“I was thinking…” Cicada hurled the big black bowling ball straight down the center of the polished wooden lane. A little too straight, it seemed; power but lack of spin caused the ball to carve a path straight through the center of the pins, leaving four edge pins completely untouched.

“Maybe you should be thinking more about the game than… what... er… s-sorry…” Junebug started strong with the quip, but ended up fizzling out into a mutter. “I don’t know where that came from.” She glanced downwards with slight shame.

“I must be rubbing off on you,” Cicada grinned, trotting to the ball return to choose a new ball. “Your snarky jokester side is improving!” They picked up a purple ball next, moved up to the line… and lofted the ball. However, being penalized with a no-score for that arcing, crashing ‘roll’ only gained a shrug from them. “Anyways, I’m thinking I need to find a job.”

Junebug switched places with Cicada, carefully lining up her shot. “You don’t have to do that. I like having you as a guest in my home, and I can afford it.” She slinged the ball with speed and accuracy, knocking down all but two pins. “Ha, beat that!”

“It’s just… you give a roof over my head and a lot of entertainment, the least I could do is buy my own food so I don’t eat you out of house and home.”

“Wait, you can eat? I haven’t seen you eat anything yet!” Junebug lined up her roll once more.

“Yeah, I can’t just subsist on your love forever!”

“L-love!?” The shock of that statement caused her to throw wide, right into the gutter.

“I’m just kidding, I’m a reformed changeling, remember? I don’t need to eat your love.”

Junebug just blushed deeper, refusing to look at Cicada. “That’s… that’s not what I was… there’s no love!”

While true, the feelings Cicada detected told a different story.There may not be any actual love, per se, there were certainly similar if weaker emotions. They really needed to ask her out soon. But for now, they need to cool things down. “Sorry… am I teasing too much? It’s in my nature.”

Junebug quickly recovered from her embarrassment. “I’m… fine. But it is your turn now. Try to add a little bit of a hook to the roll.”

“Hook?” Cicada tilted their head and stared at the ball they had just picked up.

“Your first try wasn’t bad, but maybe if you add a bit of a curve…”

“Oh, okay!” They rolled the ball, trying to add some spin to it. That failed miserably. “Hm. Nah… just gonna keep bowling straight on.”

“Well… anyways, you were talking about getting a job?”

“There’s a few things I’m really good at that I think could benefit Ponyville and the surrounding areas,” Cicada proudly stated as they flung the ball. This time, it knocked down all the pins. “Ha, yes! Half a strike!”

“That’s… a spare.”

“A spare what?” Before giving the facehoofing mare a chance to respond, they continued. “I could be a taste-tester for a restaurant or bakery, to check if they are tasty enough and are actually made with love.”

“Um… I don’t think that’s how that works.”

Cicada practically puffed up, glaring daggers at Junebug. “How would you know? Are you a changeling? Can you taste love? Maybe there actually is love in food!”

“Junebug backed up a couple of steps. “I meant… there probably aren’t taste-testing positions available. Not ones where you’re not also the chef.”

Cicada’s glare hardened, but then vanished and was replaced with a goofy grin. “I knew that! I was just teasing you!”

“But… I think you’ve startled everypony here…” In fact, everypony was staring.

“...oh.” Could changelings actually blush, or was that Junebug’s imagination? Either way, the deflated, slinky Cicada clearly was ashamed. “...s-sorry everyone…”

After the commotion was resolved, Junebug rolled another strike. “Yes! I’m on a roll!” As the pins reset, she poked Cicada in the side. “You have some serious catching up to do!”

However, neither Junebug’s teasing nor confidence rattled Cicada. Their mind was elsewhere. “Does Ponyville have a need for actors, perhaps?”

“What? Oh, right. The job. You’re not focused on the game at all any more, are you?” Cicada answered with a shrug, then picked up a ball. Junebug watched the lazy roll that managed to knock half the pins down. “This… means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

“It does. I don’t want to see myself as lazy.”

“Well… there’s Ponyville Theater, but… I don’t know… I think you actually rent time in it, rather than there being an acting troupe making it their home.”

Cicada sighed, slinging a ball but only knocked one more pin over. “I could… be a street performer? This is… hard.”

“What, job hunting or bowling? Check this out!” Another ball from Junebug sent pins clattering like thunder, leaving an easy split attempt. “Ha! Now I'm going to have ‘half a strike’- er… I’m doing it again… I’m really sorry...”

“What, having fun being competitive? Joking around? I like this side of you, I’ve never seen it!”

Junebug carefully picked up another ball and examined her reflection in its polished surface. “...me neither. You bring out some parts of me I didn’t know I had. You like it?”

“As long as you don’t become a sore winner, yes.”

“Then you are already contributing, helping me learn more about myself. And if you can do more chores around the house, maybe help clean up and stuff when I’m too busy to…”

Cicada’s crooked half-smile at Junebug was balanced out by their curious head-tilt. “So… you want me to be your maid?”

“Wh-what? No, I -”

“Done!” Their smile tripled in size. “Sounds like a plan. Besides… I bet I look cute in a maid uniform!”

For some reason, Junebug completely missed the pins.

Author's Note

I shall be reorganizing the chapters and adding a new NSFW chapter soon.