Unexpected Friendship

"Betty, what is going on? Who is this guy," Hondo asked, pointing at Striped Fist who just stood there with crossed arms, not sure if he should say anything.

"Magnum, I know what you are thinking, but I can assure you-"

"Assure me what?! That you are meeting with this-" Hondo tried holding back, and in the same time thinking of, an insult "-this zebra behind my back and you are doing Celestia knows what?!"

The male unicorn yelled out those last words and looked at his wife and her "lover". His face was all red and he was breathing heavily. Cookie didn't like this though and scowled at him.

"First of all, this zebra has a name-" Cookie began walking towards her husband, holding up her finger in a disaproval "-second, I have known him only for a day so you don't have any right to assume that I am cheating on you. And third, maybe if you spended more time with me instead of just simply watching that stupid TV maybe I wouldn't sneak away and "do Celestia knows what" with someone else!"

" Attention?! Is that why you are doing this?!"

No, for fuck's sake, but it would be nice if I can get some from you," Cookie crossed her arms and looked aside. She could feel how her body was shaking, never before feeling so angry and yelling so much. The unicorn mare then passed a quick glance towards Striped Fist, who gave her a confused expression.

Hondo sighed and scratched the back of his head. The two unicorns remained silent for a while until Cookie herself decided to break the silence barrier

"Let's get inside and discuss it on a more private note," she said and slightly turned her look towards Striped Fist, trying to tell him that they would like to be left alone. The zebra got the hint and silently walked passed them, trying to ignore the dirty looks his friend's husband threw at him.

Soon as Striped Fist left, the married couple walked back inside their room. Hondo closed the door and followed Cookie, who headed towards the living room. But the moment the male unicorn tried to stop his wife, Cookie turned around and said, "I think we should take a seat before we talk."

Hondo could hear his own heartbeat throbbing in his head. He felt how both hot and cold waves striked his body and how hard it was for him to say anything, fearing what may this cause.

Seeing that her husband wasn't going to say or do anything, Cookie decided to begin, she took a deep breath and began talking, "Magnum, I think that this can't continue anymore. I mean, you are a nice pony and a great husband and father, but I feel like there is nothing in between us anymore. I feel like the love has completely disappeared from this marriege and-"

"Betty, are you trying to say that-" Hondo looked around like he was about to say something that no one else should hear "-you want us to divorce?"

Cookie turned her look aside, as she sighed, and said. "Well, it is... An option."

Even though she didn't explicitly said "Yes", those words were enough of a confirmation for Hondo's biggest fear and the stallion choked on his words as he tried to find a place to sit.

Cookie thought that Hondo was overreacting and, as he sat down, she continued talking, this time her voice carried a tone of dissaproval.

"You don't need to be so dramatic, honey. Especially after you showed me that your love for me has-" Stopped paused and tried to think of a word to describe her husband's current feelings "- gone downhill." Her eyes began shifting around the room nervously, not sure if her words were the correct ones

Even though Cookie didn't use the right words, Hondo got what she was trying to say, but what really was the worst part, at least for him, was that she was right. Ho do knew it, but he didn't want to admit it out loud.

After another brief moment of silence Hondo finally managed to say something. "What about the kids," he asked as he managed to force out the words.

Cookie thought about this. For a moment she felt how the guilt slightly crawled into her mind but she shooked her head and responded, "Both Rarity and Sweetie Belle are big enough to understand what is going on. Besides, I think it would be more harmful for Sweetie if this continues. I wouldn't want our youngest daughter to grow into environment in which her mother and father don't love eachother."

Hondo was on the verge of tears. The male unicorn put both of his hands on his face as the feelings of guilt and regret slowly took over him.

Looking at her husband, Cookie couldn't help but feel bad for herself. She came closer and kneeled down in front of him and, as she put her hand on his shoulder, she continued talking, "I know it is hard, but you have to understand. It is for our own and the children's good. Also, even if we divorce, I won't forbid you to see the kids nor I have any interest in taking your money or possesions. All I want is for us to be happy."

Hondo couldn't take it any more and pushed Cookie aside as he got up and headed towards the bedroom where he closed himself, leaving Cookie all alone in the room. The mare let out another painful sigh and decided it's best for now to leave him alone. She then took the her key and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Cookie moved past the empty swimming pool and, as she took a small turn to the left, she headed towards the resort's bar. The young bartender just stood there, with his amrs crossed and was waiting for the next client. He soon spotted the coming mare and, as she was coming closer and closer, the young male pony gulped and he tried not to look at her bouncing bust. As Cookie sat down, he said, "Good afternoon, ma'am. What can I serve you today?"

Cookie looked at him and said with a boredom, "One margarita. Big if possible."

The young bartender nodded and quickly got himself doing the job and soon the large glass was slipped towards her. She thanked him and took a big sip out if it.

As Cookie put down the glass, she thought about this whole situation. It seemed so over the top and bizzare that she thought if this didn't make anybody laugh, it would most likley be just one big mind fuck . She came here, in this beautiful place, hoping to somehow fix a marriege that was already going downhill yet became friends with a good looking gigolo, for who she may or may not have feelings, and was now thinking about divorcing her husband.

And to top it all off she was now on the same exact place where all of this began, doing the exact same thing. Who knew that the life could be such an ironic bitch? Cookie took another gulp, this time bigger than before, but as she put the glass down she heard the same deep and manly voice that arguably started all of this, asking in a jokingly teasing tone, "Is the seat taken?"

At least some equines had a sense of humor even in moments like these.

Cookie just slightly turned her head and nodded, releasing another painful sigh. The smile on Striped's face quickly dissapeared as he sat down next to her. Another silence lapsed between the two until suddenly broken by Striped Fist’s question, “So, how did the talk go?”

"Well-" Cookie looked aside, focusing her eyes somewhere in the distance and murmured, "-it could have gone better but it was still not the worst expirience one could go through. Magnum didn't take it that well though."

Striped shoke his head silently in a sign of understanding. He then scratched the back of his neck and akwardly mumbled out, "Betty, I, uh, apologise I had caused you these problems. If you blame me for all of this, I atleast understand why."

Cookie turned her head and eyes towards the zebra and after another quick sip from the drink, she said, "Blaming you for all of this would be the easier way, but not the right way. Something like this would have happened, sooner or later. If anything, you were just a witness who happened to be there at the wrong time."

Thic comment made Striped Fist chuckle a little bit and after he calmed down, the zebra smiled and looked at Cookie." You know, this is the first time I meet a mare like you."

Cookie rolled her eyes and said in almost annoyed tone of voice, "Yeah, yeah, I got it. The girls you usually go out with are all young and dumb and I am the first mature mare you have ever been with or something like this."

Striped scratched the back of his neck and mumbled out, "Damn. I guess I need to learn some new phrases." this was followed by another small chuckle.

This small chat managed to distract Cookie from her dilemmatic thoughts, but it didn't took long for the idea of divorcing her husband to come back in her head. With this the smile on her face soon faded away.

Striped noticed this and tried to think of something that will cheer her up. As and idea came into his mind, he coughed, so he could attract her attention and said, "So, um, I know that the situation you are in is not the best and if you are in a need of something, like a place where to stay or maybe something else, you can count on me. After all I feel like I got you into this mess so I'm willing to help you."

Those words managed to put a smile on the mare's face and, as she drinked the rest of her margarita, she said," Thank you, sweetheart."

Cookie and Striped walked out of the elevator and headed towards Cookie's room. Even though the mare didn't insist, Striped still decided to escort her, partly becasue he wanted to make sure her husband doesn't decide to do anything stupid.

As they reached the door, Cookie stopped and turned around. She looked the zebra into his eyes and smiled. "Thank you for the company and the nice things you said. I really needed some of them." She let out a small chuckle

Striped Fist smiled and responded, "No need to thank me, princess. This is what the friends do."

He then gave her a small hug and turned around, waving for a goodbye as he walked away. Cookie let out a sigh of relief and walked inside. But strangley, it was like there was one inside. That on itself wasn't so worrying but what made Cookie even more anxious was the fact that the door at the bedroom was opened. As the unicorn pushed it slightly and peeked inside, she couldn't believe this has happened.

The large wardrobe was completely empty, its doors being left wide open. All of Hondo's possesions were missing and the only thing was left were Cookie's clothes, which were lying on the bed, being mashed into one big pile. And on top of this pile were placed two things.

The first one was Hondo's wedding ring and the second was a small note on which was written the words, "I hope you are happy with the choice you made. Don't try to contact with me or the children or I will make sure you don't see them ever again."