The Broken House

Over the next several weeks, work continued on the house. Supports were set up all throughout the first and second floor to support the house's structure as walls were hammered into chunks of mortar and rotten wood. A thick, heavy layer of moldy grime was spread across the floor all around the site of the work. On the roof, a temporary canvas covering was put in place to prevent water from leaking in while the structure was being amended. Shingles were torn out and replaced and the collapsed portions of the roofing were removed to make way for fresh timber. In the attic, the entire floor was deemed beyond recovery and slated to be removed and replaced.

Lancer showed up three times a week. To return the kindness the engineer had shown him, he tried his best to help out with whatever non-technical tasks could be done. He turned out to be quite the chef, specifically when it came to hot chocolate. Sitting on the newly-replaced roof beams, construction workers sipped from mugs of it on their breaks. Eventually, they began bringing their own marshmallows to dip into the hot chocolate, as all that Lancer ever brought were giant marshmallows that never melted evenly in the cups. He refused to even acknowledge their criticisms.

Every weekend, Lancer and Cheerilee met up at the Cafe Hay for a bite to eat and some coffee to share. Lancer was visibly happier as the weeks went on. Eventually, the two of them visited the house again to mow the lawn (before it overgrew and became tough to manage). Seeing the roof being repaired instilled her with a sense of levity that made it easy for her to understand why Lancer's mood had lifted. The exposed, yellow-orange timber framing along the roof and the large chunks of moldy detritus being carted out of the house made the house look healthier.

Lancer's gas-powered lawn mower, which had had its blades resharpened after being blunted during its first use, rumbled to a stop as he finished his final lap of the house, the grass back down to a healthy level. Cheerilee, for her part, was sitting on the highest of two steps leading down from the back door of the house - as sitting inside was too dangerous due to the large amount of spores in the air, disturbed by the destruction work.

Wiping sweat from his brow, he hauled the mower over and leaned it against the wall. The sounds of power tools, hammers, and general work took over the silence left behind from the mower engine, and the canvas flapped softly above them as a breeze washed down from the Everfree Forest to the north.

"I'm excited for you, Lancer," Cheerilee commented as he dusted grass off his legs.

"I'm excited for me as well," he sat down next to her.

Humming, Cheerilee rubbed her chin as she looked over at the mower, sitting out in the open, "You know, a shed would really bring this back yard together."

"You think so?" Lancer asked, looking around. The yard was large. It was about twenty meters long, and thirty wide. The only thing breaking up the field of grass was the set of old sprinklers that had come with the house.

"A shed and maybe a garden, yeah. You could make a cozy firepit, a barbeque..." she looked around, "The view here is much better than our yard. Your fences are also lower, so you can actually see more of it. You could host really fantastic parties here."

Lancer paused, before shrugging and saying, "Yeah I'm uh, I'm sure guests at this place would really appreciate that. Would, um, increase the value a lot."

Cheerilee blinked, before blushing and turning away, "Oh, right. Forgot about that."

An awkward period of silence reigned between them. Lancer, vexed at his shutdown of her idea, eventually broke the silence, "But the shed, at least. I should get on that right away. I have enough outdoorsey tools by now to warrant putting them all under a roof. Would be a shame to let an expensive mower go to waste by leaving it out in the wind and rain!" he chuckled nervously.

Cheerilee gave a soft smile, looking back over to him. After a moment, she got up and walked over to the wheelbarrow and rake, sitting just around the corner. She had been raking and disposing of detritus as Lancer did the mowing, and she proceeded to move to clean up the last portions of the yard. Lancer, having nothing better to do at that moment and not wanting to sit down and watch a mare do all the work, got a spare rake and got to work as well.

As grass was pulled into deep piles, Cheerilee eventually called out, "Hey, Lancer!"

"Yep?" he responded from across the yard.

"You got any plans for today?"

After a moment of thought that he realized he really didn't need, Lancer responded with, "Aside from this, no. Why?"

"I'm hungry. I was thinking after this, I might pick up some stuff from home and we could go on a picnic! I know a great spot that's not too far away." she answered.

Lancer paused his work and turned to look at her, flashing a raised eyebrow that scarily reminded Cheerilee of herself, "Aren't you, y'know, busy...?"

"It's the weekend," Cheerilee offered lamely.

"Yeah but, uh..." Lancer shook his head, deciding not to look a gift cragadile in the mouth, "Nevermind. I'd love to come with."

"Great!" Cheerilee grinned, beginning to place her pile into the wheelbarrow.

Less than an hour later, Cheerilee opened the front door of her own home, smelling solidly of grass and sweat. She made her way, first, to the shower to clean off. Lancer had flown to town and would make it back by the time Cheerilee walked to the pre-arranged spot with the food and blanket. Before she could mount the stairs and head up, she had to pass by Carrot Top's favorite recliner.

The mare in question lowered a copy of the Ponyville Chronicle as Cheerilee trotted through the lounge. Raising an eyebrow, Carrot Top mumbled, "We're home late."

"Was out with Lancer," Cheerilee said quickly as she went up the stairs.

"Where else would Miss Cheerilee be on a Saturday afternoon?" Carrot Top rolled her eyes, raising the newspaper again. The sound of the bathroom door slamming and the shower turning on upstairs was odd. Usually, the teacher would take a long bath after a day like this. She seemed to be in an awful hurry to be somewhere.

Only five minutes later did the shower turn off and then five after that did the door open and the sound of her hoofsteps clonking down the stairs signal her return. As she walked back through the lounge and towards the kitchen, Carrot Top lowered the newspaper again and sniffed as a rich, sweet scent drifted through the air behind her.

Adjusting her seat back to be more upright, Carrot Top asked, "Are you wearing perfume?"

Cheerilee, already disappeared around the corner of the kitchen door, said back, "Uhh... yep!"

"What's the occasion?" Carrot Top mumbled, getting a strange feeling she already knew the answer to her own question.

"I'm going on a picnic with Lancer," Cheerilee responded.

Carrot Top's eyebrow raised even further, "It's Lancer now, huh? Not Mr. Lancer or Midnight Lancer?"

"Uh... yeah?" she answered. The sounds of pantries being opened and items shuffling around out of sight began to emanate soon after.

Folding up her paper finally, Carrot Top put down the leg-rest and got out of her recliner. Dumping the paper on the seat and walking towards the kitchen, she found Cheerilee with a picnic basket, looting their pantry for jam and fresh bread. A straight look on her face, Carrot Top asked, "What do you like about this guy, anyway?"

"Huh?" Cheerilee feigned confusion as glasses of plum and cherry jam clinked together in her hooves.

"Midnight Lancer," Carrot Top spelled out, "Why do you like him?"

"Who says I like him?" Cheerilee bit her lip, making a point of facing away from Carrot Top as she scanned the pantry for Carrot's secret stash of croissants, which she knew was hidden somewhere near her.

Carrot Top, in response, walked over and leaned on the counter, placing a hoof on top of the half-prepared picnic basket, almost forcing her housemate to make eye contact with her, "Mare, you've been going out every week with him. Every time we sit down and talk he's basically all you talk about. I could've put up going over to his house and mowing his lawn for him as an act of genuine kindness, but taking a shower and getting all scented up for a picnic?. Just cause I don't have a lot of luck myself doesn't mean I can't tell when a mare's chasing tail."

Blushing furiously, Cheerilee's ears flattened against her skull as she looked away from Carrot Top and puffed out her cheeks. Carrot Top waited patiently, eyebrow raised and leaning on the counter for her answer. After a straight minute of examining the wall opposite from her, Cheerilee's response finally came, "He's- he's cute, okay?"

Carrot Top rolled her eyes, "Eh, Mr. Lancer ain't bad, but Big Mac's way better looking, much taller and yet you've never even batted an eye at him. You ain't going after that stallion for just his looks."

"Well..." Cheerilee looked around for a moment, before laying eyes on one of their barstools and walking over to sit down. Folding her forelegs, she confessed, "He's hilarious to be around. He's... hurting a lot, but below all that he's got a really kind and whole spirit. You know that house was his late special somepony's? He's gone through all this trouble because he didn't want to knock down her home. That's just, like, really sweet, y'know? And I figure, he looks like he might be letting go of some of that grief... so maybe I got a chance? It was four years ago, that doesn't make me, like, an opportunist does it?"

"Does he like you back?" Carrot Top immediately pressed, ignoring the question and tapping a hoof on top of the picnic basket.

Cheerilee puffed out her cheeks again, "Yikes, Carrot. You always have to go all in like that?"

"Yep," Carrot nodded.

Rocking back and forth on the barstool, Cheerilee shrugged, "I dunno. I'm... I'm probably gonna try and ask him at the picnic?"

"Tell me how that goes," Carrot Top nodded, her stance finally relaxing, though her expression was unchanging, "You just gotta remember one thing."

After a pause, it was Cheerilee's turn to quirk an eyebrow, "...What?"

"If he says no, you just gotta remember: that ain't on you, okay? You're amazing, you're attractive, and someday you'll find somepony that deserves you, no matter if its Mr. Lancer, or who-knows-who, okay?" Carrot Top scowled, "If you come back here all glum and down, I'm gonna be real upset. Then I'm gonna make you a cup of ice tea, sit down, and talk through your problems with you," just when Cheerilee thought she was done, Carrot took in a deep breath, "And if you don't wanna talk then, we'll talk whenever you feel like it! No matter what, you're gonna feel just great, okay?" with that, Carrot Top took her hoof off the picnic basket.

Cheerilee smiled getting up from the stool and walking over, "Thanks, Carrot."

"Mmh," Carrot Top folded her forelegs, still leaning backwards onto the counter. As Cheerilee went to search the pantry again, Carrot reached down to a nearby drawer and pulled it open. Taking out a tupperware container of croissants, she placed it next to the basket, "These'll go well if the butter melts by the time you get there."

Deciding not to tell her friend that she was secretly planning on stealing her croissants and replacing them later, Cheerilee took the box, "You're... real sweet, you know?"

"I try," Carrot Top said evenly, pushing away from the countertop and walking over to the recliner.

As Cheerilee finished the basket and wrapped it in their picnic blanket, the last sounds she heard from Carrot was the recliner clicking into place and the rustle of the newspaper.

Cheerilee's favorite picnic spot was only a fifteen minute walk from her house. It was technically a part of the Carrot farm, but the fence was easy to scale and she'd never been chased off for trespassing on account of her friendship with a member of the family. The spot was on a hill, at the base of a grand oak tree and at the edge of one of the fields. From that hill, one could see down across almost the entire valley.

By the time she got there, the sun's lower edge was nearly about to reach the ring of mountains to Ponyville's west. The sky was slowly turning into a shade of yellowish-grey. Hundreds of clouds dotted across the sky, new shipments from Cloudsdale for the downpour planned on the morrow.

Lancer was already waiting for her there, at the side of the road. After seeing her jump the fence, he flew over himself, his own basket of a few sandwiches, either purchased or quickly made at home, in tow.

Spreading out the picnic blanket, Cheerilee smiled as he approached, "Isn't it beautiful up here?"

Lancer looked around. He could see the fields of carrots, their leafy stems pushing out the ground. To the south, he could see the dark edge of the Everfree Forest, both ominous and regal in its presence. To the north, he could see Ponyville central, winding down for the day. Looking back at Cheerilee, he shrugged, "Yeah, it's pretty nice... for uh, a place on the ground."

Cheerilee blinked. She hadn't considered the fact that banking on the view didn't carry much weight for a pegasus. With a small, awkward chuckle, she sat down and patted the ground next to her.

They were both hungry, so not much conversation was to be had for the first few minutes of the picnic. Instead, condiments were spread, sandwiches were eaten, and a bottle of orange juice, still fresh and cold from the fridge, was cracked open to wash it all down. Leaning back onto the great oak, Cheerilee looked up to the sky.

"You ever watched clouds before?" she asked, looking up as the endless sky scrolled above them.

Lancer, looking up from his grilled cheese sandwich, hummed a little. He'd heard about the practice before, but for him it sounded like a silly hobby. It sounded like people watching, or birdwatching. Something cute and fun, but more for old ponies sitting in parks, "I mean. I've lived in clouds before. Does that count?" he eventually answered.

"Not really, I guess?" Cheerilee shrugged, before squinting and pointing towards one cumulonimbus in particular, "That one looks like a sheep!"

Lancer raised an eyebrow. It simply looked like an unpacked set of rain front fodder, blown about in the wind after being loosed from its transportation binds.

Moving her hoof, she pointed at another one, "Aaand that one looks like it's smoking something!"

That one was a cirrus floating in front of another piece of front fodder under the influence of an updraft. They weren't even the same cloud! It made Lancer chuckle, "You know, if you wanted a closer look, I could probably fly you up there."

Cheerilee blushed a bit, "Nah, I like looking up at it from down here. Really lets you appreciate how big the world is, see what's around you, rather than just looking down at the ground to see where you're walking all the time. Puts everything in perspective, y'know?"

He hummed, "Never really thought about it that way," he said as he reached down for his sandwich again.

"...Also I'm afraid of heights."

He nearly choked on the sandwich with a fit of giggles, which infected Cheerilee, making her laugh as well. After calming down, they turned back to their food.

Taking a sip of orange juice, Cheerilee examined Lancer for a moment. He had cleaned himself up as well while he'd been home. The grass stains and smell were gone, and he'd brushed his mane and tail. She wasn't entirely sure if there was such a thing as perfume for stallions, though. She wondered if he'd noticed her own efforts or not.

She shook her head, embarrassed at herself. She was just making herself nervous and it was showing. Lancer had a raised eyebrow in her direction as he chewed on his sandwich, watching as she bit the tip of her hoof and her tail constantly tossed beneath her.

"You... okay?" he hesitantly asked.

If Cheerilee's career had taught her anything, it was to be direct with her questions, never leaving anything to ambiguity. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him, "Lancer. I think I like you."

He continued chewing for a moment, staring vacantly. Eventually, he nodded and said, "Yeah, I think you're nice too."

Cheerilee's ears flattened, "Uh, thanks..." she said, looking away.

He blinked, "Wait, what's wrong?"

"No it's just, um..." Cheerilee was finding it hard stay loyal to her idea of being direct, especially when the stakes weighed heavily on her own ego, "You know when you just want to say something directly? Buuut then you aren't sure if they got what you were saying or not, and then saying that directly might be embarrassing?"

He blinked again, "...No?"

Her face fell, "Oh... okay," she muttered, looking away.

Lancer bit his lip, before quickly clarifying, "Hey, I'm just dumb, okay? If there's something bothering you, I'd rather get embarrassed and flustered now than letting it stew for a while and making it worse."

Cheerilee reached up to smooth the side of her head, before looking back. Her heart thundered as she chose her words carefully, "Lancer..."

"Yeees?" he goaded on, clearly not nearly as nervous. That gave her hope, if he was clueless maybe he hadn't intended to say what he did.

She puffed out her cheeks, before squeezing out, "Lancer I'd like to be your special somepony!"

"Oh!" he said, ears perking up, before repeating, "Oh..."

"Listen, you're like..." Cheerilee shuffled around a bit, trying to justify herself, "Kind-hearted, funny, really pleasant..." a pause, "...Attractive."

Lancer blushed furiously, "I uh, think you're all of those things too. Except you're, um, smart."

She wrung her forehooves together nervously, "Uh- thanks!" she said, almost neurotically, waiting for his actual response.

"Ummm..." he stared at her, "Uhhhhh..."

She didn't blink.

Puffing out his cheeks and exhaling slowly, he ruffled his own feathers and began smoothing them down again on his own, "Listen- like. There's some, uh- er, logistical problems with what you're... proposing..."

She raised an eyebrow.

"L-Like- uh, I'm only here for a few more months, okay? Then I gotta be in Canterlot, and you seem real happy in Ponyville so it'd be a long distance relationship..." the heat in his face radiated across his body, and his scalp began to itch.

"That's fine. Canterlot isn't that far away," she reasoned.

"But like-" he frowned, finally finding a topic of conversation aside from the one he was trying to avoid, "-Like, me and Mare, we had a long distance relationship, and the Guard got in the way, and now she's gone..."

Her ears fell, "Oh..."

"Yeah... um, yeah..." he trailed off, twiddling his forehooves together.

She turned away, shoulders falling, "Oh."

Biting his lip, his mind raced for some sort of upper, "Listen! Listen- Okay, I think you're great. I'd like to be your special somepony too, a-and we can find a way to make it work."

She gave him a slight frown, "No, you're right. I don't want to impress on you, it must be really hard and..." a pause as she shifted uncomfortably, folding her forelegs together, "No hard feelings. I- I understand, I'm just going to leave now..." she got up all too hurriedly, trotting towards the fence.

"Hey I don't want-" Lancer began, standing up as well, only for Cheerilee to quickly hop the fence in one, smooth motion, "...you to go..."

The mare's ear swivelled backwards, but there was no response as she continued her brisk response. Lancer was left standing on the hill, next to a pile of abandoned picnic supplies, alone once again.