My eye drifted open to the sight of my television reeling out the opening sequence to some early-morning cartoon. It was one I knew well. A classic Disney work called “Darkwing Duck”. A strange sight in this day and age… Darkwing Duck hadn’t been aired on public television in almost three-hundred years…

Daring duck of mystery, Champion of the Right. Swoops out of the shadows, Darkwing owns the night. Somewhere some villain schemes, but his number’s up!
I was warmer than usual… A glance to my right revealed why. Aurora had fallen asleep on my shoulder… My heart skipped a beat in a split-second of panic, but thankfully my body had seized up, so I couldn’t move to disturb her. I didn’t remember asking her to stay the night… Or sitting down to watch TV… Still… She was still sound in her dream world… Reaching over to my left, I took a throw-pillow from the chair next to us and fitted it between her head and my shoulder, then eased her head onto the arm of the couch as I slipped out from under where she would come to rest.

I should get to work on breakfast… I thought as I quietly made my way into the kitchen.
Aurora groaned a bit after I got the eggs started, but she didn’t say anything. Probably just now coming to… I merely smiled to myself and continued pushing the small pool of canary yellow egg about in the pan until it split into nice, fluffy bits… Another five minutes passed before I set to work on the bacon…

“Huh?” I heard Aurora groan once again from the living room.
A few shuffles sounded as well as an ‘oof’ when she fell off the couch.

“You alright, Lady Aurora?” I called, flipping the sizzling cuts of meat in the pan.
For a moment, I froze, then shook my head. I had called her “Lady”… I supposed I really missed being a butler… In truth, it felt good –no, wonderful- to be cooking for someone other than myself again.

“Y-Yeah…Smells good.” She assured me, entering the kitchen.
Her eyes were still glazed over, half asleep, mane disheveled and sticking up in several places. She yawned a big yawn and raised a hoof above her head. After shaking her head and smoothing her mane, she wiped the residual tears. My heart melted at the sight… I missed taking care of someone…

“Good morning.” I greeted with a cheerful nod.

“Mornin’.” She returned, eyeing the pans on the oven and countertops, as well as plates and cups set out next to them. She seemed confused.

“What?” I asked. “Never had someone make you breakfast before?”
She shook her head. I brought my palms to my cheeks and gasped in mock horror.

“You mean… Never? Never ever? Never ever, ever, EVER never?”
Aurora chuckled and shook her head, then tilted her head and pointed to my casted leg.

“You’re not using your crutch. Doesn’t that hurt?”
I looked down and shrugged. In truth, I hadn’t even noticed that I didn’t grab the thing. My leg felt just as strong as usual… No pain, nothing.

“Nope. Guess I’m gonna take it off today.”

“Shouldn’t a doctor do that?”
I shrugged in response and took up a cut of bacon on my spatula, setting it on a novelty Scooby-Doo plate. Aurora chuckled at the sight of the familiar brown pup and his oddly shaped snout, oblong smile and beady eyes.

“A lover of cartoons, are we?” she asked.
I nodded.

“Oh yeah. It’s sort of a hobby.”
Aurora’s smile was a knowing one, with a hint of mischief.

“What’s that playing in there?” she asked, gesturing to the television.

“That’s Darkwing Duck. It’s odd, though… The show was discontinued and taken off the air in 2001… Right around the time Codename: Kids Next Door took off.”

“A hobby, huh? More like an obsession.”
I chuckled at this. She could read me like a book. A skill few people have…

“Yeah, ya got me there. It’s kind of strange to hear an eighteen-year-old state that he’s obsessed with classic animation aimed at an audience much younger than him, though.”
The mare only laughed, throwing her head back in her amusement.

“No, it’s not! It’s actually kinda cool. Most guys just rant on and on about how cartoons are so immature when they could stand to learn a thing or two from them!”

“I agree! Finally, someone else who gets it!!”
After a few more minutes of discussion, we settled back into the couch to enjoy a small marathon of old favorites and a good breakfast. After Darkwing Duck came a few classic Looney Toons, then Tom and Jerry, GI Joe, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Swat Cats, Gargoyles, and a movie known as The Last Unicorn. One particular series on a small list that I had compiled during the movie caught Aurora’s attention.

“The Sword in the Stone?” she asked.

“Ah, good eye. It’s the tale of King Arthur starting from when was simply a squire from some schmuck knight. Then he meets a peculiar wizard named-”

“Merlin?” Aurora interjected.

“Yeah. You know the story?”
She smiled.

“Who doesn’t? You have it here?”
A quick search of my closet produced the small DVC disk. Aurora was bouncing in her seat like an excited six-year-old about to receive a birthday present.

“Put it in! Put it in!” she ordered.
A knock sounded at the door then. I stopped for a moment, throwing a glance at it, then hit the “close” button on the player. Two pairs of eyes greeted me. One pair, a soft canary yellow, the other a gentle shade of sea blue.Lyra and Bon-Bon.

“Good morning, Mister Cooper.” Lyra greeted.
The pair eyed my disheveled visage for several moments before giggling.

“Just woke up?” Bon-Bon asked.
I returned the laugh and nodded.

“Yeah. I take it the two of you are here about the roof?”
They both shook their heads in unison, then Lyra offered a brief explanation that they were insured.

“Then what brings you to my humble abode so early?” I asked, head tilted to the left.
Bon-Bon beamed.

“We just wanted to see that you were okay! We heard Applejack say you were home last night at The Trough.”
The mention of Ponyville’s only bar struck me. Applejack had gone to The Trough…? Why? As far as I knew, A.J. wasn’t a drinker… Then again, she’s lost both her sister and best friend inside of a year… Loss like that can dent even the toughest of spirits…

“I see. Well, we still have some eggs, would you two care for breakfast?”
Two faces lit up at this, and Bon-Bon nodded.
The next hour was filled with introductions, idle chat, and a few amusing stories. It’d been too long since I had company… The sheer contentment that settled over me only reinforced the feeling I had gotten earlier… I missed taking care of people.

Maybe retiring was a mistake…