Chapter 2: To Take a Bath.
Chapter 2: To Take a Bath.
The water around me was warm, it helped soothe my aching body after that long walk through the woods. I spent my time there basking in the heat. It felt serene and calm to me. I feel my muscles loosen as I close my eyes. This wasn't like the previous times I had a bath. It used to be dipping yourself in cold water, and I don't like that. But this, this I could make an exception for. Quinn looked at me with a smile. He seemed happy that I was actually enjoying this rather than fighting him.
He lathered a cloth with shampoo and gently started scrubbing my withers and back. It felt heavenly with the heat of the cloth. It seemed like he knew what he was doing, but he seemed a little nervous. I guess I would be too if I was cleaning some pony I just met.
The Steam from the tub blew on my face. I felt the warmth from the water, It was something I rarely had because my adoptive parents did not have a good heating system. So if I wanted a hot bath I’d have to go to my friends. It would be very awkward with Cookie in the bath with me. My checks warmed up from thinking about that.
Sometimes, in moments like these, I would slowly submerge myself into the tub. The water splashed around, causing me to snap from my trance. I raise my head above the water. I noticed that it was around the time where my adopted mother went weird. They would all go lovey-dovey on the stallions. It made me uncomfortable, even my friends were in it. I don't know whether this time, I'll be like them. It makes me sick of what I was thinking. We used to have a medicine cabinet in the house, where the special medicine was taken. It made my adopted mother go back to normal. However, it was taken daily. I don't remember what it looked like.
At this point in the bath, I was nearly falling asleep. Relaxed and tired, Quinn had to take me out before fully cleaning me. He said I was clean enough to sleep on the couch. He didn’t want to clean my behind anyway, due to him feeling uncomfortable with it. I was fine with that. He was the first male to clean me since the incident occurred. If he wanted to take his time and get to know me, well that’s fine by me.
I was so tired I must have fallen asleep in his arms, He was just so warm. his comforting hands as he dried me just lulled me to sleep.
I was starting to like Quinn… I may not have known him for long but he just seemed to rub off on me.
“Ooh that feels nice, '' I said, barely even awake, if at all. Quinn seemed like the type of figure that’d make a good father or a good friend. But he seemed very anti-social, and not very good with his words, I kinda found that cute. But I didn’t want to say that to his face because he may take it the wrong way. He seemed lonely and a little bit unstable, he seemed to have things around his house that were not his and that were kinda girly, or in the shower, he had feminine products either he lost a wife or a girlfriend or maybe his daughter… or both. I heard snippets of what he was ranting about and it seemed as though one of my guesses could be true. It made me feel bad for him; he seemed to have lost a lot.
*************
I remember waking up at some point Quinn was putting pajamas on me, There was a large pony plush laying on the bed next to me it looked like he took the pajamas off of it, to put on me. But somehow they fit me perfectly.
I layed on Quinn's bed as he took some bedding out of the closet. He then said “I’ll be making you a bed on the couch. I thought you might like some Pj’s to help keep you warm. I don’t have a heater so it may get kinda cold at night.”
“Then how do you keep this place warm? It felt amazing when we walked in,” I asked.
“I have a wood stove but It’s too late to cut wood for it, but if you need anything like another blanket just wake me up” He said, as he tucked in the sheets on the couch.
I climbed onto the couch, and Quinn pulled the covers over me, laying my head on the pillow. The last thing I remember was Quinn wishing me a good night then I drifted into sleep.
I opened my eyes again, and instead of being in the cozy embrace of Quinn’s sheets, I was in a forest surrounded by waist-deep snow. I immediately shuddered as the frosty wind grazed my coat, chilling me instantly to the bone.
It didn't take me long, however, to recognize this as the place where I woke up earlier today. Everything I could remember seemed to be correct, though some stuff was still hazy.
I realized that Quinn must still be out here if I am somehow back out here too. I thought back to what happened earlier, if it even happened at all, and began to retrace my steps through the snow.
But as I walked It got darker and darker, and the wind was picking up. The cold was almost enough to make me want to stop, but I didn’t stop, I kept walking hoping to find Quinn and be in his loving arms again.
“Quinn! Where are you, P-please... I-I need you,” I whined as Something grabbed my back leg, it was Quinn's hand but this time it was bloody. It dragged me down into the snow, my lungs collapsing as the air was knocked out from them. The darkness soon took over my sight and I was trying to fight for air but the hand still had my rear legs.
I wanted to be back with my friends, I wanted Cookie and my plushie, and Most of all I wanted Quinn to be with me.
That was the moment I woke up, my breathing was heavy and the most embarrassing part was my pajama bottoms were soaked and was freezing cold on my rear.
The other thing was that the room was pitch black… and I really hated the dark. But I knew I had to face my fears if I wanted to get to Quinn and hopefully back into the warmth.
I got out of the soaked covers and tried to walk through the dark, I could not see a thing, and nearly tripped on my own hooves several times. But some object I could not see made me fall on my face and onto the cold floor.
I started shivering and thought to myself, Why does it have to be so dark I whined… but memories of my dream started coming back to haunt me. What if Quinn wasn't here? What if he was back outside where I found him. I started to hallucinate, seeing the hand from my dream dragging me down. I started crying wanting Quinn to just pick me up and tell me it was ok.
But then I hear bed springs creek, the lights flick one and I see Quinn standing over me. It turned out I had tripped over his slippers. He smiled and said, “It's ok sweetie I think you had a bad dream. And it looks like you had a terrible one at that… You seemed to have wet yourself little one,” He said in a calm voice.
A familiar feeling spread across my face. I knew I was blushing, I then sputtered out, “I h-had an-accident,”
“Well let's get you cleaned up and into another set of PJs. I don’t think the plush is going to be needing them as much as you…” He sighed.
He then picked me up and carried me to his closet. There were lots of clothes but the oddest part was the child's clothes and the plushies. It told me that indeed he had a daughter.
“Would you like help getting changed, Sweetie?” He asked”
“Yes please,” I said, a little embarrassed that he had to have to change my clothes but happy that he was caring enough to do so.
“It's not a big deal sweetie, I am just glad you found me and that I can take care of you,”
“T-thanks Quinn, I don’t know what I’d have done if I didn't find you…
“I just wish you found me sooner...” He whispered.
The next morning was rough. Quinn's alarm clock went off even though it wasn’t even a day he worked. It startled me quite a bit and Quinn had to wake up to me holding on to him for dear life, scared by the alarm clock. Well the alarm wasn’t all that scary it was the music it played, I had never heard anything like it. It was like someone was trying to destroy a cello. But five times worse. Pluss since I had a nightmare that night It made me panic. But with Quinn’s calm attitude I was calmed down in no time. But something in me was still kinda scaring.
“Well we should get up, it may be early but I don’t think I can fall back to sleep after having a pony strangle me awake…” Said Quinn, as he climbed out of bed.
I couldn't lie he was right, I don’t think I could go back to sleep after that startle either.
Quinn walked to the closet to get some clothes while I went to the bathroom to take off my PJs. Sure they were comfy but it can’t beat walking around in the nude. I thought to myself.
After three minutes of trying to undo the zipper, I decided to have Quinn help once again. It was kinda messing with my self-esteem, not being able to do things myself, and I think Quinn noticed this.
S’mores what's wrong, you’ve had that look on your face since you got up, and I don’t like it…” He said as he got the zipper unstuck on my PJs.
I didn’t respond, which only made Quinn worried all the more. But he didn’t barge any further instead he left it be. Which I found strange. It made me wonder if he was still facing the problem of his father dying like I am with losing my parents. Sure Lyra and Bon Bon were great parents but, nothing could beat my father in that regard.
So I decided it would be best to answer Quinn’s question, hoping that he’d also tell me what's wrong with him. “Well, you’ve been doing so much for me, and I have hardly done anything for you in return. It's kinda messing with my self-esteem,”
He looked at me for a moment, then smiled and said, “Well that's where you’re wrong sweetie you’ve done more for me than you’ll ever know. You’ve proven to me that there is indeed a kindness in this life of hate. You’ve shown me affection I thought I'd never have again. Sweetie, I am glad you stumbled upon me, you saved my life in more than one way. You gave me a meaning in life…”
I looked at him with confusion, and said, “What do you mean I saved you more than once,”
“Well that's a long story but I’ll cut it short, I suffer from depression and have suicidal thoughts which means I have thoughts to kill myself. And ever since I met you they’ve disappeared sure it's only been a day but that's a day without my misery which doesn't come that often. And I think as long as you're here…” he started to cry.
“I mean this much to you?” I asked, because I was still kinda confused.
“S’morse, you may be a filly, and you might not understand this but I love you, I know it’s strange after only one day of knowing you but it feels like I have known you all my life… I wish that was true because you really mean that much to me…”
“Quinn… I like you and all, but that's just weird. You have been so nice to me, nicer than anyone I have ever known, I have had mental issues since I was a filly and have been looked down on, why would you want me?”
Now we were both crying.
Me being a half-dressed filly and Quinn hugging me like there is no tomorrow, the situation was just awkward. But it meant more to me than you could imagine. For the first time in my life, I felt something I have never felt. I don’t know what it was, but it was better than any feeling I could imagine… Was it Quinn’s love?
Author's Note
I hope you guys like this chapter I worked really hard on it. Thank you for switching your attitude towards this story sure there is still lots of dislikes but I feel as though more people will enjoy it now after I fixed it.
Chapter One: To Find where I am: Revised
Chapter One: To Find where I am
My beating heart was music to my ears, I could hear my pulse through my pillow as I tried to fall asleep. Memories of the past and the darkness around me scared the ever-living life out of me, and the demons that lurk inside me, why did they always have to come out at the worst times? But what scared me the most was the darkness around me, and the unknown.
But soon light enfolded me, I was faced with spinning dizziness. As I woke up, without knowing I fell asleep, I find myself in the cold naked and afraid. It felt like a dream but the freezing wind told me it couldn't be. It seemed like I no longer was in bed with my friend… But was in some sort of winter forest. But now I had a new question, where was I? Snow clung to my body so I had to have layed there for who knows how long, and I was now feeling as though I was missing something.
That's when the memories of being tucked into bed by my friend's parents while I snuggled my plushie, None of those things were in sight, the plushie or my cozy PJs, was with me, just me and this scary snowy wasteland. But with a look around, there didn’t seem to be a house for miles, nor my friend's nice worm bed to be seen.
But, If I had to remember and my memories serve me right, I remember it being summer, and school was out. So why in Equestria was I so cold, with snow covering me, and the ground?
More questions came to mind, How did I get here? I don’t remember moving, I know I had to of just fallen asleep, and there is no way I could have sleepwalked this far… Let alone to yakyakistan or some unknown land… I knew I wasn’t kidnaped, my friend's family would have protected me at all cost, and even if I was, why would they dump me in a forest?
This left me with only one possible explanation, Cookie Dough's magical mishaps. She always had problems controlling her magic, once it got out of control, it was hard to stop it. I remember once I was caught in it. It was a strange day, that day, and her magic made it even more so. I ended up on the roof of the school's block, Ms. Cheerilee had to get Big Mac to get me down from the roof.
However, at this time, I had no clue as to where I was. All I had was my fur to keep me warm in this frigid landscape. It scared me like one of my many Night terrors, but this was real.
Instead of pondering what happened, I got up and out of the snow. Shaking the snow off me, I stretched my aching legs. I knew I had to get out of the cold, so I started to walk, but not without a sense of being watched. I saw a deer-like creature, watching me from atop a hill. It didn’t look like any deer I have ever seen, it was missing its antlers and its coat was not as bright as I was used to seeing in my books at school on the topic of the deer of the Everfree Forest. But the more I looked around, the more I noticed the difference in my surroundings. It was like somebody dimmed down the lights. There were so many shadows and it crept me out.
I stood there for a while, looking at my surroundings. Then, I thought of an idea that could get a better view of where I was. I needed to get to higher ground. If I wanted to find shelter, my best option was to survey the land. I knew I wouldn't survive for that long in this cold. An earth ponies body just wasn’t suited for it. You’d think since we are the ponies that are always outside we'd get adapted to it, instead we adapted to the heat, and pegasi adapted to the cold. If it wasn’t for my father who taught me how to camp and live in the wild, I wouldn't know what I’d do.
Sadly, I don’t know what happened to him. When I was younger, I was taken away from my father and sent to an orphanage. I lived there for three years before Lyra and Bon Bon adopted me. Sure, they were nice, but no one could beat my father in the wild.
Trying to warm up a bit, I started blowing on my hooves, rubbing them together to try to desperately warm them up. But it wasn’t worth the effort. After I started walking, I noticed that the snow was too deep. I wasn’t paying enough attention to where I was walking and tripped over a stick. I went tumbling down a massive ravine and into a snowdrift. It took me a minute to regain my composure while getting myself back out of the snow. The more I was out here, the colder I got. Wishing I had my Coat and boots to keep me warm, I trudged through the tundra.
I wonder why I would have a coat and boots when it was the middle of the summer back home… Home, I so wished to be there again. Lyra helping me build a sandcastle on the beach or someplace warmer than this. Or even at my friend's house, snuggling my plushy tight against my body. I missed Cookie, even though she was the one who got me into this mess.
I believe that I swore several times trying to dig myself back out of the snow earlier on. Likewise, I climbed up the pile of snow, hoping to get myself out of the ravine. My little legs were bothering me. I was hoping to Celestia that I didn’t get frostbite. From atop the pile, I didn’t see any place to stay, but I did see an avalanche that looked to have a shiny object poking out of it.
I slid down the pile of snow and went to investigate the shiny object I saw. The wind was picking up, making things colder and harder to see. After the wind calmed down, snowflakes began to fall. I marvel at them, moving through the winter wonderland
Why does this place make me feel like it's slowly draining my life away? It seems that's just some more of the many mysteries that come with being here. I think to myself, only for some snow to fall from the trees and onto my head.
I whimpered a bit, my body trembling and quivering. Furthermore, I felt like one of Fluttershy’s many pets, one being a small hairless dog.
“Brr…” I shivered more, “that's so cold that I might as well have dumped ice water over my head.” I said, only for more snow to fall in front of me. “Ack stupid snow, why do you have to be so mean…” I whined
Trudging through the snow the whole night wasn't the best way to start the day, it made me feel like I was swimming in slush. But It appears the sun was about to rise, so at least there is that, maybe it’ll help me warm up.
Upon looking down, I realized I was directly above the avalanche and the shiny object. “Yay, I found my shiny prize,” I said ecstatically. It was a rusty pocket watch. I wasn’t expecting a cry for ‘help’ from under the snow. I was quite startled, and what started me the most was what happened next.
Instantly I knew I wasn’t alone and was worried that the avalanche was where the cry for help was coming from. I had galloped around for a few minutes trying to find out the source of the cries, only to discover the cries were the loudest under the snow. It made my worries come true. There was no pony around, so the pony had to be buried in the snow. Well, that or I am going insane…
“Where are you, are you under the snow?” I asked, not really expecting an answer, But what I saw next scared the daylights out of me, but it was the answer I was seeking. A dragon-like hand had poked up out of the snow, donning a thick, warm glove.
“I panicked for a few seconds, freaked out by what I just saw while at the same time curious, my instinct took over, and I started digging to try to save the creature from suffocating in the snow. The next thing I saw was an ape-like creature, the creature wasn't like anything I have ever seen, but it made me green with jealousy at its warm clothes. The creature looked up at me surprised, it looked just as confused as I was.
The longer It looked at me, the more panic welled up inside me. Soon It climbed out of the snow, Its face, was calm but confused. It looked at me as though I was some sort of ghost, which made me think if this creature didn't know what I was, it might hurt me. But I was so scared I couldn't move, my fight or flight response seemed broken. I wanted to run, but my body was stuck.
I finally gain control over my body and start to back away slowly. The creature then stands to its full height, I noticed I have backed myself between a rock and a hard place, the rock being a tree and the hard place being the creature. I was quite nervous to the point I locked up again. It approached me slowly
I looked up into the eyes of the creature, they were as calm as they'd been since I had first found it. But The confusion was replaced with worry as it continued to approach me.
“Shh, It is ok little one, I am not going to hurt you,” said the creature as it knelt down in front of me. I wanted to scream, but for some reason, my mouth dried out. But what I did was even more embarrassing, I realized my bladder was all over myself and the snow.
I let out an embarrassing whimper, I knew what I just had done could be the end of me. I had let the creature know how scared I was. That is the thing you never want to do in front of a wild animal is express fear
That's when It spoke for a second time “Now now, little one, I promise it’s ok, nothing’s going to hurt you now,” it said, and it brought up a pair of glasses out of its pocket, shimmering in the light. It caused confusion for me because It was now harder to read its eyes.
That wasn’t what I was worried about, I was more worried about it hurting me than anything else. Well more so after he picked me up, scaring me even more. Then I had other things on my mind, like how to free myself. I tried my hardest to break free but I either didn’t have enough strength or leverage to break free.
As I stared at him for who knows how long I started to wonder what he was, and memories of my adoptive mom's obsession started flooding my mind. Could it mean that I have been teleported to another dimension, could that be why it doesn't know what I am? The prospect scared me. Will I be able to get home? Should I pour milk or cereal first?
I then stopped squirming. Instead, I laid peacefully in its arms, slowly understanding what the creature was. I was still scared because I knew what they were capable of, But I knew I had to trust them if I ever wanted to get back home.
Lyra always told me there was another race of creatures quite like ponies but that were bipedal. They were able to communicate with ponies… which this one seemed to be doing poorly. Perhaps he had never seen a pony like me before, and he doesn't know what to do. I remembered when I headed to Golden Oaks, I found out that they were in another dimension. This solidifies my theory that I had been teleported out of my dimension.
The creature looks at me saying," Well, aren't you cute."I blushed at the implications and retorted out of impulse, "I'm not that cute."
He looked at me shocked at the fact I just spoke, and
responded with, “Do you have a name?”
I responded, with a rude comment,” Well of course I have a name, how about you.”
He smiled and said, “Well I guess that did sound stupid, my name is Quinn.”
“Um, I-I’m S’mores, D-do you know where I am?” I asked.
He looked at me with a sad face, “You mean you don’t know, well you're on the planet earth,” He said as he started walking, It scared me a little so my next question was, “Where are you taking me,”
“The only place I think that is safe for you, which is my place,” He said only for me to question,
"What do you mean by the only place that's safe?”
“Well I am sure you probably know the myths, our kind isn’t the best to be around, But I’m not like the others, I…"
"You sound like you're trying to sell something to me."
“Well, that's what I am, a salesman…”
"Wait, you're a salesman in the Wilderness?"
“Not exactly as you probably know humans don’t have wings or magic, we don’t need it, we have our inventions and new creations everywhere.” he sang for some reason.
"Did you just sing for no reason? Why?"
“Oh, I take it you don’t know Lyra…”
This confused me, how did he know my adoptive mom?
"Anyways… I'll take you to my home since that's the only place close to this place," Quinn stood up, slowly walking towards the east.
“Is there anything I should know about your place?”
“Well It has four walls and a roof, as long as I don’t break the fourth wall again I think we’re good,”
“Well Quinn, I am tired, How much farther is it to your house?” I asked, hoping we were close
“Um If you look up you’ll see it, Sweetie,” he said. Traveling up the hill, I see a small cabin in the distance.
So down the hill we went, I was carried through the forest by Quinn. It was very comforting and It warmed me up as he was jogging. It felt like I was in heaven as before, I was in the bitter cold. A big tree shook, and snow fell around us. At least it wasn't on us, right? We were getting tired from all of the jogging and walking.
“That was a close one,” I said, quite shocked.
“Yeah it was at least it didn't land on us, I actually had that happen when I was cutting firewood. My leg had to be put into a cast for a month or two." Quinn said, giving me a sad look.
“ Is everything ok, Quinn,” I don’t know where this worry was coming from. I only just met him.
“Yeah I lost my dad that same day, I was getting a cast while he was dying…”
“Oh… Sorry Quinn,” I said, now kinda sad myself.
“So what were you doing out here anyway? I don’t think you came out here to get buried in snow,” I said, trying to be funny but failing.
Quinn didn’t answer at first, he seemed even more depressed now, so I didn’t pry any further.
As he continued to walk, something in him changed. His face started to calm and he seemed less tense. He said, “Well I was looking for something I lost," as he was walking, he tripped on a stick and nearly dropped me.
I panicked for a second before he caught me in his arms without even a sweat.
“Please don’t drop me,” I said, with an annoyed scowl on my face. It irritates me that he nearly dropped me after he said he’d take care of me.
After I said that for some odd reason he then started singing, “I will never let you fall, I'll stand up with you forever, I'll be there for you through it all, Even if saving you sends me to Equestria.”
At the time, I didn’t know why he sang that toon, but I was glad he stuck with his word, until the end. He was an odd being but something in him spoke to me like this was supposed to have happened. I don’t know why I thought this, But it seemed like this human needed something, he seemed lonely, even I could see that.
I then remembered the pocket watch and asked, “Would this be what you were looking for,” I asked hoping that I’d make him happy with the shiny object.
“Well, no actually that's not what I was looking for, In fact, I didn’t know I lost it, that was my dad’s watch. But you were close at guessing, I was actually looking for my dad's grave… I walked through the forest to get home Quicker, and I guess luck was on my side that you found me,” he said, In a tone that was happy at first, but changed to sadness, as soon as he mentioned his dad.
“Oh sorry Quinn, well here's your watch at least,” I said with a hint of sadness in my voice.
************************
Some time passed and none of us spoke for what felt like hours. It saddened me, I quite liked having someone to talk to, after having the shit scared out of me, and being alone in the forest for so long.
That's until we arrived at the cabin.
“Well Sweetie, we're here now,” he said, arriving at a small building. It wasn’t that interesting, just a cabin with a few flower boxes at the windows. It also had chalk-white walls that looked to be made of something that wasn’t wood. There was a porch connected to the back, and one of the window shutters was barely holding on by its one hinge.
When Quinn opened the door, the inside smelled of old leather and cheap wine. It reminded me of my dad's place before I was put up for adoption.
Once inside, I saw a brown leather sofa, a reclining armchair, and some sort of box with a screen. The center of the box was quite a fair size bigger than the screen, the screen being probably sixteen to seventeen inches. To my right stood a kitchen and on the far left was the bathroom and bedroom. From where I was, the kitchen seemed to be the biggest room in the cabin. And the bedroom was rather messy with a pile of clothes on the floor. But hey the twin-size bed was there. It was kinda underwhelming but at least it was a roof over my head.
I was then sat down by Quinn on a soft rug. The soft rug felt good on my belly as I started rolling around on it and nuzzling it. The material reminded me of my plush. I laid there for a few minutes just nuzzling the rug.
Well, until my belly growled. I was starting to feel hungry. It made me wonder how long I was outside for, since I ate right before I went to bed with Cookie Dough.
That's when Quinn interrupted my little session with the rug and said, “Are you hungry? After our journey, I know I sure am.”
“Um, kind of,” I replied shyly, I didn’t want to take his food, he was being so nice and I truly felt bad.
But I was getting tired, and going to bed on an empty stomach sounds like a bad idea. So I decided it was a good idea to take his offer. It was way past my bedtime and with that long walk, I was super drowsy.
I gave a long yawn, to which Quinn asked, “Are you tired, Sweetie?” My eyes were as heavy as boulders and my stomach growled like a timber wolf wanting a pony as its meal.
I guess I was hungrier than I thought. I bet I could have eaten two hay burgers and some hay fries.
“Yeah, If you don’t mind, after I finish eating, can I take a bath and go to sleep?” I asked. I wished I didn't say bath as I hated water, but I knew I needed one because of how cold it was before, and how cold I still felt.
So I followed Quinn to the kitchen, hoping he’d have something good for me to eat
Quinn pulled out a chair and helped me into it as it was too tall for me, a lot of the things in the house were, as I came to find out later.
“So what would you like to eat? I don’t know if I have many things you like because as you may or may not know, humans eat meat and I tend to like it a lot… But I’d never hurt an animal even If I was starving…”
While I sat at the table and waited on Quinn, I looked around the kitchen. Some curtains were blowing in the wind of a vent that was on the floor, a large cupboard that held wine, and some food containers that held various types of food. There was another odd box thing that reminded me of an oven of some kind, it had numbers on it. An actual oven underneath it.
He then opened a cabinet and I looked in it to see many types of cereal. And for some reason, the S’mores serial seemed appealing to me.
“You have a Cereal named after me, how sweet," I said giggling knowing full well that it wasn’t named after me but a S’more.
“Um, Wouldnt that be considered cannibalism,” Quinn jokes.
“If eating animals isn't, I am sure I’ll be fine,” I said, giving him a harsh stare.
“Well, there are such things as people who eat plants, some of them do prefer some kind of egg or meat in their diet.”
“Can I please have some of this cereal?” I asked, hoping he’d say yes. Well… he was the one who asked if I was hungry so it was his fault.
He then grabbed a bowl from the drying rack and poured the cereal into the bowl. He handed it over to me and said, “Milk or no milk?” He seemed annoyed when he said it, expecting an answer.
“Yes please, I’d love some milk,” I said, trying to be nicer so as not to make my host kick me out.
As he poured the milk into my bowl, he looked at me and said,” I hope the cereal isn’t stale, it has been in that cupboard since… that one shitty day..."
“A bad day? Seems worse than a bad day to me, if it has left you in this bad of state,” I replied, trying my best to sound sympathetic to him.
“You got that right sweetie, I can't believe I didn't see that coming," Quinn sighed heavily, piquing my interest.
“So what happened, did you lose a friend or a loved one?”
I inquired innocently. His face darkened considerably and the air became tense, it seemed I had struck a nerve.
“More than once, it seems like everyone I knew left me after some time. One way or another…" I decided not to perdue this matter further, things could get out of hand. Picking up the spoon, I scooped the cereal up. I was about to take a bite when Quinn continued.
"This world is slowly breaking me, I wish for a better life and all I get is you. All I know is if I watch the clock for too long, it’ll tick away my life just like it did so many times before. I bet they would no longer recognize me."
“Quinn, you need to calm down. You're scaring me.” I squealed, trying not to dribble on the cereal.
That gives me an idea. Ponies can’t choke, maybe if I fake it I can cheer up Quinn. After he thinks that he saved me, it would give him a sense of relief.
Quinn continued to rant as I started to fake cough, it made me wonder if he was going to even pay any mind to me. But after a few minutes, he started freaking out, "Are you choking? Knock on the table if you are!"
I did as he said, hoping he wouldn’t kill me when he tried to do whatever humans did to stop choking. He picked me up in his arms and wrapped his arms around my barrel and pressed in on my stomach. It felt odd but it did make me cough harder than the fake ones.
Instead of forcing out the fake object, I was choking on, it forces something else out. A loud belch came from my mouth.
“Well, your airway must be unblocked for that to happen. So I consider that success,” he guessed. He put me down again.
“Oh my gosh thanks Quinn,” I lied, hoping he would pick up on it. Luckily for me, he didn’t.
Another lucky thing was that I had eaten all my cereal before I pretended to choke. I was quite tired and smelled awful but that was something I could care for later. I hated baths, They were like traps once you got in it seemed like you can never get out especially with Lyra bathing you.
After my meal, Quinn thought I needed a bath. He walked on the oak boards to the bathroom, wanting to set up a bath for me. I stopped him, wanting to take a bathroom break first. Trying to use the toilet bowl, I sank into it and was stuck there. Quinn realized that I wanted to avoid taking a bath, therefore he used this opportunity as leverage. He would help me out of the toilet, in exchange would go and take a shower. I wanted to resist at first, but I wasn't in a place to talk. I didn't want to be stuck in the toilet for an eternity, so I took up on his offer.
At this point, I tried to bail but he caught me by my tail and said, “Do you want to sleep on the couch or the floor?”
I squeaked. now thinking the bath was the best option
To say the least, that bath didn’t look so bad now as a few moments later the water was now running, slowly filling the tub as I watched on.
“So what shall it be sweetie,” he was looking at me expecting an answer.
“I’ll take a bath, But the tub looks quite big, would you mind helping me? I am an earth pony meaning I need help with washing up. Normally a loved one or a trusted friend would help but I guess you're the closest thing I got…” My face turned a tad pink.
He started to smile just a bit as he said, “Ok, I can do that sweetie, I am glad you think of me close enough, for me to do this for you. But if you want me to stop at any point, all you have to do is just say so.”
I sat in the tub thinking about my last bath, and how Lyra would bathe me with her magic. Somehow she managed to make hands quite like Quinns to help clean me. And when Quinn scrubbed me it made me miss home. His touch felt caring quite like Lyra’s, but Quinn seemed more nervous and his hands were quite shaky, while Lyra’s was professional like she had done it many times. Sure, I hated baths but it seemed to be the best time for me. I don’t know if I was scared of the water or something, but I just never liked being in the bath. Maybe later I should try a shower, maybe I’d like that more.
Author's Note
Thanks for the comments they helped me figure out what's wrong. And no the main character is not the self-insert, but the human named Quinn is. I tried hard to add more details and Revision the story.
