BiE 30: Nosce te ipsum.

=BiE 30=

>"Just talk to Aloe at the front desk about payment."
>Roseluck hopped off the bed and left the room.
>You started the task of airing this damn room out.
>No easy task with coconut.
>You light some incense candles, they would do it.
>Walking into the lobby you were stopped by Lotus.
>"Mous, I was wondering, did you want to go grab some lunch?" she asks.
>It -was- almost lunch.
>"I'm down, it'll give my room time to air out."
>You step into the lobby proper in order to address both sisters.
>"Where did you two want to go? The diner?"
>Aloe glances off to the side. "Uhh...actually, I'm not hungry! But you guys should go eat, I'll watch the spa."
>You shrug and head for the door, Lotus right behind you.
>The diner was farther away from the cafe, but usually had better food.
>"Nice weather." Lotus says as she keeps pace.
>She was right, the skies were clear and the sun was shining.
>"Yeah, the Weather Patrol must be spoiling us because of the tornado."
>It had been a week and a half since, you didn't hear anyone complaining over the sunny days.
>"You never see weather like this in Stalliongrad." she says.
>If it was anything like home, you're not surprised.
>The two of you continue towards the center of town and spot a group of ponies hustled around a small stage.
>On the stage was a rather loud unicorn.
>"Listen O' citizens of Ponyville! Listen to how your Princesses have failed you!" she shouted.
>You and Lotus walk past without another glance.
>"This stuff happen often?"
>Lotus rolls her eyes. "She sounds like the unicorn who came through last year and almost got the town demolished. I'm not giving her another moment of my time."

>The diner was more of a little bistro.
>At least it had outdoor seating.
>Lotus ordered a sandwich, while you opted for soup.
>You needed to cut down on the pasta...
>The biggest thing that this place had over the cafe was that they used actual flavoring.
>The cafe was great for a quick sandwich, but you were SOL if you wanted a good mushroom soup.
>"So...Mous." you heard across the table.
>You tilt your head to the side. Can't talk with soup in your mouth.
>"I uh...wanted to ask you something."
>You nod as you swallow your meal.
>"Shoot."
>She shifts in her seat a bit.
>"You and Anon have known each other for a long time..."
>/nod.
>"And you spend a lot of time together."
>You were bros, that's what you did.
>"Have you ever been...'together'?"
>You sigh and rest your chin in your hand.
>This was not the first time this has happened.
>"No. We have never been together."
>Lotus relaxed a bit. "So, you don't play for the same team?"
>You shake your head and give her a deadpan stare.
>"Not that there's anything wrong with it! It would just be something I didn't know about you"
>Heh. Nice save Lotus.
>You can't imagine somepony who accidentally slept with her sister to have too many social hang-ups.
>Lotus is quiet for the rest of the meal.
>You get up to walk back before you're stopped."Mous."
>Lotus is standing behind you, she's looks really nervous.
>"What's up?"
>She says nothing and keeps looking around.
>You crouch down to eye level. "You okay? What's up?"
>She looks you in the eye for a moment. "Buck it."
>You were about to say something, but find yourself unable.
>You can't get words out with Lotus's mouth pressed up against yours.

>What is this.
>What is happening.
>Why is it happening.
>Situational report.
>Brain: askdjbngsdf.
>No help there.
>Jimmies: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!
>To be expected.
>Weak organic blood pump: Out to lunch.
>Dammit.
>You don't move for what seems like an eternity.
>Finally, Lotus removes herself.
>She's staring at you
>"Mous, uh...are you okay?"
>No.
>You needed to think.
>Gotta go.
>You don't notice as you stand up and start walking.
>You don't notice as you head over the bridge out of town.
>You don't notice that somepony is shouting behind you the entire time.

-Music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xm_-RV2vGU&feature=related-
>Why would she do that?
The most obvious answer was that she liked you.
>Why would she do that?
>Neither girls nor guys ever liked you.
>Ever.
>You were always "that weird guy who always hangs around that other guy."
>It was rare for anyone to even know your name unless you spoke to them.
>So what changed?
You became an alien. Everyp0ny knows who you are.
>Brain, why weren't you this helpful back there?
We all have our reasons.
>Great. Now your brain was screwing with you.
>You didn't need this right now.
>What do you do?
Do you want to kiss Lotus some more?
>...You don't not want to.
What does -that- mean?
>It means that you have no desire to never kiss Lotus again.
That makes no sense.
>It makes perfect sense.
Are you attracted to ponies?
>You know the answer to that.
Right. Big bad Mous isn't attracted to anyone, that why he neve-
>Yes. That's right.
There's more than one kind of attraction, dingus.
>Right...emotional.
>Were you emotionally attracted to Lotus?
>She was funny, she was smart.
>She kept up with your quips and gave as good as she got.
>She watched out for you. Your mind went back to when you had your manticore wounds.
>You guess Lotus is pretty cool.
>But that still didn't answer wh-gak!
>You rub your face.
>You ran into a tree.
Idiot.
>Fuck off brain.
>Wait...
>Why was it night?
Why are we in the Everfree Forest?
>And what's that sound?

>You follow the path closer to the mystery sound.
Prepare for Mauling: Round 2.
>Eat shit brain.
>This was pretty close to Zecora's, you think.
>True enough, you spot Zecora's hut after walking some more.
>Zecora was outside sitting and playin-
>That fucking didgeridoo.
>THAT FUCKING DIDGERIDOO.
Calm down, man.
>Stupid thing was haunting you.
>Maybe Zecora has some advice.
>"Zecora."
>Zecora stops blowing your arch-nemesis and turns to you. "Ah... Hello again, dear friend Mous."
>Her face falls as she looks at you closely. "May I ask why you are so morose?"
>You walk up and sit next to Zecora.
>"I have a problem, I need a hand. If you had advice, that would be grand."
Even now?
>All opportunities to rhyme will be used.
Nerd.
>Plebian
>Zecora smiles. "Tell me your problem my good chum, allow me to stop you feeling so glum."
>You lean back a bit.
>"I have a friend, we're kind of close. But I think she wants more from dear ol' Mous."
>Zecora nods.
>"I'm not opposed, that's not what I want to imply. I just can't wrap my head around why"
>Zecora tilts her head. "Why? I do not understand, I feel as if you need to expand."
>"I don't see myself as all that nice, I've been told I have veins that are filled with ice. Why she likes that, I can't say to be precise."
>Zecora gets a smile."Perhaps you are not as cold as you think, perhaps that is not your friends kink."
>You give a disbelieving look.
>"People are often hard on themselves and think they're have no value. They must sometimes take themselves under review."
>Hmm. Review yourself...
I give you a C+.
>Shut up, brain.

-Music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0s-F0qqXuY&feature=relmfu-
>You left Zecora's and started back towards town.
>Review yourself...right.
>Well, you thought you were a generally cold person. You had one friend you considered a brother, his girlfriend, two bosses, and an ageless sun goddess.
>Before you came here, you had less than that.
>You always thought you were horrible to people, not that you could figure out why you did it.
>You always thought that they were a minute away from slapping you, or just walking away. Anon had been the only person you could really count on to stay for ages.
>So why would Lotus like that?
>...What if she didn't?
>What if you were wrong?
>What was it they called you that one time? Noble.
Noble: possessing, characterized by, or arising from superiority of mind or character or of ideals or morals.
>Uh. Thanks Brain.
I got your back.
>So, were you noble?
>What did Lotus say...
>You took them in during estrus, sure. But they might have done something stupid.
>You took a manticore for Anon, but he was your bro and would have died.
>Come on...one thing here.
Derpy.
>Huh?
>What about her?
>You talked to her, sure...
>Wait.
>Hearts and Hooves day.
>You got her to talk the that stallion who may or may not be an alien.
>Is that noble?
Did you do it for personal gain?
>No.
Sounds it to me.
>Okay, so you may be noble just because you helped Derpy that one time...
>Was that enough?
>You stop walking, don't want to hit any more trees.
>You're back in town.
>...was it enough?
>Let's go find out.

>You were Lotus and you were an idiot.
>Why did you kiss him? Why in broad daylight?
>Why did he walk off like that?
>You had been laying on your bed for a while trying to figure that out.
>"Are you okay, sis?" Aloe called from the doorway.
>You look up. "I'm fine, just thinking."
>"Don't worry, I'm sure Mous had a good reason to walk away." she says.
>"Yeah, like not wanting to date outside his species. Working with him is going to be great."
>Aloe sulked for a bit before walking away. Not that you could blame her, even you didn't want to be around you when you got like this.
>"Lotus!".
>By Celestia, you were going nuts. You could almost hear him.
>"Lotus!" again.
>Why were you hearing him? It's not like you ever dated enough for him to become important to you.
>You wanted to, but then you cocked it up.
>Why didn't you just wa-
>You were interrupted as something slammed into your window.
>"Lotus!" you looked outside.
>"Mous!?" he was hanging by the window sill.
>"Let me in! I'm slipping!" he called out.
>You rushed over and opened the window so that he could roll in and land on your floor.
>"Mous, what are you doing here?"
>"I figured we should talk." he says.
>You sigh. "Look, if this is about what happened today, I'm sor-"
>"No, not about that."
>You try to talk, but can't get words out with Mous' mouth pressed up against yours.
>"About that."

-Mous PoV-
>Heh. That shut her up.
I told you I'd handle it.
>Thank you Weak Organic Blood Pump.
>She looked at you in stunned silence.
>"Sorry about when this happened earlier, I needed to think."
>She meets your eyes.
>"...and...did you?" she asks.
>You reach up and run your hand through her hair, that was allowed at this juncture, right?
>She seemed not to mind.
>"Yeah...I uhh...I don't know why you want this... But, I think I do too, in a way."
>She lights up when you say that.
>"So...do you maybe wanna see where this goes...? Maybe we can go out for lunch again tomorrow? I promise I won't silently walk away again."
>She gets a big warm smile and laughs.
>It makes you happy. "I'd like that..." she says.
>Sweet.
>"Okay, well, uh...I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"
>You stand up to walk out.
>"Uhm...can I use the door?"
>She nods.
>You are stopped as you walk out of the bedroom by something grabbing your shirt.
>You turn around. Lotus motions for you to crouch down.
>You get a quick kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
>"Yeah, of course." you say.
>You hope you were still smiling.
>Lotus walks you to the door.
>You wave goodbye as you make your way back to the house.
See what happens when you listen to me?
>Yeah, great, where were you when I needed you earlier today?
I told you, out to lunch.
>Very cute, Weak Organic Blood Pump.
Hey, if today is any indicator; we're going to be seeing each other a lot. Call me by my name.
>No. Heart is a shitty nickname.
>That asshole was beating too fast to get a new name, anyway.
>Brain, what do you think?
I think today was a good day.