- =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.
- >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.
- >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.
by
Mandroid
by
Mandroid
by
Mandroid
by
Mandroid
by
Mandroid