Chapter 9 Say You're Sorry

Perspective: Mathew

Rose leaves in hurry, trying to hide her face as I hear her sniffle a bit. I try to run after her, but the other pony lady blocks the door by stepping in the way. I try to move around her, but she simply steps in the way.

"Can you move? Please? Rose is-"

"She has to go take care of something personal right now. Why don't you come with me to my home for a bit while she takes care of that?" She asks as she keeps moving in my way. I take a few steps back and sigh in irritation. She's probably long gone by now anyway.

"I.... I guess."

"Great! Don't worry about her; she's a lot tougher than she looks. Now, let's get going before anyone else see's you," she says with a quick glance around.

"Why would it be bad if somepony saw me?" I ask, but am ignored as she walks out of the diner. I follow after her and glance back to where Rose ran off towards. I don't see her, she must be far away by this point. I hope she's okay, she seemed really troubled by something. I hope it wasn't anything I did.

Mr. Mouldouth takes me to another one of those motorized carriages and buckles me into the back bench. The seats have some weird smooth cloth over them and are really comfortable, I just wish I didn't have to wear a seat belt though. I don't get why they would want to make something that chokes you for safety. It must be a... none pony thing.

She starts the thing and begins to guide it to her home. It's a lot smoother then the carriage Rose has, and a lot quieter. Though I miss the music from Rose's. Mrs. Mouldouth is playing something that has two boring old stallions talking to each other about... something threatening the family foundation?

I don't get it.

After a short ride we make it to her home. It's a really fancy looking two story building with light blue paint and white trims. She parks the carriage on the driveway beside the house and steps out. I quickly undue the chocking hazard and bite onto the handle as I try to open the door.

"Mathew... what are you doing?" Mrs. Mouldouth asks from outside.

"Ahm trern ter erpen de deur." I mumble with the handle in my mouth, pulling it with all my might. I rear up a bit as I give one final pull.... and fall back when it snaps back. Whatever this door is made of, it's tough to move. And tastes like soap.

"Honey, the child locks are on," she says before opening the door with total ease. "Why would you use your mouth to open the door?"

"What else would I use?" I ask as I get back on my hooves and jump down from the seat. She eyes me a bit before closing the door and walking over to the front door.

"Well, next time just wait for someone to open it for you. We don't want to have your drool ruining the interior upholstery." I look back to the carriage and shrug, not really knowing what upholstery is. She guides me to the front door and holds it open for me.

Wow.... ritzy. Everything in here looks shiny and new looking. Fancy drapes, super uncomfortable looking furniture, random plates in cabinets set up to be viewed... it feels more like a museum than a home. I begin to walk in when Mrs. Mouldouth runs ahead of me.

"Uh-"

"Can you wait here please? We need to clean your fe- er- hooves," she tells me worriedly.

"... why?"

"Honey, you've been walking around that dirty old farm all day. You'll track dirt into the carpet." I glance down to my hooves and exam them a bit. They seem fine to me, but it's her home, so I'll just deal with it. "Good, now you just... wait here while I go grab some cloths."

"Okay... I'll just wait here then." I call out to her as walks off into the large home. I l huff a bit as I stand there, waiting...

Alone...

By myself...

With nothing to do...

FOOOOOOOOREEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR...

I glance over to the couch and mull over the idea of taking a seat there. I could at least lay down, even if it looks stiffer than a log. I already went this far into the living room, what's the harm in going three feet? I take one last look around before taking a deep breath and stepping over to it. I glance back towards the kitchen area before climbing up onto the seat.

Not half bad, I guess. Stiff, but I'm not standing so... meh. I don't really get why I couldn't just come over here and sit down. Nothings happening. I lay down on my stomach and let out a sigh. It's pretty boring here. Maybe if I can somehow convince her to let me-

"Mathew? Mathew, It old you to wait over there! Why are you on the couch!?" She asks as she comes storming over.

"I-I just wanted-"

"Now we'll have to get it cleaned. Mathew, when I tell you to do something I expect you to listen, am I clear on that?" she asks firmly.

"Yes ma'am." I say as lower my head. I don't get why I'm getting in trouble, but I don't want to argue with her either. Especially if laying on a couch is enough to get in trouble. I don't want to even imagine arguing back.

"*sigh* okay, now... just follow me and keep off the carpet. First things first, you need a bath... you do bathe, right?" She asks, her disappointment still in her voice.

"I think I washed recently. Maybe-"

"Well, now you'll have washed even more recently. Follow me, and remember to keep off the carpet." I look around and try to see where I can get down without stepping on the carpet... this may be a bit tricky. I look over to her and watch as she climbs the steps upstairs. Better get moving then...

Okay, if I can glide to the path in one jump I'll be home free. I take my stance and wiggle in anticipation. Gotta hurry, here I go! I jump of the couch-

THUD

Well... at least my face caught my fall. I get up and quickly run off the carpet before I could get in any more trouble. There are so many dumb rules here. Don't sit on the couch, don't walk on the carpet, what's next? Don't eat the food?! Whatever, maybe Rose will finish whatever she's dealing with and take me back to the farm. It was way better there then here.

I make my way up the stairs and find myself in a hallway that goes two ways; each way having two doors. I don't see where Mrs. Mouldouth went, and any-

CRASH

I jump a little when I hear something hit the ground, hard. It sounded like toys being tossed about, and it came from the right. Well... I guess it beats just standing here thinking to myself. I go to the first door and open it. Inside is what looks like a mini library with a large wooded desk at the end of the room. A decorative rug covers the wooden floor as tall bookshelves, filled with many thick books, cover the walls. In the middle of the room is what looks like the remains of a toy, smashed into a million pieces.

"Oh man I'm in trouble." Says a younger kid as he walks out from behind the desk. He's pretty skinny and has lightly tanned white skin. He's short blonde mane is spiked up, making his blue eyes stand out. He's wearing blue pants and a red and white stripped shirt. "Whoa... I was joking when I said I wanted a pony-"

"What happened to your toy?" I ask as I walk in and look at it.

"Oh! You talk to! Wow... oh, that wasn't my toy, it was my dads model air plane... I may have- accidentally- thrown it across the room and broke it," he says in a casual manner, shrugging it off.

"... why would you throw something that isn't yours?" I ask as he joins me by the broken... airplane? Not sure what that is.

"I was-"

"What was that!" Mrs. Mouldouth yells as she storms into the room, making us both freeze up.

"HE DID IT!" The other colt yells, stepping away from me and the mess.

"WHAT!?" I yell as the kid points at me. "No I-"

"I told him it didn't fly, but he wouldn't listen! I even told him we weren't even supposed to be in here! But he came in here anyway!" He lies as he goes to Mrs. Mouldouths side, giving her his best puppy dog eyes possible.

"No-"

"Mathew! Not another word from you!" Mrs. Mouldouth snaps as me, glaring down at me with intense eyes.

"But-"

"What did I just say!?" She asks in a firm, demanding tone. I literally have to fight myself to yell back. "I swear, I thought I could expect better from you. Just go wash up and I'll deal with you later."

"But-"

"NOW!" I huff a bit before leaving the room. This isn't fair! I didn't do anything wrong! Why am I the one in trouble? That jerk, I didn't even say five words to him.... well, still! He's a jerk! WHERE'S THE BATHROOM! "And don't think you aren't apologizing for this afterwards Mathew." Say sorry... SAY SORRY!? But I didn't do anything wrong!

I want to go back to the farm...

--o-0-o--

Perspective: Rose

I wipe the last of my tears as I drop from my knees to a sitting position. There were so many things I should have done. So many things I should have said. I was never brave enough to do either of them. I always thought that things would solve themselves and we could have just been happy. But... that's not how things turned out.

As the wind picks up I look up to the area before me and let my mind go blank. There's a field of tall, golden grass standing before a lone tree line. As the wind races before it, they sway to and fro, bending to the wild elements. Several birds fly from one tree to the next as they go about their daily, carefree lives. The trees just stand there, growing in the sunlight without a worry in the world.

The wind pushes harder, forcing me to look back down at the ground. I bring a hand to the exposed soil and grip it between my fingers. I feel the dry dirt crumble between my fingers and fall back to the ground below, bits blowing away in the wind. Everything has to come back to earth, one way or another. You can't just pretend that things will get better, you have to till the soil if you want anything to grow.

I drop the dirt and look back to the lonely stone standing before me. It's nestled before a weeping willow and has a bit of dirt in its engraving. I reach up and run a hand over the top, closing my eyes as I feel its smooth surface. Two words. Just two words and... and... then... I don't know what happens after those two words. That's partially why I've never said them. What happens next? Do I just pretend that it never happened, live as if everything is a-okay? Or is this something that will burden me for the rest of my life? Do I carry this weight until I meet my own fate and pay the price? What happens when it breaks my back and forces me down?

What about Mathew? I just met the kid but... I... I already feel protective of him. I don't know why, but... I need to get him back from Stacy. Lord only knows what she's putting him through. I don't care what she says, he's coming home with me and that's final! I don't care if I have to leave town forever, I am going to be the one to provide for him. Because I must. But... first...

"*inhale/exhale* I-I'm.... I'm sorry... baby girl. I'm so, so sorry. I promise, I'll do better." I stand up and dust myself off before marching back to the road, a final tear rolling down my cheek.

Author's Note

So... yeah, it's been awhile. Sorry about that but I have a damn good reason. During a conversation I was having with someone else (it was completely off topic from this) they made a comment that made think. At the end of that thought, I realized there was a major flaw with the plot line for this story. A really bad one to.

So! I decided to set it aside and work out that kink. I never moved it to the Hiatus marker because I thought it would have been resolved much quicker... and here I am!

So, thanks for being patient! I promise things will pick up soon. And like always,

Brony on!