Neither spoke of their meeting. Most supernatural creatures preferred their privacy. The business of the wolves was not the business of mages, no matter how friendly one was between them. Raspberry was still happy to report to Jay that they had had a wonderful time out. "I got to really let loose. It may be hard to imagine, but a good gallop really can make the world look better."

Jay was not exactly convinced of that idea, but she accepted it as the truth. "I don't think you're wrong. If I tried to gallop, I'd hurt myself." She kept looking at her computer screen. "Some people really dig the whole 'physical activity' thing." She glanced aside at Raspberry. "Only one physical activity I can think of right now, and it's already off the menu."

Raspberry snorted into a hoof, though it sounded a little like a whinny. "If you want to come with us next time, I'm sure you'll get a chance to let it all out."

Jay reached over to tap her little pony roomie on the nose. "Not the kind of activity I was hinting at, you adorable fuzzball. Glad you two had fun. You had fun, didn't you, Lucky?"

Lucky paced from hoof to hoof. "Yes. Like Raspberry was saying, keeping ponies cooped up for too long, no good." He shook himself out. "I feel a lot better."

Raspberry pivoted on the spot, twisting around to reach for her boyfriend. "I don't think we should be talking about anything in front of Jay." She giggled softly as she landed on top of him with a thump.

Jay hiked a brow. "Talking about what?"

Raspberry hugged Lucky from above, pinning him, not that he seemed to object. "All the things we did, out in the forest."

Jay's brows went up. "So you did pick up what I was putting down. Lucky girl. Glad you two had a blast. Now, not to be a downer, but shouldn't you put your human face back on and do a stream? You haven't done one today."

Raspberry perked up and became Sandra. "You're right." She dusted herself off and went over to her computer. "I should tell my fans what I've been up to."

Jay chuckled softly as she watched Sandra set up a stream. "Yeah, it'll be good for you. Plus, I don't want to listen to people complain that they miss you. That's what you get for being popular."

Sandra got settled in. "Aww, don't say that." She got the stream set up to go, doublechecked her avatar program was running... "And we can go live!" She clicked the mouse. "Hello, my herdmates! Boy, today's been great! I got to head out into a real forest and just hike for hours!"

Jay watched her with a little smile. "She's such a ham."

Lucky wandered towards the kitchen, leaving Sandra to her stream and instead focusing on getting something to eat. "Do you want anything?"

Jay considered it as she looked up at the ceiling. "Nah. I'll make myself a sandwich later."

Lucky nodded as he started pulling things from the fridge. "Sounds good."

Sandra joyfully chatted with her stream audience about the wonders of getting out and enjoying what nature has to offer. "One thing." She waved a finger at the camera, even if it wouldn't be visible. "Always be careful out there. Nature's wonderful, but she'll shank you in your sleep if you're not paying attention. Like a bad date with a hot lady, keep your eyes open!" She burst into laughter. "That sounded so very wrong, forgive me."

Her room's chat filled with lols and rofls alongside little snippets agreeing or disagreeing in lively discussion.

Sandra grinned happily at the merriment her fans were sharing. "I'm telling you. These little getaways are good for you. Keep a pack with you, a good pair of shoes, a good friend to be with." She paused. "Not going alone makes it a lot more safe, and fun, at the same time. I took someone with me, and he was a blast." She leaned in. "He even brought the snacks, so, bang, I clearly picked the right friend."

A new wave of laughter washed through her crowd.

"Are you talking about me?" Lucky, now Louis, wandered over towards Sandra.

She grabbed him and pulled him closer. "Chat! Say hello to the stallion that's dating me! Lucky, say hi!"

Louis peered into the camera. "Hello chat. I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

Sandra snickered at his discomfort. "What, you're scared of my herd? They're just a bunch of ponies enjoying what I have to share with them. Now, say hello, and just be yourself. They won't bite. You're mine!"

Louis considered the implications of that statement. "I think they'll hate me."

"Don't be silly! Now, go on." Sandra gave him a little shove towards her mic. "Look at the chat. They want to know who you are."

Louis gave the chat a quick glance, then said, "Uh, hello chat. I'm Louis. I'm a friend of Sandra's. We've been going out for a while now. Nice to meet you."

Sandra elbowed him. "Don't give away your human name, silly. Lucky is a dear friend of mine, has been forever. The whole dating thing is new, but he isn't."

Louis chuckled softly as he slid back and out of camera. "We're going to head off. Lots of stuff to do. See you all next time!"

"Yes!" Sandra leaned towards her mic. "Let's play something fun, together. I have exactly the game I've been dying to try, and it's multiplayer, meaning I can run with my herdmates. How's that sound?!"

Louis raised a hand in the background. "I'll be back."

Sandra was watching Louis leave. "Mmm, are you sure?"

Louis was already out of sight, but his voice could still be heard. "Yep! I want to get dinner started!"

"Dinner? We had lunch like an hour ago." She waved that away. "Oh well. My ponies, what do you think? A new game?"

The chat was quite excited, and so was she. Reflecting a good mood was one of her talents, and she got the game up in a flash to enjoy with them. "I hope you're ready for spooky, and silly times. We're not running from the ghost. We are the ghosts in this game." The room cheered as the game started.

Jay leaned on one hand, watching Sandra. "This is only better from this side of the camera. Rescuing you was one of my better ideas." She looked back at her own screen and got to typing.

Louis got to work in the kitchen, pulling out things to cook, making use of what he had. Jay did not provide many interesting things, but there were some gems to be found. He took what he could and tried to make it work. Soon, the smells of preparing goodness wafted through the apartment.

Both ladies were glancing his way with interest, despite both of their claims of disinterest before.

"You smell that? What did you find?" Sandra's mouth was watering at the idea of having a snack.

Louis kept working as he spoke. "You like stir fry, right? It'll be a little while yet, but it smells great."

Sandra's tummy rumbled at the idea. "I can't wait." She was already grabbing at her stomach in anticipation. "My herd mates, you heard that, right? My boy's making my tummy go rumbly! The fiend. Once we finish this level, I'm going to gallop over there and get a share, whether he likes it or not."

The chat exploded with spicy comments, most encouraging her casual larceny.

"That's my herd!" She laughed warmly as she went back to playing with them.

Jay shook her head slowly. "You are adorable." She didn't move from her spot though, keeping an eye on her screen.

When the stream concluded, Sandra hopped to her feet, one hand on the hat that refused to leave her. "Now, I warned you. Coming for that."

Louis was stirring the pan, looking down at it. "Are you sure? It's not ready yet."

Sandra took a peek into the pan, inhaling deeply. "Mmm, alright, finish it then. Then I'm taking my share!"

Louis smiled at that. "How hungry are you? You did eat lunch already."

Sandra blushed as she remembered. "Um, I guess I shouldn't be that hungry, but... Mmm, you don't get to make something that smells that good and then tell me I should mind my weight." She prodded at his side. "That's just mean."

Louis hummed softly. "I'm sorry then." He worked on the stir fry slowly. "Maybe this isn't a meal we should share."

Sandra punched him on the shoulder. "Oh no. No getting out of it! You're sharing, or I'm taking. Your choice."

Louis chuckled at that. "Alright, alright. Calm down, you can have some. There's enough for all three of us, don't worry."

Jay snickered at the two of them. "Going to get diabetes with you two around." She swiped her mouse. "Let me know when I should take a break. Lord on a stick, it's been forever since I had something like a family dinner."

Sandra looked over at her. "Sounds like it's time to remedy that. I'm hungry enough to eat three dinners in one go. I got an active lifestyle. I gotta get fed!"

Louis returned fire with a prod of his own. "Active lifestyle is not something you get for one afternoon's hike." He moved the pan off the head. "But it's done. Go sit down. I'll bring over a plate for each of you."

Sandra stuck out her tongue, then flounced over to sit next to Jay. "Look at him. Trying to control me."

Jay smirked at that. "Hah! Not with how much you've been on top lately."

Louis came with two plates, putting one in front of each of them. "Eat up." He withdrew to get his own plate, then join them. "This has been a nice day. Oh, I'll stop by the store later. Really need more stuff to prepare in there."

Jay rolled her eyes as she tried some. "Mmm, look. I don't cook that often, so I don't think about it. You two are the ones changing the flow of things."

Sandra immediately put her fork down. "I didn't realize it before, but yeah, I feel that way too. This is home now, more than my apartment. Something about being here feels right." She folded her arms under her chest. "Can I come with? I happen to like shopping, and with a friend is even better."

Jay snorted at that. "Louis looks like he can carry a lot of bags. I think he'd be happier going alone."

Sandra elbowed Jay in the side. "I never said I'd let him carry the bags."

Lucky raised a hand. "Easy there. I have no problems with Sandra coming along. Just a quick trip, grab some food for later, come back. You know a good spot for that?"

Sandra remembered the grocery store she'd been to, just a few blocks away. "Yeah, it's in walking distance, so close to here. We could walk, if you're up for it."

Louis smiled at that idea. "Of course. That sounds good."

Jay worked on her meal. "Guess it's settled then. Go have fun, I'm staying right here. If you bring something good back, maybe I'll say thank you."

Sandra huffed softly, but her smile was swift to return. "That reminds me. What's the rent?"

"Rent?" Jay frowned at that. "That's my problem."

Sandra chomped some of the delicious food Louis had prepared. "We live here, so it's our problem too. I don't want to be a freeloader."

Jay swiped a hand. "Do your streams and your game stuff, whatever. Pay for your own food, your clothes, and whatever else you want. That's rent enough."

Louis paused as he considered that. "Thank you. That's very nice of you, but let us at least contribute a little something. It'd make us both feel better about it."

Sandra snickered as she jabbed an elbow into Jay's side. "Yeah, what he said. There's three of us now. Just being a cute pony shouldn't be the full price of rent." She colored at the thought. "Not like we're that close."

A firm knock drew their eyes towards the door.

Author's Note

A delightfully decompressing chapter. Who's knocking? Don't they know we're relaxing in here?! Sheesh.

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