Riki and Liz's Grand Adventure!

Me?

“Riki, can you bring out the new vinyl records from the back?” asked Vinyl Scratch.

“Sure thing,” Riki said, his voice muffled as he struggled to get out of the bean bag. The record store job is going very well for Riki, he thought as he finally managed to stand up. He really enjoys working here. The store is filled with music from a record playing. “Oi, Vinyl, I think today is going to be a slow day.”

“Why do you say that?”

“We haven't had that many customers in days,” Riki said, going into the back room.

“...Octavia is here,” Vinyl replied, pointing at her friend. Octavia had just returned to Ponyville from her orchestra tour.

“She doesn’t count,” Riki said playfully as he emerged from the back room with a box of vinyl records. Octavia, wearing a slightly shocked expression, is greeted by his jest. “Octavia, you haven’t bought a single thing here; you are not a customer.”

“I was going to buy something, but not anymore.” Octavia huffed, and Riki and Vinyl laughed.

Riki pats Octavia on the head, “I'm messing with you. And Viny, when we get the new Songbird CD next week, a lot more ponies will start coming in.”

“Anyway, Riki, I'm glad you are here. With the orchestra tour, I’ll be gone for months. And I can’t help Vinyl with the store.” Octavia said as Riki started to put away the records. When he began to work here, things were out of place, and Vinyl looked overworked. “I always told her to hire another set of hooves here, but she doesn’t listen.”

“I couldn't find a pony that I like.” Vinyl chimed in. “Then you came in, Riki.”

“Well, thanks. I’m glad to help.” Riki said with a smile.

Vinyl claps her hooves together, and she remembers something. “Oh, Riki, Friday, a club in Canterlot wants me to DJ.”

“You want me to come in on Friday?” Riki asked.

Vinyl shakes her head, “Nah, I want you to come with me. Help me with setting up stuff and carry me back when I'm blackout drunk.” Vinyl and Riki laugh, their laughter filling the room, and Octavia just rolls her eyes, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“It's going to be fun,” Riki smiled, his mind already picturing the lively atmosphere of the club. A ding sound could be heard. Looking towards the front, Riki was about to welcome a customer—but instead of a customer, it was Rarity. “Oi, Rarity, what are you doing here?”

“I was walking past, and I decided to stop and say hello. So, how’s everything?”

“...Well, it’s been an average week. Work, training, a pony asked me out, and-”

“Somepony asked you out!?” Rarity exclaimed, her voice filled with surprise and excitement, and her eyes widened. Rarity rushes over to Riki and plants her hooves on his chest, surprisingly strong for a unicorn fashionista. Her sudden intensity takes Riki aback. Rarity's eyes stare deep into Riki’s as her hooves dig into his chest. “Riki, tell me what happened.”

“Rarity… You're hurting me.”

“Tell me!”

Riki shudders, so terrified. “A few days ago, a pony asked me out.”

“Who’s the pony?”

“Razzle Snap,”

“The journalist?”

“Yeah…”

“What did you say?” Rarity demanded.

“I just... I just said no, "Riki's voice trembles slightly as he confesses his decision to Rarity. The room falls silent, the weight of his words hanging in the air. Rarity's expression is blank. Riki can’t tell what's going on. He looks over at Vinyl and Octavia to see if they know what's going on. They don't.

“You just said no?” Riki nods, and then Rarity slowly slides off of Riki. "What did Razzle say?”

“She understands,”

“Darling, you broke the poor mare's heart! And here I thought you knew better. Why did you come to me after that?” Rarity's voice is filled with a mix of disappointment and concern.

“Well, I thought it wasn't important, Rarity.” Riki sighed, “She asked me out, and I said no. Razzle was fine.”

Rarity rolls her eyes, “What’s the last time you talked to her?”

“...”

“Riki?”

“...The day she asked me out.”

“Well, you need to go to Razzle and check up on her,” said Rarity. “She’s probably home alone, eating a tub of ice cream and lying on her couch. Trying to figure out what went wrong.”

Riki smiles and then says, “It sounds like you had experience, huh?” Rarity proceeds to use her magic to pull Riki’s hood over his face. “Oi, stop. I was kidding. You can get anypony you want.” She stops pulling Riki's hood. He fixed his hair and said, “But Rarity, are you being a bit overdramatic with this whole thing? Vinyl and Octavia back me up!”

Vinyl doesn’t say anything, but Octavia says, “Well, Riki, you should check up on her.”

“Fine, I’ll catch the next train to Canterlot,” Riki huffed as he walked to the door.

“And tell me all about it when you get back. We’ll have some tea, Darling.” Rarity smiled. “Oh, before you go, I need to know. Why didn’t you want to go out with Razzle?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t in the mood, and I have to…take care of my sister.” Riki answered as he rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t have the time for a romantic relationship.”

“It’s because she’s a pony?” Vinyl spoke up.

Riki looks away and lets out a sigh, “Yeah, it’s one of the reasons. I hope that's not rude to you guys.”

“Not at all,” Octavia said, trying not to make Riki feel bad. You are new to this world; I wouldn't expect you to be.”

“But if you ever want to buck a pony, you know where I am.” Vinyl joked.

“Vinyl!” Octavia gasps with a slight blush. Riki laughed, and Rarity rolled her eyes.

“I'll think about it,” Riki chuckled.

“Well, there's some gossip in town about a couple of ponies that have their eye on you.” Rarity told Riki, “I’ll gladly say you're not interested in dating.”

Riki crosses his arms as his head tilts. “That must be why I have those strange feelings of being watced. I thought I was paranoid.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve been getting this feeling of being watched since a few days ago,” said Riki, “Also, I've been missing some of my clothing… Well, it doesn’t matter. I need to get going and catch that train. Oh, Rarity.”

“Yes, Darling?”

“Buy a CD on your way out.”

“...Fine.”

At Twilight's Library, Liz and Louie walk inside with a bunch of books. Twilight had asked Liz if she could borrow some of her books from Earth. Liz thinks it’s better to give the books to Twilight instead. She had already read all of them, and Riki wasn’t going to read them. Liz places the books on the desk. “Twilight! Your new books are here!” After Liz says that, Twilight teleports right in front of her, startling Louie.

“I forgot she can do that,” Louie said as he calmed himself down.

“Oh, Liz! Thank you so much for donating your books.” Twilight smiled.

“Don't mention it. I was done reading them,” Liz replied, “And Riki found something else to fix the wobbly table.” Twilight begins to look over the books Liz brought in. They are different genres, and some are a bit worn out. “I can always bring in more later if you'd like?”

“Liz, what’s this book?” Twilight asked, holding up a book. She looks over to see Fifty Shades of Grey book in Twilight’s hooves. As Twilight was about to open the book, Liz swiftly snatched it away. “Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, Twilight, but this book should not be here. I don’t know how it got in the pile.” Liz explained, putting the book under her arm.

“What’s the book about?” asked Twilight.

“Well… It’s a very erotic romance novel. Riki’s girlfriend or marefriend gave it to him. I thought he threw it away.”

“Riki has a marefriend?” Twilight asked. Seems like that’s way more important than the erotic novel. Twilight lets out a sigh, “I didn’t know he had a special somepony.”

“Well, not anymore. Riki broke up with her the first few days after I moved in with him.”

A small smile appeared on Twilight’s face and muttered, “Good to hear.”

“You said something?”

“Umm, good to hear more about Riki!” Twilight said quickly as she looked away. “He doesn’t talk about stuff like this.”

Liz scoops up Louie and says, “You're absolutely right. He never opens up to me about his love life. And I'm his sister; I should know about the girls he's dating. I don't want some disrespectful and suspicious woman touching him.”

“He talks to me about it, and I eavesdropped when Katie came over.” Louie chimed in as Liz had him dangling in the air. Liz and Twilight look at Louie with a surprised face. “I couldn’t talk at the time, but I can still listen.”

“Well, tell us.”

Louie gets out of Liz’s hands and jumps on the desk. “I don’t know, Liz. You will most likely be upset with what Riki told me.”

“Tell me, cat.”

Louie looks away and says, “Well, a few years ago, we were in the kitchen. We were talking about his last girlfriend.”

“Katie? I only met her a few times.” Liz interjected, “She was nice, but why did Riki break up with her?”

“Well, she broke up with him,” Louie said, correcting her. “It was because of you, Liz.”

“Me!?”

“Katie was upset about all the time he was spending with you.” Louie answered, “Riki said she was right. He wanted to spend a lot of time with you when you moved in.”

“Really?”

Louie nods, “And it’s pretty hard to raise a teenage girl. So he worked even harder and had no time to date.”
“Liz, are you okay?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I just found out I’m keeping my brother from dating!” Liz's voice cracked as she crouched down. She let out a heavy groan, “Took away his love life without knowing it. No wonder he doesn’t talk to me about it.”

Twilight gently rubs Liz’s back, “Don’t beat yourself up about this.”

“Yeah, and this was years ago.” Louie chined in, “Plus, Riki doesn't care about his love life. The reason he doesn't talk about it is because he thinks it boring.”

Liz lets out a small sigh, “Twilight, your brother tells you about his love life, right?”

“Of course, Shining does,” answered Twilight. “He’s dating Cadance. She used to be my foalsitter.”

“Okay, you have to tell me every detail about how that happened,” Liz said, her voice filled with interest.

In the city of Canterlot, I found my way to Razzle’s apartment. It would have taken me hours to find her place, but stopping at Razzle’s job and asking around really helped me find where she lived. Walking up the staircase to the third floor. I stop in front of a door that says ‘3C’. A bit nervous, I cautiously knocked on the door a few times, but there was no answer. I hope she’s not out. “Oi, Razzle, you in there!?” I shouted, knocking on the door again. “It’s me, Riki!”

Just then, a bunch of noise can be heard from inside. The sound of hooves running to the door, followed by the door being unlocked. The door swings open, and it almost hits me in the face. “Riki, you’re here; why are you here?” Razzle asked, hiding behind the door. I pulled the door away so I could have a better look at her. Razzle has an unkempt mane and tail, wearing a purple fuzzy sweater with stains on it. “Well, say something.”

“I came to check up on you,” I said with a bit of worry in my voice. “Are you alright? Because you look-”

“Horrible?” Razzle interrupted me. I didn’t reply, but that was a good enough answer for her. “So, how do you find where I live?”

Rubbing the back of my head, “I knew you worked at Equestria Times, so I checked there. Then your Boss told me where you lived… He also told me you haven’t been coming to work. Why’s that?”

“...”

“Alright, I’m coming in,” I said, walking past Razzle. Stepping inside Razzle’s apartment, I see how messy it is. Worse than Liz's workshop. I accidentally kicked an empty pint of peanut butter and hay flavor ice cream. “Shit, Rarity was right.”

“Riki, do you need something?” Razzle asked.

Without answering her question, I looked in her kitchen. It was pretty messy, so I asked, “What’s the last time you actually ate some food?”

Razzle moves an empty box of cereal with her hoof, trying to hide it. “...A while. Look, Riki, are you here to talk or cook for me.”

A smile appears on my face as I roll up my hoodie sleeves. “That’s a good idea! I’ll cook you something, and then we can talk, okay?” Razzle doesn’t say anything as she makes her way to the table. She sits there in silence as her hooves gently tap on the table. “Alright, let's see what you have in the kitchen.” Looking through the cabinets and refrigerators to see what to use. I found one green bell pepper, brown rice, oakley, and one can of tomato sauce. “I can work with this.”

Alright, let's begin. As I work my magic, I can feel Razzle watching me. It feels familiar for some reason. Shrugging it off, I start to cook the rice and heat up the tomato sauce in a different pot. After a few minutes, I washed and chopped the oakley, then dumped it into the sauce. Stirring the pot and adding seasonings he found in the cabinets. Taking a taste, I said, “Alright, it’s done.” Cutting the top of the green bell pepper off, then scoop the pepper insides out. I pour the brown rice into the scooped-out bell pepper and then the tomato sauce on top. Put the finished food on a plate with a fork, knife, and napkin. I take the plate of food and place it in front of Razzle. “Brown rice inside of a bell pepper with tomato and oakley sauce. Now eat!”

Razzle looks at it and sniffs it. Not wasting any time, she picks up the utensils with her magic and takes a bite. Her eyes widened, “Riki! This is good! How did you learn how to cook?” Razzle takes another bite, “Oh my Celestia…”

Smiling, I say, “I’m glad you like it. It’s something I picked up.” I basically had to step up to cook after Mom died. Dad wasn’t a good cook, and I got tired of takeout. “Now, let's talk. Why are you missing work? Your Boss sounds mad that you haven't been there. I lied and said you are doing a paper on me.”

Razzle stops eating and wipes her face with a napkin. “...I was busy with…stuff. It doesn't concern you.”

I tap the table a few times, “Is it about what happened that day?” I see Razzle look away as she stuffs her mouth. A small blush appears on her face. “Guess I'm right. Look, Razzle, I'm-”

Razzle's hoof quickly shot up in front of my face. “Riki, it's okay.”

“Really?” I picked up the fork and took a bite. I made it, and it looks like she doesn't care. It's pretty good, but it could be better.

“Yeah, but I just want to know one thing.” Razzle runs her hoof through her hair, then says, “The reason you wouldn’t go out with me is because I’m a pony?”

Okay, I need to choose my words wisely. I don’t want to hurt Razzle’s feelings. This is going to be hard. Just say yes; it’s because you are a pony. “No, it’s not because you are a pony…”

Fuck!

Razzle’s face lit up, “Really?”

“Yeah?” I struggle, my words caught in my throat. Why can’t I just be honest? Why does it have to be so complicated? If I tell her the truth, that it's because she's a pony, she might think I’m calling her ugly, and I don’t want that.

A smile appears on Razzle’s face. “That's good. And here I thought the problem was me being a pony… So what’s the reason?”

“Umm, the reason is…”

“Yes?”

“...Liz!” Damnit, I just lied right into her face.

Razzle gives me a confused look, “Your sister is the reason you can’t go about with me?”

“Yeah. It’s just that I'll have no time to date someone.” That's a lie, too. Ever since I got here, I have had a lot of free time. And I don’t really need to watch Liz. “...Look, I'm not in the right space to date. I’m sorry.”

Razzle nods her head, “I understand Riki. And I think it’s time for you to go.”

“Ummm, yeah,” I said, getting up. “Oi, Razzle, make sure you clean up around here.”

“Got it, thanks, Riki.”

“And that’s what happened.”

“Riki, I thought I told you to fix it,” said Rarity, sounding very disappointed. She poured me a cup of tea. "But you made it worse. Do all humans act like this, or is it just you, Riki?”

“It's just me, Rarity,” I mumbled, “Should I go back and fix it?”

She takes a sip of tea, her eyes never leaving mine. “No, Riki, you just make it worse. But I think Razzle understands where you two are.”

“...”

“Riki, are you alright,” Rarity inquired, “Is there something amiss with the tea?”

“Huh? No, it’s just I have a bad feeling.”

“About what? Explain, Darling.”

Okay, how shall I say this? “When I was talking to Razzle, something told me to stay away from her—a gut feeling. I have gotten that feeling before, but not like this.”

“Riki, I think you just feel guilty. You want to stay away from Razzle because you lied and broke her heart… Want so more tea?”

I groan as I rub my eyes. “How long are you going to hold this over me?”

“A week of me bringing this up, or you wear a few new outfits I'm going to design for you.” Rarity smiled as she finished her tea.

“...Nothing green, and I don't do frills.”

“Darling, the clothes I'm going to make will be fabulous!”

“...Amazing,” I sighed.

Back at Razzle’s place, she has finished cleaning her apartment. It's looking a lot better, except for the napkin Riki wiped his mouth with. The napkin, a small but significant reminder of their time together, just lays there on the table. Using her magic to pick up the napkin, Razzle makes her way to her room. She goes to her closet, a place filled with memories, and opens it.

Inside the closet, hidden from prying eyes, is a trove of pictures of Riki. Pictures of the human from all different angles. Like she was following him all over Ponyville, some are blurry, and others pictures are taken pretty close without Riki knowing. Razzle, her heart pounding, carefully places the used napkin in the closet. As she touches a few pictures, her voice quivering, she says, “Riki, you came over to my place! You really care for me, Riki. Then you cooked for me, and I cleaned. We were like a married couple! And here I thought you don’t love me.”

Razzle, unable to contain her joy, jumps into the closet with a big smile on her face. She’s lying in a pile of her clothes, giggling. Razzle digs in the pile and pulls out a pair of Riki’s black boxer shorts. She rubs the boxer on her face and says, “I still remember the day when I got these.”

Flashback

On the outskirts of Ponyville, Razzle makes her way to Riki’s house. She looks into the window to see if anybody is there. Lucky for her, the humans are gone. Razzle uses her magic to open the window. Ever since Riki got here, he hasn't been locking his window that much.

Razzle crawls through the window into the house. She looks around and is amazed at how Riki’s house looks on the inside. She makes her way upstairs, looking for Riki’s room. Once inside the room, Razzle jumps onto Riki’s bed, rubbing her head into the pillow and inhaling the smell. Her tail wags as she rolls herself under Riki’s cover. “His bed feels so soft. I wish Riki were in bed with me.” Razzle is thinking about going through some of Riki's stuff to see what he likes.

As she was about to get up, her ears picked up the sound of the front door opening. Razzle quickly jumped out of bed. She frantically trotted around, thinking about what to do. “Umm, I need to do something… I need to hide. Under the bed, no, I won’t fit.” As the footsteps got close, she looked toward the closet and quickly jumped inside. Hiding in a pile of Riki’s dirty clothes, Razzle sees Riki entering the room, “...Riki.”

Behind the closet doors, Razzle watches Riki walk around. “Liz, can you get the egg salad sandwiches and put them in the lunch bag?” Razzle sees Riki taking off his hoodie and shirt

“Okay!” Liz replied,

Razzle watches as Riki finishes taking his clothes off. Her eyes widen as she sees Riki’s member out in the open. Razzel can’t believe she sees a human dick. Her tail starts to move around as one of her hoofs starts to shake. “...Oh my Celestia, so that’s what a human penis looks like,” Razzle whispers to herself. Her eyes follow Riki as he moves around.

Goes to his dresser, pulls out swimming trunks with the goofy-looking sharks, and puts them on. He walks to the door, ready to leave, but he hears something in the closet. Razzle holds her breath, hoping that Riki will go away. He goes to open the door…

“Riki, c’mon, we have to go!” Liz shouted.

“Yeah!” Riki shouted back, shutting the closet door. He left the room. After a few minutes, Razzle came rolling out of the closet. A pair of Riki’s black boxers dangled off of her horn. Taking the boxer shorts and pulling it up to her muzzle, giving it a deep inhale. “I’m keeping these.”

Flashback End

Razzle is now wearing Riki’s boxer shorts, her tail poking out of the fly. “Riki, my love. Now that I know being a pony isn’t a problem. Makes me the happiest mare in the world.” Razzle swooned. “Having a souvenir of yours and seeing your… Member. Oh, it feels like I’m in a romance novel.” Razzle blushes as she thinks back to seeing Riki naked, “Then one day we can… I can’t wait!” Grabbing one of the many pictures of Riki, she hugs it close to her chest. “...But Riki, we have one problem, one big problem. The reason we can’t be together…”

Razzle digs in her closet, pulling out a photo of Riki. And he’s sitting with his sister. Using her magic, Razzle rips the photo in two. Looking at Liz in the photo, and says, “One problem, one big problem, the reason that keeps us away, Riki.” Liz’s photo begins to crumble, then combusts into flames. “I’ll fix our problem, Riki, my love~.”