “What is it, Anne?”
The pegasus slowly leaned back a few inches, slightly concerned about her friend’s rapid change in behavior. “Just...asking if you were alright. You were staring at your screen.”
“Really? Oops, sorry! Got a bit distracted, or ‘lost in my thoughts’, as you put it.”
Anne’s eyes lidded, mostly in amusement, but also carrying a twinge of worry. Snow had never done that before, at least not at work. What was she so wrapped up in? “Is that so? What were you thinking about?”
The earth pony’s face fell, giving way to her feelings of melancholy and sadness. “About you, and the fire...you must have been so scared…”
The other mare’s gaze softened, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, I was. But it’s ok, I can move back in by tomorrow. I got a call from the landlord earlier saying that the painters and carpet installers finished their work last night.”
“And Pine?”
“The police got him. He only got away with having to pay a fine, but they also put a restraining order on him so something like this doesn’t happen again. Hopefully I won’t be seeing him around any time soon.”
Snow’s face lit up a little. “That’s great to hear, Anne. And hey, now you got the whole place to yourself!”
Anne groaned at that, ears slicking back. “Yeah, and I’ll have to pay the full amount of rent. Not to mention...it’ll be lonely. Sure, Pine was an asshat, but...he still kept me company.”
The light blue mare laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, giving her a warm smile when their eyes met. “You’ll be fine, Andante. You don’t need no stallion to keep you company. You’ve got yourself, and I’m always a call away if you need someone to talk to.”
The pegasus smiled back, wrapping a wing around her in a quick hug. “Thanks, Snow. Now let’s get back to work before Smokey catches us slacking.”
Right on cue, the changeling hybrid rounded the corner to stroll to the front desk, taking all the time he wanted to get there. When he (finally) reached it, an unreadable expression was on his face, something that made Anne’s stomach churn. “Good afternoon, ladies. Hope things are good here.”
The magenta mare nodded. “Just fine, Smokey. What’s going on?”
He merely hummed, face again shifting to that odd expression. “Nothing to worry about. North just wanted to have a word with you.”
Oh gods. “W-with me? Right now?”
“No, yesterday. Yes, right now. Unless you want to reschedule-”
“No, no! It’s fine! Just...give me a minute…”
“Sure thing. I’ll let him know your on your way.”
Anne could feel the cold sweat trickling down her back as he left, mind going a mile a minute. This certainly wasn’t how she expected things to be going. And Snow’s smug grin sure wasn’t helping. “What?”
The mare beamed. “Nothing. Just intrigued at how fast you went from calm to nervous. What was it, like five seconds?”
“Oh, hush you. Why are you so calm about this?”
“C’mon, really? He’s your crush, you flirt with him on a weekly basis. A little meeting isn’t going to hurt you.”
“Yeah, but he’s still my boss. What if he heard about what happened and tries to get me to stay with him or something? Or worse, put cameras all around the apartment?”
Snow snorted. “Anne, calm down. You’re blowing this way out of proportion. How about you stop moving your mouth and start moving your legs? The only way to find out is to go. You’ve got this.”
The pegasus took in a deep breath, tense shoulders relaxing when she let it go. “Okay...okay. I’m going. Wish me luck.”
The soft click of the door closing behind her made Anne’s nervousness rise by tenfold, the harsh reality of her being in the same room as her superior alone slamming into her like a truck. A cold breeze coming in from the air vent above her made her shiver, feathers ruffling to help keep her warm as she took a slow step forward. Thankfully, North was currently focused on something at his computer, so he didn’t hear her come in, at least she hoped. With him distracted, she took the time to look around his office.
It was a simple layout, what with a large desk in the center of the room and couple of bookshelves stood off on either side, a few various decorations spread out within them. On his desk, she noticed a small picture frame with a photo of the head CEO with his cohorts, seemingly taken at a bar considering they were all holding up mugs filled with some sort of beer. They looked...happy, much happier than they usually were on a day to day basis. A low ‘ahem’ caused her gaze to snap towards the stallion sitting behind the computer monitor, blue eyes locked on her while one well groomed eyebrow formed a near perfect arc as he noted her presence. “It’s a bit rude to be snooping around someone’s space while they’re still present, don’t you think?” his voice rumbled, sounding more amused than annoyed. Still, the mare’s brain went into overdrive as her heart skipped a beat -or two-, wings instinctively unfurling to hide herself as she stammered.
“O-oh, I’m so sorry, Sir! I didn’t mean-”
He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “At ease, Andante.” Giving her a quick once over, he added, “You’re sweating, by the way.”
The female froze, then frantically felt around her face to find that drops of sweat were indeed dripping from her forehead. Deciding to play it off, her sass surfaced, if only for a minute. “Well, maybe if your office wasn’t as cold as a blizzard, I wouldn’t be.”
North let out a soft chuckle, the sound kick-starting Anne’s heart again- only this time into beating too fast. “My apologies. I find myself working better in colder temperatures. Being too hot is just a nuisance, you know?”
He could say that again. “Of course.”
“Now, onto what I called you up here for.” He paused when he saw her panicked look, shaking his head. “Relax. I’m not going to fire you. I just wanted to make a proposal.”
Anne was confused. A proposal? For what? “Er, for what, Sir?”
The unicorn’s eyes lidded, and the mare could have sworn that she saw his irises flash red, but it was like nothing happened when she blinked. Weird. “I heard about what happened with your...coltfriend. While I couldn’t prevent it from occurring, I can ensure that it doesn’t occur again. My penthouse isn’t too far from where you are currently residing, and if you ever need a place to stay for a while, it’s wide open.”
The pegasus started to feel a bit suspicious at hearing that, crossing her arms over her chest. “You three have been awfully generous to me as of late. Giving me lodging, paying for the damages...what are you getting at? There are at least fifty other mares working for this company, and if this happened to any of them, you probably wouldn’t bat an eyelash. What am I to you?”
Instead of answering, North rose from his seat, walking around his desk to stand in front of her. Time seemed to slow down when he reached up to lightly trace the scar on her neck with his fingers, as it was left out in the open due to her mane being up in a ponytail. His voice was low as he murmured, “You’re a feisty mare, Andante. I like that.” Without giving her a chance to process what was happening, he headed to the door, glancing back behind him with that familiar smirk he typically wore whenever he greeted her in the mornings. “The offer still stands,” he noted nonchalantly before stepping out, the door closing with the same small click, but now it brought a whole different wave of emotions than before.
Anne brought a hand to her neck, just now realizing the heat that burned behind her cheeks and the wide smile that tugged at her lips. He...liked her. Her wings fluttered. He liked her! If her heart hadn’t decided to burst out of her chest already, it had the go ahead now. As much as the romantic side in her wanted to relish in the moment, her sensible side was quick to pull her back to the ground, causing her to groan and press her fingers against her temples as she too headed out the door to get back to her desk. “Gods, I’m a sappy mess…”
When North came into work the following morning, he expected it to be like any other: everyone at their stations, Obsidian and Smokey making their rounds from time to time, and Anne smiling that dazzling grin up at him whenever he stopped by to check in. That seemed to be the case….with the first two objectives. A twinge of worry occasionally flickered in his chest whenever he came around, finding Snow sitting at the front desk, alone. Everyone else seemed to be rather quiet as well, much to his dismay. Finally he decided to talk to the Secretary's assistant about it when noon hit, ears drooping at her answer.
“I haven’t seen her, Mr. Star. Nor has she answered my calls. She must have fallen ill, I’m sure she’ll be back tomorrow.”
He hoped so. “Does she have any medical conditions I should know about?”
“Not that I know of. It’s really rare for her to just not show up, given she lives not too far from here. Do you want me to keep calling her?”
North shook his head. If the mare truly was sick, he didn’t want to be down her neck about it so soon. From what the earth pony was telling him, she must of had a pretty good attendance record, so he shouldn’t be too worried about her not coming in for one morning. “It’s alright, Snow. Thank you though.”
“Of course, Sir.”
The next few days had passed, and the tan unicorn was getting more and more irate every morning he didn’t see Anne where she was supposed to be. He had sent both Obsidian and Smokey to check in on her the day before, becoming concerned when they reported that they didn’t get a chance to see her at all, her apartment sounding like no one was inside when they put their ears to the door. Tonight, he decided that he had enough, planning to go see what was going on himself. The air was cold as he got out of his car and traversed the flights of stairs to get to her door, pausing once he was in front of it. Thoughts swirled around in his head. Why was he doing this? She was just an employee, he shouldn’t be so upset over the well-being of a mere employee. She was replaceable, there were countless mares and stallions that would fight each other to the death just to get a chance at having her position. But...would they be like her? Would they have the same level of confidence and wit that she did?
Something in his chest tightened, and he felt his fingers curl into a fist. No, no they wouldn’t. Andante was different, and if he had to go to the extremes to make sure she was okay, then so be it. Raising his hand, he knocked at the door with the smallest amount of force he could muster. “Andante? It’s me, North. I heard you weren’t feeling well, so I just wanted to stop by to see how you were doing.” No answer. He waited a few minutes before knocking again, this time a bit harder, figuring she may not have heard him. “Could you come to the door, please? It’ll only be a second.” Still nothing. A few minutes later, he finally resorted to pounding on the door, a bit of his frustration seeping into his tone as he barked, “C’mon, I know you can hear me. ...Andante!” Silence.
North growled before letting his hand drop to his side. Something was wrong, he could sense it. Figuring that busting down the door would be a bit too forward, not to mention attention bringing, he settled for a more reasonable alternative: making a fake key. His horn lit up, fishing Sid’s key out of his back pocket before casting a quick duplication spell on it. The only difference between the two were that his key had malliable teeth, giving him the ability to match the lock without possibly bending the earth pony’s, which he may or may not have taken while the other’s back was turned earlier that morning...whoops. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the key into the lock, ears perked when he heard the click of the door unlocking, carefully peering inside the dark apartment. His stomach lurched at what he saw.
Anne’s frame was slumped over on the floor in the middle of the hallway, bare back facing him as the air was filled with the thick scent of blood seeping into the carpet. North pushed the door open, rushing over to her to roll her over and pull her up into a sitting position. “Anne? Are you alright? ...Gods, what happened to you?”
The mare’s right eye was swollen shut, bearing a nasty looking dark circle around it. Her nude body was riddled with cuts and scratches, all of which were bleeding and leaving stains on her coat, which looked unkempt and matted. She was battered and bruised, barely clinging onto consciousness as her good eye wearily opened at the feeling of being moved, a light smile ghosting on her face when she recognized who it was. “N...N…” A low whimper left her as her head fell back, not having the strength to even say his name.
The stallion held her as he sighed. “Shh...It’s ok, you don’t need to say anything. I’ve got you.” His ears suddenly lifted to the sound of something moving in the distance. They weren’t alone. Feeling an angered growl start to rumble within his chest, he gently laid the wounded pegasus back down before rising to his hooves, eyes scanning his surroundings while his heartbeat pounded thickly in his ears. Before he could blink, someone came up behind him, grabbing his mane and pressing a sharp blade against his neck. His eyes narrowed, clearly not in the mood for games. “You have three seconds to drop your weapon before it ends up embedded in your skull.”
There was a bit of hesitance, but the dagger fell to the ground with a thump, North whirling around to come face to face with his opponent. It was a dark brown earth pony stallion, long ombre brown and green mane draped over his shoulders and agitated grey eyes staring up at him with a bitter tone. “Who are you, tall stick?” he snarled, muscular arms across his chest.
The unicorn raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “Doesn’t matter. And you must be the infamous coltfriend, Pine Needle. Pyromaniac and mare abuser. I’m surprised that this is only your first restraining order. Which you just violated.”
Pine merely pointed at the pegasus on the floor, cutting her a sharp glare. “She was cheating on me! She was looking for it.”
North hummed, letting his eyes slowly shift into red. “The same could be said about you, but what do I know? I’m just a ‘tall stick’.” His horn then ignited in a blaze of color, lifting the shorter male in his aura by his neck, smirking at the panic reflecting in the other’s eyes. Oh, was he going to enjoy this. “You know, Mr. Needle, I could do a lot of things to you right now. I could break all of your bones, burn you alive, flip you upside down so the blood rushes to your head and you pass out, then throw you off of a cliff… But, for the sake of time, I won’t get to play with you tonight. I’ll just send you to a few of my friends, and let them take good care of you. Have fun.” With that, the earth pony simply disappeared into thin air, leaving no trace that he was there in the first place except for the dagger still lying where it fell.
Glancing over at the mare, the taller stallion let out a low sigh when he saw that she was sitting up, but pressed against the wall, fluffed wings hiding her frame as her eye stared at him with an emotion he knew of all too well. She was scared. Her whole body flinched when he took a step towards her, scooting away the best she could, not that she could get very far. “Anne, please. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have. I want to help you.”
She stared at him for a second longer before lowering her head in defeat, allowing him to get closer and help her stand. Feeling self conscious, she softly asked him to stay by the door so she could find some clothes to throw on, heat blossoming behind her cheeks when he told her that she looked beautiful when she came back out, but she was too out of it to come up with a snarky response. Together, they left the scene behind, and she fell fast asleep once she got in the car, hopeful that things would clear up in the morning.
...can lead to making Connections
Anne’s head was spinning when she woke up, groaning in pain as she attempted to sit up, resulting in her feeling like the world was moving way too fast for her liking and being forced to lay back down again. It took her a few seconds of staring at the sun’s light coming in from a nearby window to realize that she wasn’t in her apartment. Slowly rolling onto her back, she found herself in a rather large bedroom, fully furnished and probably bigger than both her living room and kitchen combined. The cover she was nestled under felt of a high quality, and the bed itself looked to be pretty fancy as well, complete with a canopy and silk drapes. A knock at the door called her attention to it, pulse quickening. “Come in,” she called out, slightly surprised to see North enter the room, but not because it was him. He was merely dressed in a white t-shirt and black sweatpants, the complete opposite of what she was used to seeing him be dressed in.
“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Feeling dizzy yet?” Seeing her look confused, he snorted. “I know because the nurses gave you all sorts of shots when I brought you to the hospital to get your eye checked and your wounds cleaned up. You probably don’t remember.”
She nodded, then pointed at his outfit. “What’s with the sweats?”
The male looked down at himself, meeting her gaze with a puzzled expression of his own. When it clicked, his eyes rolled. “Oh, I get it. You think just because I have a penthouse and run a company, I dress to the nines all the time. Well, the secret’s out, sugar: I don’t.”
Anne let out a small snicker, hiding her mouth behind her hand so he wouldn’t see her grin. “Does that explain the updo, too?”
North pulled at the hair tie holding his multicolored mane up in a bun, a slight scowl on his face as the locks fell and settled into place. “I was cleaning, for your information. You sleep like a rock, so I wasn’t worried about waking you up.”
The pegasus cocked her head to one side in confusion. “Wait, you don’t have a maid? Or a butler?”
“No, Miss Stereotypical. Smokey tries to send maids over here but I always turn them down. If you ask me, they’re like fancy looking escorts by how frivolous they decide to dress. Not my thing.”
Anne hummed in thought. Maybe...no. She shouldn’t ask something like that so soon. But...she really wanted to. “Er, have you...been with any...escorts before?”
The unicorn gave her a look, almost as if to say, ‘Your kidding, right?’ “I would be lying if I said no, but the number is way smaller than you think: one. She was...alright, but I don’t plan on digging on that side of town anytime soon.”
The mare let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Feeling her face flush, she quickly decided to change the topic before he were to ask the dreaded question of why she asked him that. “So, uh...Where did you send Pine? I can remember that much.” Her ears slicked back at seeing his eyes flash, this time staying red for a second or two before switching back to blue.
“I can’t say, not yet. One day you’ll know.” North then cleared his throat, making his way to the door and leaving it open once he passed through. “How about some breakfast, yeah? I made pancakes.”
Sensing that he wasn’t too comfortable on going further with her question, Anne gave him a pass, sliding out of the warm bed to follow him. She was curious about how the rest of his place looked anyways. “You can cook, too? What can’t you do?”
“Not much.”
Three weeks had come and gone, and much to Anne’s dismay (or delight, she couldn’t tell), most of her nights were spent at North’s place. There was just something about him that made her feel safe, and she wanted to feel that as much as possible. Everything had healed up rather well, and the mare only bore a few scars to show that the brutal attack even happened at all. This morning, she was greeted to a note by her keyboard when she came into work, puzzled to say the least. It read:
Hope you like wine, because I have a bit of a treat for you later this evening. Oh, and wear something fancy, if you can. I’ll show you that I have some fashion sense.
See you then,
North
The mare’s feathers ruffled excitedly upon reading the message- for the third time. “Fancy, huh? Alright. Two can play at this game, Mr. Star. Just you wait.”
Night had fallen, and the pegasus shifted nervously as she waited for North to come open the door, having just rung the doorbell. This was technically going to be their first ‘date’, at least how she saw it. The two had been calling each other all throughout the day, making playful jabs and witty comments just for the sake of doing so, and Anne loved it. It had been so long since she had someone to really express herself with, since Pine would constantly harp on her about the littlest things, making it no fun to engage in small talk with him. Her thoughts were broken out of when the door opened, eyes lighting up at what she saw.
North was standing in the doorway, wearing a sleek black tuxedo and red bowtie. His mane was curled, blue eyes bright and a dazzling smile was on his face as he held out a hand to her. “Good evening, lovely. I didn’t know we would be matching.”
Anne blushed, glancing down at her sparkling black and grey mermaid dress, taking his hand as he guided her inside. “I guess we are. I sometimes wear this to the lounge I work at.”
The male looked interested at that. “You sing?”
She nodded, glancing off to the side. “Yeah, it’s just a part time thing, though.”
He smirked, moving his hand where it held hers up to her shoulder. “I’d love to hear you someday.”
“Sure.” There was a pause, then the mare gasped inwardly as they rounded the corner to enter the dining room. The table was set, lit up by candles and adorned with a centerpiece of a bird made from roses. Soft music played in the background as she was led to her seat, raising a curious eyebrow. “When did you have the time to do all of this?”
North shrugged, pointing to his horn while he sat down himself. “Magic always helps, but I figured we should have a little celebration. For your quick recovery.”
Anne couldn’t help but feel that there was more to it than that. “You sure that’s the only reason? It seems awfully elaborate for something like that.”
For the first time since she met him, the stallion looked...shy, nervous even. That was new. He avoided her gaze for a few seconds before lifting his head, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “I...I want to make another proposal.”
Wonderful. What could it be this time? “What is it?”
North’s ears lowered, seeming more uneased than before. Taking a breath, he put what he wanted to out in the open. “Listen, I know you’ve been through a lot recently...and I’m sure that this is too soon to be asking this, but…I care about you, Anne. Would you... consider starting a relationship with me?”
The mare blinked a few times to make sure that she had heard him correctly. He what? She quickly held a finger in front of her nose to make sure that she was still breathing. “I...er…” This needed some thought. Their time together may have already crossed some boundaries regarding their positions, but now he wanted to take it a step further? Worse still, she was actually waiting for him to ask her that, and now that it was happening, it was like she was dreaming. But… the past few weeks had been the best she had ever felt in a long while, and North seemed determined to get this to work, if she accepted. Plus, she couldn’t keep denying the fact that she was falling for him too, pretty hard if she was being honest. If this meant that she could spend as long as she could at his side, then she was ready to make that jump. “I do. I accept your proposal, North.”
The unicorn’s eyes grew wide, sparkling with a new found light as he beamed, barely unable to keep himself still, long tail thumping against the legs of his chair as it wagged like a happy dog’s. As quick as it left, his straight faced composure was back as he cleared his throat, glancing off to the side in slight embarrassment. “I’m glad. And, I was wondering… could you stay the night? I have something else to show you.”
More surprises? This day seemed to be getting better by the minute. The pegasus flashed a grin at him. “Sounds like a plan.”
Anne’s breath caught in her throat as she felt North’s warm body press against her, both of them stripped down to their undergarments while their lips were locked in a hot and passionate kiss. She had been thrown for a loop when the male had brought her to his bedroom-the same one she had been in after her encounter with Pine-, and gave her yet another proposal, this time one that was much more intimate than the last few. Long story short, he was itching to get his hands on her, and then some. She, of course, was a bit hesitant- for obvious reasons-, but if she was being honest with herself, she wanted it too-badly. Ever since she had met the unicorn, her urges were steadily getting stronger and stronger until tonight, where she could finally let them go. Now that she was thinking about it, the stallion seemed to be pressing himself closer to her as the seconds passed, as if he wanted every part of their bodies to be touching the best they could. Her cheeks were warm as he suddenly pulled away, giving her a sly smirk that made her stomach drop.
“You’re not that bad of a kisser,” he purred in a low tone, sending shivers down her spine as he lightly stroked at the base of her neck, causing her wings to flutter briefly. Hooking his fingers around the back of her grey bra, the piece of padding and fabric was undone and sliding off of her slender arms in one fluid motion, dark primary feathers instinctively shooting forward to cover her round breasts, eyes glinting as she glanced shyly up at him.
North hummed, silently figuring that this was going to be an issue. Though the mare had enough spunk and confidence to power an army, that was quickly washed away whenever she got into romantic situations -especially when things got intimate-, as he was told by a certain blue earth pony. So, to help combat this, he decided to let her be in charge, if just for a moment or two. Sliding off of the bed, he opened a nearby nightstand drawer to pull something out of it: a black cloth. Andante’s eyes grew wide at seeing it, putting the two together in an instant, wings drawing closer to her body. “North…”
Instead of answering, his lips were on hers again, using his magic to tie the cloth around her head so it was snug and covered her eyes. Drawing back, he softly murmured into her twitching ears, “Shh...At ease. No need to talk, just feel. My body is yours.”
Anne’s heart thundered in her chest from hearing that, slowly letting her wings rest at
her sides. Instantly she felt the weight of his hands on her back, pulling her towards him. Since she was unable to see, her fingers aimlessly felt out the air for him until they met their mark, landing on his muscular shoulders. Trailing upwards, they ran over the dip and curves of his neck, tail involuntarily flicking around when he swallowed underneath them.
Reaching his face, his lips puckered to lovingly kiss her fingertips while they traced over them, prompting a deep blush from her as she continued to explore his figure merely by touch. His horn let out a low buzz as she followed the spiral from its grooves, causing North to gently guide her hands back down to his shoulders so she wouldn’t accidently set him off any further before he was ready to. The light caress traveled down his arms and back up to his chest, pausing for a moment to feel the strong and proud heart beating underneath the warm skin. It was comforting, but it also urged her to keep moving, far too curious to find what else was stirring within him. Her fingers soon met with the bumps of his rather well toned abs, despite him looking pretty thin on the surface. Of course, clothing tends to hide a lot, her point being made when she finally got to the spot she was mostly interested in: his groin.
Gently palming at the cloth covered bulge in between the stallion’s legs, one thing was quickly made clear: North was big. How big, Anne wasn’t sure yet, but she knew she was about to find out from the low pants and groans coming from him. When her movements started to get faster, he growled before grasping her wrists and pulling the garment off himself. The mare’s nose twitched playfully in triumph as she slowly reached out to touch the supposed monster of a cock that her first pass over assumed. And a monster it was. As it got harder within her light grasp, a soft gasp left her when she felt the head brush against her wrists, soon being unable to fully wrap one of her hands around it. Gods, did she wish she could look at it right now…
A sudden twitch from the thing made her jolt, accidently squeezing the large stallionhood a bit harder than she figured North would have liked. Just as she was about to blurt out a string of apologies, something else reached her ears: a moan, low and sensual. It seems that her accident may have led to a discovery. This could get interesting. Letting go, she let her fingers roam down the underside of the thick shaft that had veins popping up all along it, earning another pleased grunt. Soon they bumped against his hefty feeling balls, cupping her hands underneath them before squeezing them none too gently, this time on purpose.
The unicorn’s grip on her arms tightened as he moaned again, this time louder and more desperate. He was already starting to get close, and she had only touched him. Lifting one hand to run his fingers through her mane, he guided her head down until it was level with his tip, forcing her hands to rest on his thighs while she lightly poked at it with her nose before taking it into her mouth- once she found it, of course. His eyes lidded at her slow yet thorough laps against his hole, occasionally sucking at it with just as much intensity as her squeezes. Slowly, his shaft was pushed further down until it just hit the back of her throat, the rest of it that wasn’t being caressed by her soft tongue was gently being stroked at with nimble fingers. Before long, a pressure began to build up within his lower stomach, a signal that if he wasn’t careful, his first night with the pegasus would be cut short, something that he didn’t want to see come into fruition. With a twinge of disappointment, he pulled her off of him with a tug to her tail, earning a low whine.
“I know, I know. Now on your back.”
Anne did as was instructed, hopeful to possibly get a chance to have her blindfold be pulled up as the stallion busied himself with taking off her silky grey panties, only to have it be dashed when he didn’t so much as bother with the cloth blocking her vision, feeling his weight slink off the bed again, causing her ears to droop. They perked right back up when she heard a new sound: the crinkling of a wrapper. She bit her lower lip when the realization hit her: he was putting on a condom. Being so wrapped up in the experience made her almost completely forget about using protection, thankful that North had thought ahead before their actions could have led to drastic consequences. She always made sure to take her pill, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
A sudden bump against her lower lips made every nerve in the mare’s body fire, fingers curling into the sheets underneath her as the male lined up with her entrance. The time she had been waiting for had finally come, and she was ready for it. A soft moan fell from her lips as the warm stallionhood was slowly pushed into her, walls stretching to take as much of it as she could. Gods, he was bigger than she thought. His head already was nestled deep within her folds, and still he kept pushing until his hips brushed against the insides of her thighs, breathing heavily as he took a few moments to recompose himself.
The unicorn’s fur bristled as he panted, head low while shivers would trickle up and down his spine, tail hiked and draping over his legs while everything within him lit up like a light. The mare’s soft and tight confines were radiating with a heat that he had never before experienced, and he wanted to savor the moment for as long as he was able to. Soon though, Anne’s pleading whimpers and whines got through to him, and he gave her what she wanted: a hard, long thrust to spread her just a bit wider.
“Oh~ N-North!” was her pleasured cry, eyes squeezed shut underneath the blindfold as her feathers ruffled, wings unfurling on their own when she was steadily getting pounded into the mattress after a few more experimental thrusts, hips lifting to meet his with every push and pull of the throbbing cock still buried within her. It was like floating on a cloud-if the cloud was attached to a ship being slammed by the waves, which was the best way she could describe how good this felt. That added with the fact that her sense of touch was being put into overdrive made holding herself back that much harder, eventually letting out a squeal while her body went slack, walls milking the stallion for all he was worth, causing him to lean down to bury his head in her neck, calling her name in a tired yet content tone. His tip flared, balls tightening to send streams of hot cum into the latex sleeve, sighing when the heavy flow finally came to a stop.
The pegasus’ warmth pooled beneath her once he carefully pulled himself out when the large shaft grew soft enough to do so, leaving behind a bit of a mess when the amount of seed in the condom caused it to break as he attempted to get it off, white spilling all over the covers. North snorted while his horn lit up to discard the condom and conjure a few towels to (try to) clean up the both of them, though the sheets were going to have to go straight to the wash when morning came. Regardless, he couldn’t deny that the evening had gone extremely well, and one look at Anne told him that she thought so too. The magenta mare was half awake, having managed to somehow remove her blindfold, put her undergarments back on and huddle underneath the part of the covers that weren’t drenched in semen and other fluids, weary eyes silently asking for him to join her. With a soft sigh, he pulled his boxers back on and did so once he closed the canopy’s drapes to give them an extra layer of privacy- not that they really needed it-, giving her a look when she curled up against him. “Your too much, you know that?”
Anne smirked tiredly. “I know. But you like me like that.”
North’s eyes rolled, but he shook his head fondly as he gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Sure… Same thing tomorrow?”
Her ears perked at that, cocking her head. “What? The dinner or the sex?”
“Both, if you’re up for it. I’ve got a few more tricks up my sleeve.”
Anne’s eyes narrowed as her lips curled into a sly grin. Is that so? She always loved a challenge, no matter how risque. “Of course, Sir. Your place or mine?”
“We’ll see.”
Author's Note
Thanks for Reading! If you have any questions or suggestions for future fics, feel free to let me know. Until next time!
