A New Life

The Sun rose over the small town of Ponyville, basking the town in its warm glow and burning the morning dew into a soft mist which clung to the lawns of the citizenry.

Only a few ponies were up at this time, those who had to start their day early in the morning. The restaurants were beginning to serve breakfast to the early risers, and work was starting up at Sweet Apple Acres.

In the center of the waking town stood Golden Oaks, local library and home to one baby dragon, one Unicorn, and one human.

The last of whom was the first one awake, and in the small kitchenette, cooking a simple breakfast for himself and the other occupants.

Chains smiled as he pulled the last piece of French toast off the stove and added it to the stack on a plate. He brought the plate to the table next to a pot of warmed maple syrup.

At that moment the tea kettle began to whistle, and he grabbed it off the stove as well, turning off the heat and grabbing Twilight’s tea cup, he poured in some hot water and placed the kettle back on the stove as he added tea leaves to the cup.

Twilight walked into the kitchen just as he set the cup down at her spot at the table, yawning as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, her violet mane a slight mess, “Good morning, Chains,” she said, taking a seat, smiling as the smell of the tea and the French toast filled her nostrils.

“Good morning, Mistress,” Chains said, giving her a slight bow as Spike dragged himself in after her, being far less awake, but no less drawn by the aroma of breakfast. “Good Morning, Spike,” he greeted.

A grumble was all he got in response as the sleepy dragon pulled himself into his seat at the table, and grabbing a fork, he pulled a few pieces of French toast onto a small plate that was set in front of him.

Twilight had also pulled a couple pieces for herself using her magic, and poured a generous amount of syrup on top of it before digging in, just as Chains sat in his own seat and began to eat as well.

Spike, having become invigorated since the first syrup soaked bite, was devouring his own share in the same manner as a lion would a freshly slain gazelle, granted if the lion could use a fork.

This caused both the unicorn and human he shared the home with to laugh light heartedly. “Thank you for making breakfast, Chains,” Twilight said, taking another sip of her tea as Chains took the empty plates to the sink.

“You’re welcome,” he said, giving her a smile.

She smiled back, but then frowned. Getting up, she went to him and nuzzled his side affectionately, which made him smile, and his hand went around her head, caressing her cheek gently, “I mean it,” she said. “I really do appreciate everything you do.”

Chains looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and turned his attention from the dishes to her, “What’s gotten into you?” he asked her. “You don’t need to thank me for something I’m happy to do.”

“I know,” Twilight said, looking away from his gaze. “It’s just that……” She struggled to find the words before looking at him again. “I was so distant from you, after what happened with Blue Star. I just want to say, I’m sorry for being so cold those years.”

Chains, now fully facing her, knelt down, his hands holding Twilight’s face lovingly as he gave her a look of concern. “Mistress…..” he started, but when the word caused her face to look more downcast, he corrected himself, “Twilight, I understand what you felt you had to do,” he told her.

“Don’t fool yourself into believing I thought you didn’t care about me anymore,” he said, giving her an encouraging smile, which she slowly returned.

She leaned in and gave him a soft peck on the lips, “Thanks.”

They were interrupted by the sounds of exaggerated gagging coming from the table, the culprit being Spike who was smiling as they turned to face him, their faces slightly flushed.

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the juvenile dragon, and used her magic to lift a dishwater soaked sponge from the sink, and throw it into his face, causing him to spit and cough as some of the soapy water had found its way into his mouth.

The human and unicorn laughed and once he stopped spitting, the dragon was laughing to.

…………………

Twilight and Chains walked down the streets of Ponyville, side by side, smiling to the residence they passed, Twilight giving a wave and saying ‘hello’ while Chains would give a passing bow.

It had already been a couple of weeks and already, thanks to Pinkie Pie introducing absolutely everypony in town to Twilight, they were warmly accepted as new residents.

Or at least Twilight was anyhow.

Chains for the most part, to his relief, was ignored. The few ponies that did pay him any mind were Twilight’s friends, or in some cases, a few of the town’s more well to do citizens.

The looks they gave him made him shiver, and though he knew without a doubt that Twilight would never sell him, the prospect that they may try to buy him from her was still unsettling.

For the first week in town, some of the local pegasi gave Twilight the cold shoulder, though Rainbow was quick to set them straight and they too greeted the pair with warm smiles as they headed to Sugar Cube Corner.

They entered the building to see the increasingly familiar Pink Earth Pony behind the counter, setting a box of baked goods in front of a customer, “That’ll be three bits,” she said, her voice joyful as the pony dug out three gold coins and placed them on the table, before thanking Pinkie and walking out with their purchase.

“Thanks, and come again!” She called after them before she noticed Ponyville’s newest residence, who she greeted with a smile, which as always seemed to barely fit on her face. “Hi Twilight, hi Chains,” she said.

“Hello Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said as Chains gave his own respectful bow. “How is your day going?” she asked.

“Oh you know, taste testing sweets, running the counter, eating cake for breakfast, running my mouth, and doing my best to make everypony I see laugh and smile,” she said with a giggle, earning a set of smiles from her friends. “And still a hundred percent success rate,” the pink pony boasted with a wide grin of her own.

“So, what can I get for you, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, her ears perking and listening intently.

Nodding, Twilight spoke up in response, “Right, I was coming to see if I could set an order of cupcakes; I’d like to get sixteen for tomorrow. I’m going to see if everypony can come over for a little get together.” Twilight’s smile was a little hesitant, her inexperience with social gatherings was apparent. “Think that would be alright?” she asked.

Pinkie Pie’s smile never faltered for a second, and then she shook her head, “Nope.”

Both Chains and Twilight’s eyes widened at the unexpected response.

Before either of them could voice a question, Pinkie Pie snorted and laughed, “I’m just kidding, we can get those done lickity split,” her bubbly voice rang out. “You two should see the looks on your faces.”

The pink pony’s laugh lacked any trace of mockery in it, and was only filled with the joy of a quick and harmless prank, and Chains found himself smiling, and Twilight even chuckled, “Alright, heheh, alright, how much will the cupcakes cost?”

Pinkie thought for a moment and her smile seemed to double in size, “Well, we actually have a sale going on, three bits a dozen,” she said excitedly. “That’s like, four cupcakes a bit; I think those would be some pretty happy bits, each one getting four cupcakes. Just add another bit and that’s four more for your sixteen.”

Twilight let lose another giggle, “Sounds like a deal, Pinkie Pie,” she said, her magic grabbing some bits from her saddle bag and setting them on the counter, “Just let me know when I can pick them up,” she said.

Pinkie nodded “Okay, Twilight, I’ll make sure you know exactly when they’re done.”

Twilight smiled, “Thanks Pinkie, I hope I see you tomorrow,” she said as she turned away to leave.

“Oh!”

The sudden exclamation from Pinkie made her stop in midstep and turn to look at her.

Pinkie went over the counter, and trotted over to them, “Speaking of get togethers, I was going to zip by the library on my break, but since you’re here, I can tell you now,” she said, practically bouncing in place. “Rarity stopped by and said that she would like to treat us all to a day at the spa today.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side, thinking, and then smiled and nodded, “That sounds like it could be nice, what time does she want to meet us there?”

“In a couple hours, a little after lunch, she always goes there with Fluttershy and she asked me to help her track everypony down,” Pinkie answered, “The hard one is going to be finding Rainbow Dash, she’s always out and about but I bet I can track her down,” she said, winking at Twilight.

This got another giggle from the unicorn, “Well, I wish you happy hunting, and I’ll see you later at the spa.”

Pinkie nodded and then turned her attention to the quiet human, giving him a wide grin, “Also, I’m glad to see Chainsy can smile, I don’t remember him doing that at the party when we first met, so I was a bit worried,” She said, walking up to the human, who looked down to her as she closed in on more of his personal space, almost as if she were analyzing him under a more critical eye.

Chains backed up a bit, and Pinkie pushed him no further, “Making ponies happy and smiling is what I’m best at, and I’ll be a Parasprite’s Auntie if I can’t get somepony, or somehuman for that matter, to smile,” She said with a grin. “Besides, you should smile more, when friends smile together, they’re all that much happier.”

The human gave her a soft but shy smile, “You consider me a friend?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked, seeming a little confused. “Twilight’s my friend, and you’re like her coltfriend, so why can’t we be friends?”

Both the unicorn and human blushed lightly, the latter looking about nervously, worried that someone might have overheard.

Seeing their reactions, Pinkie frowned and layed her ears back, “Oh, um….. was it supposed to be a secret?” she asked, a sheepish grin appearing on her face.

“P-pinkie, did you tell anypony?” Twilight asked quietly, feeling a little shaken.

Pinkie bit her lip and her face twisted into one of thought. “I don’t think so…. But it’s just that, I don’t think anypony who’s seen you two together would mistake you as anything else, I thought everypony knew.”

Twilight, he face still a blush but also full of worry, came closer to Pinkie so she could speak in a softer tone. “Please Pinkie, don’t tell anypony, even if you think they know, don’t tell them, please?”

Pinkie nodded and began to do a series of motions over herself with her hoof, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she recited, ending her motions by putting a hoof over her left eye. “That’s a Pinkie Pie Promise, and I never break a Pinkie Promise,” she said with no small amount of pride.

Both Twilight and her human seemed relieved at this, and the unicorn nodded, “Alright, I trust you, thanks Pinkie.”

“Hey it’s no problem, now you get going and do whatever it is you need to get done, I’ll be sure your order gets written down and made fresh for tomorrow,” The pink pony said as she bid the two farewell.

……….

Later, at the Spa

Twilight let out a content sigh as she joined her friends in the communal hot tub after some deep tissue massages. “I’m glad you invited us Rarity, this has been just wonderful,” she said, the smile on her face reflecting her words as she looked to her five closest pony friends.

Applejack seemed the most relaxed from the massage, and actually looked a few winks from falling asleep right there in the tub.

Pinkie, her mane somehow remaining poofy, was swimming under the water, her mane acting as a fin as she pretended to be a shark, sneaking up on Rainbow Dash.

“It was no trouble at all, darling. Please, think of it as a way to say sorry to all of you after the way I acted during that whole ticket fiasco,” Rarity said as she adjusted the towel around her mane, leaning back against the tub.

“Oh Rarity, we’ve all already apologized for how we acted last week,” Fluttershy said from where she was relaxing, “You didn’t need to do all this.”

“Really, I insist.”

Rainbow was about to throw in her two sense when she jumped, startled by feeling something bite down on her tail. She nearly shot out of the water with a loud “Gyaaa!”

Looking behind her, she saw Pinkie with the prismatic tail in her mouth. The bite wasn’t hard, and it didn’t hurt, but the blush of embarrassment on Dash’s face wasn’t covered in the least bit by the steam of the bath.

The group of friends shared a happy laugh, and even though it had been somewhat at her expense, Rainbow Dash laughed as well.

Rarity took the opportunity to change the subject, and she smiled to Twilight, “So, Darling, how would you say you and Chains are adjusting to Ponyville?” she asked her.

Twilight smiled brightly, “Very well, I think,” she replied. “I’m not sure how to explain it, but Ponyville seems a lot less….. tense, than Canterlot did.”

“Hmm, well if you don’t mind me saying so, Darling, you do seem to be smiling much more than when you first got here,” Rarity’s smile became a little more mischievous. “In fact, you seem positively aglow when you’re with him in public,” coming closer to Twilight she peered into her eyes, as if trying to read her mind.

The lavender unicorn backed up slightly, “W-what do you mean?”

Giving a slight giggle in response, Rarity pressed the issue, “Come now, Darling, we’re all adults here, and friends. We won’t tell a soul of what you and Chains do behind closed doors.”

Twilight just stared blankly at Rarity, before she realized what her friend was implying. Her eyes went wide and her face was soon aglow with the most brilliant shade of red anypony present had seen, and considering Applejack’s brother’s coat color, that was saying a lot, though Fluttershy’s own blush of embarrassment came in at a close second.

Shaking her head, Twilight sputtered, “N-no, we haven’t done that, I mean, not that I wouldn’t, if he wanted to… I-I-I mean,” she struggled trying to get the right words to form and come out.

Rarity knew she should probably back off of the subject and let her fellow unicorn calm down, but the way she acted was just too much to let be. “Oh? Is there something wrong with the idea, Darling?”

“NO!” she responded, almost too quickly. “I mean….” The words still refused to form right.

“Sure, human genitalia looks strange at first glance, but Chains seemed to be somewhat well….”

Twilight put her forehooves over Rarity’s mouth to keep her from talking, her face simply glowing hot as she took the moment of silence to catch her breath and try to calm down from the embarrassing situation. “S-stop, just please stop,” she said.

Pinkie and Rainbow were giggling and chuckling respectively, while Applejack was silent she held a knowing smile as she watched the exchange. Fluttershy was trying to disappear under the water of the tub.

Twilight eventually pulled her hooves from Rarity’s face, laying her ears back, “Sorry, I just, I mean,” she sighed, “I guess Chains and I haven’t been very discreet about our relationship, huh?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, “It was supposed to be a secret?” she asked.

“That’s what I said!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash just laughed, “What are you so worried over?” she asked. “Sex with humans would be like sex with any other intelligent creature, heck, I’m sure AJ here has had plenty of fun with those twins.”

Applejack shot the rainbow Pegasus a glare, “I can’t even begin to say what’s wrong with that,” she said. “Be like sayin’ me n’ Big Mac ‘have fun.’”

Rainbow just stared blankly at her friend for a few seconds, “Well, do you?”

AJ splashed her with a scowl, earning a giggle from the mare, letting on that she was just poking fun, “The Apple family ain’t like that!”

Twilight found herself laughing lightly at the antics of the two athletic rivals, her own embarrassment forgotten for the moment.

Rarity too was laughing, “I’m sorry for the teasing, Twilight, but I do think you and Chains make for a handsome couple.”

“It’s alright Rarity, I know you didn’t mean any harm by it,” Twilight said, sighing a bit. “Chains and I just aren’t ready for that sort of thing, maybe one day, but not yet.”

“That’s very mature of you Twilight, no need to rush these things after all,” Rarity smiled warmly.

Twilight smiled back, feeling a bit more comfortable that she was surrounded by friends who knew about her secret lover, and didn’t judge her for it.

“I’m really lucky to have friends like you,” she said, more to herself then her friends.

“Yeah, we know,” Rainbow Dash said with a none too modest smile.

Applejack just shook her head, as she climbed out of the tub, “Well, ah better be gettin back to the farm, Apple Buckin season starts tomorrow, and Big Mac hurt himself workin’ the other day, so we got to get up early to make up for it.”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy spoke up, “Is he going to be okay?” she asked.

“Doc says he’ll be fine, but he’s not going to be working for this season,” Applejack shook herself out to get rid of whatever water was left in her coat. “Ah’ll see ya’ll later, thanks again for the hospitality, Rarity,” she said, making her way out.

“It was no problem at all Applejack, please, take care,” Rarity replied, being joined by a chorus of farewells.

………….

Chains sat in a corner of the Library, applying new glue to the binding of an old book. He had taken up the practice of book repair some time ago, even with her excessive care of her books, Twilight still wore some of her favorites out pretty fast, and there were a handful of books in the old library that desperately needed it.

Spike was nearby, dusting some shelves as the human diligently did his work.

Both of them were about halfway done with their self appointed tasks when Twilight walked in through the front door, a smile on her face, looking much refreshed, and her coat seemed to glow with a radiance befitting a polished gem.

The human felt as if his breath had been taken away as he saw her, and he could swear that there was nothing more beautiful on the face of the world.

Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Twilight giggled and approached him, giving him a kiss, “I take it that the Spa did a good job?” she laughed.

Chains could only nod before he found his voice, “They worked a miracle, they made the most beautiful mare in the world even more so,” he smiled.

Once again that day, Twilight’s face broke out in a blush and she smiled bashfully, before nuzzling Chains, “When did you get so romantically bold?” she tease.

His cheeks were slightly pinked as he answered, “I didn’t mean for it to sound like a cheesy line from a romance novel.”

“It sounded like it came from one of those stories that Rarity keeps checking out,” Spike said as he jumped to the floor from the third step of the ladder he was on, approaching the two. “But you do look great Twilight,” he said, smiling up at her.

The Unicorn smiled back and gave him an affectionate nuzzle as well. “Thanks Spike.”

“So you had a good time with your friends?” Chains asked, setting about finishing the repairs of the book in front of him while he listened.

She nodded, “It was very nice, Rarity paid for us all to get ‘the works,’ though she called it ‘the usual.’ We relaxed in the hot tub and talked for a while after that,” she said, managing to keep her face from heating up from remembering part of the conversation.

She frowned slightly as she thought of something else about the visit, “Though I guess it’ll be a while before I’ll see Applejack again, sounds like she’s going to be busy this season,” she said.

Chains tilted his head and looked up from the book, “Why is that?” he asked.

“Apparently her brother got hurt so they’re going to be shorthooved for the harvest this year,” Twilight responded as she went to the bookshelf and picked one out to read.

Chains thought for a minute before nodding to himself, “If you would be alright with it, I’d like to go help her,” he suggested.

Twilight looked to him with raised eyebrows, “Really?” she asked, getting a nod in response. She too thought for a moment, “Well, I don’t see why you couldn’t, we can go ask her tomorrow she probably could use the extra help.”

Suddenly a look of realization came across her face and she smiled, “Oh, I see, you’re looking to talk with the two humans she has working for her,” she said.

Chains smiled back, “I guess that’s part of it,” he said, before turning his attention back to his work, “Thank you, Twilight,” he said to her.

‘Maybe working there, I can become stronger to keep you safe,’ he thought to himself.

…………

Around late afternoon the hooded figure of a stallion approached the town of Ponyville, his pace was steady but determined. He stopped only once as he crested a hill outside of town, as he looked over the quiet hamlet, before continuing on his way. He would need to find a hotel.

Author's Note

A light little chapter without much action or tension, but I think I did a fair job with the little bits of comedy. At least I made myself laugh.