Graycoat of Everfree

(Here we are, the product of two weeks of blood, sweat, and aww who am I kidding this was postponed by schoolwork, video games and other pony related things. So here is Chapter 8)

Chapter 8

Graycoat walked into Sugarcube corner. As he looked around at the light pink building and noticed a softness to everything, he wasn't sure of what caused but he soon forgot about it as he noticed the pink mare walking towards him.

"Hi!" She said hugging him. As she embraced him, he noticed a sweet aroma around her.

"Pinkie Pie, why do you smell like cotton candy?" She blushed at his question, knowing he had discovered her secret.

"Well... My hair is cotton candy." He stared at her in disbelief. She moved her head closer to his, so he could see for himself. He licked her hair and his eyes shot open. Her hair is cotton candy, He thought to himself as he continued to taste her hair. As he continued to lick her hair, her blush grew. He noticed that despite his licking her hair remained, instead of dissolving like normal cotton candy, in response he bit down on her hair receiving a small yep from the mare. Soon the two found themselves on the floor, Graycoat still gnawing on her hair and breathing in its sweet aroma.

"Graycoat..." She said through heavy breathes her blush still growing. He looked down at her and continued to chew on her hair. "What are you doing?" The question rang in his ears and woke him from his dream. He found himself back on the gritty roof of The Pie Family Home. In the distance he could see the first rays of dawn. He noticed a strange texture in his mouth, and realized Pinkie Pie was giving him a confused look. He had started chewing on her hair in his sleep, and his face turned beet red.

"Umm..." The last few strands falling out his mouth, now frayed by his chewing. He stared at her trying to avoid telling her about his dream.

"Did you dream that my hair was made of cotton candy?" He stared at her, dumbfounded by the accuracy of her question. "I have that dream all the time, but I never get to eat it." She looked longingly at her hair thinking of what could be.

"Why...  How did you know?" He tilted his head as he looked at her quizzically.

"Why else would you be eating my hair." She gave him a look, that made him feel stupid for asking. The two stood up, and knocked the grit from the roof, off of their coats. The walked back to the roof hatch and headed back inside. Pinkie Pie headed back to her room, and Graycoat climbed up into his bed. He trouble sleeping on the bed, stiff from lack of use. He closed his eyes, but knew he was going to be sore in the morning.

Graycoat was woken by loud knocking at the room's door. He turned his head to respond but was greeted by a horrible cracking noise from his neck. He rose from the stiff mattress, his back and joints aching from the short time he spent in the bed, and walked over to the door.

"There's breakfast downstairs, make sure you eat enough, you have a long trip back." Sue smiled at him we he opened the door. She headed down the hall towards the stairs and Graycoat walked to the bathroom. He examined himself in the mirror making sure there was no grit in his mane and coat before heading back into the hallway. Pinkie Pie was waiting for him in the hall and walked with him downstairs.

"How did you sleep?" She asked as they descended the stairs.

"Well my bed felt like it was made out last season harvest." The two of them laughed softly at his joke as the entered the dining  room of the farm house. Breakfast was silent like last night's dinner, and once again Pinkie Pie struggled to contain herself. As they finished eating a bell rang out in the distance.

"That must be your carriage, we'll walk you to the gate." Sue looked at her husband and they rose from their seats. Pinkie Pie hugged her sisters goodbye, and the the four of them left the farmhouse.

"Stay safe and keep out of trouble." Sue told her daughter as they hugged.

"Keep her safe." Clyde said sternly, as he kept his glare fixed on Graycoat. He only nodded in response and the two climbed into the carriage. As the carriage pulled away Pinkie waved one last good bye to her family, until the farm was a speck in the distance.

The sun had started to set, when they had arrived in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie immediately headed back to Sugarcube corner eager to return to the den of sugar that she called home. Graycoat made his way to the library hoping to find a book on magic, so he could at least be productive during his vacation. As he walked through the library door he saw Twilight practicing magic on a rather disgruntled looking baby dragon.

"Hey Twilight, what's with the baby dragon?" Graycoat said as he examined the shelf, trying to decipher this week's organization system.

"My name is Spike, and don't you know the library is closed?" The purple dragon sounded irritated, a direct cause of the experiment constantly failing, resulting in rocks landing on his head.

"Twilight told me that friends are always welcome." He said looking over his shoulder. "Which doesn't explain why you're here." He said returning his attention back to the shelves.

"I live here, I'm Twilight's, uhh... assistant friend?" He shrugged unsure of his relationship with the pony that hatched him.

"What, does she keep you in the small place between the Dictionary and the Daring Doo novels?" He grinned evilly, as he continued to mess with the now irate dragon.

"This coming from the guy that had no frie-"

"SPIKE! That is no way to talk to someone you just met!" Twilight glared at the young dragon.

"But he star-"

"No buts, apologize to him right now."

"I'm sorry." The dragon grumbled angrily, before storming off upstairs. "Make fun of my height will he, I'll show him." He mumbled as he ascended the staircase.

"In all fairness I did start." Graycoat said, eliciting a disappointed look from Twilight.

"So how was your trip with Pinkie Pie?" She asked while closing the book she was reading from.

"How did you know about?" He asked, his attention no longer focused on finding a book.

"She left a note saying that you and her were going to visit the rock farm, I take it you didn't really agree to go."

"You know Pinkie, kidnap first, ask permission later." They chuckled lightly at his like, and Graycoat sat in a chair opposite to her. "It was okay I guess, except for the horrible pain caused by the bed I slept in."

"Well at least the rest of the trip was enjoyable." She said with a smile.

"Umm about that." Twilight's smile faded and turned into a look of intense worry. "Has Pinkie Pie ever acted... differently?" Twilight racked her brain as she thought about his question.

"On her birthday, she did get very upset and claimed that we longer wanted to be her friend, after we tried to throw her a surprise party, and her hair was flat, and her coat seemed darker for some reason, why do you ask?"

"The same thing happened when she was talking about her filly days."

"Pinkie Pie is... Odd to say the least. I should have told you about her quirks before anything serious happened." Graycoat tilted his head at the last remark.

"What do you mean by anything serious?"

"It turns out Pinkie is only good at keeping secrets when she promises to." She chuckled lightly as he began to process what she meant.

“Oh...” His face turned red once he realized what she meant. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat wondering how much Pinkie had told her.

“Calm down, she didn't give any specifics, she just said she found her special somepony, and I just used deductive reasoning to conclude it was you.” She gave him a lighthearted smile and he became less flustered.

“How did you figure it was me though, there must be like ten available stallions in Ponyville alone.”

“First off this is Pinkie Pie we're talking about, most ponies can't handle that level of hyper, secondly this is the most I have ever seen her spend time with one pony, which made it rather obvious. Saving her life probably had quite the effect on her as well.”

“Well I guess it is rather obvious.” He tussled his own hair, unsure of what to do with his hooves.

“But like I was saying, Pinkie Pie isn't your average mare. She makes it her job to make sure all her friends are happy. I'm not sure if she realizes that it isn't just a different type of friendship. The worst thing you could do is not have fun, as you saw for yourself it makes her very unhappy.”

“I can't help but feel your trying to dumb this down for me.” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Just a little.” She said sheepishly.

“You do realize that my job requires creating very technical inventions.” He responded flatly.

“Sorry for dumbing it down, I just wanted to say it in a way that was easy to understand and wasn't insulting to Pinkie Pie. What I'm trying to say is that there is a lot about Pinkie Pie that we don't understand, such as her Pinkie sense, and you have to realize that it will all make sense in due time. Now back to business, what kind of book were you looking to checkout.” Twilight said as she levitated a pair of glasses onto her nose.

“ I was looking for an advanced magic book...”

“Here we are.” She said levitating the book over to him.

“That was... fast.” He said wondering how he couldn't find it sooner. He bid Twilight farewell and headed on his walk home. Despite the increased danger of the Everfree Forest at night his journey home was uneventful. His door was still unlocked from when he was kidnapped the day before. The light from his horn illuminated his dark home, and after placing the book on the table he lit a candle illuminating his home further. He noticed a figure behind one of the stacks of parchment, and when he moved closer he saw that it was Pinkie Pie. He smiled when she realized that she had been waiting for him to come home so she could surprise him. He placed a small kiss on her forehead and received a small smile from the sleeping mare. He lay down next to her and soon fell asleep.