Riki and Liz's Grand Adventure!

You~

There is a pony, a unicorn named Razzle Snap. She is 25 and a half years old and moved to Canterlot a few months ago from Fillydelphia. Every day, Razzle wakes up at 8:05 on the dot. She gets out of the shower at 8:15 or 8:20 if she gets soap in her eyes. At 8:30, Razzle eats apple cinnamon oatmeal, orange juice, and toast with mixed berry jam. 8:45, she finishes breakfast and then reads one of her many romance novels. 9:30, Razzle heads to work.

Razzle works at Equestria Times as a journalist. She has a crappy boss and makes an okay amount of bits. Razzle makes her way through the busy workers to her desk. Her plain desk. Just a typewriter, a tiny cactus, and one of her cheesy romance novels she accidentally left here. “I was looking for this.” Razzle shifted through the papers on her desk, looking over the things she wrote.

“Hey, you’re here!” Razzle turns around to see a chestnut-brown unicorn with short hair and a sweater vest cutie mark. He’s also wearing a sweater vest. Waving, he says, “Morning, Ms.Snap!”

“Morning to you too, Chester,” Razzle said with a weak smile. “And you don’t have to call me ‘Ms.Snap.’ Razzle is fine.”.

Chester nods, “You got it, Razzle. Umm, I would like to say your hair looks very good today.”

“Thanks, Chester.” Razzle said, “Is there something else?”

“Yeah, I want to know if you want to go-”

“Razzle Snap! In my office now!” a voice boomed. Causing all of the ponies to flinch.

Razzle lets out an annoyed sigh, “Buck, what does he want? Look, Chester, the Boss wants to see me. We’ll talk later.”

“B-but I want to know if you want to go out!?” Chester blurted out. However, Razzle was gone, making her way to the boss’s office. “...I’ll ask you later.”

In the office, she sits there quietly. Across from Razzle is her boss, who is named Boss. He’s a big earth pony stallion, blue as dark lapis. He sits there looking over the mountains of papers on his desk. Without looking up, Boss says, “Razzle Snap, do you know why I called you?”

“No, sir,”

“You gave me one good story, and it was about that human,” said Boss, dropping some papers. “That’s it! Nothing else since you got transferred here from Fillydelphia.”

“Well, I thought the piece about the burnt toast that looks like Princess Celestia was good,” Razzle said with a small smile. She stops when Boss slams his hoof down. “...Sorry.”

With a straight face, he says, “Do you know why I'm not firing you right now!?”

“Y-you see potential in me?” Razzle stuttered.

“Tartarus, no!” yelled Boss, “It's because you’re the only pony that got a one-on-one with that human!”

“That human has a name, and it's Riki,” Razzle interjected.

“I don’t care if its name is Wife-Bucker!” Boss, take a few deep breaths. Goes into his desk and pulls out a cigar. “Look, that piece about the human was the last story you gave me. If you don’t get me a new story, your flank will be on the side of the street. Now go!”

“Yes, sir! I’ll get you your story!” Razzle said frantically as she left the Boss’s office.

Boss lights up his cigar. Taking a few puffs, he says, “This generation is really killing me.”

Walking the streets of Canterlot with my head hanging low. Every day, I fight to keep my job. Trying to find a story better than the next one for my stupid damn boss. Stopping in the middle of the street, I run my hooves through my hair. This is too much for me. I want to scream. I want… I need… “Riki,” I’ll get another story out of him. Riki probably won't give an interview, but if I told him my job was on the line, he would do it; he’s a nice guy. And sweet…and tall…and… “What am I thinking!” I yelled out loud.

Come on, Razzle, don’t think about that. You have a job. If I hurry, I can probably catch the train to Ponyville. As I made my way to the train station, I stopped. Across the street, I see Riki walking with two guards. I was about to go look for him, and now he’s here. Is this fate? The mare runs into a stallion when she needs something, just like in my book.

Making my way to him, I say, “Hey, Riki, you on the job?”

“Oh, Razzle, it’s good to see you.” Riki smiled, “No, I'm just hanging out with Feathers and Specs.”

“Look, journalist, Specs and I are doing our job.” Feather interjected, “So don't go write things about us fooling around.”

Oh great, her again. “Well, I'm not really Interested in writing about a pony. Especially you with that attitude.”

“Attitude!?” Feather yelled, “I’ll show you attitude!”

“Calm down, Feather.” Specs said, pushing up his glasses. “You want to talk to Riki, right?”

“Yeah, there are a few things I like to talk to him about,” I said, “Look, Riki, I need a story or my boss will fire me.”

Riki crossed his arms, “Again?” I nod my head, and he continues, “Okay, you can get an interview. I’ll see you two later.” Feather and Specs said their goodbyes to Riki before leaving.

“Alright, do you want to go back to the office?”

“How about we get something to eat?” asked Riki, “I’ll pay.”

Is Riki asking me to eat with him? No, it’s normal. “Umm, sure, I would love that.”

“Great!”

I follow Riki to a nearby restaurant. We decided to eat outside, and let's say, this is fun. I know it’s only been a few minutes, but I'm really enjoying myself. It’s been a while since I ate with somepony. This reminds me of this one chapter in my romance book. I watch Riki look over the menu. He’s really putting in the brainpower to pick what he wants. “Adorable,”

“You said something?” Riki asked, looking up from the menu.

“Nothing. Well, are you having trouble finding what you want?” I look into Riki’s different-colored eyes. The green looks pretty, but that amber eye takes the cake.

“I don't know what to get?” Riki said, looking back at the menu. “What are you getting, Razzle? …Razzle, do you hear me?”

“Your eyes are pretty,” I mumbled. Oh, my Celestia! Did I just say that out loud? I begin to blush, “Riki, I didn't-”

Riki let out a chuckle, “Thanks, Razzle, and let me say your hair looks amazing today.”

Does he really think that about my hair? “Thanks, Riki. Oh, I was thinking about getting spaghetti and brussels sprouts.”

“That sounds good,” Riki replied as he leaned back in his chair. “Oi, waiter, two orders of spaghetti and brussels sprouts, please.”

“Riki, let's start our interview. There are a few things I like to ask.” I said, pulling out my notepad. Time to be professional.

Riki groans, “Can we eat first? I think better on a full stomach. So, let's just talk about stuff. We’ll have the interview later.”

“But the stuff we talk about can be used in the interview,” I said as my hooves tapped together. “So what’s the difference?”

Riki sighs, “An interview is a conversation between an interviewer and an interviewee. We are not doing that. We are talking like friends who are getting something to eat. So let's talk.”

Okay, talk, Razzle, talk to Riki. Like friends… “Wait, we're friends?”

“Yeah,” Riki said, taking a sip of water.

I smile and say, “Thanks, Riki.”

We began to talk about stuff. Well, I just listened to Riki. He tells stories about his world and family. Especially the story about the time his sister accidentally ate a strawberry. She was allergic, and Riki had to rush her to the hospital. Riki is so caring and brave to work in that stressful situation. I can listen to Riki talk for hours. His voice is lovely… That’s a normal thing to think of, right?

Yeah, that's normal.

“Oi, Razzle, are you okay?” Riki asked, tapping me on the head, breaking me out of my daydream. “The food is here.” I watch Riki as he eats his food. He's a bit of a mess eater. It's adorable in a weird way. I wonder if all humans eat like that.

Not wanting my spaghetti to get cold, I began to eat. It's good.

“How was your day?” Riki asked between bites.

My day? Nopony, have you ever asked me about my day? Is this what a date feels like? No, it’s not a date. This is just two friends getting food, like what Riki said. “My day has been…tiring. You know my boss is on my tail.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“But my day is a lot better because of you,” I said as I played with my food. “It’s been rough ever since my mom died.” My hoof taps the table as I think about the horrible day. I was so alone that day. “It hurts thinking about it.”

I see Riki reaching over and grabbing my hoof. He looks into my eyes and says, “Razzle, I know how it feels losing a parent… It’s rough. But I know you will get through it.”

Even though they are simple, Riki's words really make her feel better. “Thanks, Riki.”

“No problem,” Riki said, finishing his food. “Oi, how about we start the interview? I’ll tell you about what happened a few days ago.”

“Are you doing that to make me feel better?” I said sluggishly.

“Yeah.”

I get a slight smile, “Alright, what’s the story, Riki?”

“The dragon migration Spike, Louie, and I went to.” Riki said, “It was fun.”

“Tell me more,”

Riki told his amazing story about the dragon migration he joined with his friends. A talking house cat and a dragon. When we were done eating, Riki walked me back to my job. That was kind of him.

“Oi, Razzle, this was fun!” Riki said joyfully, “Tomorrow, come to Ponyville.”

Oh, my Celestia, what is Riki asking me? “Why?”

“So we can hang out,” said Riki.

“I really love to! I mean, I’ll see you tomorrow, Riki.” I gushed, then quickly calmed down, trying to keep my cool. “I don't work tomorrow, so I'll be there around noon.”

“Good!” Riki smiled as he walked away. “It's a date!”

“...A date? Is he going to ask me out? Maybe I should ask him out,” I mumble to myself. I can feel my face heating up as I let out a squeal. Did he ask me out? Riki just asked me out! Oh, buck, what am I going to wear? Wait, what do I even do on a date? I haven't gone out with somepony sense…ever. I’ll think about it later, I have work to do.

Razzle has been working hard the past few hours, writing about Riki’s dragon migration trip. As she looks through her notes, Chester walks up to her. “Hey, Razzle, good to see you.” She doesn't answer. She just works on her story. “...Is that a story about the human? What's its name again?” Chester talking about the human gets Razzle’s attention.

“Riki. His name is Riki.” Razzle huffed, stopping what she was doing. “We had lunch. He told me a few stories. I'm writing about the dragon migration he went to.”

Chester clears his throat, “That’s neat. Umm, Razzle, you don’t work tomorrow. So I thought we could get a cup of coffee together?”

“Sorry, Chester, but I already have something planned tomorrow,” Razzle said with a smile. She can’t wait to see Riki again. “Maybe next time. Hey, can you give this to the boss? I’m going to head home early.” Razzle gives Chester her finished story, “You can look over it if you want to, bye.”

Razzle makes her way back to her home, thinking about her ‘date’ with Riki. Once she’s home, Razzle makes herself some tea and grabs her favorite romance novels. She had always dreamed of meeting a stallion like the ones in her book. And now she had finally found her stallion, Riki. “Tomorrow will be the best day ever!” Razzle squealed.

The next day, Razzle is getting off of a train to Ponyville. She is wearing a tawny-orange sundress. Her green hair is tied in a neat ponytail with a bow. And since today is a special day, Razzle decided to put on a little bit of makeup. She really hopes Riki likes all of this.

As Razzle makes her way out of the train station, she sees Riki. Razzle over to him and says, “Riki, you look great.”

“Really?” he said, looking over himself. “I’m just wearing my regular hoodie and cargo shorts. Oh, you look nice. I love your sundress.”

Razzle looks down with a blush on her face, “Thanks, Riki. I just put on the first thing in my closet.” That was a lie. It took her all of this morning to find the right clothes.

“Oi, Razzle, what do you want to do?” Riki asked.

“Is there a bookstore or library here?”

“I know a place, c’mon!”

Razzle walks closely next to Riki. Her tail brushes against his leg. Razzle has the biggest smile on her face. Humming a tune to herself, she nuzzles Riki’s leg. This is the best day of her life, and nothing can go wrong.

“Riki!” A pink blur passes Razzle as it crashes into Riki. Pulling him into a hug, saying, “RikiRiki, there is something amazing I want to show you!”

“Oi, Pinkie, good afternoon.” Riki chucked. “I would like to see that! What is it?”

“You know that candy you showed me?”

“The Reese's?”

“Yeah, I made some,” Pinkie then pulled one out from her hair. Somehow, it's perfectly clean. “Have one.”

Without a second thought, Riki eats Pinkie’s Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. “Whoa, this is good! It’s batter, then ones back home.”

“Thanks, Riki.”

Razzle watches the two talk for a bit before letting out a cough, getting Riki’s attention. “Oh, Pinkie. This pretty pony is Razzle Snap.”

Razzle sees how close Pinkie is to Riki. Her hooves around Riki’s neck, nuzzling him. Razzle’s hoof begins to tap. She takes a few calming breaths before putting on a fake smile. “You must be Pinkie Pie. Riki talked about you. You two must be close?”

“Of course we are! Riki is my BHFF!” Pinkie beamed.

“What?”

“Best human friend forever! Lizzy is also my BHFF.” Pinkie said, hopping off over Riki. “Razzle, you're a friend of Riki, and now you're my friend too!”

Pinkie pulls Razzle into a bone-crunching hug. “Thanks,” Razzle said with a fake laugh. She gently pushes Pinkie off her. “Look, Riki and I got somewhere to go. Just us.” She then walks off.

“I’ll talk to you later, Pinkie!” Riki said as he caught up to Razzle.

After a bit of walking, Razzle and Riki arrive at the Golden Oak Library. They enter the library and greet it by Twilight. “Hey, Riki. Oh, who’s your friend?”

“This is Razzle, the journalist from Canterlot,” said Riki. “We’re hanging out, and she wants to see a library.”

“Yeah,” Razzle chimed in, “I want to check out a book.”

“Really,” Twilight smiled.

Razzle looks over to Riki. He says, “Twi doesn't get that many ponies here.”

Twilight rolls her eyes, “So, Razzle, what book are you looking for?”

“Any stories about romance,” Razzle answered.

“Over there,”

Razzle makes her way to the bookshelf. Looking over each book, she mumbles, “Read that and that.” Razzle uses her magic to pull over the nearby ladder. As she climes it, she can overhear Riki and Twilight talking.

“Twilight, where is Spike?” Riki asked.

“Over at Rarity’s place.”

“Haha, I should have known,” Riki laughed, “So, how was your day?”

Twilight brushes the hair away from her eyes, “Good, especially when you come around.”

“Really? You're just saying that to be nice.” Riki smiled.

Twilight giggles, “No, it’s true.”

“Is that purple pony flirting with Riki?” Razzle said to herself. She leans a bit off the ladder to get a better look at them. Watch them laugh and playfully bump each other. A sharp pain hit her chest. Was this jealousy? Razzle never felt jealous; she only read about it in her romance novels. Razzle gets an idea. She begins to lean back as much as she can. Making the ladder fall back, she lets out the best fake scream she can, “Aaaahhh!” Razzle’s screams fill the library as she falls. But before Razzle’s tail touches the floor. Riki comes running with great speed and catches her, landing on his back. “...Riki.” was the only word she said as a blush crept upon her face and a sly smile.

“Shit, Razzle, are you okay!?” Riki asks worriedly.

Twilight runs up, “Oh my, Celestia! What happened?”

“I-I must have accidentally leaned back too much,” Razzle said, snuggling into Riki’s arms. “But I think I’m okay.”

Riki stands up, “That’s good.” He gently puts down Razzle, to her dismay.

“And I didn’t find a book to my liking,” said Razzle, fixing her dress. “Riki, I’m getting hungry. Let's go get something to eat.” Riki and Twilight watch Razzle walk out of the library.

“...What was that about?” asked Twilight.

“I don’t know,” Riki said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ll talk to you later, Twilight.”

Riki and Razzle are eating at an outside table. Riki takes a sip of his drink and then says, “Razzle, why did you storm out of there like that?”

Razzle stops eating and says, “Sorry, I was just embarrassed from the fall. I just wanted to get out of there. I hope Twilight doesn’t think I’m rude or something.”

“Oh, Razzle, it's fine. Twilight will understand.” Riki said, “She’s a pretty reasonable pony. Twilight is nice and can be funny sometimes.” Razzle listens to Riki talk about Twilight, which feels like hours. It chips at her the longer she listens to Riki talk.

“Riki, are you going out with Twilight?”

“What? No, we are just friends.” Riki said.

“Good, because I want to know if you would like to go out with me,” Razzle said with a big smile. “I mean, the stories you tell just hook me. You’re like the stallions from the books I read. Brave and strong, always saving me! You treat me differently, Riki. So would you go out with me!?”

“Huh?”

There is a pony, a unicorn named Razzle Snap. She is 25 and a half years old and moved to Canterlot a few months ago from Fillydelphia. Every day, Razzle wakes up at 8:05 on the dot. She gets out of the shower at 8:15 or 8:20 if she gets soap in her eyes. At 8:30, Razzle eats apple cinnamon oatmeal, orange juice, and toast with mixed berry jam. 8:45, she finishes breakfast and then reads one of her many romance novels. 9:30, Razzle heads to work.

Razzle works at Equestria Times as a journalist. She has a crappy boss and makes an okay amount of bits. Razzle makes her way through the busy workers to her desk. Her plain desk. Just a typewriter, a tiny cactus, and one of her cheesy romance novels she accidentally left here. “I was looking for-”

“Razzle, there you are,” said Chester.

“Hey, you need something?”

Chester takes a bit to compose himself, “I want to know if you want to go out. There is this nice restaurant the both of us can go to.”

Razzle is a bit surprised that Chester asked her out. “Oh, Chester, I'm seeing somepony. We got together yesterday.” Chester was devastated when he heard this. He should have asked her a lot sooner. “I asked him, and it was so romantic.”

Flashback

I sit there waiting to hear Riki’s answer. The biggest smile on my face after I poured my heart out. Riki takes a deep breath. He’s going to say it, he’s going to say yes!

“...No.”

“Huh?”

Riki rubs the back of his head, “Look, Razzle, you are a nice pony. Any other guy would love to go out with you, but I don’t think I’m the right one.”

“...”

“I’m sorry, but we can still be friends,” Riki said softly. “I’m not really good with this.”

“...It’s okay,” I mumbled. My heart, it hurts. I don’t want it to hurt. This must be a mistake.

Riki gets up, “Umm, I’ll be back. I need to go to the bathroom.”

I watch Riki go to the bathroom. I sit there motionless as my heart feels like it’s being ripped in half. Spat on, stepped on, betrayed after I gave you my heart. No, that is not how this will end! My books don’t end like this, so why should my love? Riki. You, I can’t lose. You have things about you I can’t put into words. You are special to me. You're probably confused, you're new to this world. “Hahah! Riki, you want to say sorry. And you want to go out with me!? Riki, I would love to go out with you. You and I together. Nopony will stand in our way.”

“Oi, Razzle, I’m back,” Riki said as he sat down. “Sorry, I took so long.”

“It’s okay. I can never be mad at you.” I swooned, “Let’s get some ice cream… Love~”