I walked after Fleur as she hurried through the rainy streets of Canterlot. I had a tray of coffee and a box of pastries resting gently in my hands. It wasn't exactly how I had planned to spend my day, but I couldn't really leave her alone. "Fleur, are you feeling alright?"

Fleur took a deep breath and turned her head to me, keeping her hooves popping along the walkway. "You can drop it off and head home. I don't want to keep you." She turned down a rather wealthy street and looked towards her manor, sitting snugly in a large plot of land. "I'm sure you'd rather not spend all day with me."

I scratched my nose. "I have nothing going on today. If you want to send somepony to help with the shop I--"

"Garder." The servant nodded and pulled his wing away. "Just water?"

I nodded. "Each one just needs enough to wet the soil."

The servant nodded and veered off. "I have keys, don't worry."

I turned back to Fleur as she lead me across a stone walkway towards her home. "He has keys to my shop?"

Fleur nodded slowly. "He has keys to every building I own. Don't worry, he's far too well paid to steal." She walked up to her door and levitated out a key with a black ribbon on the end. "I doubt he would jeopardize his position with petty theft." She slowly opened the door, the long draw of the hinges was agony. The soft patter of the rain slowly bled away as she walked in and set down upon the marble floor. "Do be careful."

I stepped in after her, sloppily stacking the coffee and food in one hand while I hung my hat, and finally my coat on a small rack by the door. "Of course." I looked around the warm marble box. It felt like an opera house, dimly lit but with such bright background that I couldn't help but feel a bit out of place dressed in such dank colors. It was a thing that matched Fleur, ornate and refined, not something for me to judge or try to be.

I made sure the door was closed. The hinges sang again, this time echoing a different tune from the other side of the door. It closed with a loud click that echoed around the entry. I turned back to the inside of the room, Fleur had left me standing alone in the near empty floor. Only a small sitting area to my left broke up the massive white entry. "Fleur?"

"In the hall, first arch on the left."

I walked over, shifting the food into my hands. I hurried into the vaulted hall and took an extremely hard left into a long room with a few tables and chairs set up. "Hmm, dining room?"

Fleur walked in from another door in the right side of the room. "Tea room. Kitchen is across the hall and connected to the dining room."

I scratched my head and walked over to the nearest table. "And that room?" I pointed to the door Fleur had walked out of.

Fleur walked over and took the coffee and box from me, setting them down on the table. "It's a hall." She walked around a couch and carefully stepped up onto a seat. "Tea storage room and a restroom."

I looked to the door she'd just come out of. "...You live a strangely large life."

Fleur looked around the room and took a sip of her coffee. "It's usually more lively here. Even after Fancy's passing." She looked to the door. "Garder handles the staff, and I think he gave them the week off because of the rain."

I found a seat across from her. I sank deep into a low cushy chair, obviously not meant for human stature. My knees rested high up as I sank into the couch. "Hmm, it does seem like the kind of place where a large family would reside. One mare, all this space, odd." I spoke my old language, a bad habit that had got me more than a few stares in the past. "Sorry."

Fleur sighed heavily and swept her tail around to cover her forelegs. "Don't be." She looked over at a window, rain sliding down slowly. The constant patter seemed all the louder over the glass. "Gray, do me a favor?"

I grabbed my coffee from the table and took a drink. My face tightened up as I set the cup back down. "Is it bad? I'm not a fan, but it keeps the fatigue away."

Fleur turned back to me then looked at the cheap pony brand coffee cup in her grip. "Hmm? Oh, oh no it's fine." She took another sip. "You know, if you didn't like coffee you didn't have to stay with me."

I clapped my hands together and pressed my thumbs against the bridge of my nose. "Tak, tak, tak. But then I would feel bad." I looked up at her, putting on the quickest smile I could. "Besides, I have nothing going on."

"No mare?" Fleur set her cup down and flipped open the box of food with her hoof. "No family?"

I licked my lips. "No mare, no girl, just me and the plants." I shook my head. "It works for me."

Fleur looked to the window again, a crescent hanging limply next to her mouth. "By choice, or by inaction?"

I rubbed my cheek. "It simply hasn't been my focus. I'm young, I've...well, not slept around." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I feel as if I--"

Fleur turned to me in a flash. "I've fucked humans. I've let a diamond dog bend me over and ruin me. I've tasted deer seed." I couldn't help but watch her lips as she spoke. Each word came out with a snap, as if they were spat out by a vengeful god with a bone to pick.

I felt my skin flush white hot from my cheeks down to my chest. "Uh...okay?"

Fleur nodded. "It's never been the same. It's a gap I can't fill. Not while Fancy's gone." She laughed softly. "But, not my point. And I can see that you're a bit uncomfortable."

I coughed every so softly and crossed my legs, crushing my erection. "It was rather sudden."

Fleur closed her eyes and nodded. "I suppose I could have been more subtle. You seemed nervous talking about your sex life. I don't really want you to be prancing around the subject."

I put my hands together and interlaced my fingers against my knee. "It's personal, I mean...after that I don't--"

"My point." Fleur sipped her coffee. "Don't feel ashamed or nervous around me. You've got nothing I want, or need-- aside from good company." She smiled at me and nodded. "But I simply wanted to discuss adult matters, and showing my cards felt like the quickest way."

"Uhh, I suppose it was." I laughed and ran my hand through my hair. "But why?"

She turned and looked me over. "Because you're young, you're unmarried, you have a business and I've seen many fall into the same trap." She looked over to the door into the main hall. "Find a mate, procreate, adopt, raise something you can be proud of."

"Ahh." I nodded and picked up a doughnut from the box. "Living vicariously through me?"

Fleur rolled her eyes and looked to me. "If I wanted to fuck plants, I would head out into the Everfree and stand there."

I felt the burning in my chest flatten out. "Wow. You know, I do have hobbies."

"Such as?" Fleur cocked an eyebrow.

"Mares, preferably cute ones. Blades, a good kitchen knife is a gift. And...something I'd really rather not discuss." I pinched the tip of my nose. "Not out of shame, but-- Eh, you know how life is. Some times you need secrets."

Fleur cocked her head. "Really? You'd talk about mares before you talk about your little secret? And here I took you as a quiet person."

I patted my knee. "How long have we known eachother?"

"Nearly a year."

I nodded. "Yet you still know so little of me. But, it's a good thing. It means I'm good at keeping quiet."

Fleur frowned hard. "Is your secret illegal?"

I shook my head. "No, but I separate that from my normal life. One is very loud, would draw a lot of attention. And to be honest, I prefer the quiet on most occasions." I leaned back into the couch. "And are you sure you're not interested? You seem rather interested in my privates."

Fleur adopted a glazed over look and stared me down. "The mongrel was the best, at least physically. Wide tongue, thick cock, his chest was pressed against my back as he breeded me like the horny mare I was." I could see her shiver. "I almost left Canterlot that day. Then I met Fancy, had a reason to stay after that."

I rubbed my cheeks. "Ugh...wow, you seem--"

"He was very gifted." She laughed happily, as if reliving a much less base memory. "Had a bad habit of marking me after he pulled out."

"Fuck me...." I laughed and rubbed my nose. "The grave clear your mind? Feeling better?"

"I always do." Fleur took another drink. "Dropping off the flowers, it helps, it gets it all out at once." She smiled with her eyes closed, her lips half hidden by the coffee cup. "And it is nice to take my mind off such morbid topics. Bring up happier times." She opened her eyes and looked to the window. "That mutt made me happy, Fancy made me happier." She closed her eyes again and nodded. "It was the best year I can recall. Got married seven months after."

I slid my hands over the couch. "Well, I won't judge your mourning. My father used to start fires for his dead friends, so if you want to sit here and talk of sex, I have no complaints."

Fleur turned to me. "Fires?"

I nodded. "Fires. Cars, trees...a cabin in the marshes." I scratched the back of my head. "Eh, if he talked about girls instead I wouldn't have complained."

Fleur took a deep breath. "Gray, can I give you some advice?"

"Okay. Sex advice--"

"Yes and no." Fleur stood up and walked over to the window. "Relationship advice."

"Sure." I cocked my head. "I was going to ask a mare out, not sure if--"

"Who?" Fleur turned to me in a flash. "Who is it?"

"Uh, blue mare. DJ PON-3." I stood up and grabbed another doughnut. "Got invited to her club, was going to ask if she'd like to hang out."

Fleur smiled at me. "I know her, not personally, but I've know mares that fit the bill." She turned back to the window as I walked over. "Hmm. Then I think I'll keep my advice for now." She looked up at me. "Oh, but Gray."

"Tak?"

"Don't try to suck her horn, or try to touch it roughly." She frowned and looked to the window. "The one human I had try to fill the void, he grabbed my horn and started tugging it." She shook her head hard. "It felt like som-- Hmm, how to-- Oh." She turned to me and pointed to my groin. "Imagine someone took your member, fully hard, and bent it in half."

I jolted my head back. "Ow."

"Exactly." Fleur turned back to the window. "Now, if anything a lick will stimulate it, but don't be mean to it. The horn of a unicorn mare is a sensitive thing, not fragile, but should you try to be rough with it you'll end up on the street."

"Hmm, I'll keep it in mind." I turned to look out the window. A nice view of a long open yard between Fleur's house and the next building felt extremely calming. "Any advice for asking?"

Fleur took a deep breath through her nose. "Don't be an ass, but don't be a pussy." She nodded sharply. "The diamond dog was an ass, the deer was a pussy, Fancy was a stallion." She turned to me with a smile. "And Gray."

"Yes?"

"Thank you." She tagged my wrist with the tip of her horn. "I know I've been a bit vulgar, maybe a bit invasive, but it helped to keep spirits high."

I shook my head. "Any time. I can always talk about sex, just not names."

"Out of respect or--"

"Respect, and there are two mares in this town who you might know that I've-- well, not I, but-- Eerr." I rubbed my cheek. "You shared...I'll share." I pointed to the door. "I have an alter ego. Not going to tell you what I do, or the name, but there are mares who've been with me without knowing my real name."

Fleur cocked her head. "An alter ego? Oh how quaint."

"About as quaint as you reminiscing about being slammed by a dog person." I walked back over to the table with the food.

Fleur turned and followed me over. "Does it make you feel weird? Knowing that I have sex? Knowing that I've had rough sex? Sex with a diamond dog?"

I bit into an eclair and nodded. "A little. But you're very cavalier about it considering where we just were."

Fleur sighed heavily. "The sorrow and the pain can stay with the graves." Her face was hard to read, both deep and thought and clear. "Would you rather discuss religion or the next visit?"

"Not really."

"And what other common ground do we have?" Fleur tapped her hoof on the ground. "Sex is universal."

"So is the weather."

Fleur turned to the window. "You're not old enough, and I have no interest to talk about the weather." She shook her head. "Besides, it's absolutely dreadful."

I tapped my foot on the floor. "I don't mind. But I'm sure we could have found something else to talk about."

Fleur leaned her head left and right. "Yes, but I'd really rather see you settle down. And if this is the talk that I have to use to push you, then so be it." Fleur tapped her head. "I do understand the male mind."

I bit my lip. "Well I-- I--" I rubbed my head. "Forget it." I laughed and turned to the door. "I'm going to go. You seem okay on your own."

Fleur nodded and started to walk me out into the hall. "I am, as I said I would be. But I will admit it has been rather fun watching you squirm." She walked at my side and hurried up to the main door. "I do hope you understand though. I'd simply rather you didn't miss out on what I will never have."

"Seems like you're promoting a bastard child." I opened the door and grabbed my things.

Fleur turned her chin up and closed her eyes. "Not at all. But you are the age, and I'm sure you could find somebody, if not a girl of your species."

I shrugged. "Like I said, going to ask the DJ if she's free--"

"Alright. Just find somepony. Your bachelorhood is rather agitating from my view." She waited until I stepped out into the rain and peeked her head out. "I feel like your mother--"

"My mother wouldn't tell me about who she fucked." I waved back at her. "Now go take care of yourself. You're acting a bit odd--"

"Oh I plan to." The door closed slowly. "I plan to."

I laughed gently and started off over the stone path towards home. "Oh man. Well, I do feel better." I rubbed my chest. "Odd, effective but odd." I sighed and flicked water off my hat. It was good to see she wasn't so hung up on his death that she couldn't make conversation, even though she took it to a strange place. I could only assume she was in heat or simply very worried about my singlehood.

"No horn." I scratched my head and fixed my hat. "She could have lead with that." Next Chapter: I Drink Estimated time remaining: 21 Minutes